| Welcome to the newest monthly newsletter offering from MetalForming magazine and PMA. We hope you find it useful and interesting; please feel free to share your thoughts with us. |
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| All Companies Need Good Leadership |
This is article is part of a series of monthly articles produced by Harbour Results for the MetalForming Business Edge enewsletter. This month’s love letter answers this important question:
What does good leadership mean? Or, better yet, what does good leadership in manufacturing mean?
“The role of leadership in manufacturing has evolved,” the article emphasizes. “Today, leaders not only need to make sound business decisions, they must navigate an increasingly challenging and fast-paced supply chain, understand and manage tariffs and trade agreements, anticipate technological transformation, and attract and retain the next-generation workforce.”
The article explains that good leaders must challenge everything and
should ask their team tough questions. Good leaders should be visible,
and must take time to build strategies and implement change that will
drive business success.
Finally, the article offers up six key areas where leaders should focus
their attention during the next 18 months, including leadtime reduction
and building flexibility and resilience. |
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| The right benefits can make a difference… |
| Chances
are, you have key employees that play important roles in your
organization. Having the right tools to recruit, reward, retain and
retire your top talent can help them and your business. Contact us today
to get started. |
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| Managing Pricing During Supply-Chain Uncertainty |
“The more transparency you have the easier the conversation becomes around pricing, because customers can wrap their head around the cost drivers,” said Jason Palmi, president and CEO of Ramcel Precision Stamping & Manufacturing, Northbrook, IL, in a recently published MetalForming
magazine article. At Ramcel, customers receive a breakdown of final
costs in every part of its pricing, including raw-material conversion
and any outside processes needed to fulfill each order.
“We're not in a position to take a bet on the movement of commodities and hope for the best,” Palmi explained. “We always have been very upfront, and we’ve taken a partnering approach with customers using a pass-through pricing model for years. That has helped us survive recent market crises and emerge stronger.” |
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| Comprehensive Lubrication Program to Improve Production Efficiencies |
| AMSOIL
Industrial, launched in September 2021, is a division of AMSOIL Inc.,
which brings more than 50 years of lubrication formulation and was the
first lubricant company to bring API-certified synthetic lubricants to
market in 1972. AMSOIL Industrial consults with fabricators and metal
stamping operations to optimize production efficiency by employing a
comprehensive lubrication program that starts with a plant audit by
AMSOIL Industrial tribologists and lubrication experts. |
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| Camaraderie, Cooperation Epitomize ICOSPA Global Metal Forming Meeting |
Under the theme, “New Tech. New Skills. New Challenges—Prepare for the next generation of metal forming,” the 20th ICOSPA (International Council of Sheet Metal Presswork Associations) Congress returned to the United Kingdom on October 19-20. The event welcomed delegates from China, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom, who met to discuss some of the biggest topics facing their sector, including: - Innovative technologies transforming metal forming
- How to deliver sustainable performance
- Bridging the skills gap
- Remaining profitable in the face of economic struggles.
Here are some highlights, including two impressive plant tours and several conference presentations. |
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| Don’t Snooze on Cybersecurity |
Fresh off of Cybersecurity Awareness Month (October), here’s an article professing four cybersecurity tips to ensure that your business and employees are protected. First up: how to recognize phishing cyberattacks, “a huge threat to businesses because one small mistake by an employee could result in sensitive company and/or customer data falling into the wrong hands,” the article notes.
Other tips:
- Update your software
- Use strong passwords
- Enable multi-factor authentication.
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| Onboarding Starts Before a New Hire’s First Day |
“First-day orientation, while important, isn’t the end of onboarding. Onboarding is a larger process that begins before the start date and continues through most of the first year. Done properly it will provide a seamless, efficient and effective new-hire experience.”
So goes this AllMyHR blog post emphasizing the importance of a well-planned and executed onboarding process. Fail here and you’re bound to experience a slew of negative outcomes—low employee morale, reduced levels of employee engagement, a lack of confidence among employees and, ultimately, a lack of trust within the organization.
Need guidance on tweaking your onboarding process? Read on. |
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| Safety Update: Understanding and Overcoming PPE Pain Points |
A recent study on PPE (personal protective equipment) pain points finds that more than 90 percent of manufacturing-company leaders “often or sometimes” have issues with their employees following proper PPE protocols. - 34 percent struggle to buy PPE in the sizes they need
- 35 percent struggle to purchase PPE that fits their female employees
- 71 percent say that they have “often or sometimes” experienced supply-chain delays in the past year
- 90 percent have trouble getting their employees to wear their PPE.
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| PMA Membership |
| Position your company as an industry leader when you utilize PMA resources—ITR Econ Trends reports, trade publications, One Voice and FABTECH trade shows. A PMA membership will provide your company and all of its employees with a range of valuable industry resources that are designed to help you become more connected, more informed, more efficient, more competitive and ultimately more profitable. |
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| Three Ways to Maintain a Robust Leadership Pipeline |
This Chief Executive article offers sound advice for CEOs as they fight to keep their top managers in the fold. One suggestion: Require them to be onsite rather than working from home, which will create an “all-hands-on-deck” mentality and reiterate their value to the company.
The second piece of advice: Take risks with your best employees. Challenge them and see what they can do. “The most committed people will be those raising their hands,” the article notes. “By enabling stars to identify themselves, you’ve hastened your talent search… and are building the next generation of leaders.” |
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