Keeping your workplace safe and healthy isn’t easy, there’s simply far too many possible ways an accident can happen for prevention to ever be straightforward. Industrial Safety and Hygiene News has come out with a list of 8 ways a new business can hit the ground running. Even for older businesses these suggestions can be a good starting point for ensuring your workplace has its …
A new article in IndustryWeek asks if you have given much thought to how you set your production goals, whether you’ve given equal time to so-called Development Goals along with Performance Goals, and if you think that’s just splitting hairs then read on:
Think of performance goals as “What you want to achieve,” and development goals as “How you will achieve them.” The key …
The first step to compliance with the National Fire Protection Association’s new combustible dust standard is a dust hazard analysis, according to Geof Brazier of BS&B Pressure Safety Management. Technology can contribute to dust mitigation through protection devices, containment systems and explosion vents.
For a wide range of facilities that manufacture, process, blend, convey, repackage, …
Coming as a surprise to few, the so-called “Robot Takeover” of the economy is taking longer to arrive than experts initially expected. Of course, ever since scientists and newspersons in the 1950s touted flying cars and moon colonies by the year 2000 most people have probably come to expect that technological progress will take longer to reach the public than initial estimates …
When debating ways to get young people interested in manufacturing the discussion usually centers on ways to bring the industry to the school (through tech class and presentations, etc.) or ways to bring the students to the industry (factory tours on Manufacturing Day), but this school in Washington State had a different plan. What if the students became part of the industry? The answer, as …
The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation has issued a report on how Cloud Computing (defined as the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer) enables modern manufacturing. Calling it “a key platform technology” that plays “an essential role in enabling …
That’s what Daniel Waldron Head of Content at Armagard ( armagard.com ) is proposing on cerasis.com. Waldron argues that Industrial Computing will demonstrate how modern the industry has become and thus lay to rest the doubts many people (parents especially) have about the industry.
‘Manufacturing’, a dirty word for most parents. However, as hard as it may be to believe, Mom and …
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has released its latest Manufacturing Survey, and it brings with it some welcome news for manufacturers. The survey found that their business activity grew in June:
After dropping to a level just below zero last month, the general business conditions index more than made up for lost ground, rising twenty-one points to 19.8, its highest level since September …
The FBI’s Denver Cyber Task Force issued a warning last week that vulnerabilities in software that runs everything from pumps to motors to traffic lights have become the nation’s top cybersecurity threat. The software that controls these systems is especially vulnerable to attack because they aren’t always protected by sophisticated security systems. Since the devices aren’t …
Start out with Number 1 and head over to NAM to read the rest!
Lately it seems everyone has some ideas for how to close manufacturing’s skills gap. This latest piece from IndustryWeek doesn’t break the mold by any means, but it does condense the unwieldy issue down to three main obstacles:
Adapting to Changes in the Industry-Innovations like wearables, machine sensors, and robotics are constantly advancing, creating a connected …
Much has been written about the manufacturing skills gap and the steps companies are taking to solve it. One increasingly popular solution is to provide the necessary training to workers. Usually this happens offsite at local community colleges or workforce development agencies, but lately some especially ambitious manufacturers have been attempting to train potential employees in-house.
Stacey …
Everybody in the industry seems to be talking about the Industrial Internet of Things, but what exactly it will look like when it makes the leap from speculation and becomes a larger part of industrial life is still up in the air. Writing in Baseline Magazine, Samuel Greengard lays out his own ideas about what the basic framework should be like:
As the IoT moves from the periphery to the center …
As the world becomes more aware of the damage that can be done by small groups of hackers, a particuraly potent opportunity of sabotage has emerged: 3D Printing. If hackers can gain entry to a device they could alter the programming in such a way that would be undetectable to the human eye, but cause massive damage to the products and endanger those around them. A small-scale example of the …
Sometimes new technology opens new doors of thought previously beyond our imaginations, and other times it helps perfect a really mundane task that most of us never even thought about. Such is the case of the Microsoft AI that has helped Hershey make the perfect Twizzler. Ensuring that each package of Twizzlers has weighed the same has traditionally been unusually difficult because slight variations …
Cyberattacks have been in the news a lot lately, so it is a good time to remember that even as computers and the internet of things offer new opportunities for manufacturers, they also offer new dangers. That doesn’t mean that they should be avoided (as if you could even if you tried), but rather that like any other piece of machinery used on site, there needs to be proper training so …
The latest from the New York Fed:
Business activity leveled off in New York State, according to firms responding to the May 2017 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index fell six points to -1.0. The new orders index dropped to -4.4, suggesting a small decline in orders, and the shipments index edged down to 10.6, indicating that shipments increased at …
Hacking has been in the news a lot lately, so a new study by global security software company Trend Micro and Polytechnic University of Milan, the largest technical university in Italy seems especially timely. The study looked at Internet security vulnerabilities that could involve industrial robots used on manufacturing lines in areas such as the automobile and aerospace industries. As these …
Monika Mahto and Brenna Sniderman in the Deloitte University Press report on the advances 3D printing has made in printing fully functional electromechanical parts.
While still at an early stage, the applications for 3D-printed electronics seem promising. For example, engineers are experimenting with conformal electronics—stretchable electronics that can be embedded in fitness trackers, …
It’s that time of year again! On May 12 the Council of Industry will present its annual Manufacturing Champions Awards to three individuals and one organization that have gone above and beyond to promote the manufacturing industry in New York State. Today it is our pleasure to introduce you to this year’s recipients:
George Quigley has been committed to growing and …
A school district in Buffalo, hoping to counter declining graduation rates, has revamped its high school curriculum to allow high school students more opportunities in science and tech focused study.
At the Research Laboratory Program for Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, students will be able to make medical devices and replicas of molecules on a 3D printer.
“We’re hoping to expose …
The statewide unemployment rate decreased from 4.4% to 4.3% in March 2017, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. This represents New York State’s lowest unemployment rate since February 2007. Pushing the statewide rate lower was another drop in New York City’s rate, which declined from 4.3% to 4.0% in March 2017. New York City’s rate …
Dr. Kristina Johnson, a former engineer who developed technology critical for the screening of 3D movies and served as under secretary for the Department of Energy in the Obama Administration, will serve as chancellor of New York State’s SUNY college system after the current chancellor, Nancy Zimpher, retires in June. SUNY currently serves some 440,000 students at 29 four-year colleges …
Gary Miller of Kyocera SGS Precision Tools, says companies can encourage high-school students to apply for internships and apprenticeships by offering competitive pay and a training period. He also recommends tours for parents to show what modern manufacturing looks like and to reassure parents of the plant’s safety. Miller got his start at Kyocera, a small cutting tool manufacturer in …
Business activity continued to grow but at a slower pace, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The headline general business conditions index fell eleven points to 5.2. The new orders index, which had climbed to a multiyear high in March, retreated sharply to 7.0 in April, suggesting more modest growth. The shipments index edged up to …
