Tooling U-SME Blog

Pandemic Accelerating Move to Industry 4.0

Date: August 18, 2020
Posted by:Chad Schron, Senior Director, Tooling U-SME

It’s hard to believe how much has changed in the manufacturing industry in less than six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Take supply and demand. The global health crisis has moved masks, testing swabs, ventilators and a vaccine (which means more syringes and needles) to the top of the priority list, while purchases of less urgent consumer goods fall lower. Manufacturers continue to shift production priorities to help support national needs. Read More.

Manufacturers Make Changes to Prepare for a Post-Pandemic World

Date: August 03, 2020
Posted by:Chad Schron, Senior Director, Tooling U-SME

In our continuing series around findings from the SME 2020 COVID-19 Future Outlook Study, today we look at how companies, post-pandemic, will shift company operations. Read More.

Survey: COVID-19 Propels Manufacturers to Reshore Operations

Date: July 23, 2020
Posted by:Chad Schron, Senior Director, Tooling U-SME

COVID-19 shines a bright light on challenges related to the supply chain — some already felt before coronavirus hit — so it’s no surprise that manufacturers are considering moving production back to the U.S., as COVID-19 continues to impact manufacturing jobs and the industry.

According to the SME 2020 COVID-19 Future Outlook Study, one-quarter of respondents indicated their company plans to reshore manufacturing production to the U.S. Read More.

SME Study Looks at Impact of COVID-19 on Manufacturing Industry

Date: July 16, 2020
Posted by:Chad Schron, Senior Director, Tooling U-SME

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to sweep across the United States, there has been much speculation about its long-term impact on the manufacturing industry and the industry’s ability to recover.

In April, SME surveyed more than 700 manufacturing professionals to understand how their companies will begin to recover post-COVID-19. Read More.

Manufacturing Training in Demand: CNC Machinist, Welding, 3D Printing Technology

Date: June 18, 2020
Posted by:Chad Schron, Senior Director, Tooling U-SME

Even though we are still in the midst of responding to coronavirus, manufacturers are starting to ramp up production again.

According to SME’s COVID-19 Future Outlook Study, more than nine-in-ten respondents indicated their company was still operating in some capacity, with half of companies still fully active. There is lots of optimism, with over two-thirds of manufacturers expecting the industry to recover to pre-COVID-19 production levels by the end of 2020. Read More.

Honoring the Graduates—Specifically Career Tech Ed Students—of 2020

Date: June 16, 2020
Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

When we entered 2020, I, like many other people, looked forward to the new decade with a sense of hope, optimism and enthusiasm. I set personal goals and laid out business plans, eager to watch them unfold over the next 12 months. But our lives changed drastically within the first quarter of the new year. The COVID-19 pandemic took hold and turned our world upside down, disrupting everything from our daily hustle and bustle to long-awaited milestones like weddings, birthdays and graduations. Read More.

Cross-Training: Creating a Flexible Workforce for When it is Needed the Most

Date: June 03, 2020
Posted by:John Hindman, Director of Learning Services, Tooling U-SME

Tooling U-SME has launched a series of learning and development webinars to address current pain points for manufacturers. The first was Strategic and Effective Onboarding is Critical for Surge Hiring, which focuses on how to get a new worker to qualification of a specific job assignment. Read More.

Strategic and Effective Onboarding is Critical for Surge Hiring

Date: May 21, 2020
Posted by:John Hindman, Director of Learning Services, Tooling U-SME

As with all industries, manufacturing has been deeply impacted by COVID-19. Companies are focused on how to keep their employees safe and their businesses running.

According to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), 78 percent of survey respondents anticipate a financial impact. Additionally, more than half (53 percent) anticipate a change in operations. Read More.

COVID-19 Reinforces Potential for Additive Manufacturing With 3D Printing, Training Urgently Needed

Date: May 12, 2020
Posted by:Chad Schron, Senior Director, Tooling U-SME

COVID-19 has unexpectedly demonstrated the potential of 3D printing in a very public way. Manufacturers and healthcare professionals have come together to create and deliver 3D printed lifesaving equipment such as ventilators, nasal swabs, and face shields to combat the deadly virus. Read More.

Online Learning Is Here to Stay: Buy In, Get Started, Love It

Date: May 05, 2020
Posted by:Chad Schron, Senior Director, Tooling U-SME

We are recording sessions with several Career and Technical Education (CTE) instructors so other schools and colleges can hear how these early adopters have implemented and optimized an elearning program. You may listen to that recording here. These instructors can offer valuable insights on how to integrate elearning and overcome possible objections to it. Today we are pleased to welcome Tim Blizzard, Instructor Machine Technology from Carroll County Career and Technology Center in Westminster, Maryland. Read More.