The Rhode Island Economic Policy Council is working with Rhode Island manufacturers and manufacturing support agencies to develop a state economic development strategy for manufacturers. “There is a definite need to articulate the continuing importance of manufacturing in our state economy and define what our state strategy should be”, says Christopher Bergstrom, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council. The difficult transition to the New Economy combined with defense downsizing masks the potential for economic growth in Rhode Island’s progressive manufacturers. The preliminary version of the manufacturing strategy will be presented at a breakfast on May 2 with the written report to follow later in the month. This strategy will provide a framework to tie together the separate efforts supporting manufacturing growth. A variety of policy recommendations are expected to come out of this work.
On March 27 and 28 the Policy Council brought together a dozen manufacturing leaders and a handful of economic development professionals at Alton Jones to outline the important dynamics affecting the growth of manufacturers in the region. The EPC, with MBA students from MIT, used a systems dynamics approach to diagram the points of leverage in the system as well as the key threats. At the end of the retreat the group developed an outline of what components must be addressed to have a complete manufacturing strategy. The Policy Council believes that successful economic development strategy needs input from the business community. To be relevant, the strategy needs to emanate from the needs of manufacturers themselves and an understanding of the pressures shaping business decisions.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
Target Resources were the Growth Potential is Highest
One of the overarching concerns voiced at the retreat was that we are spreading resources too thin by not focusing on progressive manufacturers. It is estimated that 80% of the growth potential for manufacturing is found in 20% of the firms. Overall manufacturing employment is declining in Rhode Island and growing slowly nationally. The growth of the progressive manufacturers is buried among the numbers.
Actions that distinguish progressive manufacturers:
* Investing in new technology
* Training workers in high level skills, not just how to perform spe cific tasks
* Involving workers in productivity enhancement through open manage- ment practices
* Developing new markets for their
* products domestically or abroad
* Offering services such as design, prototyping, and customization
* Developing new products
* Improving production processes
We need to take a new approach to targeting assistance for manufacturers. The traditional way is to analyze data and target programs is by industry or by employment size. This just doesn’t work for manufacturing. There are dynamic businesses of all sizes and within all industries. This is the reason the growth potential of manufacturing is so easily overlooked by standard economic analysis. The peer review process used by the Human Resources Investment Council for awarding training grants does a good job at targeting funds to progressive companies that have a strategy to improve their competitiveness. This is a model that may apply to other forms of economic development assistance.
The Other Innovation Technology Sector
Progressive manufacturers have an image problem that impacts their ability to attract motivated, skilled workers. The image of manufacturing is overwhelmed by businesses moving overseas, high-profile business failures, and the image of the traditional assembly line. The information technology revolution has transformed the workplace of progressive manufacturing operations just as it has transformed innovative segments of the service sector. Computers are used in all phases of the manufacturing process including design work (CAD), interfacing with suppliers and customers, controlling machinery, and quality control. Computers have helped make manufacturing workplaces cleaner and safer. Manufacturers need to employ innovative people who are skilled with computer technology.
Therefore, attracting a quality workforce remains the industry’s number one concern.
Unfortunately these opportunities are not communicated to students through parents or guidance councilors. Manufacturing is thought to be an old industry, and parents often steer children toward service jobs, which are seen as cleaner and more cerebral.
Need to Connect and Learn
The progressive manufacturer is continually faced with new challenges. Whether the company is venturing into foreign markets for the first time, acquiring or spinning off new divisions, launching a new product, or negotiating an intellectual property license, there is a continual need for high-level professional development. We need to figure out how to make connections between manufacturers who have experience in a field and those that are facing a fresh challenge.
Rhode Island has some valuable professional development resources such as Bryant College, RIMES and the Slater Centers. Now, it needs to better coordinate and target these resources to meet manufacturers most compelling needs.
