51�Թ���

This significant victory on an 51�Թ��� priority protects manufacturing employees and investors, the 51�Թ���’s experts say.

The backstory: Investment advisers and fund managers who oversee Americans’ retirement savings have a voice in the policies of the companies in which the fund invests. These fund managers often turn for assistance to proxy advisory firms to recommend votes on company policies—giving these firms enormous influence.

The problem: Proxy advisory firms have never been subjected to SEC oversight, leading to questionable methodologies, errors, conflicts of interest and a lack of transparency in how they make decisions.

The victory: After years of advocacy by the 51�Թ���, the SEC released landmark standards today that do two critical things:

• Proxy advisory firms will be regulated by the SEC, subjecting these previously unregulated firms to critical oversight and bringing needed transparency to their conflicts and methodologies.
• Asset managers will receive guidelines laying out how they can exercise due diligence appropriately if they use proxy advisory firms to ensure they are protecting the best interests of investors.

The bottom line: “This is a big win for manufacturers and for manufacturing workers who have money in pension plans, retirement plans and other investments,” said 51�Թ��� Director of Tax and Domestic Economic Policy . “For years, the 51�Թ��� has fought for accountability and transparency. This new regulatory framework will protect manufacturing workers and ensure that their investments receive the responsible care they deserve.”

What if your next best defense against COVID-19 is a high-tech ring? What if you could get a kit, complete with a pulse oximeter, to monitor your symptoms properly at home? All these devices and more are in development, and at some point on their journey, many of them pass through independent testing laboratory UL. We recently talked to UL Life and Health Sciences Americas General Manager and Global Technical Excellence and Programs Director Deborah Jennings-Conner, who gave us a look into this fascinating frontier of invention.

How to make a ventilator: As we know, plenty of manufacturers have refitted their factories to make medical devices, respirators, ventilators and many other crucial supplies. The process is much more complicated than you might expect, says Jennings-Conner.

• For one thing, most manufacturers are used to replacing parts when they have to. But for medical devices? Not possible. You cannot arbitrarily substitute components; the product has to be “exactly what the regulator approved.”
• So part of the difficulty in converting factories lies in retraining staff, Jennings-Conner warns. That’s why auto manufacturers were such a good fit for ventilator-making—they were already used to stringent quality management requirements.
• Furthermore, manufacturers of medical devices must be able to learn about “any adverse effects, from production to market,” and then report those to the FDA. She points out that most manufacturers aren’t used to that sort of rigor.

New innovations: Jennings-Conner walked us through some of the fabulous new inventions that UL is helping get to market. These are the sorts of things that could transform our medical experiences even after COVID-19, she predicts.

• A UV sanitation room: Made by PurpleSun, this modular paneling system uses ultraviolet light to disinfect entire rooms of equipment—and better yet, it’s mobile. The UL-certified model E300 Modular Paneling System is now in production.
• Wearable devices: These are big news, says Jennings-Conner. Take the Oura ring, which the NBA bought for its players and staff to wear (on a voluntary basis). It’s a powerful piece of technology, which tracks your pulse, heart rate variability, physical activity and temperature. Heart rate variability can be an early indication of sickness, she notes. In fact, a recent study found the Oura ring can predict COVID-19 symptoms up to three days in advance with 90% accuracy.
• At-home medical kits: UL is in discussions with Graftworx, a company that makes devices that monitor patients’ symptoms at home. One such device is the “forgettable smartpatch,” which the wearer can put on and forget about—while it continuously records clinical metrics that can be transmitted to physicians. The pandemic has reordered patient care by forcing many more people to use telemedicine, notes Jennings-Conner—and such devices could make remote medicine a thousand times more powerful.

Inside the factory: If you’re wondering how all this happens amid lockdowns and social distancing, UL’s processes are also subject to innovation. UL has started “witnessing” its clients’ tests over video and auditing their facilities remotely. Oh, and this works in reverse—UL has done testing on behalf of some customers who closed their facilities, installing cameras in its labs so they can watch.

Advice for manufacturers: “Talk to us at the beginning,” says Jennings-Conner. “Once you’re set in your design, it’s hard to go back; that can be cost prohibitive, especially if you’ve already picked your suppliers. Talk to us early, and we can help you navigate the regulatory pathway and support smoother market access.”

Mollie Foerster wanted to become a librarian, but she faced a problem that many high school students do. The degree would be costly, and a librarian’s salary wouldn’t make up for it. Luckily, she found a great alternative: a manufacturing career, made possible by the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME), a cooperative learning program founded by Toyota and overseen by The Manufacturing Institute.

Today, Foerster says proudly, “With my degree, along with my onsite experience, I will always be able to find a job.”

Finding FAME: At her parents’ encouragement, Foerster enrolled in the Southern Indiana FAME chapter after high school. The program trains students of all ages and backgrounds, from recent high school graduates to experienced manufacturing employees looking to advance their careers. FAME students earn a two-year Associate’s Degree while working in their sponsor’s manufacturing facility as an Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT). This was exactly what Foerster was looking for.

The benefits: Foerster’s favorite thing about the FAME AMT model was “the integration of school and work.” Working at a Toyota manufacturing plant part-time while also attending school prepared her well for the workforce, she says—much better than school alone would have. Some of the benefits included:

• Mentoring opportunities that paired her with experienced leaders who encouraged her to solve challenging problems and offered help when needed—“They allowed me to learn from my mistakes without actually making mistakes”;
• Fabrication instruction, which helped her improve her skills in a marketable area where she previously had no experience;
• Public speaking practice, which has made her “a better and more confident” presenter—something she’s sure will be helpful every day in her new career.

What’s next? Having graduated from the FAME program, Foerster plans to begin work full-time at Toyota. She also expects to start her bachelor’s degree online through Purdue’s partnership with Vincennes University.

Advice for future FAME students: “Try and absorb as much as you can in the next two years,” says Foerster. “Don’t just memorize the information you need to know for tests, do your best to actually understand everything you’re being taught. At work, take on as many projects as they will give you. Ask your mentor and other team members for help. As long as you work hard and continuously try to improve yourself, you will achieve great things.”

With thousands of new respirators and medical devices in production due to COVID-19, who makes sure they meet safety standards and regulations? Independent testing laboratories provide these needed services. Due to the pandemic, they’re working overtime, helping manufacturers produce equipment for doctors, nurses, other frontline workers and even the rest of us.

We talked to one company, Intertek, about how it’s responding to the new reality. Intertek is one of the largest testers of consumer and industrial products in the world, with a network of more than 1,000 laboratories in over 100 countries. It’s had to adapt to increased demand—and requests for help from companies trying to keep their employees safe.

Meanwhile, the company has also adapted to the restrictions imposed by the lockdowns.

• Curbside pickup: With some customers unable to travel from their facilities—or even their homes—Intertek began sending out vans from its labs to pick up samples from manufacturers across the country.

• Virtual inspections: Some of Intertek’s inspections and audits involve sending employees out to manufacturers’ facilities. As these in-person inspections became more difficult, Intertek created a virtual program called InView, through which inspectors can video chat with customers and inspect products and workspaces remotely.
• Online training: With everyone stuck at home, Intertek has also faced a surge of requests for online and remote training courses. Led by the company’s experts, these courses cover everything from best practices to new standards to product safety pitfalls.

The last word: Intertek’s Vice President of Marketing, North America Derek Silva says, “Intertek has been testing products for more than 100 years to help ensure people’s health, safety and well-being. We recognized early on that our greatest contribution to fighting the pandemic was to keep doing what we do best, only faster and with greater flexibility for manufacturers.”

This is a week of dramatic energy developments—some mostly good, some bad and some mixed. Here’s what manufacturers need to know.

The (mostly) good: The Jordan Cove liquid natural gas terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon, received approval from the Department of Energy on Monday, clearing the way for the West Coast’s first liquefied natural gas terminal capable of exporting low-carbon energy to Asia.

• Why it matters: The project offers increased energy security for the United States while also enabling a shift to cleaner fuels—the kind of modern initiative that will play a key role in climate action.
• A note of caution: The DOE approval isn’t the final word; activists will continue fighting the project in court and try to keep manufacturing progress from being made.

The bad: Even though the project won a 7-2 victory in the Supreme Court just three weeks ago, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy were forced to cancel the Atlantic Coast Pipeline on Sunday.

• Why it matters: The project was intended to energize Mid-Atlantic manufacturing with clean natural gas, but years of court battles and needless permitting delays exhausted it. As 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons on Twitter, “All those who depend on reliable sources of American energy are disappointed.”

The bad cont’d: On Monday, a DC court ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline to shut down until yet another additional environmental review is completed, on top of many previous reviews.

• Why it matters: This underground pipeline benefits communities across the Midwest and provides a clean, safe route for oil transportation.

The mixed: The Supreme Court refused to let the Keystone XL project start building again—but at the same time, it did reinstate a critical nationwide permit system for other new energy infrastructure projects.

• What to expect: Activists have already threatened to attack other projects with the same arguments they used against Keystone XL, which could hold up much-needed progress.

The last word: “At a time when we have faced record-breaking unemployment and our country is struggling to get back on her feet, we can’t tell families to wait through more unnecessary delays or until the courts sort things out in a few years,” 51�Թ��� Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy Rachel Jones says. “We have run out of time for political wrangling. Manufacturers need policymakers to cut through the fighting so we can build more, do more and make more.”

The pandemic has brought many people around to that longstanding means of mobility and exercise, the bicycle. And for Kent International, a bicycle manufacturer with facilities in New Jersey and South Carolina, that has meant busy days as it works to meet newfound demand.

We checked in with Chairman and CEO Arnold Kamler, who told us all about the company’s response to high demand and its stringent requirements for worker safety.

The numbers: According to a study by market researcher NPD Group, demand for bicycles (and related items, like helmets) by 75 percent in April, compared to last year. At Kent International, they noticed, Kamler says.

• During the peak demand period in April and May, Kent’s customers were selling between 12,000 and 15,000 bicycles per day, representing more sales than they typically see even in the 10 days before Christmas.

Strained supplies: Some of that demand has led to challenges, Kamler notes. With bicycles flying off the bike racks, Kent has put limits on what its biggest customers can order. A few months ago, one customer put in a request for about a million bicycles, to be shipped in one week—an order generated by algorithms and just not possible to fulfill, says Kamler.  Meanwhile:

• The pandemic has interrupted global supply chains, making it difficult for Kent to get some required parts.
• It has also hampered transportation, preventing Kent from sourcing all the trucks required to deliver its products, particularly in the Los Angeles commercial zone.

Safety procedures: Kamler says the company is putting employees first, by designing rigorous standards to reduce risk and prevent COVID-19 transmission.

• Gloves and masks are mandatory in Kent’s facilities. (Protective eyewear was already a requirement.)
• Temperature monitors throughout the building are used to check for fevers.
• More spacing in the facility allows employees to practice social distancing.
• Testing is available at a local hospital, and Kent offers testing leave so that employees who are concerned they might be sick can get checked—even if they have no symptoms.
• Vigorous tracing ensures Kent can alert any employees who might have been exposed to a sick coworker, so they can get tested, too.

The last word: “We have a job to do: to protect our workers,” says Kamler. “We’re treating employees how we would want to be treated, and making sure they stay safe. We’re staying vigilant—because it doesn’t matter that you were perfect from April to June if you get sloppy in July.”

Dan Mitchell didn’t expect to join the Army, which means he couldn’t have expected to translate his military experience into a career in manufacturing. But thanks to The Manufacturing Institute’s Heroes MAKE America program, that’s where he is now.

The son of Fish and Wildlife Service officials, Mitchell set his heart on the Army while a Boy Scout in high school. As he describes it, he entered West Point as “a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed 17-year-old”—and faced a wake-up call. It wasn’t at all like the movies!

Instead, Mitchell learned that Army life involved doing a great number of small, important things effectively. He spent time in maintenance at industrial facilities, managing safety and operations, and tracking armored units and heavy vehicles. Whether he was keeping his room clean or doing inspections or ensuring the safety of weaponry, he learned that routines were vital. It was a lesson that would serve him well in his next career.

Heroes MAKE America: After eight years in the Army, Mitchell heard about the Heroes MAKE America program from some of the 145 soldiers under his command, and he quickly signed up.

• While the COVID-19 pandemic prevented his Heroes class from touring facilities—“I was excited for the Frito-Lay tour,” he says, “and that’ll stick in my craw for my entire life”—he calls his experience in the program “phenomenal.”
• From general career support, such as help with building a LinkedIn profile and drafting a resume, to the “invaluable” Certified Production Technician course, Mitchell saw Heroes MAKE America as a vital program that offered him critical tools.
• “It was eye-opening to see the level of skilled labor and craftmanship that’s involved in modern American manufacturing,” Mitchell says. “It spoke to me. I had no idea of the width and breadth of opportunities, or how interesting and dynamic and challenging the jobs are.”

A new job: As he begins his new role as a production supervisor at Daikin Applied Americas in Minnesota, Mitchell sees manufacturing as a natural fit. “What I did in the Army doesn’t directly translate to what I’m doing now, but it’s pretty darn close,” he says. “I’ve still got a lot to learn, but I’d be way behind if I hadn’t gotten the Heroes training.”

Words of advice: “For anyone who has been a leader in the Army—as long as you’re willing to learn and put in the work—manufacturing is an obvious choice.”

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) goes into effect today—after years of advocacy by the 51�Թ��� and its partners.

So what does that mean for the American and global economies? 51�Թ��� Senior Director of Trade Policy Ken Monahan’s answer: “The agreement will help strengthen supply chains, restore certainty, enable growth, bolster America’s competitiveness and support manufacturing jobs in the United States.” Here’s a condensed interview with Monahan that lays out the USMCA’s importance.

What’s in it: The USMCA updates and replaces the 26-year-old North American Free Trade agreement to ensure open, rules-based trade across North America. Monahan summarizes its long list of provisions: “intellectual property protections, new standards for the digital economy, reduction in red tape and unnecessary regulations, fair standards for competition and binding enforcement to protect all parties.”

Why it matters: The strength of America’s economy and markets is connected to the way we interact with our closest trading partners, Monahan emphasizes. Some numbers to keep in mind:

• Canada and Mexico alone purchase one-fifth of the total value of U.S. manufacturing output.
• Canada and Mexico purchase more U.S.-made goods than our next 11 trading partners combined despite representing only 6 percent of the world’s population.
• In addition to more than 2 million American manufacturing jobs, more than 40,000 small and medium-sized businesses depend on exports to Canada and Mexico.

What’s next: “Manufacturers are committed to working with the U.S., Mexican and Canadian governments to ensure that the USMCA is implemented in a manner that will support the recovery and renewal of the U.S. manufacturing economy,” says Monahan.

The last word: 51�Թ��� President and CEO Jay Timmons summed it up: “The landmark trade agreement we fought hard to secure now enters into force at a critical time. It will help restore certainty, ensure supply chain continuity and provide opportunities for economic growth—all of which will help our industry lead the nation’s recovery and renewal.”

Manufacturers are looking to make their workplaces more diverse and inclusive—but what steps should they take? Following the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests, many companies have supported the 51�Թ���’s own Pledge for Action, an agenda for advancing justice, equality and opportunity for Black people and all people of color.

As part of its Diversity and Inclusion pillar, The Manufacturing Institute has begun hosting roundtables, drawing on the expertise of D&I chiefs from across a wide range of companies. Below is a brief recap of a recent event.

The panel: Speakers included AAON Community Relations Director Stephanie Cameron, Dow Senior HR Director of Talent Acquisition/Pipelines and Corporate Director of Inclusion Alveda Williams and Trane Technologies Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of Talent Management Michelle Murphy. Manufacturing Institute Executive Director Carolyn Lee moderated the conversation.

The panelists focused on helping those who are just beginning this conversation as well as those who are working to accelerate their current efforts. A few of the suggestions included the following:

• Don’t rely on programs. Williams noted that programs can be cancelled when budgets are cut or an unforeseen situation arises. Instead, manufacturers should find ways to make D&I a part of their identity, ensuring that their work in the area won’t be scaled back or discarded.
• Emphasize inclusion. Inclusion drives innovation, productivity and team engagement, Cameron pointed out. While diversity can be considered a collection of unique differences, Williams added, you can’t capitalize on those differences unless you value inclusion. Achieving diversity is about the workforce, but inclusion is about the workplace, and creating a culture and environment that emphasizes a sense of belonging.
• Embrace change. Murphy emphasized that companies must be agile and adaptable not only to keep up with workplace changes, but also to promote positivity and lead with their values.

The conversation also included some concrete practices and initiatives, including:

• Companywide virtual conversations about issues like race, gender and LGBT inclusion to encourage learning and discussion;
• Internal leadership development programs to ensure that diverse leaders have opportunities to move up within the company, which might include English and Spanish courses on-site; and
• Employee resource groups and inclusion resource groups that bring forward ideas from diverse employees and allies to move the company forward.

The business case: Strengthening D&I isn’t just the right thing to do, participants said; it’s also the smart thing to do. Inclusion drives engagement, and engaged employees are more productive—making inclusive workplaces better for a business’s bottom line.

You can access a recording of the full conversation here.

Brittanee Sayer is the sixth of seven siblings who have served in branches of the military. Given her family’s example, she always knew she would serve her country. But what would come after that? The answer: manufacturing, thanks to training at The Manufacturing Institute’s program.

Her military experience proved useful to the career change. Sayer spent most of her seven years in the service working as a generator mechanic at Fort Riley. She was in charge of maintaining tactical, utility and precise power generation sets, internal combustion engines and associated equipment—a job that included running power for Fort Riley’s hospital. When she decided to leave the military, she wanted to keep employing these skills.

Heroes MAKE America: Prior to her Army service, Sayer had worked at Wolverine, which manufactures military boots—“I went from making the boots, to wearing the boots,” she says. Given her experience in the Army, she thought a return to the industry made sense, and that the training offered by the Heroes MAKE America program would help her advance further.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March required a few changes to ensure safety, but Sayer says the program adapted effectively. Adjustments included:

• Online learning, with Skype meetings once per week to ensure students could still engage with the material together;
• Smaller classroom meetings, with in-person tests offered to five people at a time; and
• Digital networking opportunities to help students and graduates connect with companies seeking employees and learn from manufacturing leaders.

The new career: Recently, Sayer accepted an offer of employment at General Mills, and expects to start by the end of the month. She says the Heroes program helped get her resume in front of every possible employer. Since she graduated from the program in May, she’s received a range of job offers from across the United States.

The last word: “I tell all my friends still in the Army: if you can do the Heroes MAKE America program, do it,” says Sayer. “It’s a great opportunity, and it really does help.”