Manufacturing Can Save Us!

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Manufacturing Can Save Us!

by Mike on Friday, March 22, 2013 6:28 AM

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about whether or not manufacturing can save the US economy. Many say that, due to the increasing levels of automation, manufacturing doesn't create a significant number of jobs and therefore isn’t the powerful force it once was. Some of that is true. Fewer jobs are created today due to automation and technology advances, but we can't forget that there are many supporting jobs created by every manufacturing job.

I worked for a company that estimated that every job they created on their production line generated nine other supporting jobs with suppliers and subcontractors. What kind of jobs? Good paying jobs like tool and die jobs, jobs in paint and chemical industries for products used to produce and finish products, jobs in logistics and transportation, local job shops who made small repair and replacement parts, and all of these then trickle down to the rest of the economy as people are working and have money to spend on clothes, restaurants, movies, etc.

I also believe that, with additional manufacturing jobs here in the US, we will generate more jobs in technology, machine design and manufacturing as companies improve on safety, quality, reliability, and shorter lead-times. To meet these objectives, we need continuously better equipment. Designers need to build and test new technologies and will turn to colleges and universities to provide engineers, thus creating more demand on the educational system. Many of the college and university programs work closely with local manufacturers to help build and test these prototypes, which also creates and keeps jobs here in the US.

I certainly believe that US companies can compete in the global economy and every US company needs to be investing in their future by educating and training their employees in modern manufacturing methodologies, eliminating waste and rebuilding from the foundation up, not from the top office down. We work with companies every day helping to improve the operational performance. It is, however, the rare company who asks to look at the entire enterprise for overall effectiveness. One organization in particular comes to mind. We made significant improvements in their operations, but could not keep up with the rate of VP’s and Sr. VP’s that were being hired to help “fix” the business. That wasn’t what this company, or any other company needs. Companies do not need the hero of the day, but rather, if we are to succeed, we need to build strong enterprises with solid foundations and world-class business processes, operations, and supply chains that operate efficiently every day.

I believe we can revive the American pride and ingenuity that helped make the United States the manufacturing powerhouse we once were. Yes we need all sectors of the economy to be strong, but don't underestimate the power of American manufacturing as one of the cornerstones of our economy. We can do this; no, we must do this!

Call us today for to schedule an assessment of how your organization stacks up against the current world-class businesses and begin rebuilding your company, and the American economy.

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Mike

(“The Professional Provoker”) is the Founder and President of Empowered Performance, LLC a worldwide management education and consulting firm. Michael has extensive international experience working with companies of varied sizes and industries helping them implement strategies to attain World-Class levels of performance. Michael has developed expertise in “Enterprise Excellence”, Enterprise Resource Planning and Supply Chain Management (ERP/SCM), Lean (Toyota Production System), Team Building and Problem Solving, Six Sigma and Reengineering Business Processes. He is considered an expert in helping companies develop and implement Strategic Business Units and fast response customer service production units.