WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University will offer training in lean manufacturing and Six Sigma practices for which professionals can earn certificates during June and July in Indianapolis.

The courses are sponsored by the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, part of Purdue’s Technical Assistance Program, for those currently working and for displaced professionals. Those who are unemployed may be eligible for training funds to pay for some of the courses. Interested persons should check with their local WorkOne office for eligibility.

Six Sigma Green Belt and Six Sigma Black Belt courses combine a detailed roadmap with statistical tools to resolve critical business issues. These are recommended for owners or management teams, engineers or technical staff from small- to medium-sized companies. Participants should have some knowledge of basic statistics.

Green Belts typically work in teams to implement improvements. Black Belts independently apply more sophisticated tools to guide improvements throughout a business or organization.

Advanced Manufacturing (Lean) Practitioner training focuses on waste removal from production or office processes. It covers principles of lean manufacturing, the 5S visual workplace, principles of stream mapping, quick changeover/setup reduction and total productive maintenance.

Training Within Industry (TWI) focuses on job relations and job instructions. These classes help supervisors and team leaders increase productivity, improve morale and reduce training time.

Course specifics and registration information are available at http://www.indianamep.org/events. Displaced professionals seeking to apply for training funds should print course brochures from the Web site and take them to WorkOne for review.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center provides technical skills development and implementation services to manufacturers that want to increase productivity and profitability, enhance customer satisfaction and advance workforce skills. Areas of expertise include advanced manufacturing processes, lean implementation, quality management systems, Six Sigma, green enterprise development and energy efficiency.

WASHINGTON, DC — Global warming legislation that mandates a huge reduction in carbon dioxide emissions would hit Indiana’s economy harder than any other state, according to an analysis by The Heritage Foundation.

The Waxman-Markey bill currently under consideration in Congress seeks to cut emissions from fossil fuels by 83 percent. To do so, it would create a cap-and-trade system that would raise energy prices dramatically. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would cost the typical American household an extra $1,600 annually within a decade.

Indiana emerged as the state most at risk from cap-and-trade. Its large manufacturing sector accounts for nearly 20 percent of all employment.

But energy-intensive businesses – such as manufacturers – would pay a far greater price. And those manufacturers most dependent on coal-generated power would be the most severely crippled.

To determine which areas of the country would be hit hardest, Heritage researchers devised a simple “Manufacturing Vulnerability Index” that reflects both the degree to which regional employment is concentrated in manufacturing and the degree to which it is dependent on coal-generated energy. The greater a region’s reliance on manufacturing and coal, the more vulnerable it would be to severe job loss resulting from the proposed $1.9 trillion cap-and-trade plan.

Indiana emerged as the state most at risk from cap-and-trade. Its large manufacturing sector – more than 600,000 jobs accounting for nearly 20 percent of all employment – combined with a heavy reliance on coal (94 percent of all energy) put it at the top of the national Manufacturing Vulnerability Index. Its MVI rating was 28 percent higher than runner-up Ohio and more than three-and-a-half times that of the median rating.

Five of the 10 most vulnerable congressional districts are located in Indiana as well. The 3rd District (represented by Mark Souder-R), topped the national rankings, followed closely by the 2nd District (Joe Donnelly-D). Indiana’s 6th (Mike Pence-R) and 9th (Baron Hill-D) districts finished in the fifth and sixth spots, respectively, and the 8th District (Brad Elsworth-10) ranked tenth.

“The best that can be said of cap-and-trade regimes is that they spread the pain in a bi-partisan fashion,” said Heritage energy economist David Kreutzer. “But they don’t spread it evenly. Indiana will pay a much higher price, in terms of lost jobs and higher energy costs, than the rest of the country if Congress adopts this approach to environmental improvement.”

Heritage expects to complete a more detailed economic analysis of the Waxman-Markey bill within a week. And Kreutzer predicts the job loss numbers “won’t be pretty.”

A Heritage analysis of last year’s Lieberman-Warner cap-and-trade bill estimated it would lead to nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs lost by the year 2029. And, Kreutzer noted, that bill was far less stringent than Waxman-Markey.

“The CO2 reductions envisioned in Lieberman-Warner would have destroyed more than half the jobs in some manufacturing sub-sectors like machinery manufacturing and those that make plastic and rubber products,” Kreutzer noted. “Under this year’s bill, things would only get worse.”

The Heritage Foundation is a non-partisan think tank based in Washington, DC.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Companies throughout Indiana are taking advantage of a Purdue program that helps improve operational efficiency and increase profits.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, administered by Purdue’s Technical Assistance Program, helped 290 companies eliminate waste and implement process improvements in fiscal year 2007-08. Partnership director David Snow said these “lean manufacturing” advancements translated into an economic impact of almost $96 million.

“In 2007-08 Indiana companies that hired us reported an average savings and income benefit of $1.5 million per year,” Snow said. “The average investment made by those same companies was less than $36,000. That’s a 42-to-1 return on their investment. Our clients also reported that they added or kept 780 jobs in the past year.”

Modern Door Corp., a division of Plyco Corp. in Walkerton, Ind., produces metal walk doors, ventilation products, and provides fasteners for post frame and metal clad building industries. The company will work with MEP this fall on an advanced manufacturing certificate training program for its 147 employees to teach them how to speed production, reduce inventory and use less space.

To identify waste, MEP experts will look at everything that happens with product and information flow to create a value stream map. Once the map is created, each step will be examined to determine if it is necessary and makes the production process better.

Experts will look for seven types of waste:

• Overproduction: The market must have demand for the doors that are being produced. Modern Door should not produce its product until each order is placed.
• Excessive inventory: Too much inventory wastes the money it takes to produce the doors, the space to house them, and the workers to move them and manage them.
• Unnecessary transportation: Material or information within the plant should move only as far as necessary for efficient production.
• Unnecessary movement of people: The plant should have the optimum layout to prevent people from taking valuable time walking back and forth.
• Waiting: Whenever workers are waiting for material or information, production is lost.
• Defective output: Checks should be in place to correct errors as soon as they are made rather than later in the manufacturing process.
• Overprocessing: Manufacturers should take only as much time as needed to get the job done to produce a quality door.

Rick Coffman, Modern Door general manager, said the training will help his company improve the quality of its products and become more globally competitive.

“Obtaining an Indiana Training Acceleration Grant and using the Purdue University Technical Assistance Program as our training source is a great opportunity for all Modern Door employees,” Coffman said. “This training will greatly enhance our workforce development and provide lasting methods and tools that will accelerate our advance manufacturing processes. We fully expect the outcome of this training to reduce waste, improve quality, help us grow the business, and provide our customers improved product and service in an extremely competitive market.”

Modern Door received a grant from the Indiana Department of Work force Development to fund the MEP training, which also receives federal funding from the National Institute for Standards and Technology and support from the state of Indiana.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Companies throughout Indiana are taking advantage of a Purdue program that helps improve operational efficiency and increase profits.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, administered by Purdue’s Technical Assistance Program, helped 290 companies eliminate waste and implement process improvements in fiscal year 2007-08. Partnership director David Snow said these “lean manufacturing” advancements translated into an economic impact of almost $96 million.

“In 2007-08 Indiana companies that hired us reported an average savings and income benefit of $1.5 million per year,” Snow said. “The average investment made by those same companies was less than $36,000. That’s a 42-to-1 return on their investment. Our clients also reported that they added or kept 780 jobs in the past year.”

Modern Door Corp., a division of Plyco Corp. in Walkerton, Ind., produces metal walk doors, ventilation products, and provides fasteners for post frame and metal clad building industries. The company will work with MEP this fall on an advanced manufacturing certificate training program for its 147 employees to teach them how to speed production, reduce inventory and use less space.

To identify waste, MEP experts will look at everything that happens with product and information flow to create a value stream map. Once the map is created, each step will be examined to determine if it is necessary and makes the production process better.

Experts will look for seven types of waste:

• Overproduction: The market must have demand for the doors that are being produced. Modern Door should not produce its product until each order is placed.
• Excessive inventory: Too much inventory wastes the money it takes to produce the doors, the space to house them, and the workers to move them and manage them.
• Unnecessary transportation: Material or information within the plant should move only as far as necessary for efficient production.
• Unnecessary movement of people: The plant should have the optimum layout to prevent people from taking valuable time walking back and forth.
• Waiting: Whenever workers are waiting for material or information, production is lost.
• Defective output: Checks should be in place to correct errors as soon as they are made rather than later in the manufacturing process.
• Overprocessing: Manufacturers should take only as much time as needed to get the job done to produce a quality door.

Rick Coffman, Modern Door general manager, said the training will help his company improve the quality of its products and become more globally competitive.

“Obtaining an Indiana Training Acceleration Grant and using the Purdue University Technical Assistance Program as our training source is a great opportunity for all Modern Door employees,” Coffman said. “This training will greatly enhance our workforce development and provide lasting methods and tools that will accelerate our advance manufacturing processes. We fully expect the outcome of this training to reduce waste, improve quality, help us grow the business, and provide our customers improved product and service in an extremely competitive market.”

Modern Door received a grant from the Indiana Department of Work force Development to fund the MEP training, which also receives federal funding from the National Institute for Standards and Technology and support from the state of Indiana.

EVANSTON, Ill., — Industrial employment in Indiana dropped 2.2% over the past 12 months according to the 2008 Indiana Manufacturers Directory, a compilation of state industry published annually by Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (MNI) Evanston, IL. MNI reports Indiana lost 15,118 industrial jobs from March 2007 to March 2008 — comparable to the 2.4% decline MNI reported for the state during the 2006-2007 period and matching the 2.2% loss experienced by the U.S. as a whole within the past 12 months.

“It was a record year for U.S. industrial output and productivity, but improved technology and automation means it requires fewer workers to produce these products,” says Tom Dubin, President of Manufacturers’ News. “The good news is that the industrial jobs that remain tend to pay more because they require engineering and technology skills.”

According to MNI, Indiana ranks 9th in the nation for manufacturing employment and 13th for number of manufacturers. MNI reports industrial employment in Indianapolis improved, moving up two places in MNI’s city ranking to #8 in the nation, surpassing industrial employment in Dallas and St. Louis.

Manufacturers’ News reports Indiana is home to 11,022 manufacturers employing 661,733 workers. MNI profiles manufacturers of all sizes, including small, start-up companies. Indiana’s industrial employment losses reflect those seen across the Midwest, with Michigan jobs down 5%, Illinois down 1.5%, Kentucky down 2.3% and Ohio down 3.1%.

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