Last Friday was the second annual Manufacturing Day (MFG Day). Co-produced by Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA), the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) in an effort to:
… addresses common misperceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is — and what it isn’t.
The goal for MFG Day, with the support of industry sponsors and willing participants, is to work together and address the most controversial issues known to the manufacturing industry and to offer insights and solutions in order to ensure the ongoing success of the industry as a whole. Issues such as skilled labour shortages, connecting with future generations, and taking charge of the public image of the manufacturing industry are just a few examples.
Below is our effort to continue the trend and help increase the awareness of the best logistics and supply chain related event that you’ve might not have heard of.
The History of Manufacturing Epic Systems, Inc. has given a great breakdown on the history of US manufacturing for MFG Day in the form of an infographic:
Source: Epic Systems, Inc. The manufacturing industry contributed $1.87 trillion to the US economy in 2012 and is arguably the backbone of the US. From the humble beginnings of supply and demand to the boom that the Ford’s Model T introduced in the rise of mass production and American economic prosperity, manufacturing has become integral to not only the United States, but most of the world.
Educating Future Generations to the Manufacturing Industry What we felt were the greatest examples of Manufacturing Day were the efforts made by various cities to educate the future generations of the manufacturing industries potential workforce. Students today are face with an influx of options for careers and yet the world of manufacturing seems to still be enshrouded in mystery. Asking students about aspects of the logistics industry as a whole, never mind manufacturing, still leaves them with very little to say.
Which is why we felt that MFG Day is a great plan if not just for this very purpose alone! We thought we would present our favourite educational events that happened during this year’s Manufacturing Day as our small contribution to increase the awareness of both the manufacturing industry and of Manufacturing Day!
In an effort to increase awareness to youth about what is involved in manufacturing for MFG Day, Pasco-Hernando Community College has given engineering students in high school an opportunity to meet and learn with manufacturing companies. Accuform Signs, Alumi-Guard, Emery Thompson, AME, Time Wise Mobile Outreach Skills Training and Intrepid Machines have prepared various activities for high school students to learn about what happens in the manufacturing industry and what kinds of responsibilities they could be doing if they happened to work for their companies.
Students were offered tours, demonstrations from testing and crafting special types of paint, packing accessories with hardware, etc. to a skills training computer software demo. The demo involved teaching the students the basics of manufacturing skills needed today, such as welding.
In another instance of creating awareness, The Manufacturers Resource Centre (MRC) of the Greater Lehigh Valley worked with the DaVinci Science Centre, the Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board and the Lehigh Career & Technical Institute in order to organize a set of events for students to attend manufacturers who have opened their doors post-plan hours to see what manufacturing is like.
And that’s all for us this week! Hope you have a great weekend! If you’re from Canada, please enjoy the long weekend and Happy Thanksgiving! If you liked this blog post, why not subscribe to our blog ? If you’re interested in what we do as a 3rd party logistics provider, don’t hesitate to check out our services (as expressed above, we are very pro finding you the lowest total cost!). We’re also in the twittersphere , so give us a follow to get the latest logistics and supply chain news! We’ll catch you next week!
