Part 6 of "The New Supply Chain" blog series by Mike Loquercio, Vice President of Supply Chain at Greenleaf Foods.

We are starting to see some signs of the economy opening up and supply chains getting some “swings in the cage” before the full season begins.  In many industries, COVID19 demand has stretched the supply chain beyond any reasonable expectations and yet we have found creative ways to make it work.  In other industries, we have been operating with diminished needs and looking for ways to repurpose and pivot to support the health care industry.

This is an original article, written by Trim Tex.

The story of every successful manufacturer is one of nonstop self-improvement. What may have been an effective process five or 10 or 20 years ago — or, for a manufacturer with a history as long as Trim-Tex’s, 50-plus years ago — may no longer be the best road forward. To provide customers with the best possible products and services, sometimes it can take a manufacturer shattering its own status quo. And sometimes that may take a little extra education. This is exactly what some folks here at Trim-Tex are doing, by enlisting in Six Sigma “Green Belt” certification training.

The Coronavirus gave businesses two choices when it interrupted life as we knew it: wait and see if the storm passes or lead the charge through the storm. Gold Eagle, among many manufacturers, chose the latter. This 4^th generation family business, built on the manufacturing and marketing of engine additives and surface cleaners, treatments and protectants, has put a whole new spin on the term “hero.”

From time to time, events occur which shine a light on weaknesses as to the flow of data within our existing information systems.  Looking back at my year with IMEC, several of these types of events readily come to mind which to a varying degree affected nearly everyone including Y2K, 9/11 and the Great/Global Recession, while many other events affected certain sectors of the populace, such as regional power or widespread internet outages.  In each of these instances, system shortcomings were exposed and inconveniences were experienced.

When COVID-19 knocked us all off our feet a couple of months ago, Illinois manufacturers quickly pivoted to meet the demands to battle this growing pandemic. It is no surprise that companies like Mighty Hook are going above and beyond their normal operations and procedures to ensure their part in helping our state respond to the crisis effectively.

Co-authored by Ed Huey and Mary Hallock.

In these unprecedented times manufacturers require a more formal approach to hazard assessment and work practices than in the past.

Part 5 of "The New Supply Chain" blog series by Mike Loquercio, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Expert.

As we see the country opening up cautiously and the beginnings of a phased approach to reviving manufacturing, now is not the time to return to the status quo.  We would all agree that manufacturing and the supply chain must be different – and will be different – but are unsure of what our future state might look like.

Given all our concerns with healthcare, social distancing, unemployment, the new workplace with remote learning and our economy, it’s easy to let the focus on supply chain fall to the back of the priority list.

This is an original article from the NIST Manufacturing Innovation Blog, written by Brian Hagas. 

Many organizations are maintaining or re-starting operations at their facility. Here are some guidelines that can help you ensure employee safety and proper machine and process startup as you resume operations: