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3-D-printed gun controversy continues
Michelle R. Matisons Manufacturing3-D printing is an advanced technology that uses machines, sometimes desktop-sized, to make objects from computer-aided design (CAD) files. Simple as that. What’s not so simple is that the machines can be used to make almost anything. As more people have access to the hardware to make things, 3-D printing technology has been embraced as a transformative technology in manufacturing. But with that access comes accountability.
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‘World first’ boiler scrappage scheme unveiled by London mayor
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingWhatever else you may have heard; the U.K. isn’t exclusively focused on the machinations of its proposed exit from Europe now. Beyond the constant debate about Brexit options, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has busy making his own headlines. Although it is on a decidedly smaller scale in policy terms than uncoupling from the EU, Mayor Khan’s unveiling of an upgrade scheme for boilers in the commercial sector and for small businesses does deserve attention.
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US adds 157,000 jobs in July as unemployment falls to 3.9 percent
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementNonfarm payroll jobs rose 157,000 in July compared with 213,000 in June, as the unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent from 4.0 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Employment rose in healthcare, manufacturing, professional and business services, and social assistance. Meanwhile, workers' pay is flat. Standard economic theory holds that a falling jobless rate motivates employers to raise workers' pay, as the pool of job-seekers declines. Empirical data, though, shows otherwise.
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Cryptologistics: Where supply chain meets blockchain
Delany Martinez Distribution & WarehousingOne of the most universal issues facing logistics is the ability — or lack thereof — to process data in a fast, useful way. Like an unorganized warehouse packed with product and short on shelves, logistics professionals are often forced to put aside efforts to streamline in favor of staying on top of periodic targets. While computers have historically aided in bridging that gap, they too rely on a standard set of numbers presented in a specific way in order to produce useful results.
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How will AI impact your business?
Shawn Smajstrla Science & TechnologyIs your business ready for AI? Artificial intelligence has become common conversation in business media as we seem destined to eliminate the fiction part of science fiction. A Deloitte survey of what it calls "aggressive adopters of cognitive technology" revealed three-quarters expect AI to "substantially transform" their organizations within three years. But AI isn’t a one-tech-fits-all solution. It’s an array of systems, processes, tools and algorithms — all still developing rapidly.
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Reshoring hits rough domestic waters
Delany Martinez ManufacturingSome call the moves bold, others brash, but no matter which way you perceive the recent trade-related moves of the current administration, they're making some large, potentially negative waves for manufacturing. One of President Trump's key talking points in the run-up to the 2016 election was an optimistic promise of reshoring the large amounts of manufacturing jobs that had set sail in search of more favorable foreign waters. For a time, it looked like it might have been a self-fulfilling prophecy, but in June, simmering trade tensions with China seemed to explode virtually overnight.
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The great carbon dioxide crisis in the UK
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingThe majority of my recent dispatches have concerned the problems of supply and demand with certain high-GWP HFCs caused by the onward march of the F-Gas regulations. With everyone continuing to worry about the price of the likes of R404A and R410A, it came us quite a shock for the industry to find itself suddenly in the grip of a full-blown carbon dioxide crisis. In the space of a few days, excitable headlines about a "national CO2 shortage" appeared to have created a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the U.K. quickly found itself in short supply of many forms of the gas.
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How intellectual property rights fit in the Chinese trade war puzzle
Seth Sandronsky Civil & GovernmentDo you think that U.S. firms doing business in China back the White House’s tariffs on trade to settle disputes? Consider this. "A survey by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Shanghai found that most U.S. businesses operating in China oppose the use of tariffs in retaliation for the challenges they face, from an uneven playing field to poor protection of intellectual property rights," Reuters reports. AmCham represents 3,300 members from 900 companies in China.
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3 signs you might be an entrepreneur
Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThanks to Silicon Valley, we all have an idea of what an entrepreneur looks like: supersmart geeks who write code. But that image of entrepreneurs is narrow, uninspiring and unrelatable for most of us. From scrappy go-getters to natural networkers, the entrepreneurs among us are as diverse as the businesses they have started. Suspend the belief that all entrepreneurs are in tech and check for these the signs you might be one yourself.
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A cerebral misfire — Using an aftermarket part on my Porsche
Pablo Deferrari Transportation Technology & AutomotiveRipping through the gears of my Porsche 968 out of the Exit 14 tolls off the New Jersey Turnpike, I was about 15 miles from home when I caught a whiff of coolant. "That can’t be me…impossible; it’s the car up ahead," I said to myself. But my gut knew the inevitable was about to happen. The orange needle minding the temperature was at 7 o’clock then it slowly crept to second white bar at 9 o’clock, stayed there for a bit before sinking back to where it’d been.
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