Leadership

MFG DAY Webinars for Potential Hosts

To familiarize potential hosts with MFG DAY, the National Association of manufacturing will be hosting several webinars this month.

If you’re curious about what your options are for hosting an event, how to get people to your event, or how you can make MFG DAY work for your company, these webinars provide opportunities to learn from past successes and to ask questions.

Tuesday, May 23
Noon – 12:45 p.m. EST
Register now

Thursday, May 25
1:00 – 1:45 p.m. EST
Register now

NAM’s Christopher Glen, Director, Public Affairs & Grassroots Advocacy, is a great MFG DAY resource if you want to connect with someone personally. Email or call Chris at (202) 637-3121. 5/18/2017

Next Week is Infrastructure Week – Let’s Make Some Noise

Next week is Infrastructure Week, so the time to speak out is now. Serious investment in our transportation, energy and communications infrastructure not only would help manufacturers compete but also would improve the lives of American families.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has put together this online toolkit to equip you with ways to engage in this important conversation—online, in social media and in local communities.

Learn more about Infrastructure Week and take a few minutes to take action.  5/10/2017

Data Driven Manufacturing Operations – Agile, Fast, Real Time, Disruptive

Data-driven manufacturers integrate predictive analytics throughout their organizations and decision-making processes, allowing them a far deeper level of analysis of customer demands. The growing field of data analytics goes beyond simply keeping score of current and past events. Data analytics identify the drivers of past and future outcomes and help manufacturers tactically plan in more strategic ways.

How can manufacturers integrate analytics into their own organizations? Read more from OMA Connections Partner, MCM, CPAs and Advisors.  5/11/2017

Learn about Digitalization and Adoption from Industry Leaders

The digitization of manufacturing impacts every aspect of operations and the supply chain. Attend this one-day event at the GE Aviation Learning Center, Cincinnati, to hear from the experts how to manage your complex business process from product development to manufacturing.

Learn how smart manufacturing technologies drive process improvements, reduce operational costs, and achieve greater efficiencies and productivity.

• Get direct access to automation, IoT and big data technology and expert advice
• Hear first-hand what works – and what doesn’t – when it comes to implementing and maintaining IoT in industrial networks
• Make new connections and build relationships with partners and peers

Register here! Use code OMA to receive a $100 discount!  5/11/2017

MFG DAY is October 6, 2017

Manufacturing Day (MFG DAY) will take place on October 6 this year. The annual national celebration puts modern manufacturing, its talented workforce, the amazing products manufactured, and the exciting career paths available to today’s students in the spotlight.

Studies show that when a student visits a manufacturing facility, he or she is much more likely to consider a manufacturing career. What we do on Manufacturing Day is essential to building the modern manufacturing workforce.

It’s not too early to start planning the amazing event you will host. Check out the newly redesigned resources section on the MFG DAY website, where you’ll find planning guides, social and traditional media playbooks, logos and much more.

There has never been a more exciting time to be a manufacturer in America!  5/8/2017

House Passes State Budget Bill with OMA-backed Amendments

Facing a continuing deterioration of revenues, the House this week passed a budget bill, House Bill 49, that will likely be revisited through the Senate and conference committee processes through June. Income tax receipts lagged expectations by about $100 million in April. That continues a downward trend for the year.

The House accepted a large omnibus amendment before passing the bill. Included in the omnibus is an amendment sought by the OMA and its business group partners: eliminating a proposed fee on businesses that file municipal income taxes online through the Ohio Business Gateway. Yes, a fee to pay taxes. OMA’s testimony urged the elimination of the fee as well as restoration of the governor’s proposal to streamline municipal tax collection.

A second amendment revised the governor’s proposed elimination of the “throwback” rule. The proposed language was detrimental to any manufacturer that sold tangible personal property from a township. The successful amendment revised the proposal to ensure manufacturers located in townships would not be harmed by the law change.

The bill made several other tax minor tax changes that can be reviewed in this comparison document.  5/4/2017

Manufacturers Back New U.S. Secretary of Labor Acosta

Last week, by a vote of 60-38, Alex Acosta was confirmed by the Senate and subsequently sworn in as the 27^th Department of Labor Secretary.

National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons sent a letter to the U.S. Senate that extolled Acosta’s proven track record of protecting American workers. Timmons wrote: “… He brings a unique experience from his time on the National Labor Relations Board where he had firsthand knowledge of the complexities of current labor policies and how these polices have stifled competitiveness, investment and job creation.”

And, “… I am confident he will work with manufacturers to eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens while protecting the health and safety of our employees.”  4/29/2017

Brown Suggests Four-Point NAFTA Plan to Trump

Following earlier personal communication with President Trump, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent to the president a four-point NAFTA renegotiation proposal.

Brown suggested renegotiating: anti-outsourcing and Buy American provisions; individualized negotiation strategies for manufacturing sectors that have been hurt by outsourcing; more meaningful enforcement mechanisms; and ensuring American workers and consumers have an equal seat at the table.

Brown’s office also reports multiple meetings with Commerce Secretary Ross and U.S. Trade Representative nominee Robert Lighthizer on NAFTA.  5/4/2017

Will You Need to Comply with the EU’S New General Data Protection Regulation?

OMA Connections Partner, Gilmore Jaison Mahler, Ltd., (GJM) posts this about an impending regulation you may need to comply with if you do business in the European Union (EU), the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

“Ask yourself:

• Do we offer goods and services to people in the European Union (“EU”)?
• Do we have third parties which store or send data to the EU?
• Do we collect or analyze any data of EU residents?
• Do we have any EU citizens as part of our workforce?”

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may need to be in compliance with the GDPR a year from now. Read more from GJM.  5/2/2017

Ohio Business Gateway Modernization Project

The Ohio Business Gateway is an online filing and payment system that processed more than five million transactions and $12.4 billion in online payments last year.

The Gateway Modernization Project began in 2015 when Governor Kasich appointed Lt. Governor Taylor as chair of the Ohio Business Gateway Steering Committee. Lt. Governor Taylor is leading a project to modernize the Gateway and make it more responsive to the needs of its business users.

Phase I of the Gateway Modernization Project is focused on improved user experience and simpler transaction flows. This phase goes live this fall and includes:

• A modern look and feel will make the Gateway more intuitive and easier to use.
• Pre-populated information and fewer required clicks will reduce the time it takes to complete transactions.
• Online help functionality will provide real-time information and the ability to request assistance any time, from any page on the Gateway.

If you have questions about the Gateway, you can email here.  5/2/2017