Faced with an array of workforce challenges, Wisconsin manufacturers are investing in process improvement and automation as a means of dealing with an increasingly tight labor market. Such steps are often strategic, and necessary, for manufacturers to build capacity and increase output without boosting staffing levels. A first step towards that end tends to be […]
By Michelle Miller, Senior Sustainability & Product Stewardship Specialist, Appvion Operations, Inc. With so many different topics in sustainability, it’s hard to know where to start sometimes. You have water usage, energy efficiency, pollution prevention, employee training and education, community engagement, wellness programs, product life cycle assessment, responsible sourcing… and that is just to name […]
Questions by Mark McDermid, Sustainability Consultant, WMEP & WBSC Answers by Corey Meek, Corporate Responsibility Lead, Promega Corporation Why and how did you get started on your sustainability journey? Environmental stewardship has been part of Promega since the early days of the company. From restoring a native prairie on the Fitchburg campus to becoming the […]
By Mark McDermid, Sustainability Consultant Mark Twain once quipped “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated”. Similarly, reports of the demise of sustainability are also quite exaggerated. Sustainability-driven innovation may be a key to both the recovery and resiliency of many businesses as well as growth and competitive prowess. Consider that 62% of […]
For many years, Wisconsin manufacturers struggled to find qualified workers. Now, they are having difficulty finding merely attracting any employees. “This issue really started to build in the mid to late 1990s. At that time, the cry was manufacturers were having trouble and problems finding skilled workers,” WMEP Manufacturing Solutions Vice President of Consulting Services […]
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By: Brian A. Weiss From my standpoint, technology transfer is not easy, especially when attempting to introduce a new capability or technology into the manufacturing sector. Smaller manufacturers in particular present unique environments and challenges that must be appropriately understood if the transfer is to be successful. NIST researchers have an ally that makes technology transfer […]
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This blog is part one of a series on cybersecurity and Industry 4.0. This morning my favorite local morning news program had an interesting segment on new slang words and what they mean. While the definitions were probably not necessary for Millennials or Generation Z, for Baby Boomers like me it was an eye-opening vocabulary […]
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April 21, 2022By: Dr. Michael Powell Industrial control systems (ICS) help manufacturers boost productivity, optimize efficiency and advance production lines. Historically, ICS networks were isolated from the information technology (IT) networks and internet, or “air gapped.” Today, air gapping is no longer an effective security strategy, and for various business reasons, many ICS manufacturing networks are […]
I remember well when the phrase “a thousand points of light” entered regular usage. Popularized by President George H. W. Bush, the phrase referred to individuals and organizations that provide valuable and even life-saving work in communities around the country. In 1990, President Bush founded the Points of Light Foundation. As a kid interested in social […]
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By: Cory Larson – CMMC, NIST 800-171, & DFARs Greetings! This is Cory Larson, and I am an Automation & Cybersecurity consultant at WMEP. I wanted to write a quick clarification on DoD Contracts, NIST 800-171, and CMMC. There is a lot of confusion surrounding this topic and I thought I would answer some of […]