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Cobots are coming: When mech, man and manufacturing combine
Delany Martinez ManufacturingWhile humans are capable of astonishing endurance and precision, repetitive motion tasks are bad news for manufacturing: they aren't just physically harmful over time, they can lead to worker burnout. When productivity is the main focus of most industries today, what's a large company with large needs to do when faced with human limitations? Hiring more workers is a huge drain on finances, but going fully automated isn't likely to win any favors with the workforce, and by extension, the public. The solution? Cobots, or collaborative robots.
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Can educators make trade school an easier choice for students?
Sheilamary Koch EducationIn response to soaring higher education costs and widespread shortages of skilled workers to fill jobs, the topic of vocational training has become increasingly popular. The reduced training time and cost of trade school compared to university is a key benefit highlighted by advocates. Why then, despite the obvious benefits, are high school graduates — especially those likely to find a career in the trades fulfilling — still opting for an expensive college education instead of trade school?
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3-D printing in the commercial construction world
Miranda Y. Brumbaugh Construction & Building MaterialsBelieve it or not, 3-D printing has been around for nearly 40 years. However, it would take 20 years before the technology involved in 3-D printing became reliable and accessible on a global scale. Today, jet packs, limb replacements, cars and even houses are made using this technology. The commercial construction industry is also utilizing this more-efficient method of building commercial spaces and infrastructure.
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Renewable energy jobs are growing worldwide
Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & EnvironmentalThe renewable energy sector created more than 500,000 new jobs globally in 2017, with the total number of people employed in renewables surpassing 10 million for the first time. Per the International Renewable Energy Agency’s report, "Renewable Energy and Jobs," jobs in the sector increased 5.3 percent in 2017, for a total of 10.3 million people employed worldwide. China, Brazil, the United States, India, Germany and Japan have remained the world’s largest renewable energy employers, per the report, representing more than 70 percent of all of the sector’s jobs.
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Supply chain negotiations during inflationary contexts: Adjustment clauses
Pablo Scaffidi Distribution & WarehousingIn this new article, we will review one of the most important tools to be negotiated and included in contracts: adjustment clauses. This tool is by far the most important one to be considered during the negotiation process from both suppliers' and buyers' points of view. From the supplier point of view, it is because the adjustment method settled will determine the evolution of the price and its consequent impact in the profits of the business. From the other side, the buyer side, it is critical to determine and negotiate the correct adjustment clauses, because the price determined by the adjustment will impact the cost and the profits of the company.
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Getting the training right for flammables
Andrew Gaved EngineeringAs any reader of past columns will know, the ongoing mechanism of the F-Gas regulation, with its emphasis on moving the industry to lower-GWP refrigerants via bans and quota reductions, has caused European cooling businesses to do a lot of soul-searching. Now, the urgency of the message appears to be percolating through the industry. But, the advent of lower-GWP refrigerants also brings with it serious longer-term considerations. The fact that the majority of alternatives in the future will have some degree of flammability has given rise to concerns that the current engineering base does not have the right skills to handle them.
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3-D printing plastic development highlights
Don Rosato Engineering3-D printing parts manufacturing is definitely coming of age in a way that's highly disruptive to traditional manufacturing. Global expenditures from the recent February Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo on desktop and industrial printers will grow from $12 billion in 2017 to $25 billion by 2022.
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Enzyme that eats plastic could change the world
Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & EnvironmentalScientists have discovered a "naturally occurring enzyme" that can digest some of mankind's most common plastics known as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the strong plastic typically used in bottles that takes hundreds of years to break down in the environment.
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How will Chinese tariffs affect manufacturing?
Delany Martinez ManufacturingIt's often said that in war, there are no winners — and in trade wars, that axiom tends to ring particularly true. In an escalation that leaves manufacturers caught in an unenviable position, the administration's struggles with China are starting to lap at the edges of the loading dock.
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Trade tensions: China, US dispute over tariffs grows
Seth Sandronsky ManufacturingWith $50 billion in tariffs already on the way, President Donald Trump on April 5 directed the U.S Trade Representative to explore placing an additional $100 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods entering the U.S. The threat of higher prices on Chinese exports to the U.S. (and the expected retaliation from China) shook financial markets on Thursday and Friday.
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