In this episode, I’m talking about the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a national network of experts dedicated to helping U.S. manufacturers.
They can be a big help at any time – but especially during these times of change, they have a lot of great resources that we can all glean from.
MEP's foundation is built upon its partnerships. MEP can serve as your thinking partner and a trusted advisor. They actively promote the importance of a strong manufacturing base as a key to a robust U.S. economy and protection of our national security interests.
I’ve had the privilege of working with both Iowa - CIRAS and Illinois - IMEC. These folks basically tailor their services to make sure they meet our critical needs.
We'll dive deeper into these concepts:
MEP’s 6 key areas of support
Training Within Industry
Developing online work instructions
Creating project definition and plan tailored to your needs
Following up third-party survey to confirm the results
Videos of MEP projects:
https://www.nist.gov/mep/mep-national-network/manufacturing-videos
Finally, here are some thoughts for you as a Leader:
Empathy - Are you still checking in with your teams?
Positive Outlook - While there are not yet certain answers, are you remembering your team’s strengths and talents?
Achievement Orientation - Are you asking your teams to commit to moving forward and asking them to set milestones and goals? Keep looking for several right answers and circle back with your teams to rethink and re-evaluate things.
Keep thinking about what your Value Proposition is - What are the key things where we add value?
Resources:
Manufacturing Extension Partnership https://www.nist.gov/mep
Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center - IMEC
https://www.imec.org/
The Center for Industrial Research and Service - CIRAS
https://www.ciras.iastate.edu/
Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce Technology Playbooks https://quadcitieschamber.com/economic-development/business-advantages/quad-cities-manufacturing-innovation-hub/playbooks
Connect with Me:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnfriesth/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/leadingthefactoryforward/
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I thank you so much for being here and I’ll see ya next time on Leading the Factory Forward.
— Lynn
