Management

Hanging on to talented older workers steeped in institutional knowledge has become a critical issue for many manufacturing businesses. The worker shortage is driving employers to take creative approaches to retirement. About 78 million baby boomers are nearing or at retirement, and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) estimates that factories will need 3.5 million new factory workers in the next 10 years just to keep production lines and distribution routes going.

A bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers is proposing a bill that would incentivize and boost American manufacturing, in addition to research and development, as the Trump administration looks to keep a promise from the presidential campaign. Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Ron Kind, D-Wis., with Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Pat Roberts, R-Kan., have introduced the Invent and Manufacture in America Act, a bill that would give a tax credit to companies that not only conduct research and development, but also manufacture products resulting from that R&D as well.

Amidst the ongoing discussion of how to interest young people in manufacturing careers comes news of one young person who certainly is. The Westfield (N.Y.) Republican profiles Andy Reinwald, the 24-year-old owner of Ripley Machine & Tool.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: "Years before President Donald Trump began promising to bring back good manufacturing jobs by getting tough with U.S. trade partners, such jobs had already been on the rise, largely thanks to foreign companies now cast as villains in Trump’s narrative. A Reuters analysis of federal jobs data shows that out of 656,000 new manufacturing jobs created between 2010 and 2014, two-thirds can be attributed to foreign direct investment."

The sector has shrunk, but "it still draws more than a third of foreign direct investment in the country, and foreign companies still employ nearly 1 in 5 people in manufacturing jobs," the feature points out.

Canada's CBC News reports on Allan Robichaud, who decided to go back to school at age 69—making him twice as old as his instructor—after nearly a decade of retirement. Now 70, he just completed a year-long course in welding and metal fabrication at New Brunswick Community College—the best year of his retirement, he said.

Omaha World-Herald: The grants, worth up to $175,000 each, are provided through a program proposed by Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts and started in 2015 to help meet Nebraska’s need for skilled workers. The initiative aims to reach middle school students and get them thinking about careers in manufacturing and technology. The companies will work with their local schools in developing the local programs.

The Interesting Engineering web site has collected what it calls the “10 Most Satisfying CNC Milling Machine Videos on the Internet.” Mazak, Datron, Ingersoll and Te-Co are among the companies represented. Cool visuals made possible by cool machines.

Communities with large numbers of residents who have only high school degrees or earn low salaries are at risk of losing many jobs to automation and offshoring, says a new report from Ball State University. “How Vulnerable Are American Communities to Automation, Trade and Urbanization?” also found that the rise of automation and offshoring could extend such job losses beyond the factory floor.

“I wish I knew then what I know now”. Who among us would disagree with that statement? Such is the case for so many things in life, and Lean is no different. As we all progress along our Lean journeys, we will sometimes pause and wonder why we didn’t see certain things as we do now. It’s important to remember that you can only make decisions based upon the data you have at the moment … so in other words, don’t beat yourself up because you only achieved “better” and not “best.” It is referred to as “continuous improvement” for that very reason – it’s a process, not a magic bullet, and it takes time to do right.