A safe and healthy workplace not only protects workers from injury and illness, but a robust safety culture can also lower injury/illness costs, reduce absenteeism and turnover, increase productivity and quality, and raise employee morale. In other words, safety is good for business. Plus, protecting workers is the right thing to do. 2023 is here, and IMEC wants this to be your safest year yet. Here are 5 tips to start the new year and keep your organization OSHA compliant:

In the early 2000’s I took part in a training course which I’ve never forgotten, and nearly twenty years later, it’s still as important as the day I first began learning about it and practicing what I was learning – How to have a “crucial” conversation and stay in dialogue. The training course took place at the Danaher Business System University (DBSU), housed in the Videojet Technologies facility in Wood Dale, Illinois, and it was there that I (and those attending with me) first learned about Crucial Conversations.

As the cliché, but true saying goes: “numbers don’t lie.” We can’t help but agree as we review our 2021 client reported impacts! While it is certainly a time of celebration here at IMEC, it’s also a celebration for the 1600 manufacturers who have invested in their competitive futures.  By partnering with IMEC and reporting the impacts our work has contributed to their business, it allows us to show that we all play an important role in a much bigger story. These numbers speak volumes to the value our clients add to our manufacturing ecosystem. Not only are companies on a path to enterprise excellence, but they are also strengthening Illinois’ economic well-being, their communities, and their organization as whole. 

This is an original article from the NIST Manufacturing Innovation Blog.

Digitization and connectivity are having a huge impact on more than just your manufacturing operations and ability to monetize data. Your vulnerabilities also are increasing as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) manufacturing solutions involve more software, devices and digitally connected employees.

The manufacturing industry continues to be at high cyber risk as a result of global competition and geopolitical tensions. Companies up and down the supply chain are demanding more transparency into their customers’ and suppliers’ reliability in order to mitigate risks from disruptions. Some are starting to require cybersecurity assurances, a trend that will only gain momentum. Enforcing cybersecurity standards will ultimately protect U.S. innovation and competitiveness.

This is an original article from the NIST Manufacturing Innovation Blog.

This blog is the second in a series on cybersecurity and Industry 4.0.

In blog one of this series on “Cybersecurity and Industry 4.0 – What You Need to Know” we discussed the four aspects of Industry 4.0: cyber-physical systems (CPS)/cobots, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud manufacturing and automation, as well as how they are interconnected. Strong cybersecurity practices protect those interconnections, ensuring manufacturers’ systems consistently deliver accurate data in a timely manner – something critical to the success of an Industry 4.0 model.

Over the past few years, there has been a remarkable resurgence of manufacturing in the United States. Illinois in particular has experienced a great deal of growth, making manufacturing Illinois’ largest industry. This growth brings positive impacts such as having a higher economic contribution to our state and the fact that manufacturing continues to generate various job opportunities.

This is an original article from the NIST Manufacturing Innovation Blog.

Is your organization, like so many others today, struggling to recruit and retain a well-qualified and high-performing workforce? Are your workers excited to be a part of your team and motivated to serve your customers? Do they care for one another and the success of your business?

This article first appeared in Industry Week.

This is an original article from the NIST Manufacturing Innovation Blog.

Many manufacturers have struggled for years to hire qualified workers. The outlook is for more of the same. With an aging workforce, emerging new technologies requiring more skilled talent, and the continuing decline of trades education in high schools and community colleges, an estimated 2.1 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled in the U.S. by 2030.

If we have a lost cost in our business of $100,000, $500,000 or $1,000,000 would you know about it? Should you know about it? Would you take action to reduce the lost cost?

What is the actual cost of turnover for your business?
Unfortunately, well over 90% of companies do not capture this true cost or know how to calculate it specifically for their company. To get a total annual cost, one must look at the cost per person multiplied by the number of employees lost in a year.