December 21, 2011

EQUIPMENT FINANCIERS CONFIDENT ABOUT 2012

Quick Manufacturing News
Confidence in the equipment finance market is holding steady and optimism about the year ahead seems stable, according to the December 2011 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry, released by The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation. Click to continue

GERMAN COMPANY FINDS RARE-EARTHS RESOURCES IN MADAGASCAR
Quick Manufacturing News
Tantalus Rare Earths says early-stage indications are 'encouraging.' Click to continue

CANADIAN OIL MAY GO TO CHINA WITHOUT KEYSTONE PIPELINE
Quick Manufacturing News
'I am very serious about selling our oil off this continent, selling our energy products off to Asia,' Prime Minister Stephen Harper said. 'I think we have to do that.' Click to continue

EDCUTAH OFF TO A GREAT START ON THIS FISCAL YEAR
Since July 1 of this year, the beginning of the State’s fiscal year, EDCUtah has announced 17 project wins that will add 7,852 new jobs and over $1 billion in capital investment in the state. The companies, jobs and capital investment involved are as follows:



Company
New Jobs
Capital Investment



eBay
2,200
$80M

Myers Industries, Inc.
20
$500K

Xlear
75
$10M

Leigh Fibers
65
$5M

Darigold
50
$30M

SAIC
200
TBD

Lifetime Products
142
$41M

Home Depot
650
$8M

ITT Excelis
2,700
$120M

Incomm
90
TBD

Pepperidge Farm - Campbell Soup Company
54
$44M

Sutter Health
250
TBD

WCP Solutions
25
$50

L-3 Communications
500
$13M

Futura Industries
140
$23M

Hexcel
616
$600M

Morgan-Stanley
75
$3M

According to Jeff Edwards, EDCUtah’s President, “Our pipeline is as full as ever. As of November we had 280 open projects, 11 new projects, and 52 site visits. It goes without saying that the past six months have been quite busy and, looking forward, we expect 2012 to be an exceptional year!”

NLRB FINALIZES AMBUSH ELECTION RULE
Joe Trauger – NAM
Early this morning the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finalized its ambush election rule, originally proposed in June. A copy of the final rule can be found here. The rule, which the NAM opposes, may effectively shorten the amount of time in which union certification elections take place and could allow votes to occur in as little as 20 days. This is a continuation of dramatic overreach by the NLRB that is harming job creators. The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, of which the NAM is a leading member, immediately filed a legal challenge to this rule in the federal court in Washington, D.C.

As we anticipated, the final rule, which will go into effect April 30, 2012, is similar to what the Board discussed in a public meeting on November 30. While scaled down from the original rule, the final rule still remains harmful to employers. Specifically, the rule would alter what types of pre-election hearings can be held (such as who is even eligible to vote in the election) and what types of appeals can be filed prior to an election. If certain matters can be discussed only after an election is held, these matters will often become moot, leaving the employer with no voice to be heard prior to the election. The rule also appears to shorten the time between a petition for certification being filed and the election being held. If most pre-election matters will be deferred until after the election, the election itself could take place on a very quick time frame.

We continue to explore all options the NAM has available to stop this attack on workplace election procedures and will notify you of any new information. If you have any questions, please contact me at (202) 637-3127 or Amanda Wood, Director, Human Resources Policy at (202) 637-3128.

Q&A: THE COMPLEXITIES OF RE-SHORING
Today in Manufacturing
In 2011, a lot of people were very optimistic that there was going to be a large influx coming back from off-shore ... continue

SAFETY RESOLUTIONS FOR 2012
UOSH Safety Line
As the new year approaches, it's a good time to reflect on the success of your safety program during the past year. Was safety a top priority for everyone in your organization? Did you manage to meet objectives, or do you perhaps need to make some new resolutions for 2012?

Evaluate Workplace Hazards: Your business may have already assessed the hazards associated with the job and implemented means to either eliminate or mitigate the hazards. However, some additional resolution that you might consider are:

• Take a second look at the layout, condition, and housekeeping of work areas.
• Examine tools and equipment to make sure they are safe for employees to use.
• Review maintenance schedules to make sure they are up to date.
• Observe the way employees work and correct unsafe behaviors you observe.
• Check to make sure that appropriate personal protective equipment is readily available to all workers and in good working condition.
• Identify other or possible new hazards such as potential fire, chemical, electrical, and other hazards throughout your facility and take action to eliminate these risks.
• Review your written programs and update as needed.

Emphasize training. Employee training is one of the most important aspect of any successful safety program.

• Review OSHA and any other federal, state or local standards for training requirements (many regulations have very specific requirements).
• Make sure training sessions are interactive and provide plenty of opportunities for questions and discussion.
• Take advantage of available technology to enhance and expand training options
• Provide demonstrations and hands-on experience during training sessions
• Don't forget to provide training for supervisors and managers (especially when new regulations, policies, equipment, processes,

Encourage Employee Participation. Encourage employees to make suggestions about how to improve workplace safety.

• Involve employees in problem-solving when challenging safety and health issues arise.
• Rely on safety committees composed of employees from all levels and functions in your organization to identify hazards, investigate accidents, and promote safe work habits among your workforce.

Recognize and reward safe behavior. Finally, don't forget to show your gratitude for the efforts employees, supervisors, and managers are making to create a safer workplace.

• Talk up safety at every opportunity. Let employees know that their safety is your top priority this year.
• Ask them to join you in making safety their top priority as well.
• Some companies like to use recognition and reward programs to reinforce safe behavior and positive safety attitudes