Five Fast Things

July 24, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

1. Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like dome: The arrival of Siemens' exiderdome in Chicago this week for its year-long U.S. tour was greeted with equal parts wonder and confusion. The wonder was found in the large crowds who attended the Siemens’ Automation Summit at Chicago’s Navy Pier and got to see the floating automation exhibit sitting on a barge in Lake Michigan. The confusion came from city officials trying to certify the dome for occupancy. Once that was cleared up, though, exiderdome brought with it great weather and a new concept in bringing product innovation to end users.

2. Summit highlights: In his opening remarks at Wednesday’s ...Read More

July 15, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

1. Is GM dead? GM CEO Rick Wagonner said Tuesday the automaker would cut dividends, jobs, health care bvenefits for retirees and become the world's leader in fuel-efficient cars. It’s about time. Absent a federal energy policy that does more than drill big holes in the ground and absent a global commitment to reduce greenhouse gases, we are stuck with the internal combustion engine for transportation. If so, the least an automaker can do is lead trends, not follow them. GM built massive trucks and SUVs when oil was relatively cheap and now finds lots filled with them. They’re certainly not alone, but GM, the Titanic of the auto industry in terms of size, certainly saw the iceberg coming three years ago. They just cou...Read More

June 26, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

1. Another aspect of plant safety: The murder of five people at a Kentucky plastics plant this week brings to the front an issue of safety that isn’t talked about enough. We have OSHA rules and regulations about eye safety and arc flash and exposure to chemicals, but we don’t spend nearly enough time on conflict resolution. We have talked about plant security as it relates to terror attacks and espionage, but do little to focus on our own workers in house. As times get tougher, there is going to be more pressure on everyone. How we respond to that pressure, and how we train our workers to respond to that pressure, could help prevent a repeat of this kind of tragedy.

June 3, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

1. Manufacturing for the Future: This is not just a nice slogan. It was the title of the June 3 discussion in downtown Chicago, sponsored by Financial Times and Machines Italia, a part of the Italian Trade Commission. That a storied British business publication and an Italian commerce group would come to the Midwest to discuss global manufacturing ought to tell you something about where we are in the world right now. And where we are, according to the experts, is right where I thought we were -- smack in the middle of an exciting, evolving, maddening and challenging environment.

2. Some general thoughts: From Financial Times manufacturing editor Peter Marsh: &quo...Read More

May 2, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

1. Jobs data a mixed bag of news: Manufacturing jobs cuts hit 46,000 in April, and while overall U.S. unemployment slipped to 5%, wages fell and fewer people were earning full-time jobs. It’s further indication of the recession taking hold. But the stock market kept climbing over 13,000 in early trading Friday, May 2.

2. Not everyone is happy: Certainly not the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a union-supported group. “The economy is top of mind for voters in Indiana, North Carolina, and all over America,” said AAM president Scott Paul...Read More