Top Stories
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Risk Study: Manufacturers more worried about recovery than recessionRenee Robbins, October 22, 2009
According to an AMR Research study, 44 percent of respondents believe the recovery cycle is the biggest risk in 2010 because of potential commodity price increases, limited internal skills after workforce reductions, and problems meeting new demand with constrained capacity, low inventory, and transportation constraints; only 23 percent are worried that the recession will continue, resulting in weak customer demand.
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People management even more essential as skills gap widensRenee Robbins, October 22, 2009
According to a new study, many of today's most profitable manufacturers assign a higher importance to implementing people management practices than to increasing customer service orientation. These leading organizations are taking proactive steps to attract, retain and develop their employees and others can and should do the same.
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Demand management during an economic downturnMilind Patil, October 21, 2009
Lack of a clear step-by-step procedure for supply chain management is hampering its goal of providing seamless integration across the business network. Demand management is most important.
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Aspen Avionics selects SigmaQuest product quality management software, October 14, 2009
Software as a service (SaaS) will manage and track the production life cycle of Aspen Avionics' Evolution Flight Display System for general aviation aircraft. On-demand software provides comprehensive production process insight and root cause analysis.
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Bill Polk: Automation and Control Vendors Help Save the PlanetBill Polk, October 6, 2009
While the firms you hear about in the press are certainly providing solutions that help the global CO2 problem, the unheralded champions of sustainability are the control and automation vendors.
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Siemens merges 4 businesses into Siemens Industry, names Dulaney to lead, October 1, 2009
Siemens appointed Daryl D. Dulaney as president and CEO of Siemens Industry Inc., which is the merger of Siemens Energy & Automation Inc., Siemens Transportation Systems Inc., Siemens Building Technologies Inc. and Siemens VAI Services LLC.
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Tech industry: Fewer jobs lost than U.S. private sector, says TechAmerica Foundation, September 30, 2009
TechAmerica Foundation sees 1.9 percent job loss in first-half 2009, and at a slower rate than the U.S. private sector, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics information.
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Invention Machine takes another step in quest to make innovation standard procedureSidney Hill, September 23, 2009
Goldfire 5.5, released September 22, contains a "knowledge navigator" capability that Invention Machine contends will foster improved collaboration among product developers by accurately reconstructing the thought processes and research methods that lead users to develop specific designs.
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Video: Bison Gear's ‘Lean 2.0' journey integrates demand planning, September 16, 2009
Bison's executive vice president comments on the company's "Lean 2.0" journey, whose goal is to achieve level loading of the Illinois manufacturer's increased production capacity.
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Science matters when selecting softwareEdward S. Pound, September 15, 2009
Implementing an IT system is not a strategy; it's a tactic. Use a practical, scientific, and comprehensive approach to design your business strategy and performance to ensure that IT implementations and upgrades actually improve performance and profitability.
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Fisher/Unitech announces virtual job fair for engineers, more than 800 jobs, September 9, 2009
Collaborative initiative with Fisher/Unitech and 6Connex offers more than 800 U.S. design and engineering jobs.
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Poll: Manufacturers detail recession survival strategies, report better conditions, September 8, 2009
Opportunities for manufacturers abound as economy improves suggests a poll by sponsors of the Fabtech International & AWS Welding Show, including Metalform, in Chicago. Sponsors are American Welding Society (AWS), Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Int'l (FMA), Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), and Precision Metalforming Association (PMA).
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The wisdom of Wal-Mart's supply chain strategiesMark T. Hoske, Online Products Editor, September 1, 2009What can Wal-Mart teach manufacturing about global supply chains? Perhaps manufacturers would want to consider a best-in-market supply chain approach rather than best-in-class, to better meet customers' needs. Gary Maxwell, senior vice president of international supply chain for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said a best-in-market approach requires thinking like a customer; complying with local and inte... More
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Dirty little secret: Automation and control vendors leading fight against carbon emissionsBill Polk, September 1, 2009"Green IT," "energy-efficient data centers" or any other term you want to give the effort to reduce the carbon footprint of technology centers is a waste of time and money. OK, I don't mean exactly a waste of time and money but it's not where smart companies focus their limited resources. More
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Emerson unveils campaign to make process control technology user friendlyRenee Robbins, Managing Editor, September 1, 2009Emerson has announced its intention to make process control technology easier to use, and is backing up that pledge with the introduction of its Human Centered Design Institute. The institute is the result of more than five years of customer work-practice analysis, new product development re-engineering, and organizational training. More
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Improving return on industrial assetsBy Carlos A. Laurentys, Accenture, September 1, 2009If managers cannot measure performance, they cannot effectively diagnose and resolve problems. Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) has become a critical key performance indicator (KPI) for companies seeking to measure asset performance and improve operational decision making. In essence, OEE is a compound KPI derived from three to four factors that measure the equipment's operational performa... More
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Wireless technology as a work in progressPeter Welander, Contributing Editor, September 1, 2009What's holding back broader adoption of wireless technologies in the process industries? A panel of vendor and user experts discussed that and other topics at this month's ISA Expo in Houston. It seems that although technical and attitudinal obstacles to this emerging technology remain, many are being systematically addressed and overcome. More
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Dassault: PLM's future includes social networking in 3DRenee Robbins, Managing Editor, September 1, 2009Dassault Systèmes (DS) is pushing further with its vision of making the virtual world better reflect the real world, and demonstrating what "PLM 2.0" can accomplish. At its 2009 customer conference, CEO Bernard Charles and his team "painted a very different picture of PLM than what some have in mind," reports Jim Brown, president and founder of Tech-Clarity. More
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IQMS RackTruck inventory management increases Double H Plastics productivity 20%, August 25, 2009
Sophisticated IQMS RackTruck forklift inventory management system increases productivity 20 percent at plastic core and insert-molded packaging manufacturer Double H Plastics.
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MBT's 2009 Innovation Insight Awards reveal manufacturers' top prioritiesSidney Hill, August 24, 2009
Since getting innovative products to market faster is one of the biggest problems facing manufacturers, it wasn't surprising that a large percentage of our award winners have attacked that problem in one form or another.
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