NIST MEP E-blast: April 18, 2016

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sent this bulletin at 04/18/2016 03:23 PM EDT

The very latest news and opportunities from the NIST MEP - Making an impact on U.S. Manufacturing
MEP E-Blast
 

April 18, 2016 - View this as a web page - View eblast from April 11, 2016

In This Issue:
 

MEP Update Meeting: Room block reminder

System Update Meeting: Agenda and informational webinar.
We are four weeks away from the next System Update Meeting in Charleston, SC. If you are interested in learning about the topics for the meeting, take a look at the draft agenda on the event website.

We are also holding a webex this Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 2:00 PM EDT to walk through the Update meeting and discuss ways to get center input on topics and presenters. Webinar Details: Link | Pass: Mayupdate2016!.

When and Where: May 17-18, 2016 at the Charleston Marriott, 170 Lockwood Blvd. Charleston, SC 29403. 

Room Block Reminder. If you haven't already done so, please reserve your hotel room by 5:00 PM EDT Monday, April 25th. After that rooms will be available on a space and rate available basis.

There will be a MEP Advisory Board meeting the following day on Thursday, May 19th. This meeting is open to all interested in attending.

For more information click here. If you have any questions, please contact Samm Bowman at samm@nist.gov or 301-975-5978.

Make it in America Challenge Interim Report

In December 2013, MEP awarded $3.75 million in Make it in America (MiiA) grants to 10 MEP centers in nine states. The 3-year grant awards are in addition to the $20.5 million in MiiA funding from three other federal agencies. As part of the MiiA Challenge, participating MEP Centers have provided a wide range of technical and business assistance to encourage and support reshoring, improve supply chains, and develop the manufacturing workforce. Last week, MEP released the latest interim report providing update information on projects for the ten awards.

 

Save the Date. May 25 from 2:00 - 3:00 PM EDT. In honor of the Make it in America Interim report (and two years of excellent grant work), Make it in America representatives from Maine MEP and NEPIRC will present on their activities as part of these awards. Stay tuned for more details. For questions contact Megean Blum at Megean.blum@nist.gov or 301-975-3160.

Department of Energy Funding Opportunity

Energy Department Announces Funding to Train Engineers, Provide Energy Assessments for Small- and Medium-sized Manufacturers

On April 6, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced approximately $35 million in funding to assist small- and medium-sized U.S. manufacturers with increasing their energy efficiency, productivity, sustainability and competitiveness and to help address the shortage of engineering professionals with applied energy-related skills. The Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC) program provides hands-on training and extensive education for undergraduate and graduate engineering students in manufacturing processes, energy assessment procedures, and energy management systems.

 

The Energy Department plans to select approximately 20 to 30 universities, along with partnering organizations, as IACs based on a competitive selection process. Projects will receive between $1.25 million and $1.75 million for a total of approximately $35 million over five years. These financial assistance awards will be in the form of cooperative agreements. Applications are due by May 19, 2016. For more information click here.

Reports from Around the System

  • Additive Manufacturing, Is it Good for your Shop (TechSolve) How you determine if Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a good fit for your shop greatly depends on the specific kind of additive manufacturing you would like to implement - plastics or metals. It depends on your specific industry as well. Read More
  • Lean in the 21st Century (TechSolve) Kaizen events and periodic improvements are so last century! In the past, organizations that implemented Lean worked really hard to reduce wastes and improve processes, but the improvements were really hard to sustain over time. Additionally, I had companies ask me how they could increase employees’ ownership and accountability for their output. Read More

MEP Events

APRIL

April 22, 2016. Event at 10:00 AM PDT: MANEX Food Safety (Event Link)

April 26, 2016. Training Course in San Ramon, CA: How to Deploy Effective Risk-Based Quality Management Systems (Event Link)

April 26-28, 2016. Training Course in Ames, IA: Preventive Controls Short Course (Event Link)

Iowa State University is hosting a three day Basic Preventive Controls training designed for people in the food industry desiring to understand and be trained in the Food Safety system for manufacturing safe food. This event is also scheduled for June 13-15, 2016.

April 26-28, 2016. Training in Milwaukee, WI: AWS Training (Event Link)

The first two days of training will cover the AWS Foundation and Advanced Levels while day three will be AWS Specialist Training for those individuals seeking AWS accreditation as trainers, consultants and/or auditors.

April 26-28, 2016. Training Workshop in Las Vegas, NV: Tech Scouting and TDMI (Event Link)

This workshop provides a foundational understanding of the two services. By the end of the three-day workshop students will have learned how to recognize client needs, scope projects to the appropriate cost and level of effort, and perform projects using the rigorous TDMI and Tech Scouting processes. For questions contact Mary Arbutina.

April 27-29, 2016. Leadership Summit in Clinton, NJ: Talent Pipeline Strategic Alignment.  (Event Link)

The North East Regional Employment and Training Association is hosting a leadership Summit. This is an extraordinary opportunity for regional teams to hear from national experts in sector/cluster development and develop strategies on growing manufacturing in their region.

 

MAY

May 3, 2016. Event in Minneapolis, MN: State of Manufacturing 2016 Statewide Survey Release Event (Event Link)

May 4, 2016. Event in Farefield, CA: Exportech for Manufacturers (Event Link)

May 6, 2016. Event in Boise, ID: Seafood HACCP Segment II Course (Event Link)

NEW!!! May 10, 2016. Event in Greenville, SC: Free Supply Chain Risk Management (Event Link) Supply Chain Risk Management course gives you the ability to identify triggers of risk events and plan for when they do occur. Participants of this course will also learn how the financial impact of risk is determined and the importance of a risk management plan.

NEW!!! May 11, 2016. Event in Greenville, SC: Free Supply Chain TCO (Event Link) This course will allow you to have a sharper focus on the big-picture of supply chain optimization. A TCO calculator will be provided to participants that allows for the side-by-side comparison of up to four suppliers.

 

May 11, 2016. Building and Leveraging Brands at 3:00 PM EDT: Webinar (Add to Calendar). Heidi Shultz, Executive Vice President of Agora, Inc, and a lecturer in Northwestern University’s Department of Integrated Marketing Communication will talk about the role of brand in driving value for organizations and their customers. This webinar will focus on brand concepts such as: what is a brand, how they create value, identity vs. image; and will be followed by a discussion about about how individual brands can work together to use branding tools to be better able to deliver on the mission. 

May 11, 2016. Bonus Day - Summit in San Antonio, TX: TWI and Lean HR (MEP Event Link). A special half day for interested MEP centers on exploring distinctive practices will be held the afternoon of May 11, 2016. Come learn more from Centers in a special MEP session that will include: MEP center staff sharing how and why they integrated TWI into their suite of services and the business model; TWI 101; and TWI JI training module simulation.

May 12-13, 2016. Summit in San Antonio, TX: TWI and Lean HR (Event Link). MEP representatives are eligible for a 20% discount when registering with Promo Code “MEP”.

May 13, 2016. Regional Forum in Washington DC: Round 4 State Competition (Event Link)

NEW!!! May 12, 2016. Leadership Series in Cincinnati, OH: Management Leadership Series (Event Link)

May 16-18, 2016. Summit in Chicago, IL: RadTech 2016 (Event Link). This is the world's largest event dedicated to the educational, technical, and scientific advancement of ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) technologies.

May 17-18, 2016. MEP Update Meeting and Advisory Board Meeting in Charleston, SC (Event Link). Contact Samm Bowman for questions.

May 17-18, 2016. Training in Sioux Falls, SD (Event Link): Galliard Business Advisor Core Training. The Family Business Advisor Core Training Program will be delivered by Lisë Stewart, Galliard Executive Director and Beth Adamson, President of Family Business Development Group.

May 18-20, 2016. Symposium in Sun Valley, ID: 47th Annual Intermountain IFT Symposium. FSMA: The Changing Regulatory Landscape (Event Link)

May 23-25, 2016. Training in Idaho Falls: FSPCA 2.5 Day Preventive Controls for Human Food Course (Event Link)

May 24, 2016. Regional Forum in Denver, CO: Round 4 State Competition (Event Link)

May 31- June 2, 2016. Conference in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (Event Link): Aerospace Corridor Expo. This event is expected to draw aerospace manufacturers, supply chain resource businesses, public service officials and educators fro across the Pacific Northwest.

JUNE

June 7, 2016. Regional Forum in Chicago, IL: Round 4 State Competition (Event Link)

NEW!!! June 23, 2016. Save the Date: Buy America Transit Supply Chain Connectivity Forum (Event Link) : NIST MEP, along with the Arizona Commerce Authority, and the Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration will be hosting an upcoming Buy America Transit Supply Chain Forum in Phoenix, AZ.
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