This week, Innovation, Not Cost-Cutting, Key To Long-Term Growth, Most Manufacturing Executives Say was published by the Huffington Post.
The article trumpeted a survey by General Electric that found most manufacturing executives-
…say that cost-cutting would help in the near term, nearly all of them say innovation is crucial to long-term success.
A powerful message as we work to get American manufacturing back on track in the face of global competition.
But while the survey is good news for those of us who believe that manufacturers must adopt tools and processes that lead to sustainable innovation the article tells us something as well.
The accompanying photo speaks to the image problem that manufacturing faces as we move into the future.
It reinforces every negative stereotype that our industry struggles to rise above.
A worker exposed to the elements, crouched over a rusted piece of metal?
What exactly is being manufactured here?
It has NOTHING to do with advanced manufacturing or innovation in the United States, but it does speak volumes to the challenge we face for people to appreciate the current state of manufacturing. Today’s advanced manufacturing requires a blend of high technology skills like no other industry on the planet.
Take for example the Chevrolet Volt. The Volt requires the integration of advanced materials and software that make it one of the most cutting edge vehicles ever created. It relies on over 10 million lines of software code to manage its embedded systems – easily surpassing a Boeing 787 which only has 8 million lines of code.
Not exactly your father’s Chevrolet.
The future of manufacturing will require companies to integrate new processes and technologies like never before. NCMS has been at the forefront of driving R&D innovation with our unique collaborative process which teams end users, technology developers and integrators to speed the creation of practical manufacturing technology to market. Our process is fine tuned to manage the challenges facing the American Manufacturing industry.
We need to work to erase the perception that manufacturing is dirty, dangerous, and in decline.
NCMS is partnering with leading organizations to create a number of Predictive Innovation Centers (PICs) which will help American Manufacturing permanently shed these negative images. These centers will revolutionize every sector of manufacturing to ensure that American companies are global leaders in innovation and technology.
A new age of manufacturing is dawning and we salute GE in helping identify innovation as being the key to manufacturing growth but the poor image selection by the editors of the Huffington Post dilutes that important message.
Hi there – I work for a titanium bar manufacturer here in Houston. I’m so glad I came across your post because I actually JUST read another related article and stated my opinion that the overall perception of manufacturing needs to change. Manufacturing is so important to the US economy and in order for the industry to grow and prosper, we need to change the perception of what our industry is like. I’m glad yall agree!
Anyways, thanks for sharing! – Aly
Hello – I work for a spring manufacturer and I agree with both you and Aly above. The image of the manufacturing industry lacks a certain sophistication that many high school and college aged students find appealing and are attracted to. In order to capture skilled workers, we need to re-position manufacturing in their minds.
Thanks for sharing – Vic
Actually, the picture has everything to do with manufacturing. All that you wrote is witness of the decline of American ingenuity (which starts at the point of willingness to actually work!) Using an example of 10 million lines of software code to represent manufacturing is misleading, at best. Almost everything else about the Volt, even its advanced batteries, started with some kind of resource extraction and materials refinement process – often dirty, sweaty, and yes, at times dangerous, work. It’s a nice daydream to think that the content of the Volt can all be created sitting at a desk-top. But that is not reality. Tapping away with our fingers in an air-conditioned environment, safe from the elements is a great job, if you can find it. Our problem is that we are forgetting how to use our hands! And for many Americans their source of income is their hands. And that is the type of reality we need to deal with. And not run from.