We Make RI Launches Industrial Sewing Classes to Help Train Displaced Workers

CRANSTON – Working in conjunction with the Back to Work RI initiative, manufacturing, and training organization We Make RI has launched industrial sewing classes. The goal, say organization leaders, is to fill 50 open positions by the end of the year, with textile manufacturing still facing a shortage of skilled labor. “We work with several [...]

2020-12-29T10:31:47+00:00December 29th, 2020|

4.0 Technologies added to the Certified Production Technician (CPT)® Program

This past summer MSSC publicly launched an "Industry 4.0" update of its signature Certified Production Technician (CPT) industry-wide training and certification program.  Based on extensive research with leading industry subject matter experts, MSSC selected a list of nine rapidly emerging, data-intensive, "Industry 4.0" technologies that will profoundly influence manufacturing production processes and quality control: 5G, [...]

2020-12-29T10:27:18+00:00December 29th, 2020|

Liability Still a Serious Concern

In a recent article in the Providence Journal, in depth discussion noted the very serious concern of frivolous lawsuits.  This could be detrimental to the small business sector.  In addition, an article in Industry Week quoted Gary Pearce, chief risk architect at Aclaimant.   Pearce believes the legal aspect will ramp up once we are past [...]

2020-12-29T10:26:24+00:00December 29th, 2020|

Manufacturing Production Continues to Rise

Manufacturing production increased 0.8% in November, rising for the seventh straight month, led by strength in durable goods. The largest increases in output in November were in motor vehicles and parts, primary metals, paper, miscellaneous durable goods and aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment. Overall, manufacturing production remained 3.7% below the pre-pandemic pace in February. After [...]

2020-12-29T10:24:34+00:00December 29th, 2020|

Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Issue

Due to the pandemic, Rhode Island’s unemployment insurance trust fund has “decreased significantly,” which will lead to employers having to dip into their coffers to pay more in taxes, according to the R.I. Department of Labor and Training.  DLT spokesperson Margaux Fontaine on Friday could not immediately say how much the average increase will be. [...]

2020-12-29T10:16:36+00:00December 29th, 2020|

Manufacturing Job Openings Climbed to record high in October

There were 525,000 manufacturing job openings in October, up from 492,000 in September and a new record high. Manufacturers are clearly ramping back up, rebounding from springtime weaknesses. In the larger economy, nonfarm business job openings increased from 6,494,000 in September to 6,652,000 in October, a three-month high. One sign of improved health is the [...]

2020-12-29T10:15:57+00:00December 29th, 2020|

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Manufacturing job openings increased from September to October, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The manufacturing outlook: There were 525,000 manufacturing job openings in October, up from 492,000 in September and a new record high. Postings for durable (up from 267,000 to 290,000-the best since [...]

2020-12-29T10:14:51+00:00December 29th, 2020|

Manufacturing Remains Encouraging

The Institute for Supply Management® said that manufacturing activity in November pulled back from October, which had recorded the fastest pace since September 2018. The index noted decelerating—but still solid—expansions for new orders and production. Demand and output in the sector expanded for the sixth straight month, bouncing back from steep declines from COVID-19 in [...]

2021-06-22T12:09:53+00:00December 29th, 2020|

Focus is Shifting from Hardware to Software

Basic physics means machine tools have effectively hit the ceiling in terms of how fast they can remove material, their spindles can rotate, their axes can move and so on. This has shops looking more to software to boost overall process efficiencies. More capable and intuitive enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is becoming a big [...]

2021-06-22T12:09:53+00:00December 29th, 2020|
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