I recently started following Ryan on Change The Percepton–Devoted to Building a New Respect for Manufacturing.
Last week, Ryan posted a link to the Next Generation Regional Manufacturing Center website where they have embedded an excellent flash VIDEO ABOUT MANUFACTURING.
This video is very well done and makes a positive case about how relevant manufacturing is today.
Please click on the video link above to see this outstanding video. It will not waste your time.
Thanks Ryan, and thanks Next Generation Regional Manufacturing Center.
Your video does a great job of showing what we mean when we are Speaking of Precision.
More info about the NGRMC here.
Tag: Manufacturing
Submitted by Monte Guitar, PMPA Director of Technical Programs
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program emphasizes continuous improvement, innovation, integration of processes, and results. The program was developed with the idea of increasing the competitiveness, quality, and productivity of U.S. organizations for the benefit of all citizens.
How does the Baldrige Award differ from ISO 9000? According to a FAQ posted on the NIST site, the answer is:
- “The award program promotes quality awareness, recognizes quality achievements, provides a vehicle for sharing successful strategies, and focuses on results and continuous improvement. The program provides a framework for designing, implementing, and assessing a process for managing all business operations.”
- “Overall, ISO 9000 registration covers less than 10 percent of the Baldrige Award criteria.”
Doesn’t this make us as manufacturers crave that additional 90% of requirements, mandates and bureaucracy? On top of that, we get the chance to hear the voice of the numerous auditors (assessors) who have different interpretations of the standard (criteria). Don’t we all long to hear- “I’m from the government & I’m here to help!”
From Manufacturing to Health Care
While the Baldrige process may have initially been driven with the betterment of American manufacturing in mind, the applications now show a key shift in those who are willing to even apply.
- 45 manufacturing companies chose to apply when this award process began in 1988.
- In 2008, 3 manufacturers saw this process to be of value.
- Where are all of the applicants coming from now? The health care sector; in 2008 there were 43 health care applicants for the award.
Is the low manufacturing participation due to the fact that Baldrige ignores the numerous other challenges currently thrust upon the backs of American manufacturers? Or is it that the Baldrige group believe that “manufacturers just don’t understand” how the Baldrige criteria can help them?
3 Opportunities For “Change”
- The Baldrige think tank puts together a “continuous improvement plan” to address the declining applications of entries in the manufacturing and small business sectors.
- This group “focuses on results and continuous improvement” within their own program.
- They demonstrate that they have a “framework for designing, implementing, and assessing” criteria that will better serve our manufacturers.
The easiest thing for a group to do is to define requirements to which they themselves do not have to be compliant.
Any thoughts or experience out there that you would like to share? Unfamiliar with the Baldrige process? Check out this link for additional FAQ.
http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/Criteria.htm
The Bureau of Labor Services reported the preliminary productivity changes in manufacturing for the second quarter of 2009:
5.3 percent gain in manufacturing;
3.9 percent gain in durable goods manufacturing;
2.0 percent gain in nondurable goods manufacturing.
According to the BLS, “The increases in productivity in all manufacturing sectors were the result of hours falling faster than output. Manufacturing includes about 11 percent of U.S. business-sector employment.”
Productivity is defined as output per hour worked.
The 5.3 percent gain in manufacturing productivity is reported to be the largest quarterly gain in this indicator since the first quarter of 2005, when output per hour increased at a 7.3 percent annual rate. Over the last four quarters, manufacturing productivity declined 1.3 percent, as a 15.0 percent drop in output was largely offset by a 13.9 percent decline in hours worked… For the entire 2000-2008 period manufacturing productivity increased at a 3.3 percent annual rate.
The BLS declining hours data for manufacturing is approximately double that of the precision machining industry. PMPA’s Length of First Shift declined 7.9% by the end of the second quarter compared to the BLS’s “hours worked decreased 14.4 percent ” figure for manufacturing in the second quarter.
