NC State of Business

Undoubtedly, the challenges for manufacturing are great. Global competition places enormous pressure for companies to survive. The job loss is painful! However, when is the last time you saw these facts in the national headlines:

• U.S. manufacturing produces more goods than any other country and is 21% of the world’s total.

• Manufacturers account for two-thirds of all private research and development in the United States.

• Twenty-two manufacturing occupations have expectations of “average” to “much faster than average” growth nationally.

And I suspect you have not seen these North Carolina manufacturing facts in the headlines:

• The seventh largest manufacturing state in the nation.

• Manufacturing is the largest contributor to the gross state product at 18.6%.

• Manufacturers provide 98% of all state exports, or $21 billion.

• Average annual manufacturing earnings per job is $59,964 - 46 % higher than the statewide average.

Indeed, productivity enhancing technologies are eliminating routine work positions while simultaneously increasing the required skills for the remaining positions. Consequently, companies become more competitive and we have the results above. Note that certain occupations are anticipated to be high growth jobs. We regularly hear about job loss in manufacturing but rarely do we hear the message that good job opportunities will continue to be in manufacturing.

So, the next time you hear manufacturing is going away, share some of the facts above. And turn the conversation into how we can help manufacturing become even more competitive and successful.

Let’s not forget that manufacturing matters. It matters a great deal to all of us!!

I am certainly fortunate to be able to work with so many different types of clients and to be a part of the journey to improve the ability to meet their customer’s needs. It is quite easy to get caught up in the fast paced activities and the overwhelming demand to out-perform the competition. The reliance on striking gold on every dig can push resources to the edge and, in most cases, will divert associates from working on the items needed to sustain the company. Dissatisfaction sets in and associate involvement disappears. A lot of us know to apply common sense solutions; but, for some reason or another, we often forget that just because it sounds like the right thing to do; it might just be the right thing to do. One local automotive glass manufacturer that I have had the opportunity to spend a good amount of time with does just that. They utilize common sense in their lean approach. While some of the glitz and glamour may not always be present; the results sure speak for themselves.

It starts with the direction from the top. Senior management provides the direction and the time to train. They then allow associates the time to participate. Yeah, I know you have heard this recipe before; but, how many of you can honestly say you give your folks the time to participate in the improvement activity. If you do, then you are probably shaking your head in agreement that this ingredient in the recipe makes the bread rise. This is where common sense ideas are incorporated into solutions. Senior management ensures that the teams work on opportunities that are strategic to the operation’s goals and objectives. The teams are cross-functional and consist of diverse blends of talents and operational responsibilities. For example, to reduce lead time to the customer, they used kaizen teams to drive down lengthy changeover times. They now can make more changeovers to accommodate the daily demand required by their vast number of customers. Many companies would tie up significant quantities of cash purchasing additional capacity or add-ons which take time to implement and leave them with higher costs to produce the same waste. They took a similar approach to drive out waste in their processing lines. The objective was to balance the flow at the demand of the customer. By getting all operations to perform to takt time, they are able to reduce overproduction and focus on the quality of the product. Improvements in quality translated directly back into meeting customer expectations and reducing time each operation had to spend re-making a good part.

These successes breed other successes. Team members want to participate and believe that their ideas can contribute. Slow down. Quit shooting in all directions. Target your efforts and focus on involving your associates. As the above team members will tell you, keeping it common sense simple, often means getting it right.