Internet of Things Executive Summary
The MPI Internet of Things Study was designed to evaluate the readiness of U.S. manufacturers to incorporate smart devices and embedded intelligence within their plants and processes. We’re particularly interested in executives’ plans to improve business performance via the Internet of Things (IoT) — and for developing and selling products with embedded intelligence. The study looks deeply into how manufacturers will leverage IoT capabilities, along with the challenges they face. Download the Internet of Things Executive Summary The MPI Internet [...]
Innovation Evolution
I recently retrieved my turntable from the basement, dusted it off, and tossed on the 1978 vinyl classic Life in the Foodchain by Tonio K. I enjoyed it as much as ever, and could hear why Steve Simels, Stereo Review magazine, once wrote that it was “the greatest album ever recorded.” This got me to wondering what had become of Tonio K. (Steve Krikorian). I found www.toniok.com, and learned that Krikorian had released eight albums through 2001. He has been [...]
Gardening PDCA
The do phase of PDCA (plan/do/check/adjust) usually gets the most attention. Even if people don’t like change, they eventually get on board during the do phase and try to improve their function, process, or work activities. It often happens, though, that after changes are made, many move on to the next problem or opportunity and fail to follow the PDCA cycle to the check and adjust phases. For one activity that I annually seek to improve — vegetable gardening — [...]
Normal People in Wrong Processes
By George Taninecz, VP of Research Every day somebody somewhere irritates someone — me included — and the knee-jerk response is to finger the “bad” individual for an incompetence that led to our aggravation. But, as lean experts have been telling us for years, most bad experiences have nothing to do with bad people. These are simply “good people in bad processes.” I’m no lean consultant or practitioner, but I don’t think that’s quite right, either. Leave the labeling of [...]
Internet of Things Strategy — Smart Devices Need Smart People
Many manufacturers are aggressively incorporating intelligence into their production assets. Our recent MPI Manufacturing Study found that 10% of plant equipment (median) now has technologies embedded that enable machine-to-machine or machine-to-IT system communications (a much higher average figure of 23.7% highlights how extensively a few manufacturers are investing in Internet of Things capabilities). So, is the Internet of Things (IoT) really taking off? Not hardly and not yet, for a couple of reasons. First, digitally lacing together machines is a [...]
International Plans?
Most manufaturers recognize the importance of global awareness for their businesses. Yet less than half are actively participating in international business: Only 46% of U.S. manufacturers operate or partner in one or more production facilities outside the United States, and just 47% have one or more sales and/or distribution facilities outside the United States. Other firms have more aggressive global plans: 9% of manufacturers have production facilities in more than 10 countries, and 12% of manufacturers have sales and/or distribution [...]
Redirection of the World’s Manufactured Goods?
The United States continues to be the world’s great consumer. Imports to the United States of manufactured goods were nearly $1.72 trillion in 2011, and since 2001 have increased by 79%. China is by far the leading exporter of manufactured goods to the United States ($390.6 billion in 2011), nearly double that of second-place Canada ($207.3 billion).[1] More telling is how imports have changed in the past 10 years. China manufacturing exports to the United States rose 292% as that [...]
Manufacturing Performance
A year ago, manufacturing executives expected that their 2012 plant sales would increase by 9% (median) and 10.5% (average), according the 2011 MPI Manufacturing Study.[1] Those projections may yet turn out to be true given recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. Despite a modest drop in value of manufacturing shipments from May to June this year, the value of all manufacturing shipments year-to-date rose 5.8% across all industries vs. 2011 (not seasonally adjusted).[2] Both durable goods and non-durable goods shipments posted [...]
GDP in Balance
As the world’s largest economy, attention is rightly focused on U.S. economic growth and gross domestic product (GDP). Now with additional attention on the country’s “fiscal cliff” — or gradual fiscal slide depending on the severity of economist projections — concern is growing that U.S. GDP will decline sharply in early 2013 and reverberate worldwide. Unfortunately, the timing of this occurs on top of better-than-expected U.S. GDP growth in the third quarter of 2% (second quarter to the third quarter), according to a U.S. Bureau of Economic [...]
Investing for the Future
With the year half over, many organizations are reevaluating their investment plans. Are sales strong enough to justify new equipment or information technology? Will continuing uncertainty in Europe temper enthusiasm for new commitments? At times like this, it’s helpful to know what competitors are thinking. U.S. and international manufacturing plant executives reported 2011 spending on capital equipment at 5% of sales (median) and 8.7% (average); spending on information technology was 1% of sales (median) and 4.3% (average) in 2011. Perhaps [...]
Hiring? Think Safety
U.S. factory employment rose 470,000 from January 2010 to March 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with manufacturers adding 37,000 persons in March. Top hires were at motor vehicles and parts companies (more than 12,000) and machinery companies (more than 7,000).[1] Manufacturers are staffing up because orders are rising, and management is increasingly feeling the constraint of underemployment as they try to hit their output numbers. But increasing output should not be the first order of business [...]