Newsweek Magazine just published an article this week about “How to build again.”  And in this article author Rana Foroohar points out that newly released report from Deloitte Touche give US manufactures some hope they can stay in the global game.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, manufacturing has not become a race to the bottom when it comes to wages; the skill levels of the US worker makes them twice as productive as those in the next 10 leading manufacturing economies. It is innovation, not how cheap or expensive labor is, that determines whether a country will be successful in manufacturing.

Here at FACTIVITY we have made it our focus to provide innovation to the manufacturing sector of our economy.  This innovation is entirely deployed on the factory floor and in the hands of the labor force that need to work more effectively with information tools (not just machines and parts).

It often amazes me that the service industry, a long time ago, found a way to improve productivity with information tools and yet manufacturing is still implementing bar code readers on the factory floor and expecting improvements.  All they are really getting is a faster way to track their unproductive workers.

FACTIVITY has proven time and time again that along with improved factory floor visibility comes better control of both labor and materials.  And improving the visibility requires involvement of the labor force with easy-to-use information tools that help move the production along in a lean and efficient manner.