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Welcome to Advanced Manufacturing magazine's e-newsletter! "A must-read for decision-makers who manage, source and implement manufacturing technologies. Canada's #1 source for advanced manufacturing technology news, analysis and products." e-Newsletter Today's e-newsletter is sponsored by:
Recently, Advanced Manufacturing, with the help of KPMG gathered a group of executives from some leading Canadian manufacturers to discuss innovation. We hope this will be the first of what will become an annual event that allows manufacturers to share their insights on a top of mind topic with their peers. The discussion at the Airport Hilton was lively and revealed a myriad of views about innovation, but one constant remained — the need to innovate as the only way to survive in a global marketplace. According to a recent study by Boston Consulting Group, that belief is under fire. The survey of 2,468 senior executives from around the world found that fewer than half (46 per cent) were satisfied with the return on their innovation investments. That was down from 52 per cent from last year’s survey. Our panel of executives didn’t reflect this statistic, but to a man, they were adamant that innovation by itself without methods for assessment and measuring success is not enough. The innovation opportunity is about how the process is managed — not just ideas and creativity. The BCG survey also revealed that nearly half of executives (46 per cent) cited “enforcing hurdles” as a weakness when it came to innovation capabilities at their companies. The findings also illuminated gaps in discipline — especially when it came to assessing and measuring the success of innovation efforts. Only 22 (per cent) of executives said their companies use “innovation ROI” as a way to measure innovation success, and only a quarter (25 per cent) said their companies use “projected vs. actual performance” as a measurement variable. One panelist deftly described successful innovation as a balancing act between discipline and creativity. Click here to read the full story. John Tenpenny, editor Please feel free to drop me a line: Today's e-newsletter is sponsored by:
CME President resigns Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters announced that President and CEO Perrin Beatty has tendered his resignation, which was accepted by the Board of Directors, effective August 12, 2007, to take on the role of President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Beatty has led CME since August 1999. In making the announcement, CME Board Chair Larry Barrett congratulated Beatty on the organisation’s achievements during his term. “CME has never been more relevant or effective than it is today,” said Mr. Barrett. “Our Manufacturing 20/20 initiative set out a clear roadmap for the sector’s future. We have scored important policy successes like the announcement of accelerated capital cost allowances for equipment and machinery in the March budget, we have led on issues like skills and the border and we have added new tools, including new lean manufacturing consortia and www.icosmo.ca to promote the business success of Canadian industry,” he added. “Perrin will be missed by the Board and by his colleagues at CME, but he leaves behind a strong team and an organization that has just completed its most successful year in over a decade,” said Barrett.
Federal government creates innovation council The Government of Canada announced the creation of a new Science, Technology and Innovation Council and the appointment of Dr. Howard Alper as Chair of the Council. This new Council will provide the government with policy advice on science and technology issues and will produce regular national reports that measure Canada’s science and technology performance against international standards of excellence. “I am pleased that Dr. Alper has agreed to take on the task of chairing and assisting us in building this new Council. Under his leadership, the Council will develop integrated advice to government to help make Canada one of the world’s innovation leaders,” said Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry. Canada’s Science and Technology Strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage, highlighted the need to revitalize external science and technology advisory bodies by having a single integrated advisory body with a stronger voice. The Strategy committed the government to consolidate external advisory bodies and launch the new Science, Technology and Innovation Council. Dr. Alper is a respected member of the science community both internationally and domestically, and he brings extensive knowledge and expertise of science and technology issues. He has served as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Council of Canadian Academies and on private-sector boards. Dr. Alper is an Officer of the Order of Canada and has received a number of prestigious fellowships and major awards, including being the first recipient of the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering.
University-industry initiative to help Canadian manufacturers boost productivity Helping companies find ways to shave dollars from manufacturing processes and boost productivity is the impetus behind a new university-industry initiative. Sandvik Coromant Canada and the McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI) have entered a cooperation to offer manufacturers consulting expertise, research and development facilities, and engineering know-how in the core area of metalworking services, that is ultimately aimed at productivity gains. The pair formalized a three-year relationship that will see Sandvik Coromant market the MMRI’s Machining System Laboratory’s (MSL) research facilities and expertise to industry. MMRI will serve as Sandvik Coromant’s locally based, customer-focused research and development facility in Canada. Sandvik-Coromant is investing $100,000 annually to support the initiative. “Combining Sandvik Coromant’s market-leading knowledge of cutting tool technology and MMRI’s academic resources provides Canada’s metalworking sector with a unique opportunity to improve competitiveness,” says Klas Forsström, vice president and general manager, Sandvik Coromant Canada. “It also provides the opportunity to generate job opportunities within the fiercely competitive automotive, aerospace, general machining, and die and mold-making industries.” Sandvik Coromant and MMRI have previously collaborated on several customer-based research projects, generating approximately $2 million in savings for participating firms. For example, work undertaken for automotive parts manufacturer TRW in St. Catharines, Ontario to develop a more efficient cylinder milling process saved the company significant costs associated with process improvements. The two organizations have also combined their expertise on initiatives for Messier-Dowty, Magna International and Linamar Corporation. “Such collaboration is one of the primary mandates of the research institute in addition to the training of highly qualified personnel,” says Mo Elbestawi, newly appointed vice-president, Research and International Affairs at McMaster University, founder of MMRI and director of MSL. “This initiative can help increase opportunities for students to gain essential practical experience as they prepare to enter the workforce or further their research.” Specific services offered through the initiative include: process streamlining, equipment development, improved machine utilization, and complete re-engineering programs covering new and existing equipment translating into valuable cost avoidance and savings. Today's e-newsletter is sponsored by:
IT investments made with ROI in mind What drives the demand for enterprise applications even as the market is converging into fewer providers, but with the same number of competing systems? The enterprise applications market has long since matured and contains a significant number of both larger global and smaller regional providers of, by and large, complete and comparably adequate systems. User maturity has also become significant, implying that customers now possess extensive know-how and system implementation and usage experience, and therefore, the right to impose more specific expectations upon their providers. As a consequence of this mature market, vendors have been focused on replacing or retrofitting existing legacy systems when customers need upgrading, in addition to offering more add-on functionality to existing customers. Some also manage to sell brand new systems to first-time customers, primarily in a few growth markets.
Take time to clear the organizational clutter away from your business Recently, I took advantage of some downtime to review my project portfolio from the past year to determine what lessons I could learn. While I was at it, I decided to go through my archive of the past 30 years. It’s amazing what you find when you rummage through the cobwebs of your past. As I was skimming through the materials, I came across a handout I received the first week I went to work at Lockheed entitled, Basic Operating Rules of the Lockheed ‘Skunk Works.’ The rules can be summarized as follows: get a small group of good people, give them the authority and accountability to do the job and get the hell out of their way. Looking it over, I wondered why businesses seem to eventually fall into a bureaucratic morass. To me, it appears about every five to seven years departments need major overhauling, as they’ve grown thick with procedures and organizational dogma that few can remember the reasons. These impede the business in its ability to operate or compete.
Wireless Solutions for Manufacturing Automation Canada-US Manufacturing Trade Summit PLM Road Map 2007 Industrial Ethernet Control Seminar National Manufacturing Week 2007 Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show Canadian Forum on the Life Cycle Management of Products and Services Automation Fair Autodesk University OTHER SERVICES FROM ADVANCED MANUFACTURING Search and source products and parts Advanced Manufacturing magazine formed an alliance with GlobalSpec (www.globalspec.com), a leading specialized search engine and information resource for the engineering, technical and industrial communities.
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