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Manufacturing a Key Political Issue This Election

On March 4, 2012, in Manufacturing, by Avery Webster
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While there are a number of issues to which voters will turn as they vote this year, manufacturing will play a crucial role for all of the candidates for a variety of reasons. Manufacturing and industrial production has become an important issue to almost every American, whether it be because of unemployment, commodity prices or national security. We all have a stake in American manufacturing and politicians would be wise to recognize that as the season approaches.

Some “talking points” to consider:

  • Manufacturing means jobs: Production jobs are varied in terms of skill required, wage paid and opportunity for advancement—and this is what makes them such a invaluable resource for our country. Manufacturing jobs are accessible to a wide variety of Americans and with the proper training and professional development, manufacturing jobs can easily turn into careers that will provide income and opportunity for people for the rest of their working life.
  • Manufacturing means national and financial security: The less we rely on other countries for our essential products, the less influence they have over our national policies and international standing. Being independent in terms of manufacturing not only makes us less susceptible to international influence, it also gives us power in the international economy.
  • Manufacturing means prosperity: By manufacturing domestically, companies give America a boost by keeping the profit here and contributing to our tax system, consumer commodity market and by reducing the costs of products by cutting the costs imposed by international tariffs and international distribution costs.

Is manufacturing on your list of voting issues this year? What’s your reason for caring about manufacturing?

 

Gas Leaks and Fugitive Emissions Detection

On February 19, 2012, in Electronics, Environment, Leak Detection, Manufacturing, Quality Control, by Avery Webster
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If your industrial facility is emitting gas via leaks caused by faulty lines, equipment or components, it can be costly to you, your employees and local community. The first step to addressing gas leaks at your facility is, of course, identifying whether or not there are leaks, and if there are, how extensive they are in terms of volume and severity.

Many facility owners and managers are aware of these potential costs but aren’t sure how to go about detecting them. A good first step is to find a local gas leak detection firm that can help you locate leaks. Generally, these firms will also be able to advise you on ways to reduce fugitive emissions and prevent future leaks.

One of the most reliable ways to detect leaks is to have an expert use a FLIR Systems ThermaCAM GasFindIR video imaging camera to scan your facility for leaks. These cameras work by using infrared technology to detect areas with high concentrations of gas leaks, pinpointing problem areas and allowing you to address gas leaks at their source.

Because of the precision of this method, the images collected can also help you assess the risks your workers were exposed to because of the leak and your compliance with federal regulations.

Monitoring gas emissions is an important part of your responsibility to your employees and the environment. Don’t get caught with a leaky plant or facility and always carefully monitor your emissions.

 

Daimler Trucks North America to Expand Production

On January 14, 2012, in Automobile, Manufacturing, by Avery Webster
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DTNA (Daimler Trucks North America) announced on Thursday that it would be expanding the production at its Freightliner Truck Manufacturing Plant in Cleveland, N.C. by adding a second shift. The company estimates that this change will almost double their daily production of trucks and that it will create over 1,100 new jobs.

Daimler Trucks exclusively produces Class-8 on-highway truck models at this plant but it will also be bringing 100 new jobs to its Components and Logistics plant in neighboring Gastonia.

The increased production of these freight trucks is good news for the local economy—which will receive over 1,200 new jobs because of the company’s expansion. It’s also good news for the national economy which continues to benefit from the national transport of commodities via freight trucks.

 

Many Manufacturing Jobs Available, Lucrative

On January 11, 2012, in Manufacturing, by Avery Webster
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Thousands of Americans are going without jobs right now—watching homes go into foreclosure, bills go unpaid and standard of living going down for themselves as well as their families. And many continue to look for jobs in the industries they worked in most recently—often hoping for comparable pay or similar benefits. However, a quick survey of the job market says that for many of these people, switching industries may not only get them a job to tide them over for now, it may help them find a job that pays more an doffers better benefits than their old position did, depending on what industry they were in prior to becoming unemployed and a what level they worked.

In fact, there are many manufacturing jobs available right now, and although they often require some specific training, it is available and easy to pay off. Manufacturing in the United States is different than it was forty years ago—rather than making basic commodities, the industry here is mainly high tech and high-paying. Working in technology and aerospace manufacturing can pay between $15 and $20/hour for even the lowest paying jobs in assembly. For an unemployed American, those wages and the fact that the market is open (rather than saturated like most sectors) is opportunity amidst a slumped economy.

These are good jobs, in a growing industry. Job-seekers shouldn’t be scared away by antiquated ideas of factories as dirty, hazardous slums. In fact, the manufacturing industry in America is highly automated and standardized to create a safe, efficient and positive work environment that most people can adapt to very easily. There is room for advancement for individuals and the companies they work for—manufacturing is in high demand with the increasing need for new tech products and constant demand for military equipment.

So if you’re unemployed or know someone who is (or even if you’re just looking for a change in industry) look into manufacturing and industrial jobs in your community—in November of last year over 225,000 manufacturing jobs went unfilled.

 

The manufacturing and installation of pavement markers

On January 7, 2012, in Diamond Saw Blade, Outdoor, by Avery Webster
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Pavement markers are installed into the pavement to give drivers important, though often subtle, signals about how to proceed. You see them every time you’re on the road—those yellow and white reflectors that go along the painted lines of the road and offer increased lane division visibility to drivers at night and during adverse conditions (like when the roads are glossy from recent rain or hard to see because of heavy snow falling.)

While there are a wide variety of pavement markers—they can be painted on the road, recessed into the road, or adhered to the surface of the pavement—the most durable are those which are recessed into the road after a groove has been cut into the pavement for the marker to be placed into.

These types of recessed road markers are most often the reflectors described above. They are made of a heavy duty plastic or aluminum frame holding a reflector or, in more modern versions, a solar panel and led lights. These led road markers collect solar energy during the day and emit a consistent glow all night or during inclement weather when the sun is blocked.

While the markers mounted directly on the pavement require a soft-rubber setting that allows the hard-cast elements to sink-in when driven over, recessed markers are far more durable because they are protected from traffic by a surrounding of pavement. The installation of these markers is slightly more involved because the pavement must be cut first. This is typically done using a diamond saw blade. These blades are strong and durable enough to cut through hard pavement types and have been used since 1978 for the installation of recessed pavement markers. Diamond saw blades can also be used to score and space raised markers, though this process requires a unique raised pavement marker blade.

 

Increased Efficiency in Solar Cell Manufacturing Process

On January 4, 2012, in Environment, Manufacturing, Technology, by Avery Webster
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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado has developed some technological breakthroughs that will change the way we manufacture solar cells. The lab is sponsored by the Department of Energy and the new breakthroughs could not only save costs and reduce the environmental impact of producing “eco-friendly” power sources, but this innovations will also make the United States far more competitive with other nations when it comes to alternative energy parts manufacturing.

The NREL’s big breakthrough last month was that they found a way to produce the first solar cell that is able to produce more electrons than it gathers form the sun—making solar energy production go farther.

Equally innovative and even more exciting for solar energy products manufacturers is the lab’s development of a process for creating solar cells that will reduce the energy cost of producing the cells by up to 50%–which means less cost to the manufacturer of the cells in terms of their own electric bill, and perhaps more accessible alternative energy for all of us once those savings translate into a cheaper form of solar cell and more affordable production of solar energy products.

And not only are these cells cheaper to produce—they run more efficiently to, a product of the more efficient production process, which removes impurities in the silicone as the heat forms the cells.

These types of breakthroughs in the US are continued good news to a manufacturing economy that has found new ways to compete with international competitors in Asia and the euro zone. Although America has always been a heavy importer of parts (even on the products it manufactures in the country) there has been a recent trend toward more US production of parts as well as increased manufacturing overall in the U.S.

 

Global Manufacturing Down

On January 2, 2012, in Manufacturing, by Avery Webster
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As we head into the new year, it looks as if the numbers for manufacturing all over the world and down and steady—showing no sign of improvement and boding poorly for global economies. The downward shift is especially apparent in several key manufacturing areas, such as the euro zone and Asia, a central manufacturing area for the global economy.

The dark numbers reported in Monday’s purchasing manager’s indexes (PMIs), an index of economic indicators in the manufacturing and commodity industry, showed serious declines in the euro zone, indicating that it will be all but impossible for European countries to avoid recession in the coming months. Some economic forecasters say that the euro zone is already in a recession and that the current state will last until the second quarter of 2012, if not longer.

The bad news was not just limited to Europe, with Asia’s PMIs also slowing and showing no potential of growth in the near future. Chinese manufacturing markets toed the line between steady numbers and deflation of output as 2011 closed, but the Chinese market ended consistently with recent months. Other Asian countries, such as South Korea, did not fair so well—that country’s manufacturing shrunk to it’s lowest in the last few years.

Although the rest of the world seems to be lowering its manufacturing output as we head into 2012, United States PMIs are optimistic, showing slight upturns consistently through that last few months. Even though the US market has been volatile, American manufacturing has shown itself to be the most stable amongst international competitors, a good sign of recovery for the American economy in a time of global economic turmoil. With holiday sales of consumer goods up since previous years, the U.S. has shown other signs of a strong and recovering economy as we head into 2012.

 

The Manufacturing Process Known as Recycling

On December 29, 2011, in Environment, Manufacturing, by Avery Webster
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We take the recycling to the curb knowing basically one thing: they’ll take this bin of recyclable goods away and magically turn it into new products. But many people don’t think of recycling as what it truly is: a manufacturing process.

After the plastics are picked up from the recycling bin, they are separated from the other products, which go through similar processes. Plastic is inspected to make sure it is the right type and all non-processable materials have been removed.

After inspection, plastic is sent for further processing where it is chopped into small pieces and then washed using biodegradable soap products and water. These pellets are similar to traditional plastic pellets in that they can be melted down and used in a variety of plastic manufacturing projects.

The plastic pellets are sorted by type and color and are distributed for the production of new products. Because the new products will be made out of the recycled plastic pellets, it is likely that they will also be recyclable, unless the plastic is compromised by having secondary types of plastic added to it.

If the new products are recyclable, they will go back through the same process again at the end of their life. Although this cannot completely eliminate the need for new plastic, it significantly reduces the quantity of demand for plastic.

The manufacturing process used in recycling plastics is not entirely free of waste and not every element of it can be considered “environmentally friendly” because the recycling process uses high levels of electricity and water. That being said, the manufacturing process for new plastic is arguably worse, so continuing to improve the recycling process is the most sustainable bet for future plastics products manufacturing.

 

Should I Update the Lighting in my Manufacturing Facility?

On December 27, 2011, in Lighting, Manufacturing, by Avery Webster
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The quick answer to whether or not you should retrofit your manufacturing facility with new, efficient lighting is: yes, you should. But, there’s more to the decision than whether you should or should not—there are decisions to be made about who will do the retrofit. The truth is, your own maintenance staff could easily change out the lighting system and entirely update the lighting if your facility, but they may not be the best choice for this particular project.

Find a company that specializes in energy efficient lighting retrofits. While your own team could do this project, it’s likely that they cannot do it as efficiently or as effectively as a professional energy efficiency retrofit team.

A private consulting firm can offer you thousands of dollars in tax rebates when they certify that your project was done to certain standards. Your own maintenance team cannot qualify you for these tax benefits, so doing this type of job in house has huge disadvantages in terms of tax incentives lost.

A good team of retrofit professionals can maximize the benefits of retrofit efficiency by applying industry experience from other projects to yours, giving you a better end result than you might achieve on your own. Each manufacturing space requires a unique retrofit, and you’re more likely to get a tailored result from industry experts.

If you assign your own maintenance staff to complete a lighting retrofit project, it can take a year or longer—because your maintenance staff has other important things to do in order to keep your production running smoothly and efficiently. Putting an efficiency retrofit on their plate to complete during spare time will distract from their primary work and will take a longer amount of time because of the variety of work they are completing on a daily basis.

 

Is Bringing Apple’s Manufacturing Stateside Really Wise?

On December 24, 2011, in Consumer Goods, Electronics, Manufacturing, by Avery Webster
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There’s been a lot of chatter recently about the prospect of bringing the Apple Corporation’s manufacturing of signature electronic devices like iPads and Macbooks onto home turf—as far as I can tell, it started when one well-intentioned but misinformed blogger proclaimed that brining the manufacturing profit margin home, from China where Apple’s devices are currently manufactured, would substantially benefit the U.S. economy. This blogger has since faced bitter retort from business columnists, economists and other experts who saw one huge hole in his analysis: that producing those products in the U.S. would cost much, much more than it does to produce them in China.

Why? There are several reasons, but perhaps the most significant being the difference in labor costs. Electronics production labor in the United States averages around $13 an hour, which is substantially higher—perhaps $10 or so higher—than the hourly wage equivalent a worker in China might be paid. On top of that, the overhead costs of manufacturing in the U.S. are higher because of government regulations on worker safety, environmental damage and financial oversight.

But even if the profit could be sustained if production were moved to America, there’s another problem: the nation doing the manufacturing isn’t really advantaged all that much. A recent report discussed in an article published by Forbes magazine points out that the assembly of Apple products like the iPad doesn’t yield a meaningful amount of income—the sales of those items after markups and marketing, something that the United States already sees quite a lot of, is where the money’s at. So moving the manufacturing of these items to America would be a publicity stunt at best, by most informed reports.

That being said, moving the manufacturing of these items home would make one big difference—it would substantially raise the price-per-unit cost of Apple’s devices because of the increase in costs to produce them. So, do consumers really want to pay as much as double for their electronics? Probably not, considering the economic slump the U.S. seems to still be in.

 
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