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Manufacturing jobs reach 7-year high despite stumbling economy
Chelsea Adams ManufacturingWhile overall jobs growth was lower than projected in January, the manufacturing sector saw gains in several key workforce measures. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly labor report, manufacturing companies added 29,000 workers in January, the fourth consecutive month that saw an increase. That translates to 12.4 million workers in the industry, the highest number in seven years.
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Which HVAC method costs more — Proactive or reactive?
John Haley Facilities & GroundsAs a national HVAC provider, we are constantly working with our clients to help them take a look at their entire portfolio and develop plans and programs to help reduce the annual operating expenses.
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Who is to blame for the hoverboard fires?
Dr. William Oliver Hedgepeth ManufacturingHow do we prepare our college students or even high school students for the real world? Our texts are full of theories of how a perfect process should work, such as in the making of a laptop computer or bridge. Take, for example, the hot Christmas present of 2015: the hoverboard. We've since learned the hoverboard's lithium battery has a tendency to burst into flame, burning people and property. Who is to blame for this product mistake?
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Innovative, advanced conductive polymer application development
Don Rosato EngineeringElectrically conductive plastic got its industrial start by playing an important role in providing low-cost protection against electrostatic discharge or electromagnetic interference in miniaturized electronic devices. The use of electrically conductive polymers has experienced high growth over the past decade, with an increasing growth rate of 6.5 percent projected over the next five years. There are new, advanced conductive polymer applications currently in development that will define opportunities for new value-added plastics.
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Cold collaboration in UK’s refrigeration industry
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingOne of the things the cooling industry in Europe often seems to find difficult is collaboration. It is hardly surprising, given that the companies involved are quite small in scale, for the most part. Therefore, they don't necessarily have the resources or the will to work on bigger projects — particularly when it requires working with potential competitors.
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Droning on: Amazon unveils its flight plan
Rebecca Ryan EngineeringDid you forget a gift? No worries, just get it flown to the party. Left your toothpaste at home on a business trip? Get it air-dropped to the hotel. Your phone case broke? You get the idea. Digital retailer Amazon is planning to use drones to fly packages less than five pounds to its customers in about 30 minutes, making instant gratification a little closer to instant. The service, called Amazon Prime Air, was announced in 2015, and details of the project were released Jan. 19.
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Electrically and thermally conductive material/process innovations
Don Rosato EngineeringWithin a mixture of mature and simultaneously evolving technologies, there are numerous conductive polymer applied research projects underway throughout industry and universities for both base resins and new conductive additives/structures, including multilayer extrusion.
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How to achieve industrial marketing success in 2016
Joe Sullivan EngineeringIHS Engineering360 recently published a fantastic study called "2015 Digital Media Use in the Industrial Sector." Based on a survey of more than 1,400 technical professionals, the prevailing message for marketers is this: As industrial professionals spend more of their time gathering information online, those of us who sell our products and services to industrial professionals must begin shifting our marketing spend online accordingly.
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Report: US will surpass China as top manufacturing country by 2020
Alan Kelsky ManufacturingOn Jan. 4, Reuters rang in the new year with a report stating the United States manufacturing and construction sectors can both look forward to "tepid growth." However, a report issued by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness — "2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index" — predicts the United States will regain its former position as the No. 1 manufacturing producer in the world, surpassing China by 2020.
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Will justice finally be served on the Mobile Air Conditioning Directive?
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingWe greet the new year with a new development on an old old story — the European Commission's Mobile Air Conditioning Directive. Just before Christmas, the EC announced it would definitely be taking Germany to court for infringing the MAC Directive. Whether this represents the final chapter in the saga remains to be seen, but Germany is being called to account for effectively allowing car manufacturer Daimler to sidestep the requirements of European law for an astonishing three full years.
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