Tooling U-SME Blog

Workforce Insights at SAMA Conference and AME Summit

Date: April 11, 2019
Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

The face of manufacturing is changing. Advanced manufacturing technology is transforming outdated plant floors to high-tech centers of innovation. At the same time, baby boomers are exiting the workforce and passing the baton to Gen Xers, millennials and the newest addition to the labor force, Gen Z. Read More.

Technology, People and Pizza

Date: April 03, 2019
Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

Calling all pizza fans. Have you heard about Domino’s Pizza’s Points for Pies promo? Here’s how it works: Through Domino’s app, using artificial intelligence (AI), you take a photo of any pizza you are eating whether it’s from Domino’s or a competitor (a dog’s squeaky pizza toy even works). You earn points for each pizza scanned and, ultimately, that leads to free pizza. Read More.

Partnerships Offer Solutions to Skills Gap Challenges

Date: March 25, 2019
Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

Many manufacturers recognize they are challenged with a skills gap but don’t know where to start. One innovative way to address the need for training is to create a collaboration between industry and education, such as between a local manufacturer and a community college.

F&P America is a long-standing automotive supplier of specialty functional suspension products in Troy, Ohio. F&P has been challenged with finding workers who have the technical skills they need. Read More.

Strong Manufacturing Communities Help Close the Skills Gap

Date: March 13, 2019
Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

By now, we’ve all heard the daunting news: Nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will likely need to be filled over the next decade. And because of the impending skills gap caused in large part by baby-boomer retirements and changing technology, 2 million of those jobs are likely to remain unfilled. What’s more, this shortage cannot quickly be remedied, as it takes an average of 70 days to recruit skilled production workers. Read More.

Getting Started With Lean

Date: February 26, 2019
Posted by:Chad Vincent, Director of Lean Manufacturing, American Railcar Industries

Chad Vincent is a Continuous Improvement Leader with 20 years of experience, having a successful record of orchestrating cultural change and improving organizational performance utilizing Lean, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement methodologies. He is the former chair of the Lean Certification Oversight and Appeals Committee. In this blog post, he discusses how organizations can begin their lean journey. Read More.

A Unique Solution to Tackle the Shortage of CNC Machinists

Date: February 19, 2019
Posted by:Ivan Rosenberg, Founder, Uniquely Abled Project, Valley Village, California and Mike Bastine, Director, Uniquely Abled Academy, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, California

Today we are so pleased to welcome Ivan Rosenberg and Mike Bastine to discuss the first-of-its-kind collaboration between machine technology educators and specialists in education to provide specialized training and job placement in the manufacturing industry. Read More.

Talent Accelerates a Digital Transformation

Date: February 12, 2019
Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

According to SME’s Manufacturing in the New Industry 4.0 Era Survey, manufacturers say that two top barriers preventing smart technology are people related are lack of corporate leadership to lead and plan a smart manufacturing strategy Read More.

Uncovering the True Cost of Turnover

Date: February 05, 2019
Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

Relentless turnover in the manufacturing industry is threatening companies focused on driving productivity and profitability. Voluntary turnover takes its toll on company culture, and also costs organizations hundreds of thousands and up to millions of dollars.

It is concerning that two out of five manufacturers (43%) indicate an average 20% or higher annual turnover, according to Tooling U-SME’s Industry Pulse: 2018 Manufacturing Workforce Report. Read More.

Don’t Fear What’s Ahead for Smart Workforce

Date: January 22, 2019
Posted by:John Hindman, Director of Learning Services, Tooling U-SME

As the Smart Manufacturing revolution transforms the industry, some are concerned that technology will end up trumping human capital. That is unlikely to happen and here’s why.

Technology, including artificial intelligence, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), is already changing how business is done. Yet with all these advancements, people are still a critical piece of our collective success in the manufacturing industry. Read More.