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Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Holiday! |
Replicating Your Best Performers |
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
One project I was involved with sought to establish a structured on-the-job training program for a “CNC Operator” position and establish an apprenticeship. It consisted of around 40 different machines; manual and NC-operated of several brands, controller types and purposes. When I analyze a job – task by task – I first contact the resident “subject matter expert.” It is my experience that in lieu of accurate standard process documents that everyone can use when assigned a machine, each operator keeps their own setup and operation notes. They might be reluctant to share them.
As analysts, we assume that if the subject matter expert is assigned to us, it is a reflection of management’s confidence in the operator’s consistently high level of performance. We also learn a lot about the sub-culture that has arisen at the organization, bordering on “work performance anarchy.” Despite the connotations, this is a useful revelation. This lack of vital information sharing that has been going on can be eliminated. The collective wealth of task-specific information can be screened, validated, standardized and revision-controlled to be shared with all who are asked to perform the tasks.
This highlights several other preexisting issues in addition to the obvious. First, if the company is ISO/AS/IATF certified, an auditor would be appalled and likely “gig” the company for the use of uncontrolled “process documents.” Notes in toolboxes and lunchboxes are not revision controlled. If the company has even questionable process documents that they claim drive their “high level of quality performance” the existence of operator notes are a strong contradiction. A client visiting the site may have serious doubts about the practices, as well.
The next issue is, “what role do these notes play in the training of new-hires and cross-training incumbents?” Does the trainee even know these are available? My experience has been that each trainee is on their own to create their own notes…if they even think it is necessary. So now we have multiple sets of notes for each machine, seldom compared and standardized, AND the company’s process documents if they exist. This is a recipe for incidents of scrap, rework and equipment damage at a minimum. Read Article
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What Are You “Turning Over” When You Say You Have “High Turnover?” |
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
It is not hard to overhear human resource managers commiserating over the high rate of “employee turnover“ they are encountering and struggling to remedy. In listening a little more closely, it is not entirely clear as to what that phrase, seemingly ubiquitous, means today. Is this a conversation where both parties seem to believe they know what the other is talking about, but underlying each case are different facts?
Not too long ago, turnover meant the rate of loss of employees to replace those who exited the company. It usually referred to those employees in which the employer had made an investment to develop them into an asset. it appears many still see that as a general description, but the source of their struggles seems to address other structural issues.
Is important to distinguish between four different types of labor turnover to be accurate. First, there are the individuals that apply for a job, are hired, but do not appear the first day of work. The only investment the company made is the time it took to interview the individual and log them in as an employee.
The second type of turnover concerns the individuals that have gone through the interview process, showed-up for work, stayed for a few weeks and then decided the job wasn’t for them for whatever reason. In this case, the company has more of an investment in developing the employee, but it is still rather insignificant.
The third type of turnover concerns employees that have been hired, who received a significant amount of training and pay while in training and have stayed for several months – almost reaching a recognizable level of productivity and return on the employer's worker investment. Understandably, the employer has more of an investment in this type of employee and their loss is felt more.
The fourth type of turnover is more critical. The loss of employees that have been trained, have been with the company for the long-term, in whom the company has made a significant investment and their contribution to the operation is felt more deeply if they leave.
When employers are literally trying to find anyone with a heartbeat to interview and hire, and some even skip the interview process, it shouldn’t be any wonder that a large portion of those individuals may not show up the first day of work or stay around very long. Read More
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Pairing Structured On-the-Job Training with Related Technical Instruction Just Makes Sense |
by Frank Gibson, Workforce Development Advisor, retired from The Ohio State University – Alber Enterprise Center
I have for worked with educational institutions for many years, trying to reach out to employers with the latest and best courses and seminars they had. It is what we did with good intentions, but in many cases this was a difficult sale at best. Their products were often already built…before they precisely knew the needs of the employer. If the employer engaged them for our services, when delivered it was more of an underwhelming experience for the customer than I felt comfortable with. Often it didn’t lead to follow-on work.
An employer’s operation is driven by accounting for the bottom line. Accountants are quick to dismiss core and technical instruction as a cost. That is what they were taught in college, and truthfully there is no evidence that attending a course improves work performance in most cases. Sadly, that level of "job relevance" or content validity was considered less important than the power of the institution's name that was promoting the products or services.
When I became familiar with Structured On-The-Job Training (SOJT), I appreciated SOJT because SOJT built from the bottom up. The training delivery structure was designed around the actual tasks the employee is expected to master, for which the employer hired the individual in the first place. Structuring the best practices into training delivery so that workers can learn faster how to perform each task and to standardize the delivery between each shift's trainers and each trainee gets to the company’s bottom line. It is seen as an investment that can be defended to accountants, unlike core and technical instruction.
There’s always direct evidence that mastering one more task means an incremental increase in worker capacity. Read More
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Regional Workforce Development Partnerships That Enhance Economic Development Efforts |
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
Most area economic development goals are simple; expand the tax base so revenue is available to maintain and sustain the local socio-economic system. Strategies to accomplish this may differ but often include adding to the employment base of the community and/or region, since an effort to expand consumption – mandatory and discretionary – produces a “multiplier effect” as money circulates through the community. This goal can be reached by local and state governments offering tax abatement, cash and/or infrastructure improvements to companies seeking to relocate, or which are in an expansion mode. At lease, that was the simple vision of economists past.
It is fairly a proven fact, however, that in the past three decades the results of these tactics have become mixed as large corporations became larger and used their clout to seek incentives and cheap labor throughout the world. Commitments to local communities providing the incentives often evaporated faster than the ink on the documents dried, and corporations hopped from state to state, country to country, upsetting the stability of local tax bases, economies, communities and regions.
Economic development agencies and government leaders have always talked about helping locally grown enterprises which create an estimated 70-80% of the new jobs in the country. As they start, grow and expand they would hire more, provide more in taxes and be more likely to stay put. As large corporations gained more control of the policies and policy makers of the states and the federal government, the focus drifted away from local small and mid-size businesses and toward policies and strategies that helped large corporations at great expense.
It may be time for an economic development strategy that, out of necessity, focuses on smaller enterprises with solid ties to the communities as more and more large corporations with multi-national ties contribute less and less to local and regional economies and tax bases. It may be time to focus on local start-ups, small and medium size enterprises, and on companies that are bucking the “offshoring of jobs” trend and on to companies that are reshoring, relocating or expanding here from other countries. The cost of investing in economic development may shrink, economies may stabilize and grow, and communities and societies may be driven from despair toward hope and vitality with each new opportunity. Read More
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Proactive Technologies, Inc. Worker Development News
Industry News
Financial News
International News
International Trade News
Education and Workforce Development News
Training and Organizational Development News
Quality News
Science
Cyber and IT News
Human Resources Management News
Environmental, Health & Safety News
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Economic Analysis |
Gross Domestic Product Third Quarter 2022 (Advance Estimate)
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022, in contrast to a decrease of 0.6 percent in the second quarter. The increase in the third quarter primarily reflected increases in exports and consumer spending that were partly offset by a decrease in housing investment. Read Report
Personal Income and Outlays, September 2022
Personal income increased $78.9 billion, or 0.4 percent at a monthly rate, while consumer spending increased $113.0 billion, or 0.6 percent, in September. The increase in personal income primarily reflected increases in compensation and personal income receipts on assets. The personal saving rate (that is, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income) was 3.1 percent in September, compared with 3.4 percent in August. Read Report
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of the Census |
Advanced Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders
New orders for manufactured durable goods in September, up six of the last seven months, increased $1.0 billion or 0.4 percent to $274.7 billion. September 2022: +0.4° % change; August 2022 (r): +0.2° % change. Read Report
Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders
New orders for manufactured goods in August decreased less than $0.1 billion or virtually unchanged to $548.4 billion. August 2022: -0.0° % change; July 2022 (r): -1.0° % change. Read Report
Household Pulse Survey
What is the Household Pulse Survey?
The U.S. Census Bureau, in collaboration with multiple federal agencies, is in a unique position to produce data on the social and economic effects of coronavirus on American households. The Household Pulse Survey is designed to deploy quickly and efficiently, collecting data to measure household experiences during the coronavirus pandemic. Data will be disseminated in near real-time to inform federal and state response and recovery planning. Read Data
Small Business Pulse Survey
The Small Business Pulse Survey (Business Pulse) measures the effect of changing business conditions during the Coronavirus pandemic on our nation's small businesses. Business Pulse complements existing U.S. Census Bureau data collections by providing high-frequency, detailed information on the challenges small businesses are facing during the Coronavirus pandemic as well as their participation in federal programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program. Read Report
Monthly State Retail Sales
The Monthly State Retail Sales (MSRS) is the Census Bureau's new experimental data product featuring modeled state-level retail sales. This is a blended data product using Monthly Retail Trade Survey data, administrative data, and third-party data. Year-over-year percent changes are available for Total Retail Sales excluding Nonstore Retailers as well as 11 retail North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) retail subsectors. These data are provided by state and NAICS codes beginning with January 2019. The Census Bureau plans to continue to improve the methodology to be able to publish more data in the future. Access Tables
Economic Indicators
A composite of many of the requested domestic facts and figures. Visit Table
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U. S. Department of Labor Statistics |
Consumer Price Index
In September, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 8.2 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent in September (SA); up 6.6 percent over the year (NSA). Read Report
Producer Price Index
The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.4 percent in September. Prices for final demand services and for final demand goods both rose 0.4 percent. The index for final demand advanced 8.5 percent for the 12 months ended in September. Read Report
Job Openings and Labor Turnover
In August, job openings rates decreased in 26 states, increased in 2 states, and were little changed in 22 states and the District of Columbia. The largest decreases in job openings rates occurred in Michigan (-2.4 percentage points), Ohio (-2.0 points), and Indiana (-1.9 points). The increases in job openings rates occurred in Alaska (+4.0 percentage points) and Wyoming (+2.3 points). Over the month, the national job openings rate decreased (-0.6 point). Read Report
Unemployment Rate for States
Unemployment Rates for States, Seasonally Adjusted. Read Report
Civilian Labor Participation Rate
For a 20 year chart of the U.S. Civilian Labor Participation Rate. Read Report
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Cornell Law School - U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index |
U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index
For December 2020 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® has been revised to a level of 81.24, down by 0.91% from its revised level one month earlier and reflecting a higher proportion - relative to the prior month - of U.S. production and non-supervisory (P&NS) jobs paying less than the mean weekly income of all P&NS jobs (“Low Quality Jobs”), relative to those jobs paying above such mean. The JQI remains heavily impacted by the extraordinary disruption in the number and composition of private sector production and non-supervisory jobs since the beginning of the U.S. impact of the COVID19 global pandemic, with regard to which the following additional special factors should be noted: Read Report
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Micron Unveils New $100 Billion New York Semiconductor Plant |
IndustryWeek – Agence France-Presse
Micron, describing the plant as the “largest semiconductor fabrication facility in the history of the United States,” said the venture would directly create 9,000 jobs.
Micron announced Tuesday it will invest up to $100 billion to build semiconductors in New York state, capitalizing on U.S. policies to boost domestic manufacturing of key goods.
The chip giant, which is based in the western state of Idaho, said it plans to begin construction in 2024 on a project expected to be executed over two decades.
New York state is providing $5.5 billion in state incentives over the life of the build-out and the project also expects to utilize tax credits under the Chips Act signed into law by President Biden in August, said a Micron news release. Read Article
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How the Financialization of America Hurt Workers and the Economy |
IndustryWeek - Michael Collins
At its peak in the mid 20th century, manufacturing had 40% of all profits and 29% of the nation’s jobs. Today, finance has 40% of profits with 5% of the jobs.
Prior to 1980, the financial industry’s role was to fund business and enable investment. But over the years, a new financial strategy has emerged: financialization. It is defined by University of Iowa history professor Colin Gordon as the “growing scale and profitability of the finance sector relative to the rest of the economy, and the shrinking regulation of its rules and returns.”
It began with deregulation and slowly grew to create changes in tax, trade, regulatory and corporate governance law and policy. Financialization is about shareholder value and short-term profits and is based on speculation, risk and debt to enrich investors. This article will show how financialization and the quest for short-term profits has permeated all American corporations.
The following chart shows that the finance industry grew from 10% of GDP in 1950 to 22% by 2020. The disproportionate growth of finance diverted income from labor to capital. At its peak in the mid 20th century, manufacturing had 40% of all profits and 29% of the nation’s jobs. Today, finance has 40% of the nation’s profits with 5% of the jobs. One of the big problems caused by finance rising and manufacturing sinking is that a low-employment industry replaced a high-employment industry. Read Article
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Dispelling Myths on Manufacturing Day |
IndustryWeek - Gustavo Sepulveda
We must put aside common misconceptions around education, jobs and automation in order to move forward.
There are many common myths when it comes to the manufacturing industry. Some might play a role manufacturers are struggling to find new talent and break any barriers to digital transformation.
According to Deloitte, U.S. manufacturing is expected to have 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030.
In order to fill these roles, we must put aside these common misconceptions around manufacturing education, jobs and automation and gain control over the future of our manufacturing processes. Read Article
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Job Quality Index Falls to 81.07 |
Coalition for a Prosperous America
WASHINGTON — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today announced that the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI) fell 0.45% to 81.07 in August, as low-quality job additions exceeded high-quality additions.
Low quality jobs, i.e. jobs that pay weekly wages below the national average for all production and nonsupervisory workers, increased in the latest month, particularly in the restaurant and retail industry, bringing down the JQI. There were smaller increases in some high quality jobs in health care and transportation equipment manufacturing.
The average weekly wage for production and nonsupervisory workers came in at $935.24 in August, up 5.3% on the year-earlier level, still below the rate of consumer price inflation. Read Article
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China-Based Gotion Plans Big Rapids, Michigan, Operations |
Area Development - News Desk
China-based Global battery company Gotion will build a battery component manufacturing facility in Big Rapids, Michigan. The $2.36 billion project is expected to create 2,350 jobs.
The facility will produce 150,000 tons of cathode material per year, covering an area estimated to span 260 acres with plans to build two 550,000 square foot production plants along with other supporting facilities. Additionally, the investment will involve the construction of two production plants specifically dedicated to producing anodes, ultimately resulting in 50,000 tons of anode material produced per year. Read Article
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Intermodal Struggles Continue as Congestion, Capacity, Supply Chain Disruptions Persist |
DC Velocity
The far-flung intermodal operations of the nation’s Class 1 railroads continue to deal with a host of challenges as shippers look to get peak season cargoes moved without delay and available in stores for the annual holiday sales push.
Those challenges reflect persistent issues that rail service providers, drayage firms, shippers both import and export, and warehouse operators have been dealing with since the onset of Covid. Containers are piling up at seaports and inland port intermodal (IPI) facilities (off port or inland rail depots where containers are staged and loaded on stack trains). Intermodal rail capacity remains stubbornly problematic. Train departures are delayed or canceled as the rail lines continue to recover from staffing shortages, a residual effect of Covid-driven furloughs and layoffs. On-time arrival of dispatched trains is mired in the mid-70% range. Read Article
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Facing “Fuzzy” Outlook, Nucor and Alcoa Execs Keep Eye on Big Picture |
IndustryWeek - Geert De Lombaerde
Shipments slid for both companies in Q3 as some customers held off on orders.
Reflecting a slowing economy, executives of metals makers Nucor Corp. and Alcoa Corp. reported third-quarter results that missed estimates due to slipping demand and lower prices. But both leadership teams also told analysts they’re confident in the mid-term prospects for their businesses because of broader investment tailwinds.
The leaders of Charlotte-based Nucor said the company finished the three months ended Sept. 30 with net income of $1.7 billion, down from $2.1 billion in the same period of 2021, as sales ticked up slightly to $10.5 billion but energy costs climbed 16%. Overall shipments fell 10% to 5,869 tons with the company’s two largest segments, sheet and bars, seeing volumes slip 4% and 8%, respectively.
At Pittsburgh-headquartered Alcoa, Q3 produced a net loss of $746 million that included $626 million in charges related to pension settlements. The company’s adjusted EBITDA fell 77% to $210 million due to both falling aluminum and alumina prices and higher input costs. Third-party aluminum shipments fell 14% year over year while alumina shipments were down more than 7%. Read Article
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DOJ Zeroes in on Board Conflicts |
CFO Dive - Robert Freedman, Lead Editor
Dive Brief:
- Since President Biden in 2021 announced a sweeping strategy to boost competition by reinvigorating antitrust enforcement, the administration has looked for collusion in as many places as possible. It has now rediscovered it on boards of directors.
- Earlier this week, the Department of Justice announced the resignation of seven directors from the boards of five companies after the department’s antitrust division announced it’s stepping up enforcement of Section 8 of the Clayton Act, which prohibits directors from sitting on boards of competing companies.
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“Competitors sharing officers or directors further concentrates power and creates the opportunity to exchange competitively sensitive information and facilitate coordination — all to the detriment of the economy and the American public,” Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, DOJ’s chief antitrust enforcer, said in announcing the resignations. Read Article
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Why Smart Manufacturing Is a Dumb Idea |
IndustryWeek - Steven L. Blue
It always astounds me when leaders think the silver bullet to improving can be found everywhere but in their own employees.
Smart manufacturing has been all the rage in the last few years. And then it was “Smart Manufacturing 2.0,” even though 1.0 was never explained or implemented. These days we are into 4.0.
So maybe you ran out and bought a bunch of smart machines. But then you had to buy a bunch of smart interfaces. And don’t forget IOT (the internet of things).
Before long, you may have had a bunch of smart machines talking to each other with all those smart interfaces. At what cost? Probably millions. Read Article
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Boeing Reports Huge Loss on Defense Contract Woes |
IndustryWeek - Agence France-Presse
The difficulties in Boeing's defense program came as the company saw a jump in revenues in its commercial airplane division following the resumption of deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner and an increase in deliveries in the 737 MAX.
Aerospace giant Boeing reported a surprise $3.3 billion third-quarter loss Wednesday as it struggled with swelling costs on several defense programs, including the U.S. presidential jet Air Force One.
The performance woes in defense -- which also affected the KC-46 refueling and military transport aircraft and the T-7A Air Force pilot training system -- reflects the drag from supply chain problems that have plagued the broader economy, as well as the restrictive nature of the contracts.
Locking Boeing into a fixed-price contract was unwise, Chief Executive Dave Calhoun acknowledged in an interview with CNBC that touched on the company's troubled execution of an Air Force One procurement revamp negotiated with former president Donald Trump. Read Article
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U.S. Dependent on Foreign Sources for Nearly Every Critical Mineral |
Coalition for a Prosperous America
It’s not easy getting a permit to mine in the United States. That has forced the country to source critical minerals like cobalt used in EV batteries and gallium, a silicon replacement, from around the world.
The numbers are ridiculous. The U.S. depends on 50% or more of its mineral needs for 26 of the 32 critical minerals that the 2022 U.S. Geological Survey publishes data on. That means 81% of the critical minerals the U.S. consumes are mostly found abroad. Worse yet, of those 26, China is the main source for 11 of them.
No domestic gallium has been recovered since 1987, notes industrial policy news and information website, Force Distance Times. This is becoming an important mineral as it is being used to replace silicon for advanced computer chips. The U.S. depends on imports for all of its gallium supply at the moment, which comes from China, the UK, Germany, and war-torn Ukraine. China accounts for 53% of those imports. China controls 96% of the global gallium market. Read Article
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Classes alone will not close the "skills gap," but structured on-the-job training can...every time! |
Under-capacity of workers is an enormous source of untapped value and unrealized return on worker investment. In addition, standardizing expert task performance -between workers and shifts - can add to worker ROI through lower scrap and rework.
- Increased worker capacity, productivity, work quantity, work quality and compliance (specifications, ISO/AS/IATF programs and safety mandates);
- Decreased internal costs of training
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Higher return on worker investment! You would be surprised how small of an investment is needed to unlock enormous returns.
If budgets are tight, Proactive Technologies, Inc. can be an extension to your training department, with our technical implementation support - included with every project!
There's nothing to lose by taking a minute to contact us to learn more. Copyright © 2019-22 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™
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If your institution is interested in becoming a Proactive Technologies, Inc. project partner, contact a representative for more information. |
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The Cash Monster Was Insatiable’: How Insurers Exploited Medicare for Billions |
The New York Times – Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz
By next year, half of Medicare beneficiaries will have a private Medicare Advantage plan. Most large insurers in the program have been accused in court of fraud.
The health system Kaiser Permanente called doctors in during lunch and after work and urged them to add additional illnesses to the medical records of patients they hadn’t seen in weeks. Doctors who found enough new diagnoses could earn bottles of Champagne, or a bonus in their paycheck.
Anthem, a large insurer now called Elevance Health, paid more to doctors who said their patients were sicker. And executives at UnitedHealth Group, the country’s largest insurer, told their workers to mine old medical records for more illnesses — and when they couldn’t find enough, sent them back to try again.
Each of the strategies — which were described by the Justice Department in lawsuits against the companies — led to diagnoses of serious diseases that might have never existed. But the diagnoses had a lucrative side effect: They let the insurers collect more money from the federal government’s Medicare Advantage program. Read Article
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PBGC Approves SFA Application for Freight Drivers Local 557 Plan – Freight Drivers Local 557 Plan to Receive Special Financial Assistance |
Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced today that it has approved the application submitted to the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program by the Freight Drivers and Helpers Local Union No. 557 Pension Plan (Freight Drivers Local 557 Plan). The application was submitted and approved under provisions of PBGC’s SFA interim final rule. The plan, based in Baltimore, Maryland, covers 2,273 participants in the transportation industry. The Freight Drivers Local 557 Plan will receive approximately $192.8 million in SFA, including interest to the expected date of payment to the plan. Read Release
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PBGC Approves SFA Application for Sheet Metal Workers Plan – Sheet Metal Workers Plan to Receive Special Financial Assistance |
Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced today that it has approved the application submitted to the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program by the Sheet Metal Workers Local Pension Plan (Sheet Metal Workers Plan). The application was submitted and approved under provisions of PBGC’s SFA interim final rule. The plan, based in Massillon, Ohio, covers 1,649 participants in the construction industry.
On May 1, 2020, the Sheet Metal Workers Plan implemented a benefit suspension under the terms of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 (MPRA). The plan reduced benefits of about 850 plan participants. On average, affected participants’ benefits were reduced by 24 percent. Read Release
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How Much Revenue Should Each Employee Generate? Metric of the Month |
CFO.com – Perry D. Wiggins
More than ever, organizations are counting on the people they bring on board to be well worth the investment.
A competitive labor market has placed enormous wage pressures on employers over the last few years. The result has been a material increase in labor costs for employers looking to backfill vacant positions, retain key personnel, or grow their business with added human resources. More than ever, organizations are counting on the people they bring on board to be well worth the investment.
Business entity revenue per business entity employee is a metric that helps to measure the productivity of the labor force and is an important data point used by many organizations to gauge the return on labor investment. To calculate this metric, divide your total annual business entity revenue by the total number of business entity employees. Tracking this metric over time will help you gain insights into how prudent and profitable your previous hiring decisions have been over different fiscal periods. Read Article
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PCAOB Sanctions Four Audit Firms in Enforcement ‘Sweep’ |
CFO Dive – Jim Tyson, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), acting on a pledge this year to toughen enforcement, fined four firms for failing to disclose the leaders of audits and involvement in their work by other audit firms.
PCAOB, after a so-called sweep simultaneously collecting information from several firms, identified four auditors that allegedly failed to file Form AP in violation of Rule 3211, “Auditor Reporting of Certain Audit Participants,” the board said. While neither admitting nor denying the charges, the firms agreed to pay penalties totaling $95,000 and create procedures to ensure compliance with PCAOB rules, the board said. Read Article
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Why Does the U.S. Dollar Continue to Surge? |
CFO.com – Ted Jackson
There seems to be little on the horizon that could break the dollar’s climb.
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In mid-July, going relatively unnoticed, a historic event occurred in the foreign exchange market: the soaring U.S. dollar traded at parity with the Euro. A level that has only been hit once before, and that was over 20 years ago.
This year in particular has been a historic one for the U.S. dollar, which seems to be doing nothing but going straight up, almost 17% so far against an index of a basket of currencies. That’s an enormous currency move, with very few, if any, previous periods mirroring that kind of strength over such a short time frame. Read Article
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Three-judge Appeals Panel Says CFPB Funding Structure is Unconstitutional |
MarketWatch – Andrew Ackerman
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court found the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded through an unconstitutional method, a ruling that threw out the agency’s regulation on payday lenders and struck a blow against how the agency operates.
The decision, by a three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, found the CFPB’s funding structure violated the Constitution’s doctrine of separation of powers, which sets the authority of the three branches of government. Congress has the sole power of the federal purse, and the bureau’s funding structure undercuts that authority, the court said. Read Article
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Production Tax Credits Unleash Tidal Wave of Investment in Manufacturing |
Coalition for a Prosperous America
$22 Billion of Investment to Create 15,000 Jobs.
The manufacturing incentives tucked into the Inflation Reduction Act have unleashed a tidal wave of investment in U.S. manufacturing unlike any we have seen in decades. According to CPA calculations, and our calculations are a work in progress, so far $22 billion of investment dollars have been promised for U.S. manufacturing operations, and these new facilities will employ some 15,000 people. (See Table 1 for details.) Those totals are likely to be revised upwards as many projects have yet to be announced and will likely lead to thousands more jobs and billions more dollars.
The announced investments are concentrated in several industries: renewable energy equipment, electric vehicles (Evs), rechargeable batteries, and critical minerals. All these investments are in response to tax credits tucked into the 730-page Inflation Reduction Act which, despite the name, is mostly about promoting renewable energy policies in the U.S., as well as critical mineral production. The formulas for the tax credits are complex as manufacturers and producers are still awaiting the Internal Revenue Service’s clarifications on the details of how the law will be interpreted and applied. But the credits are so substantial, and the opportunities in these industries are so large, that companies are not waiting to announce big plans. Read Article
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U.S. Sues Cigna Corp for Overcharging Medicare Advantage Program |
Reuters – Luc Cohen
U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan said on Monday they filed a civil lawsuit against Cigna Corp (CI.N) accusing the health insurer of overcharging the government’s Medicare Advantage program by making it appear patients were more ill than they actually were.
Prosecutors said Connecticut-based Cigna obtained tens of millions of dollars in Medicare funds between 2012 and 2019 by submitting false diagnoses for patients in cases in which providers retained by the company had not conducted the necessary tests. Prosecutors did not specify how much money they were seeking in damages. Read Article
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The Audit Wars Are About to Begin |
CFO.com – Bruce Willey
CFOs need to be prepared for more audits and ones that will be more difficult to defend.
Employee turnover is almost always costly for organizations, but it’s rare that hiring new staff can hurt clients and raise their costs. The exception? The Internal Revenue Service.
The agency, which lost thousands of employees to retirement and budget cuts over the years, will soon be filling its many vacancies with the help of funding from the Inflation Protection Act. The new legislation has earmarked $45.6 billion for IRS tax enforcement activities, which, among other things, will pay for more enforcement agents. Read Article
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PBGC Proposes Rule for Multiemployer Plans to Clarify Assumptions for Determining an Employer’s Withdrawal Liability |
Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is proposing a new regulation to provide interest rate assumptions in determining a withdrawing employer’s liability to a multiemployer pension plan.
Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), an employer that withdraws from an underfunded multiemployer plan may owe withdrawal liability to the plan. The amount owed represents the withdrawn employer’s share of the amount by which the present value of the plan’s nonforfeitable benefits exceed the value of the plan’s assets. The plan actuary determines the present value of the plan’s nonforfeitable benefits using actuarial assumptions and methods. Read Proposed Rule
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U.S. Corporate Bankruptcies Down 16% in September: Weekly Stat |
CFO.com – Adam Zaki
2022 has seen the lowest amount of corporate bankruptcy filings in over a decade, according to recent data.
Despite a whirlwind of reports of economic troubles in almost every industry, corporate bankruptcy filings in the United States are at their lowest in more than a decade, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The 31 filings that took place in September were a 16% dip from the 37 filings in August.
As of the end of last month, 279 companies had filed for bankruptcy in 2022, which the S&P reports is the lowest since at least 2010. According to the S&P data, which includes public and private companies with assets or liabilities of at least $10 million, the rate of corporate filings for bankruptcy in the first nine months is off 14% from 2021. Read Article
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Think Before Ditching Retiree Healthcare Benefits |
CFO Dive – Maura Webber Sadovi, Senior Editor
The cost of traditional retiree healthcare coverage is about $1,000 monthly for those not yet eligible for Medicare, according to Trevis Parson, chief actuary at WTW.
Before taking budget axes to retiree medical benefits, employers should consider alternative offerings and the potential impact of such benefit cuts on workforce planning initiatives.
Given inflationary pressures that all financial executives are facing, it’s no surprise that rising costs continue to be the number one concern for both employers and the participants around retiree healthcare plans, Trevis Parson, chief actuary for Willis Towers Watson (WTW), said in an interview.
But employers should review the increasingly attractive range of alternative solutions to traditional employer-sponsored group plans, some stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) before jettisoning such offerings wholesale. Parson asserts companies there are better options now that are worth considering. Read Article
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Debunking the Narratives About Cryptocurrency and Financial Inclusion |
Brookings Institution - Tonantzin Carmona, David M. Rubenstein Fellow - Brookings Metro
On September 16, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued two reports in response to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order (EO) on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, which requires government agencies to develop frameworks and policy recommendations that advance six priorities, one of which being financial inclusion. Among the Treasury reports was Crypto-Assets: Implications for Consumers, Investors, and Businesses, which highlighted a number of risks associated with cryptocurrencies. Two important points were raised: First, that “the potential financial inclusion benefits of crypto-assets largely have yet to materialize.” And second, “while the data for populations vulnerable to disparate impacts remains limited, available evidence suggests that crypto-asset products may present heightened risks to these groups.”
With these two points in mind, it is crucial to emphasize that crypto’s current state and its potential are very different, including when it comes to financial inclusion claims. Moreover, exploring a technology’s potential should go beyond its upsides, since there are both existing risks and drawbacks as well as future ones if the sector continues to grow. Read Article
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U.S. Income Inequality Widened Further in 2021 |
Coalition for a Prosperous America – Jeff Ferry
Summary
Annual U.S. Census report on incomes reveals that household median income fell slightly and inequality widened in 2021
Inequality and the shrinking size of the middle class have persisted in the U.S. for half a century.
These trends are driven by globalization and the decline of U.S. manufacturing as a share of GDP.. Inflation-adjusted wages of male hourly U.S. workers have fallen in the last 42 years. Depressed wages for production workers have contributed to the growth of the share of the adult population that has dropped out of the labor force, also known as the “un-working.”
Increasing inequality has led to growing racial inequality, a larger gap between the median household income of Black and White households.
Growth in the manufacturing sector, leading to increasing GDP growth rate, is the most powerful and persistent way to address inequality and income stagnation.
Income inequality is getting worse. That’s what the evidence in the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of the Census shows. Read Article
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US Economy Grows for First Time This Year in Third Quarter |
IndustryWeek - Agence France-Presse
Gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 2.6% in the July to September period, according to the latest Commerce Department data.
The U.S. economy rebounded in the third quarter, expanding for the first time this year in welcome news for President Joe Biden days ahead of midterm elections, government data showed Thursday.
Economic issues have become a flashpoint in the United States, with decades-high inflation weighing on growth and squeezing households.
Fears of a downturn have intensified in the world's biggest economy after two quarters of negative growth, commonly viewed as a strong signal that a recession is underway -- a trend that would have global consequences and domestic political costs. Read Article
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Warren Wants Regulators to Answer for Crypto ‘Revolving Door’ |
CFO Dive - Rajashree Chakravarty, Reporter
Five Democrats wrote the SEC, CFTC, CFPB, OCC, FDIC, Fed and Treasury to see how policies keep employees who jump to crypto lobbying roles from exerting undue influence.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and four other Democratic lawmakers asked seven federal agencies Monday what safeguards are in place to prevent staff from jumping to crypto lobbying positions.
“We are concerned that the crypto revolving door risks corrupting the policymaking process and undermining the public’s trust in our financial regulators,” Warren wrote in a letter also signed by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI; and Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-MI; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY; and Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, D-IL. Read Article
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SEC Adopts Bonus Clawback Rules |
CFO Dive - Maura Webber Sadovi, Senior Editor
Dive Brief:
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Wednesday adopted new rules that will require publicly-listed companies to recover “erroneously” awarded incentive-based pay received by current or former executive officers during the three-year period preceding an accounting restatement due to “material noncompliance,” according to an SEC release.
Clawback rules, which stem from the 2010 Dodd-Frank law passed after the financial crisis, were previously proposed in 2015 and most recently reopened for comment in June. Under the new rules, listed companies will be required to file written compensation recovery policies along with their annual reports, the SEC said. Read Article
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Stocks Could Sink 25% as the Liquidity Crisis in Treasuries Threatens to Spill Over to Other Markets, Analyst Says |
Markets Insider - Brian Evans
A liquidity crisis in the US Treasury market could spillover to stocks and bonds, experts say.
- A liquidity crisis is brewing within the $24 trillion US Treasury market, and the turmoil has the potential to sink stocks.
- Treasury liquidity is showing signs of weakness not seen since the Great Financial Crisis, warned James Demmert.
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"A liquidity crisis would most likely extend the current bear market in stocks to much deeper levels in the range of a further 20-25% or total of 50% for the year." Read Article
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Mexico, Latin America, South America and the Caribbean |
IDB Invest and IFC Partner with HDF Energy and Rubis to Develop First Green Hydrogen Power Plant in Barbados
InterAmerican Development Bank
This project aims to provide electricity to 16,000 homes at a competitive tariff in Barbados, helping reduce emissions and add firm generation capacity through domestic and abundant solar resources.
In line with Barbados’ ambitious targets of 100% renewable energy and carbon neutrality by 2030, IDB Invest and IFC are working with Hydrogène de France (HDF) and Rubis to support the development of Renewstable Barbados, a 50 MW solar generation facility with green hydrogen and lithium-ion battery storage that will provide firm and clean electricity to the Barbadian grid. In addition, Renewstable Barbados is designed to host the largest sheep farm on the island, contributing to both energy and food security of Barbados. Read Article
Destruction of the Amazon: What You Need to Know
DeutscheWelle - Beatrice Christofaro
Environmentalists often cite the conservation of the Amazon rainforest as a crucial way to mitigate the climate crisis. A look at the current situation and what's at stake.
Often referred to as the "lungs of the planet" the Amazon is the world's largest tropical forest. Spanning roughly 6.7 million square kilometers (2.6 million square miles), it plays a vital role in reducing levels of air pollution.
When their plants photosynthesize, rainforests absorb massive amounts of carbon dioxide — one of the climate change-inducing greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels.
But the Amazon rainforest also influences the water cycle, not only in the counties it spans — Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname — but in other corners of South America too. Read Article
Battling Haiti's Gangs — The Mission No Nation Seems to Want
CBC - Evan Dyer
Keen to avoid a quagmire, outside powers may finally be questioning their support for PM Ariel Henry
If U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was hoping to return to Washington with a Canadian commitment to take the lead in Haiti, he went home disappointed.
Rather than offer to lead a military mission to battle the gangs that have seized about two-thirds of the Haitian capital, Canada has agreed to dispatch a fact-finding mission that will assess what Canada might do in the future. Read Article
Lula Beats Far-right President Bolsonaro to Win Brazil Election
NPR – John Otis
In just three years, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has gone from prisoner to president-elect.
After being jailed on corruption charges, the left-wing da Silva engineered a stunning political resurrection on Sunday by winning Brazil's presidential runoff election — in a nail-biter — over right-wing incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro.
Official returns gave da Silva, who is a former two-term president, 50.9% of the vote compared to 49.1% for Bolsonaro. Da Silva will be sworn-in for a four-year term on Jan. 1. Read Article
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Canada, Europe and Great Britain |
In Greece's Largest Port of Piraeus, China is the Boss
DeutscheWelle - Kaki Bali
Since 2016, the Chinese shipping company Cosco has been the majority stakeholder in the port of Piraeus. This means a foreign power controls Greece's main port.
In Germany, a heated debate has been raging about the Chinese state shipping company Cosco buying a minority stake in a container terminal at the port of Hamburg.
Greece, however, seems to have no such concerns. Since 2011, under pressure from both the debt crisis and the Troika (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund), the Greek government has sold almost all of the country's important ports and airports to foreign companies. Athens signed a contract with Cosco in 2016 that has allowed the Chinese company to secure a two-thirds majority stake in the port of Piraeus.
So far, the Greek government appears to be satisfied with Cosco's performance. Read Article
Turkey Launches TOGG Car, Erdogan's Prestige Project
DeutscheWelle - Burak Ünveren
Turkey is making history with the TOGG, its first electric car and the first vehicle ever to be made by Turkey's car industry. But critics say the project's main purpose is to help President Erdogan secure another term.
Turkey has undertaken a range of political and economic measures to boost its independence from other countries in recent years. Now, it is ushering in a major breakthrough for its automobile industry. The first ever Turkish-developed, Turkish-made car — by Turkey's Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) — is going into production. Read Article
Rishi Sunak is the 1st British PM Richer Than the Monarch. Does it Matter?
CBC - Don Murray
When it comes to wealthy world leaders, the new British prime minister is in rare company
So, Rishi Sunak is rich. So what? The world is littered with billionaire political leaders, past and present.
Besides, the billion dollars — or perhaps merely hundreds of millions of dollars — belong mostly to Sunak's wife, Akshata Murty, who owns just under one per cent of the shares in Infosys, the multi-billion dollar software company founded by her father in India.
It's not clear just how much the couple is worth, but the Sunday Times of London on Tuesday estimated the amount to be about £730 million, or $1.2 billion Cdn. It might be more — or less. Read Article
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Philippines Storm Nalgae Kills Dozens in Floods and Mudslides
BBC News - Jonathan Head and Laurence Peter, Bangkok and London
A severe tropical storm has killed at least 45 people in the Philippines, unleashing floods and landslides in southern provinces, officials say.
Storm Nalgae caused the most havoc in Maguindanao province, on Mindanao island. There is extensive flooding in and around the city of Cotabato.
Nalgae is sweeping north, where the capital Manila expects torrential rain. Read Article
Sliding Yen: What is Happening to the Japanese Currency?
BBC News - Mariko Oi
At the end of the last century, Japan became the first major economy to cut interest rates to zero.
During the Covid pandemic, many other nations adopted that tactic to support their economies.
Those countries are now raising interest rates but the Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Friday yet again kept its main rate below zero. And that is bad for its currency. Read Article
Covid Outbreak at China iPhone Plant Pushes Workers to the Edge
Bloomberg News
Workers seethe over curbs at Foxconn’s main Chinese facility, Social media erupts with posts as Covid flares up on campus.
Discontent rippled through Apple Inc.’s biggest iPhone plant in China this week, after hastily enacted measures aimed at quelling a Covid outbreak plunged many of its 200,000 workers into isolation -- some without proper meals.
The emergence of cases at Foxconn Technology Group’s main factory in the central city of Zhengzhou saw it go into a closed loop system, where employees aren’t allowed to leave the manufacturing campus and are tested regularly, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. Read Article
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Asia, India and Australia |
India Tightens Grip on Social Media
DeutscheWelle
The latest changes to India's already controversial Information Technology Rules will give the government the final say on what stays on social media platforms, and what doesn't.
The Indian government will create a three-person grievance redressal committee to veto moderation decisions made by social media platforms, according to legal changes adopted on Friday. The panel, which will be set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), will effectively have the final say on social media content.
The changes were first made public earlier this year and received widespread pushback from tech companies and public policy activists. MeitY had then defended its position, citing concern that social media platforms were violating user rights. Read Article
Australia Reverses Decision to Recognise West Jerusalem as Israeli Capital
BBC News - Tiffanie Turnbull, Sydney
Australia has reversed a decision made four years ago to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the 2018 move had undermined peace and "put Australia out of step with the majority of the international community".
She stressed that Australia remained a "steadfast friend" to Israel. Its embassy will stay in Tel Aviv. Read Article
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Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Russia |
Iran: Protesters Defiant Despite Crackdown
DeustcheWelle
Demonstrators in Tehran called for Iran's supreme leader to be "toppled." In the southeast, an influential local cleric criticized the government's handling of the protests.
Protests across Iran continued for the second night in a row and continued on Friday, despite a violent crackdown that has left over 200 people dead and thousands arrested.
"This is the year of blood, Sayyid Ali will be toppled!" hundreds of protesters chanted in the west Tehran neighborhood of Chitgar, using the first two names of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
The latest rallies came as people came together to mourn the young protesters killed by security forces. Read Article
South Africa Cements New Zulu King's Rule
DeutscheWelle
King Misuzulu was formally declared the head of the country's most influential traditional monarchy at a ceremony in Durban. The new king will first need to repair royal family ties after a bitter succession feud.
Forty-eight-year-old Misuzulu Zulu was officially named head of South Africa's largest ethnic group at a colorful ceremony in the coastal city of Durban.
The formalities included Ramaphosa handing over a giant framed certificate in front of tens of thousands of people — mostly Zulus dressed in their traditional attire and carrying shields and clubs. Read Article
The Nigerian Woman Cleaning Up a Land Soaked in Oil
BBC - Georgina Rannard, Climate and Science
Eucharia Nwaichi has worked in the Niger Delta since 2003. It is the rarest of stories. A fix for an environmental disaster that is actually working.
Oil spill after oil spill has turned the Niger Delta, in southern Nigeria, into one of the most polluted places on Earth.
It's extremely dangerous - militant groups blow up pipelines, oil companies are accused of negligence, kidnappings are growing - and there's deep mistrust of outsiders. Read Article
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Frank J. Gibson Consulting |
"One thing is certain... nothing is certain!"
The rate of change affecting work, the worker, management and the educational institutions that service all three has been accelerating - made worse by the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic. The economy, the consumer, supply chains and operational strategies have all been disrupted in the short-term, casting doubt on the long-term.
Rapid adaptation is the key to survivability, sustainability and growth. Sometimes an experienced outside advisor can help facilitate needed improvements to take the worry out of change and the fear out of growth. Frank J. Gibson Management and Workforce Excellence Advisor
- Business Development & Growth
- Workforce Development and Optimization
- Training and Cross-Training
- Local,/Regional Workforce Development Projects and Community Development
- Facilitated Problem Solving
- Process Improvement Cross-Functional Leadership Coaching and Mentoring
- Internship and Apprenticeship Projects
- Strategic Doing/Strategic Planning
Copyright © 2022 Frank J. Gibson
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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PTI Systems
International, Inc.™
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- Affiliated with Proactive Technologies, Inc. for projects outside the United States;
- Workforce development partner for employers, and education/ training providers who support employers, to ensure every worker can be trained to full job mastery;
- Experienced with governmental, IDB, GIZ and economic development agency sponsored projects;
- Experienced in assuring multinational employers expanding to the U.S. have the skilled workforce they need.
- PTI Systems International sets-up complete worker development and performance management systems, and provides technical implementation support;
- We provide strategies for our project's transition to local management.
- Speakers for seminars and conferences.
Don't complain about a "skills gap," deliberately develop every worker to full job mastery!
© 2018-22 PTI Systems International, Inc.™
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“Without data, you're just another person with an opinion.”
American engineer, statistician,
professor, author, lecturer, and
management consultant
1900 - 1993
"“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”
an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker.
His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
1932 – 2012
“Mastery is not a function of genius or talent, it is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge.”
Robert Greene is an American author of books on strategy, power, and seduction.
1959 -
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Economic Analysis |
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, August 2022
The deficit decreased from $70.5 billion in July (revised) to $67.4 billion in August, as imports decreased more than exports. The previously published July deficit was $70.6 billion. The goods deficit decreased $3.4 billion in August to $87.6 billion. The services surplus decreased $0.4 billion in August to $20.2 billion. Read Report
U.S. International Transactions, Second Quarter 2022
The U.S. current-account deficit narrowed by $31.5 billion, or 11.1 percent, to $251.1 billion in the second quarter of 2022, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The revised first-quarter deficit was $282.5 billion. The second-quarter deficit was 4.0 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product, down from 4.6 percent in the first quarter. Read Report https://www.bea.gov/news/2022/us-international-transactions-2nd-quarter-2022
International Services (Expanded Detail), 2020
The services supplied through affiliates statistics in BEA’s annual International Services tables, which feature services supplied by multinational enterprises through the channel of direct investment, are now available with statistics through 2020. Read Report
New Foreign Direct Investment in the United States
The statistics on new foreign direct investment in the United States provide information on the acquisition, establishment, and expansion of U.S. business enterprises by foreign direct investors. Read Reports
BEA International Trade and Investment Country Facts
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U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of the Census |
Monthly Wholesale Trade
August 2022 sales of merchant wholesalers were $698.0 billion, up 0.1 percent (+/- 0.4 percent)* from last month. End-of-month inventories were $912.6 billion, up 1.3 percent (+/- 0.2 percent) from last month. August 2022: +1.3 % change in Inventories; July 2022 I: +0.6 % change in Inventories. Read Report
Manufacturing and Trade Inventory and Sales – August 2022
U.S. total business end-of-month inventories for August 2022 were $2,453.2 billion, up 0.8 percent (+/- 0.1 percent) from last month. U.S. total business sales were $1,843.2 billion, up 0.3 percent (+/- 0.1 percent) from last month. August 2022: +0.8 % change in Inventories; July 2022 I: +0.5 % change in Inventories. Read Report
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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
U.S. Data versus the World
Find, compare and share the latest OECD data: charts, maps, tables and related publications. Access Data
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International Trade in Services
Trade in services records the value of services exchanged between residents and non-residents of an economy, including services provided through foreign affiliates established abroad. This indicator is measured in million USD and percentage of GDP for exports, imports and net trade. Services include transport (both freight and passengers), travel, communications services (postal, telephone, satellite, etc.), construction services, insurance and financial services, computer and information services, royalties and license fees, other business services (merchanting, operational leasing, technical and professional services, etc.), cultural and recreational services, and government services not included in the list above. Trade in services drives the exchange of ideas, know-how and technology, although it is often restricted by barriers such as domestic regulations. All OECD countries compile their data according to the 2008 System of National Accounts (SNA). Access Data and Tables
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US Trade Deficit Narrows in August on Further Imports Drop |
IndustryWeek – Agence France-Presse
Higher interest rates have strengthened the U.S. dollar, making American goods relatively more expensive, which could trim exports, but so far the data are likely to boost growth in the world’s largest economy.
The U.S. trade gap declined for a fifth straight month in August as imports, including oil, fell further, according to official data released Wednesday.
Exports edged down as well on decreases in industrial supplies and materials, the Commerce Department said.
The overall trade deficit dropped $3.1 billion to $67.4 billion in August, the data showed, slightly more than expected. Read Article
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August Trade Deficit Drops 4%, But China Trade Deficit Breaks 2018 Record |
Coalition for a Prosperous America – Kenneth Rapoza
The U.S. goods and services trade deficit declined 4.3% to $67.4 billion in August. In percentage terms, it was imports that declined the most in both goods and services. But for the goods trade alone, the deficit hit its lowest monthly figure on the year — $87.6 billion in August compared to $91 billion in July and $99 billion in June. Today’s trade chart shows a continued drop in demand as the economy slides into a recession.
The interesting figure in Wednesday’s release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis is that while U.S. imports from most trading partners fell, our $37.4 billion trade gap with China was the highest August deficit since August 2018 when it was over $38 billion on a nominal basis. That year was a record-breaking year for China imports. Pent-up demand due to China’s pandemic lockdowns are the likely cause. Read Article
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Nissan Pulls Out of Russia, Sells Business for 1 Euro |
Assembly Magazine
MOSCOW—Nissan will hand over its business in Russia to a state-owned entity for 1 euro ($0.97), taking a loss of around $687 million. The decision marks the latest costly exit from the country by a global company.
The automaker will transfer its shares in Nissan Manufacturing Russia to state-owned NAMI. The deal will give Nissan the right to buy back the business within six years. The sale will include Nissan’s assembly plant and research facilities in St. Petersburg, as well as its sales and marketing center in Moscow. Read Article
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U.S. Domestic Market Share Index Hits All-Time Low |
Coalition for a Prosperous America
WASHINGTON — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today released an update to the Domestic Market Share Index (DMSI), a new indicator that measures the success of U.S. manufacturing producers in the U.S. home market. The DMSI fell to 66.2 in Q2 2022, down from 67.2 in the previous quarter, indicating that domestic producers lost a full percentage point of market share while importers increased their share of the U.S. market for manufactured goods by one point to 33.8%. The Q2 DMSI of 66.2 matches the DMSI for Q4 2021 as the lowest quarterly DMSI and correspondingly highest import share since the beginning of available data in 2002. The loss of domestic share in Q2 2022 was driven by notable declines in the U.S. share of machinery, plastics/rubber, and electrical equipment manufacturing industries.
The U.S. market for manufactured goods, worth over $7 trillion last year, is the world’s largest. Since 2002, when current government data series became available, U.S. producers have lost more than 11% of market share to imports, worth around $811 billion of goods. Read Article
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Microsoft Avoids Paying Tax in Many Countries: Study |
IndustryWeek – Agence France-Presse
Microsoft is under investigation by tax authorities in the United States and other countries, including Australia, and “more than 80% of its total foreign income is channeled through Puerto Rico and Ireland,” the report said.
Tech giant Microsoft has avoided billions in taxes in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, all countries where it has lucrative public sector contracts, because of its complex corporate structure, a study published Thursday claimed.
The company, which insists it respects local laws and regulations everywhere it operates, was starving the public purse of much-needed revenue while receiving taxpayer cash, the Center for Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (Cictar) said. Read Article
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Mexico Files Another Lawsuit Targeting US Gun Industry |
IndustryWeek – Agence France-Presse
Mexico filed a first lawsuit in August 2021 against nine US gun manufacturers and two distributors for what it deemed a “negligent and illicit” trade that encourages drug trafficking and violence in its territory.
Mexico said that it filed a second lawsuit Monday against the U,S, firearms industry, after a Massachusetts court last month dismissed its first $10-billion case against gunmakers.
The new suit brought in the border state of Arizona seeks sanctions against five dealers which sold guns that were used in serious crimes in Mexico, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said.
“It’s evident that there is arms trafficking, and that it’s known that these weapons are aimed at our country,” Ebrard said in a video posted on social media. Read Article
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“A Strategic Realignment in Trade Policy” |
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – G7-Germany
Under German’s G7 Presidency, the trade ministers of the seven leading industrial nations held talks at Schloss Neuhardenberg in Brandenburg. In addition to discussing the impact of Russia’s war of aggression, the ministers consulted on improving the stability of supply chains, reforming global trade regulations and how to handle unfair competition.
The G7 trade ministers issued a final declaration at the end of the two-day conference at Schloss Neuhardenberg, in which the G7 renewed its condemnation of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which has caused a sharp rise in energy prises and some food shortages. Support for and solidarity with Ukraine remain unchanged: Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck affirmed that the G7 was ready “to use the full force of all tools at the disposal of the various countries and the EU, from trade policy to foreign economic policy guarantees for private investments.” At the end of the conference, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced an international reconstruction conference for Ukraine on 25 October. Read Article
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Education And Workforce Development News |
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A Machining Company Run by High-Schoolers Thrives in Pennsylvania: Manufacturing Day 2022 |
IndustryWeek – Robert Zaruta
In just three years, the students have manufactured 13,522 parts for more than 10 companies.
McDowell Manufacturing delivered its first order of parts to its first customer, Munot Plastics, in March 2021. Since then, business has been good. Oh, and by the way, this manufacturing business is run by students as a program at McDowell Senior High School in Millcreek Township, a suburb of Erie, Pennsylvania.
Even amid the pandemic during their first year, the students were busy and productive. They added new customers and gained hands-on experience running a manufacturing company, from production supervision, design and operating CNC machines to marketing, sales and quoting jobs. Read Article
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Freshmen, Dual Enrollment Drive Fall Enrollments |
Community College Daily News – Mathew Dembicki
Overall undergraduate enrollment continued to decline by -1.1% this fall compared to 2021, but community colleges were unique in seeing an increase among freshmen, according to the latest research by the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Research Center.
Undergraduate enrollment declines this fall are seen across all sectors, especially among four-year institutions, with a drop of -1.6% at public four-year institutions, the center says. Overall freshmen enrollment declined -1.5%, including drops at both public and private four-year institutions.
“For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the declines this fall are steeper at four-year schools than they are at community colleges,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the NSC Research Center. Read Article
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Students’ Basic Needs Outpace Services at Colleges |
Community College Daily News – Mathew Dembicki
Many community colleges now offer some type of program to help students who struggle with food insecurity, from opening simple food pantries on campuses to more sophisticated efforts, such as free breakfast and farmers markets. And a growing number are trying to address other more-complicated basic-need challenges, such as housing and transportation.
Yet the need continues to be greater than the available services, according to a new study from the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) at the University of Texas, Austin. Less than half of students who need help with food are getting it from their college, it says.
For example, among 16% of surveyed students who indicated that they needed this kind of help, 44% of them said their colleges helped them get food over a 30-day period when they could not afford to buy it — but 56% said their college did not help. Read Article
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The Story Employees Tell About Their Jobs Can Determine Retention |
IndustryWeek – Adrienne Selko
If a story about the company that demonstrates company culture is told through the eyes of an employee, it creates a realistic view of company culture increasing retention.
This statistic says it all.
“The average tenure at a company used to be four years and now that number is just under two,” says Bryan Adams, CEO of Ph.Creative, an employer brand agency, that works with companies such as Apple,
AstraZeneca, Cisco, ExxonMobil, Ford and Nike. “If you look at Nike, at one level of the company, the average tenure is 15 years.”
And why is this? Adams says it’s the power of storytelling. While that might seem hard to understand at first, here’s an example. During an interview with a chip manufacturer, the head of HR told me he received a call from an employee based overseas, explaining that he was having trouble getting a ventilator at his current hospital while battling COVID. The HR executive immediately arranged for him to transfer to another hospital and the employee recovered. Read Article
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Training And Organizational Development News |
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‘Be Deliberately and Relentlessly Clear’: Lessons from Goodyear and Beyond |
IndustryWeek
Standards are not monuments, but they are the core of consistency.
When people don’t know what they own, they tend to blame others when something goes wrong or expectations aren’t met. Think about taking a teenager’s car keys when the kid misses curfew. The first words out of my teenager’s mouth would have been, “Dad, that’s not fair.” If he didn’t know what he was accountable for, he would blame his parents when things went sideways.
When he missed his curfew, I took the keys. I later came into the kitchen to find him negotiating and debating with his mother. I told him that the standard is the standard; he lost his car keys because of a choice he made. He understood what he owned. As his parent, my job was to hold him to the standard. I know that things happen. Cars break down; friends need rides home. In that case, however, he should have called me or his mother first. Standards are not monuments, but they are the core of consistency. All my children had the same standard when they received a car. I made it very clear what they owned and what their mother and I owned. (We owned the payment, insurance and maintenance.) Read Article
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Leadership on Point: Keeping Your Workforce Focused During Uncertain Times |
IndustryWeek - Carolyn Hendrickson
How do leaders quiet the noise without seeming insensitive to what is going on in the world and people's lives?
We all have a lot on our minds, which can make it hard to stay focused at work. Whether it’s figuring out how to keep talent from flying out the door and addressing “quiet quitting,” or worrying about the stock market drops, it can take a toll.
As a senior leader, how do you quiet the noise and keep your organization focused, aligned and moving forward during uncertain times? And how do you do that without seeming insensitive to what is going on in the world and in people’s lives?
We have learned effective strategies that help our CEO clients keep their organizations focused and growing during economically challenging times. Read Article
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Manufacturing’s Last “KISS” |
Area Development - Jeff Troan, Managing Director, Vista Site Selection, LLC
Although those in the aerospace and other industries once believed that the simplest solution to a production problem was undoubtedly the optimal one, it often creates inefficiency in design and production that makes for a competitive disadvantage in today’s global marketplace.
If you’ve been in the business world for a while, especially in manufacturing or engineering, you’ve probably encountered the concept of “KISS” solutions. As a young employee who just joined the production floor for Lockheed Martin back in the early 1980s, I had no idea what a program manager was asking for, when he told me, “I just want the KISS solution” for a production problem .Read Article
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Access Proactive Technologies' Recent "Proactive Technologies Workforce News" Article Quicklinks |
Located on the left panel below, this includes articles on structured worker development, achieving worker "full job mastery," engineering/quality/safety compliance, ISO/TS/AS quality program support and compliance, and many other contemporary worker development and management topics. |
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Recent Proactive Technologies News Article Quicklinks |
October
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations – Eastern U.S. – Proactive Technologies, Inc
by Dr. Dave Just, formally Dean of Corporate and Continuing Education at Community Colleges in MA, OH, PA, SC. Currently President of K&D Consulting
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
September
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
By Randy Toscano, Jr., MSHRM, Executive Director of Human Resources, Paris Regional Medical Center
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
August
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Proactive Technologies, Inc. - Staff
July
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Proactive Technologies, Inc. Staff
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
June
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Stacey Lett, Director of Operations - Eastern U.S. - Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Dean Prigelmeier, President of Proactive Technologies, Inc.
by Proactive Technologies, Inc. Staff
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Proactive Technologies, Inc. Partners With Educational Institutions, Workforce/Economic
Development Groups, Government Agencies
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Structured on-the-job training attracts and engages employers in workforce development partnerships...some projects sustainable for more than 18 years!
This creates a steady need for your related technical instruction, services and a pathway for employment.
These partnerships:
- enhance your institution's opportunity to market your products and services to incumbent workers;
- allow your organization to include structured on-the-job training as a capstone to preemployment preparation;
- document a trainee-to worker's increasing value to the employer - the key to retention - rather than leaving it to chance;
- properly aligns workforce development resources and maximizes the impact and results; allows you to engage an employer's facility, equipment and staff in the training process;
- provides the best, sustainable infrastructure for apprenticeships and internships that last!
- is a win for the trainee, win for the worker, win for the employer, win for the institution and win for the community!
This approach has continued to prove itself since 1988, and does not compete with your school's or agency's products and services; it adds to your efforts the clear, tangible, measurable advantage that employers seek.
Copyright © 2022 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Tri-Rivers Career Center - Adult Education provides lifelong, continuous learning for a diverse adult population. We utilize practical skills with an eye toward technological advancement.
We partner with state agencies and employers to provide targeted skill development to future and incumbent workers.
Our RAMTEC (Robotic and Advanced Manufacturing Technology Education Collaborative) facility - one of many throughout the state - offers advanced technical training in specialized areas such as robotics, robotic welding, and engineering technology.
Copyright © 2022 Tri-Rivers Career Center - Adult Education - RAMTEC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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PROACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. CLIENT SERVICES |
To supplement onsite PROTECH™ system of managed human resource development classes, these regularly scheduled webinars are available to the registered staff of clients:
- Structured On-The-Job Training Instructor Certification
- Structured On-The Job Training Checklist Administrator Certification
- Management Structured On-The-Job Training Project Support Briefing
- Integrating Support for Plant-Wide ISO/AS/IATF Quality and Safety Systems with PROTECH Workforce Development System
- Supporting "Pay-For-Value" Systems
- Promoting Continuous Process Improvement While Implementing the PROTECH System for the Accelerated Transfer of Expertise™
- PROTECH Onsite Lead Trainer and System Administrator Certification
Contact US t o attend one of these seminars and we will send you an e-reservation. Include your client ID, name and user ID number and which webinar you would like to attend.
Copyright © 2019-22 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Nondestructive Testing (NDT) Trends |
Quality Magazine - Michael W. Allgaier
Manual means of performing NDT and human evaluation of the results is trending more and more to automated, digitized and artificial intelligence interpretation of the results whenever economically possible.
Manual or human manipulated NDT is still the primary means of performing Nondestructive Testing (NDT) in unique or one-off applications. Mechanical aids and/or computer assisted manipulation and scanning devices can reduce data gathering time on the site of the item being inspected.
Digitalizing data for everything that can be thought of is a continuing trend. The computer can then perform analysis above and beyond the human analysis of analog data. Read Article
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2D Radiography (x-ray) for NDT |
Quality Magazine - Gregory James Weaver
2D radiography continues to be essential to the safety and reliability of many of the world's industrial products.
2D Radiography (x-ray) is a Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) method. Industrial 2D radiography is used daily to inspect a large variety of components and materials for a diverse range of flaws, such as cracks, porosity, delamination’s, and others. The method includes both gamma radiation and x-rays. Because both can travel through water, air, and soil, industrial radiography is extremely useful in inspecting components and materials.
Neither will damage the material. Objects in the field often do not need to be relocated to be inspected. The method is applied in a multitude of manufacturing, repair industries, and in every type of inspection program. 2D X-ray is the most used NDT method outside of visual inspection. Read Article
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Organizations Need Committed People to Succeed |
Quality Magazine - Jim Smith, Face of Quality
Regardless of what you’ve been told, there is one truism for people who must earn a living. You can expect your employer to demand more from you. The reason is simple. The customer is the true boss. The marketplace, with more choices to spend their money, demands far more these days from organizations supplying products and services.
Clients and customers want much better quality, at lower prices, than ever before. They expect top-notch service as well or they will take their business to your competitors. Studies reveal that as much as 70% of customers go somewhere else due to poor service. Read Article
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Ocean plastics: How Much Do Rich Countries Contribute by Shipping Their Waste Overseas? |
Our World in Data - Hannah Ritchie
Many countries ship plastic waste overseas. How much of the world’s waste is traded, and how big is its role in the pollution of our oceans?
Most of the plastic that enters the oceans from land comes from rivers in Asia. More than 80% of it.
Only a small amount comes from rivers across Europe and North America. Together, these regions contribute just 5% of the global total. This would suggest that the world’s richest countries don’t contribute much to the problem of plastic pollution.
But, these numbers only look at the plastic that is emitted domestically. They don’t consider the fact that many countries export plastic waste overseas. If it was the case that the UK exported a lot of its plastic waste to countries where waste management systems are poor, and lots of plastic leaks into the environment, the UK would have a large indirect impact on ocean pollution. Read Article
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Cars That Can’t Speed? New Technology Being Tested Would Prevent You From Driving Over Speed Limit |
MassLive - Ryan Mancini
Speed limit signs remind speeding cars to slow down; but speed limiter technology now being tested in New York City has been developed to disable a driver’s ability to accelerate.
Through its fleet program, New York City will be the first city in the United States to use speed limiter technology as a means to keep cars driving at and not beyond speed limits in its city-owned vehicles. Fleet program vehicles will notify drivers with an alarm that the car has reached the speed limit or cut off the accelerator. Read Article
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Here’s What Happened to the Delaware-sized Iceberg That Broke Off Antarctica |
Science News - Carolyn Gramling
Scientists have identified a previously unknown mechanism for large berg breakups.
In July 2017, after weeks of anticipation, a massive iceberg about the size of Delaware split from the Antarctic Peninsula (SN: 7/12/17). Satellite images show that the orphaned iceberg, known as A68, ultimately disintegrated in the Southern Ocean. Now, researchers say they have pieced together the powerful forces that led to that final breakup.
Polar scientist Alex Huth of Princeton University and colleagues combined observations of the iceberg’s drift with simulations of ocean currents and wind stress. Iceberg A68a, the largest remaining chunk of the original berg, was caught in a tug-of-war of ocean currents, and the strain of those opposing forces Read Article
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Cyber Security And IT News |
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How Do We Know When Cyber Defenses are Working? |
Brookings Institution – TechStream, Josephine Wolff
When Russian forces invaded Ukraine earlier this year, many observers believed that the conflict would be marked by overwhelming use of the Kremlin’s cyberweapons. Possessing a technically sophisticated cadre of hackers and toolkits to attack digital infrastructure, the Kremlin, according to this line of thinking, would deploy these weapons in an effort to cripple the Ukrainian government and deliver a decisive advantage on the battlefield. The actual experience of cyberwar in Ukraine has been far more mixed: While Russia has used its cyber capabilities, these digital forays have been far less successful or aggressive than many observers had predicted at the outset of the war.
So why has Russia failed to win on the digital battlefield? In recent weeks, Ukrainian and U.S. government officials and the Western tech companies that have rushed to support Ukraine’s digital defenses have argued that Russia’s failure is due in no small part to the sophistication of Kiev’s defenses. Read Article
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Elon Musk Reportedly Takes Over Twitter, Fires Executives |
CNET - Queenie Wong
The tech billionaire completes a deal to buy the social media platform for $44 billion, multiple news outlets report.
Elon Musk struck a deal with Twitter in April to buy the company for $44 billion.
Billionaire Elon Musk has reportedly completed a $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter, capping off a tumultuous transition period for the influential social media company.
The Washington Post, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported on Thursday evening that Musk's takeover had begun. He also fired key executives such as Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and Vijaya Gadde, Twitter's head of legal policy, trust, and safety, The Post reported. CNBC and Insider also reported that Musk is now in charge of Twitter. Read Article
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Video: Types of Cyberattacks, What to Look Out For |
Assembly Magazine
Explore a few of the most common cybersecurity attacks, from email phishing to ransomware. Learn how to spot a cyber threat.
Video 2: Steps to Prevent Cyberattacks from Happening to Your Organization
Manufacturing is a target, deemed a high-value sector by cybercriminals. Stay ahead! Here are six quick tips from the VP of Security Services at Arctic Wolf on the best practices for preventing your organization from a costly cyberattack. Read Article and See Videos
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Human Resource Management News |
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California Pay Transparency Law Signals New Norm |
CFO Dive - Elizabeth Flood, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
California became the latest state to establish a pay transparency law on Sept. 27, according to a filing with the Secretary of State. The bill will require all employers to include pay ranges in job advertisements effective Jan. 1, 2023. It also requires employers to submit annual pay data reports that include compensation information on employees hired through labor contractors of the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) beginning May 10, 2023. Read Article
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Forget Big Layoffs: Job-market Strength to Persist Despite Labor Costs Pinching Company Earning |
MarketWatch - Joy Wiltermuth
The shift in power has tilted to workers, and is more than a one-year blip, says Yung-Yu Ma at BMO.
Not everyone expects to see large-scale layoffs wash over America, even as recession fears lurk and labor costs emerge as a top concern for companies in the third-quarter earnings season.
While the days of blockbuster post-pandemic earnings might be over, arguments in favor of businesses clinging to employees also have begun to surface, given the continued tight labor market and the struggle in recent years to find workers to fill vacant spots.
“It’s been a bit tough for companies to get their hands on labor,” said Dec Mullarkey, managing director of investment strategy and asset allocation at SLC Management, by phone. Read Article
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US Department of Labor Announces Proposed Rule on Classifying Employees, Independent Contractors, Seeks to Return to Longstanding Interpretations |
US Department of Labor
Misclassification continues to deny workers’ rightful wages; hurt businesses, economy.
The U.S. Department of Labor will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Oct. 13 to help employers and workers determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The proposed rule would provide guidance on classifying workers and seeks to combat employee misclassification. Misclassification is a serious issue that denies workers’ rights and protections under federal labor standards, promotes wage theft, allows certain employers to gain an unfair advantage over law-abiding businesses, and hurts the economy at-large.
The NPRM proposes a framework more consistent with longstanding judicial precedent on which employers have relied to classify workers as employees or independent contractors under the FLSA. The department believes the new rule would preserve essential worker rights and provide consistency for regulated entities. Read Release
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How Much is Long COVID Reducing Labor Force Participation? Not Much (So Far) |
Brookings Institution - Louise Sheiner, The Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow - Economic Studies Policy Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Nasiha Salwati, Senior Research Assistant - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
There is growing evidence that some people infected with the COVID-19 virus experience long-run health problems known as long COVID, potentially leading them to drop out of the labor force. At the same time, the advent of remote work might have increased the participation of people with disabilities. We use data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) to assess the effects of long COVID and remote work on the labor force participation and work hours of people with disabilities.
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Environmental, Health & Safety News |
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A Quandary as More Workers Test Positive for Drug Use |
EHS Today - Barry Sample, Ph.D., Senior Science Consultant for Quest Diagnostics.
With an increase in usage, and an increase in some states restricting employee testing, how will companies balance rights and safety?
The numbers are going the wrong way.
People are testing positive for drug use in the manufacturing sector at a higher rate. The most recent Quest Diagnosis Drug Testing Index survey found that from 2020 to 2021 overall positivity, which includes a number of drugs, increased by 4.5%. Looking at that number from 2017-2021 it was an increase of 28.6%. This survey is based on more than 11 million drug tests and covers a variety of industries, however, for this article, the data comes specifically from the manufacturing industry.
“The largest driver for the increase is due to marijuana,” says Barry Sample, Ph.D., Senior Science Consultant for Quest Diagnostics. The positivity rate for marijuana in 2020 was 2.7% and in 2021 it was 3.0%, which is a relative 11.1% increase year over year. Read Article
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Don’t Allow Bullying to Become the New Normal |
EHS Today - David Sparkman
The rise of remote working spurs an increase in online bullying.
It’s a shame that we need the reminder, but workplace bullying and harassment has not gone away with rise of remote working. Actually, in some ways, the rise of virtual meetings has made the whole situation worse.
“Logically, those who engage in bullying and harassment are unlikely to stop doing so just because of these new working arrangements,” says attorney Paul Whinder of the law firm Seyfarth Shaw. “Indeed, the near universal adoption of video calling as part of everyday business communication across the globe will, if anything, provide fertile ground for not only a rise in bullying/harassment, but also significant challenges in catching and addressing it.” Read Article
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OSHA Steps Up Prosecution of Safety Violations |
EHS Today - Andrew Brought
Manufacturers and industrial employers should be aware of a resurgence in federal criminal prosecutions for workplace safety violations.
A series of recent criminal prosecutions stemming from workplace fatalities in connection with OSHA’s worker safety laws underscore the Justice Department’s willingness to charge OSH Act crimes, even in the absence of other Title 18 offenses or other criminal charges.
Historically, OSHA violations generally have not been charged criminally by federal prosecutors. From an evidentiary standpoint, the primary OSH Act crime requires the government prove that the employer willfully violated a safety standard and the violation caused the death of the employee. Also, because an OSH Act crime is a misdemeanor, and not a felony, the maximum punishment is capped at $500,000 as a Class B misdemeanor (although subject to the Alternative Fines Act). And because the crime applies to “any employer,” frequently companies have been charged and sentenced with a fine, rather than individual imprisonment. Read Article
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ASSP Wants to Look at Education Through a New Lens |
EHS Today - Staff
Only 40% of EHS professionals take a traditional education route to the field and 80% came into the job with no safety-related degrees.
ASSP announced it's looking to create a new map on how to educate EHS professionals.
Why?
Well first of all according to their research only 40% of workplace safety professionals travel a traditional education pathway from K-12 to postsecondary education and beyond.
What about the majority of EHS professionals? Well, 60% take a non-traditional path into safety from other disciplines.
And at every safety conference I have attended, many say that they entered the field without having safety-related degrees. ASSP found that this is true for 80% of current EHS professionals. Read Article
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Having trouble finding, selecting, training and keeping the skilled workers you need? Are your employee turnover costs a concern?
Let's start with what we already know:
- Classes alone will not train workers to perform your tasks...
- Quality Control policies and Process Documents are not a substitute for task training...
- Putting 2 people together and hoping for the best is not a training strategy...
- Wishing and hoping won't develop the skilled workers you need...
The cost of one worker malperformance or one worker's under-capacity or under-performance - due to lack of proper training - can more than justify the investment to train all your workers properly!
AND, unstructured, uncontrolled, undocumented task training is going on all day, every day. But if you cannot explain the process, you surely cannot measure and improve it.
Proactive Technologies's approach to structured on-the-job training takes place where, and while, the work is performed. You need no additional staff and structured on-the-job training does not interrupt your work schedule like unstructured, haphazard and ad hoc training or classroom learning does.
You probably have most of the pieces are already in place; they just need structure around them to make the training experience work for everyone through the accelerated transfer of expertise™.
As part of every project, Proactive Technologies provides the support to set-up, implement, manage, document and revise the worker development system so you can stay focused on business.
Copyright © 2019-22 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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EMPLOYERS!
If your organization sees training as a cost, not as an investment, maybe you should consider another approach!
- Cuts the employer's internal costs of training;
- Lowers the costs associated with turnover;
- Drives new-hires and incumbent workers to "full job mastery;"
- Increases worker capacity, work quality, productivity and compliance (ISO/AS/IATF training and records requirement, engineering specifications and safety mandates);
- Creates framework for cross-training, retraining and worker certification;
- Establishes the framework for employer specific/job-specific apprenticeships and internships - registered or not;
- Builds career development tracks and succession plans for hourly (and salary) workers;
- Ensures the increased and maintained "Return on Worker investment" through any type of change...
ALL OF THIS FROM ONE APPROACH!
This structured on-the-job training is performed where, and while, the work takes place!
You need no additional staff, and this will not disrupt your work schedule or burden your existing staff!
If your firm is partnered with local career and technical educational institutions, use of shared employer's equipment, facilities and paid wages of trainer(s) and trainee(s) are attractive match for potential grant assistance.
for more information.
Copyright © 2019-22 Proactive Technologies, Inc.™
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Copyright © 1988 - 2022 Proactive Technologies, Inc.TM
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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