NIST MEP E-blast: May 2, 2016

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sent this bulletin at 05/02/2016 02:19 PM EDT

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

May 2, 2016 - View this as a web page - View eblast from April 25, 2016

MEP Update Meeting Reminder

System Update Meeting: Agenda and informational webinar.
We are three 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 updated agenda on the event website.

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

There will be a MEP Advisory Board meeting the following day on Thursday, May 19th. This meeting is open to all interested in attending. The Advisory Board agenda is also available, click here to view a copy.

Visit the event page on our website for more information. If you have any questions, please contact Samm Bowman at samm@nist.gov or 301-975-5978.

2015 Advisory Board Report

The MEP Advisory Board had yet another exciting year in 2015. This year, the Board welcomed back Carroll Thomas to MEP as the new Director of the program. In addition to the three full Board meetings, two subcommittees were formed in late 2014 that the Board continued to participate in during 2015. The Board worked closely with NIST MEP staff to help provide direction around the areas of Technology Acceleration and Board Governance, two very important topics of interest to the program. To learn more about the Board's activities from last year, read the latest Advisory Board Annual Report.

Doing Business with Trans-Pacific Partnership Countries

On April 22, 2016 U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker released a new report that highlights the benefits U.S. businesses can experience when exporting to the 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries. The report details each market’s top export sectors and explains how existing tariffs will be impacted once the agreement enters into force.

The report shows U.S. businesses how this important agreement can open doors for the high-quality American products and services that global consumers desire. By eliminating more than 18,000 tariffs on ‘Made-in-America’ products sold overseas, the TPP will enable U.S. businesses to compete on a level playing field, while defining the highest standards on labor, the environment, and the digital economy ever to be included in a trade agreement. To view the full report, click here. To learn more about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, visit www.trade.gov/tpp. To help determine the tariff reductions for various products to TPP countries once the agreement enters into force, visit the newly updated Tariff Tool. To hear personal success stories, click here.

The TPP is comprised of a diverse range of markets that range from top five U.S. export destinations – Canada, Mexico, and Japan – to growing Asia region markets – Malaysia and Vietnam – and Latin American markets with existing trade agreements for TPP to build upon – Chile and Peru.

MEP in the News

Alabama MEP and Partners Announce the Alabama Manufacturers and Supplier of the Year for 2016. Alabama Technology Network (ATN) and the Business Council of Alabama (BCA) presented the Alabama Manufacturer of the Year Awards on April 12th at the Alabama Activity Center in Montgomery, Alabama. This year the Alabama Automotive Manufacturer Association (AAMA) was added to this “working coalition” to announce the Alabama Supplier of the Year. The keynote speaker for this year’s event, Ms. Carroll Thomas, MEP Director, addressed over 200 attendees at the annual luncheon. More information about the event and the 2016 Manufacturers and Supplier of the Year are found at the following website. Learn More

Enterprise Minnesota president and CEO and Bob Kill (along with a number of Enterprise Minnesota clients) was interviewed by the Star Tribune about rural manufacturers are doing to attract and retain qualified workers. Learn More

TechSolve: How can you optimize your energy consumption? Learn More

MEP Events

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 9, 2016 at 2:30 PM EDT. Informational Webinar: Embedding MEP in NNMI Institute Pilot Projects. MEP will host a webinar for interested parties to learn more about the recent federal funding opportunity. To participate in this webinar, please provide your name and organization to mepffo@nist.gov. For more information about the FFO click here.

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.

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.

NEW!! May 12, 2016. Training in Philadelphia, PA: Management Development Certification (Event Link).

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.

NEW!!! May 18, 2016. Workshop in Cincinnati, OH: Problem Solving Course. (Event Link) This Problem Solving course will provide you with tools and techniques, to become a powerful
problem solver, critical thinker, and decision maker.

May 18-20, 2016. Symposium in Sun Valley, ID: 47th Annual Intermountain Institute of Food Technologist Symposium. (Event Link)

NEW!!! May 20, 2016. Webinar at 2:00 PM EDT: CRM Working Group: Value of Outsourcing New Client Leads (Webinar Link) Use of external/third party resources for development of new business can be very cost-effective.
Dwaine Raper of UT Center for Industrial Services (TN MEP) will share how they are this methodology successfully. We will have an open discussion following his presentation.

May 23-25, 2016. Training in Idaho Falls: 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 21-23, 2016. Workshop in Irvine, CA: Additive Manufacturing Community of Practice Workshop (Event Link) There is interest within the MEP network to develop a community of practice around additive manufacturing. To develop such a AM CoP, we are piloting a training workshop. The AM CoP workshop is at the University of California at Irvine and the tuition will be $400, not including the cost of travel. The training will be intensive and include modules covering: business and finance case development; each of the technologies; and a hands-on print. For more information click on the event link.

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.

AUGUST

NEW!!! August 14, 2016. Training in Philadelphia, PA: Six Sigma Green Belt (Event Link)