...Over in Ann Arbor, Richard B. Jarman, president and CEO of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS), agrees that a transformation is under way and needs to be nurtured. “So much is currently dedicated to the automotive industry, but that doesn’t mean it has to be,” he says. “What I see in Michigan, and what I am so optimistic about, is that people (in the traditional automotive-related businesses) understand how to engineer and make things. That capability can cross all kinds of industries.”

Jarman, a former Eastman Kodak Co. executive and co-author of the book “Collaborative R&D: Manufacturing’s New Tool,” is a believer in the power of collaborative alliances. At NCMS, he heads the largest cross-industry collaborative manufacturing research consortium in the United States devoted exclusively to manufacturing technologies, process and practices. Its mission is to develop strategic initiatives and programs aimed at sustaining and enhancing the global competitiveness of North American manufacturing.

In mid-2008, NCMS formed the Robotics Technology Consortium, a not-for-profit subsidiary to speed the development of innovative defense ground robotics technology for the U.S. Defense Department and other government organizations. By the end of the year, more than 100 companies had joined the initiative – a classic example of collaborative innovation at work.

“We need to build an innovation ecosystem, if you will,” Jarman explains. “The ecosystem has three major components. The first is talent, and we’ve got plenty of that. The second is continuous investment in that innovative ecosystem. And last but not least, and often overlooked, an infrastructure that says, ‘We know in an innovative way how to manage intellectual property, and we know how to maintain a steady flow of capital and financing when needed.’ . . . I have been in other areas of the country, other areas of the so-called rust belt, where they experience a real brain drain, but there’s a lot of talent in Michigan, and all we need to do is make sure we can invent a system to thrive.”

Full Article

Michigan executives urge need for energy policy during panel discussion

While Michigan and other states are enacting laws to stimulate alternative energy production, consensus among business leaders appears to be building for the creation of a national energy policy.

Full Article

Seeking an 'assembly line' for alternative energy

Following the publication in September of Michigan Business Review's 70-page supplement on alternative energy in Michigan, we've received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback.

It also gave me the chance to moderate a panel discussion Thursday for the Ann Arbor-based National Center for Manufacturing Sciences. The panel, which focused on the intersection of alternative energy and manufacturing, featured two utility officials, a venture capitalist, a business executive and a carbon trading proponent. Quite the mixture.

U.S. Sen Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, also shared some thoughts and observed the discussion.

Full Article

NCMS is nearing completion on new corporate training workshops for industry, including Lean Product Design and Sustainability, that will soon be offered to industry nationwide. These workshops will provide companies with an understanding of how to apply Lean principles to product design, and will provide an in-depth understanding of sustainability.  Companies can apply this knowledge to satisfy increasing demands for more environmentally-friendly products from consumers, retailers, and the media.

During the rollout phase, NCMS members can arrange for training sessions to be delivered at their facilities at a nominal cost. 

NCMS is a supporting organization for Management Roundtable's fall conference, Profiting from Lean Product Development: Toyota Methods and Beyond, to be held October 14 – 15, 2008 in Chicago, IL. This brand new event will bring together leading thought leaders and advanced practitioners to discuss multiple approaches for incorporating lean concepts into product development to achieve breakthrough improvements and a competitive advantage in product development performance. NCMS Executive Director Lean Product Development Initiative Michael Gnam will lead a half-day workshop on Product Development for the Lean Enterprise.

The event features keynote presenters including James Luckman, Partner, Lean Transformations Group, LLC; Dr. James Morgan, Director, Body Exteriors & Stamping Business Unit Engineering, Ford Motor Company; Don Reinertsen, President, Reinertsen & Associates and author of Managing the Design Factory and case presentations from Steelcase, Microsoft, Abbott Diagnostics, Pfizer, Caterpillar, GE Healthcare and more. For more information, visit:

http://www.roundtable.com/Event_Center/Lean/LPD08/LPD08.html