Business is increasingly being carried out by people on the move. Success for many manufacturers is therefore directly related to their ability to do the business of business, wherever and whenever they happen to be. Step up Enterprise Mobility. Chris Pope writes.
Power Panels, makers of electrical and electronic assemblies, learnt its lessons from the previous recession and has devoted time and money in skills and training with several measurable benefits. The National Skills Academy for Manufacturing applauds the company for seeing skills as an investment not a cost in a tough economy.
Improving health and safety performance is a business issue that needs to be on everyone’s agenda and can be linked to how businesses make and lose money. Andy Spooner, business development director at Suiko, looks at how developing a planned and proactive approach to health and safety should be an integral part of the business’s operational excellence strategy.
The impact that design can have to drive excellence in manufacturing means that it should be integrated into the manufacturing process from concept to production, argues Gus Desbarats, chairman of design consultancy TheAlloy.
At a dinner in late May hosted by Yorkshire Bank and The Manufacturer, directors of several manufacturing companies based in the north-west talked to Yorkshire Bank representatives about the events that caused the recession, current economic indicators, pension deficits, relationship banking, global competition, regulation and other issues affecting manufacturers today. Tom Vosa, chief economist at National Australia Bank (Yorkshire Bank) provides an economic overview of the last 12 months and a glimpse of what the future may hold.
Is carbon management important when manufacturers are struggling in a recession?
Some say yes, and that product life cycle analysis is an unavoidable part of modern
manufacturing, with several tangible benefits beyond the environmental, says Will Stirling..
Many manufacturers will be aware of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) legislation that comes into effect in April 2010. But exactly how it works, who is eligible, who is exempt and how it will affect manufacturers is hidden in the detail. Dennis Frize gets to the nub of the issue.
