August 2008 Edition
shop talk
The main ingredient
Forget ‘Lean’ and other phrases — it’s the people, stupid!
By Steve Rose
Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and other industry
improvement methods may have their place in
manufacturing but we are missing the main ingredient to
keep engineering and manufacturing strong — the people!
We all wonder about the "send it to China" business
model. Design and market a product in the U.S.A. and
have it made real cheap in the Far East. Sell it for a
great profit, all without any labor problems.
This business plan may work well for athletic shoes
and electronics, but engineered products often have a
different experience.
Many American companies have shopped for lower costs
in low-wage countries. They take all of their prints and
production techniques and give them to a low-wage
manufacturer. This low-wage manufacturer may also have
little respect for intellectual property. So, while our
fine American corporations are passing knowledge through
the front door, they should not be surprised that this
knowledge is also being passed through the back door.
Giving all of our knowledge away in search
of short-term profits seems like a losing
proposition.
While setting up a low-cost shop, you may also be
training your competition to make your products. The
strategy of sourcing low-cost suppliers may end up
providing low-cost competitors with all of your
knowledge and none of your scruples. We can only guess
how many unique products now have unauthorized copies
sold back in the home markets.
Saving in production costs is a prime factor in
outsourcing to low-cost countries. Another factor is the
lack of skilled labor here at home. We still have a low
unemployment rate. Anyone who wants a job can get one
with enough motivation. As often stated, manufacturing
industries are having a problem attracting employees
(see cover story on page 56). Companies are complaining
that the school systems are not providing the right type
of education to meet industry’s needs.
It’s no wonder that companies want to outsource. It
is easier than dealing with our homegrown problems.
This is not a situation where schools can take the
blame. This is a societal issue that must be addressed
by parents, educators and industry working together. It
is part of our continued development as a nation and
society that we have productive people to keep things
moving.
I recently heard about a program in Germany that
starts children into engineering in kindergarten. You
might say this is social engineering, but Germany knows
it is pre-eminent in manufacturing and wants to stay
that way.
What are we doing in the U.S.A. with our kids?
Extolling the "virtues" of sports stars and
entertainers. Being a sports star and making millions
may be a dream for many kids, but come on, we need to
deal in reality.
One of the growing challenges of globalization is
transportation costs. As we see the cost of oil rise, we
will add cost to transport these "cheap" goods.
We know that in a global market capital is going to
seek the lowest labor costs. Having said that, giving
all of our knowledge away in search of short-term
profits seems like a losing proposition. What I would
recommend is, instead of training the Chinese, why not
train our American workers and keep our engineering
industry strong? Makes sense to me — build it in the
U.S.A.
Steve Rose is a professional trainer and president of RTSI, Solon, OH.
Rosaleen Rose offers Internet website development. They can be reached by phone
at 440.542.3066; e-mail
srose@rosetraining.com
; or on the web at
www.rosetraining.com.
Copyright Rose Training Systems Inc., 2008
What do you think?
Will the information in this article increase efficiency or
save time, money, or effort? Let us know by e-mail from our website at
www.ToolingandProduction.com or e-mail the editor at
dseeds@nelsonpub.com.
editor's blogs
Off the Toolpath
EASTEC marks 30th show with spotlight on medical devices
The recession hasn’t stopped business, if the activity at the EASTEC Advanced Productivity Exposition is to judge. The show, in its 30th year, drew 570 exhibitors, down from 608 in 2008 and 650 in 2007. About 15,000 attendees pre-registered. Last year’s show tallied 14,000 attendees. The largest industrial tool trade show on the East Coast, EASTEC was held May19-21 in West Springfield, MA.
by Dennis Seeds, Editor-in-Chief
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