Remember to sell the excitement of the industry.

As finding and hiring talent has become so difficult over the past several years, it seems in every conversation I have, especially when younger people are involved, the subject turns to the need for talent in the world of manufacturing. With the baby boomers retiring in record numbers and the millennial generation showing so little knowledge of, or interest in, manufacturing, while appearing to prefer a "gig" type of employment (read: it's just a temporary job), my mantra of talking about the needs of industry for new talent at times seems like a broken record.

Is the next generation of designers honing its skills on Minecraft?

If there were a record for the longest wait for a technology to take off (longest gestation period for a new technology), then virtual reality must surely be a top candidate for the honor. As long ago as 1990, the movie Total Recall gave mainstream audiences a dystopian view of the way life could be. The intervening three decades have cemented the image of the headset-wearing gamer in our minds – totally immersed in the experience yet oblivious to all around. And still it has failed to gain a large-scale following. Until now, perhaps.

With equipment sales currently rising at about 14% per annum according to research by IDC, all the big consumer technology brands are planning major new product launches in the coming months. Growth should accelerate to more than 30% in the next five years.

A DoE reveals the packaging type matters less than the process used.

The need for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection is drilled into production workers from day one in most electronics manufacturing facilities. Most facilities have multiple layers of protection including floor tiles or conductive coating, smocks, individual grounding devices, ESD mats on workstations, and ionizing blowers throughout the production process. There are also multiple layers of protection from conductive totes to metalized bags for product as it ships out. There is a tendency to believe more protection is always better. Given that the seven wastes include both defects and overprocessing, however, from a Lean manufacturing standpoint there is value in analyzing how much protection is required for shipped products. Considering whether multiple layers of protection create a false sense of security with operators involved in pack/unpack operations also has value.

Getting your printing house in order this season – and beyond.

As you read this, hopefully spring will have sprung wherever you are. It’s an agreeable time of year and one of renewal, refresh, and the annual “spring clean.” In that vein, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to remind readers to take this same approach regarding the printing process, equipment and components. Maintaining all elements of the stencil printing operation is vital for good results, but these essential maintenance tasks are often overlooked in busy factories with even busier staff. If you’re reading this, tick these items off your printing spring cleaning list and watch the process flourish.