Allison Grealis is founder and president of Women in Manufacturing (WiM), a national trade association focused on supporting, promoting and inspiring women in the manufacturing sector. She is also the vice president of membership and association services of the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), a full-service trade association representing the metalforming industry. Since joining PMA in 2001, Grealis has held a variety of positions that included district, committee and division management; affinity partner relations; sponsorship sales; new product and service development; and member services. Grealis earned her Bachelor of Arts in English with a certificate in Women’s Studies from Ohio University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Akron. Presently, Grealis serves as the president of the Greater Cleveland Society of Association Executives and as a board member of Our Lady of the Elms High School. We are thrilled to have Allison join us at the American Manufacturing Summit. She will be Chair of our People & Workforce Management Stream, as well as hosting a Lunch and Learn on “Succession Planning: Support, Promote, and Inspire Women in Manufacturing”, and participating in a panel on avoiding the skills shortage in the next 10 years. We sat down with Allison in advance of the event to ask her some questions about where manufacturing is going and how to support women in the industry.
Read More →Managing an Inter-generational Workforce
At the American Manufacturing Summit, Dirk Hilgenberg, VP, Assembly at BMW, shared this chart showing changes in the composition of the civilian labor force from 2004 to 2024. As you can see, the population of workers age 25-34 will remain relatively stable, there will be a decline in those aged 45-54, but as some people live and work longer, there will actually be an increase of those aged 65 and older in the workforce. The result, Hilgenberg says, is that by 2024, we will have three generations of workers on the shop floor with completely different value sets, interests, and abilities. This represents a huge challenge for leadership, team dynamics, and incentives.
Read More →New Year’s Resolutions: Create Successful Teams and a Sound Strategy
Dan Key, SVP, Operations & Supply Chain at Axalta Coating Systems spends a lot of time analyzing successful teams and how they win. He has found that many of them have similar characteristics. They have a system, they hire people that fit that system, and they develop that system over time. They mix A+ players with a lot of B players that know their role in the organization. They’re not afraid to let people go (not even the A+ talent), but rather see it as an opportunity to change and improve. They define a sound strategy that everyone on the team can understand. As we make our New Year’s resolutions to improve our organizations in 2018, consider some of Key’s tips to creating successful teams and a sound strategy.
Read More →Reaching the Manufacturing Talent of Tomorrow
The issue of how to build a steady pipeline of manufacturing talent is one that our thought leaders continually address. The problems are well-established: we are living in a mature economy, and within the next 10 years, the baby boomer generation, on which our manufacturing sector was built, will retire. The generation coming into the workforce is less interested in a career in manufacturing. On top of these shifting demographics, the technical landscape in manufacturing is evolving so much that there is a tremendous skills gap. “By 2024, we will have three generations on the shop floor with completely different value sets, interests, abilities… and this is a huge challenge for leadership, team dynamics, and incentives,” says Dirk Hilgenberg, VP, Assembly at BMW Manufacturing. How do our thought leaders propose we address these problems?
Read More →Q&A with Intel: Looking at the Factory of the Future
When looking at the future of manufacturing, we wanted to gather thoughts and insights from our American Manufacturing Summit elite speaker Dr. Irene J. Petrick of Intel, an internationally recognized expert in strategic road mapping and innovation, and the Director of Business Strategy for the Industrial and Energy Solutions Division in Intel’s Internet of Things Group. At Intel, it is Dr.Petrick’s job to provide leadership in the integration of business and technology strategy and to develop solutions that will drive exciting technology to create smart edge devices and end-to-end solutions. In the manufacturing space, there have been major shifts towards smart manufacturing, with a goal to optimize the manufacturing process entirely. Dr. Irene Petrick believes that smart manufacturing triggers are likely to emerge from needs-based business drivers such as operational efficiency and flexibility, ROI, and enhanced customer relationships, and social accelerators such as a growing middle class with an appetite for customized products and a declining manufacturing workforce. Solutions that support the convergence of operating technologies and information technologies will accelerate this manufacturing transformation. It is important to note that there are four shifts that drive smart manufacturing adoption: Modular Manufacturing Digital Threads Networked Ecosystems Human and A.I. Choreography Today’s manufacturers have the opportunity to increase the transparency in their operations using IoT technologies that will acquire and transfer data from the asset through the fog to the cloud, resulting in efficiency ROI, and closer customer relationships, Dr. Petrick notes. …
Read More →Spectrum: S-40 Jet, Made in Mexico: First Aircraft to be Completely Manufactured in the Country
Original Source here. How many parts does an airplane have? According to Boeing, a goliath in the U.S. Aerospace industry, there are over 6 million pieces that make up its 747. Completely believable when you consider everything from cockpit parts, nuts, and bolts to tray tables and seatbelt buckles! Mexico has been persistent in working to elevate its position in the supply and demand industry for aerospace parts for several years. ProAereo 2012-2020, put in place by the Mexican government, is a national strategic program designed specifically to put Mexico among the top 10 countries in the world in aerospace manufacturing and production. And further, to make Mexico the first aerospace service HUB in Latin America. In support of ProAereo’s goal, the Mexican government has established educational facilities and research centers geared to specifically enhance their potential in aerospace: grooming a talented workforce and creating infrastructure to ensure sustained capabilities in the industry. The strategy is continuing to pay off as San Diego-based U.S. aircraft developer, Spectrum Aeronautical, is set to build their S-40 business jet in Mexico. Spectrum says Mexicali was chosen due to the area’s population of highly skilled workers, and for its proximity to the “huge aerospace industrial infrastructure of Southern California.” Spectrum chief finance officer David Tenney says, “Mexico is really keen to develop its aerospace industry and the S-40 will be the first aircraft to be completely manufactured in the country.” $300 Million is the sum needed to …
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