ReleaseWire

People Driven Performance (PDP) Solutions, a software development company, providing manufacturers internal and interactive communications, will be exhibiting at the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) Conference Booth #54 in Jacksonville, FL from November 10-14, 2014.

PDP Solutions, a software development company providing manufacturers internal and interactive communications announced a strategic partnership with Employee Engagement Institute (EEI) to deliver a suite of engagement solutions unmatched in the industry. PDP Solutions’ communication software and EEI’s tool-based engagement solutions will be combined to deliver maximum engagement for manufacturing employees.

Increasing productivity through employee recognition and rewards can be effective. Louise Dickmeyer shared in the company blog. When manufacturing operations get behind and deliverables fail to meet the schedule, it impacts every internal and external department from assembly line to warehouse to transportation, and so on. Supply chains are only as good as the people in charge of keeping the promised delivery dates. It is just as important for manufacturers to keep equipment in great shape as it is for them to keep people in great shape by showing meaningful appreciation on a day-to-day basis.

For the second time in three years, salaries in 2014 decreased slightly for quality professionals, who said their organization's quality culture plays a key role in the overall satisfaction of their job and salary, according to Quality Progress magazine's 28th annual Salary Survey. PDP profiled the survey in the company blog. PDP Solutions President, Louise Dickmeyer, highlighted the importance of the survey stressing the organization's culture and employee engagement is essential for job satisfaction.

Louise Dickmeyer, President of People Driven Performance Solutions discussed in the company blog, "The plant floor workers need user interface ease, simplicity to be engaged, involved, and retained. Too often without this shop floor personnel connection, a dollar an hour more per hour down the street has the workforce exiting in droves." The last decade has seen somewhat of a technological revolution with consumer user experience (UX) pushing boundaries and exceeding expectations of what is possible. At the turn of the century, the idea of using a mobile phone app to make coffee, plot the precise locations of flu epidemics using social media reports, or track the journeys of trains, planes and automobiles, would have been dismissed as sci-fi. We now take such concepts for granted.

Increasing productivity through employee recognition and rewards can be effective. Louise Dickmeyer shared in the company blog. When manufacturing operations get behind and deliverables fail to meet the schedule, it impacts every internal and external department from assembly line to warehouse to transportation, and so on. Supply chains are only as good as the people in charge of keeping the promised delivery dates. It is just as important for manufacturers to keep equipment in great shape as it is for them to keep people in great shape by showing meaningful appreciation on a day-to-day basis.

PDP Solutions recently featured Ram Lonkar, who suggested that the customer experience has become the most important aspect in achieving success for organizations all over the world. PDP Solutions President, Louise Dickmeyer stressed the importance of retaining a quality workforce to improve customer service in the company blog.

Manufacturers' Pain Points reported increased headcount requires an immediate communication strategy action plan whether a fifteen-person small manufacturing shop for the past decade, or a relative start-up manufacturer, experiencing great growth. It is quite a different organization that grows from 15 to 30 people. How teams communicate, how leadership manages, how safety, quality, teamwork happens changes. Growth is great; strategized communication as part of growth is essential. Too often CEOs of manufacturing operations, who once knew the names of each employee and family members, is not sure of every employee walking the very same plant floor. This disconnect from manufacturing leadership to employees throughout the organization creates disengagement, loss of company culture, company pride, and often company loyalty. There are tools to ensure that everyone in the company both has a voice and experiences the voice of company leadership.

Manufacturers' Pain Points newsletter reported 200 new jobs in South Florida, hard-hit by the 2008 recession. Stretch Wrap Packaging Industries has moved its manufacturing facilities to Fort Lauderdale and plans to add 200 jobs over the next three years, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance. The private company is moving its facilities from Suriname. The manufacturer of stretch wrap packaging will invest $12 million here. "The U.S. economy gaining back momentum and the perceived quality of products manufactured in the USA worldwide, were some of key drivers to relocate the facilities to the United States," Stretch Wrap Packaging VP Rahul Singh said in a news release. "While our manufacturing operations could have been located anywhere within the United States, the global strategic location of Broward County, being centrally located in South Florida with its gateway to Latin America and the world, coupled with its strong infrastructure, state tax advantage and quality of life made Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County the ideal location for our business." Enterprise Florida and the city of Fort Lauderdale officials also helped the company with the move. The pain is hiring and ensuring that the skillsets of this new workforce are consistent and can easily utilize dynamic communication tools in a multi-cultural environment.

PDP Solutions recently profiled Ram Lonkar, whom revealed three real value added aspects of retaining competitive talent base. PDP Solutions President, Louise Dickmeyer stressed the importance of building and retaining quality employees in the company blog.

Manufacturers' Pain Point newsletter reported General Motors supplier Magna International is investing in mid-Michigan in a big way, opening one 340-job facility on Tuesday and getting state approval for incentives on another 280-job facility in the area. Magna Exteriors and Interiors will invest $57 million in a Windsor Township facility expected to create 281 jobs after approval from the Michigan Strategic Fund. Magna Exteriors and Interiors is a subsidiary of Magna International. The new Windsor Township location will produce and assemble parts such as interior doors, floor consoles and instrument panel components. It's expected to be 200,000 square feet and rest on a 60-acre parcel.

Manufacturers' Pain Pints newsletter reported that come this spring, 300 new jobs will be available in Valencia County thanks to Global Fashion Technologies, Inc., a clothing manufacturing company that will be operating and headquartered at the old Solo Cup facility south of Rio Communities. Tom Witthuhn, CEO of the publicly-traded company, said he expects to start operations in late April or early May of 2015, bringing jobs that will pay an average of $40,000. The announcement of the new manufacturing company came as state, county and local dignitaries gathered outside the 165,000-square-foot building at the Rio Grande Industrial Park.

Louise Dickmeyer, President of People Driven Performance Solutions discussed in the company blog, "The plant floor workers need user interface ease, simplicity to be engaged, involved, and retained. Too often without this shop floor personnel connection, a dollar an hour more per hour down the street has the workforce exiting in droves." The last decade has seen somewhat of a technological revolution with consumer user experience (UX) pushing boundaries and exceeding expectations of what is possible. At the turn of the century, the idea of using a mobile phone app to make coffee, plot the precise locations of flu epidemics using social media reports, or track the journeys of trains, planes and automobiles, would have been dismissed as sci-fi. We now take such concepts for granted.

PDP Solutions recently profiled Ram Lonkar, an important blogger writing about building and retaining a competitive talent base and delivering extraordinary customer experience. PDP Solutions President, Louise Dickmeyer stressed the importance of building and retaining quality employees in the company blog.

The Manufacturers' Pain Points newsletter reported there are some common themes small manufacturers face. Inefficiencies derive from a company not having a production schedule. It can help a business measure its performance. The best companies review their performance daily, and a 15-minute review on the shop floor in the morning on what the issues are impacting production can help save time and money.

The Manufacturers' Pain Points newsletter reported that mishandling communication can cost a manufacturer, from missed orders, quality issues, and running out of material to increased scrap, absenteeism, and turnover, to misunderstanding customer need and selling the wrong product. Separate silos of information can arise between functional departments, to the point where it is almost necessary to introduce Engineering to Production and Sales to Accounting. Weak growth, profit, and morale can result, prompting the founder-owner or president of many small to mid-sized American manufacturing companies to question what can be done to narrow the gap between their original entrepreneurial vision and today's frustrating reality.

The Manufacturers' Pain Points newsletter reported the needs for new capacity and replacement cycles have converged for all types of transportation equipment—autos, trucks, airplanes, ships, and railroad. Small manufacturers need to be part of the growth cycle. An aging population has accelerated the demand for medical care, including medical supplies and, equipment. Furthermore, the manufacturing industry itself is attracting significant investment in machinery and structures thanks to the faster pace of growth and widening backlogs driven by the above themes.

Manufacturing management practices such as just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, total quality management (TQM), statistical process control (SPC), and employee involvement (El) were created more than two decades ago. Manufacturing leaders must ask critical questions about the key areas within the organization for competitive improvement; questions regarding essential technologies that will improve these competitive areas with the least cost, and the sequence in which these opportunities should best be addressed. And the levels of rigorous employee feedback, engagement, enrollment, must all be handled in an environment often fraught with strong resistance to change.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in November for the 18th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 66th consecutive month, reported the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. Louise Dickmeyer, President of PDP Solutions discussed in the company blog, the growth in manufacturing is good news, and will be painful without preparing for employee communication.

Small manufacturers know they lack the bandwidth of larger companies, more work is done by fewer people. The Manufacturers' Pain Points newsletter reported that the Manufacturing Extension Partnership can be of great assistance to small manufactures. This means more work is done by fewer people. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) has been committed to strengthening U.S. manufacturing, continually evolving to meet the changing needs of manufacturers. Through its services and partnerships it has had a profound impact on the growth of well-paying jobs, the development of dynamic manufacturing communities, and the enhancement of American innovation and global competitiveness. MEP's strength is in its partnerships.

PDP Solutions was featured in the December 2014 issue of MN Valley Business magazine. The article authored by Nell Musolf was titled, "Driven by People." Louise Dickmeyer, President of PDP Solutions explained, "I was attracted by the social significance of the work. Specifically, putting people first, communicating effectively with employees and creating a culture of trust and transparency – all of which drive higher levels of engagement and organizational performance. That was my key interest in PDP."

Manufacturing management practices such as just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, total quality management (TQM), statistical process control (SPC), and employee involvement (El) were created more than two decades ago. Manufacturers' Pain Points, a weekly newsletter, will address compliance challenges in the upcoming issue. The weekly e-newsletter identifies manufacturing pain points that many industrial leaders are facing.

The current issue of Manufacturers' Pain Points reported women lost more manufacturing roles than they gained. In fact, women's share of the manufacturing sector is currently just over 27 percent – the lowest level since 1971. This means that while women represent nearly half of the total U.S. labor force, they only constitute approximately a quarter of the U.S. manufacturing workforce.

The current Manufacturers' Pain Points newsletter suggested modernizing workplace policies and procedures proves beneficial to manufacturers of all sizes. Companies cannot realize full potential unless the talent is optimized, supporting women and overall family needs in the 21st century. The Atlantic Monthly reported that half dozen global studies, conducted by the likes of Goldman Sachs and Columbia University, have found that "companies employing women in large numbers outperform their competitors on every measure of profitability." The number of women who earned a bachelor or master's degree has out-paced men since the early 90's, yet women still do not reach corporate suites (C-suites) or boardrooms in the same proportions. In fact, only 4.8 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. This startling fact means that companies lose out on talent and profit due to turnover costs. Lost talent and turnover are also symptoms of ignoring the influx of younger workers who want diversity in the workplace and expect modern employee policies.

Manufacturing organizations are producing products that often require an extraordinary amount of engineering knowledge, experience, and problem-solving. Louise Dickmeyer, President of PDP Solutions shared in the company blog, that the single focus for any manufacturer is to make a great product as efficiently as possible, and it is often a challenge to tell the "story of the day." Active content is critical to the success of all manufacturing companies.

The current Manufacturers' Pain Points newsletter reported while lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives get all the headlines, the emergence of women into management is equally important. As the face of manufacturing is changing so is the perception of women in manufacturing; employers now recognize that women are particularly willing to embrace change and innovation and learn new skills as well as be strong communicators. These data suggest that women's abilities in these areas have been honed by experience in managing, listening, and "getting things done" - skills developed by multi-tasking through the challenges of school, family, and work.

The current issue of Manufacturers' Pain Points newsletter explained that Women in Manufacturing is a 500-member-strong national organization dedicated to the attraction, retention, and advancement of women who are pursuing or have chosen a career in the manufacturing industry.