The Federal Reserve reported that manufacturing output increased by 0.7% during the month of January. However, with an increase of 1.5% December of last year has remained the best month in terms of growth since December 2006. As a result manufacturers have been hiring on a more consistent basis compared to other industries.

Industrial production output, including utilities and mines, remained unchanged in January. Utility output actually saw a decline during last month, with a drop of nearly 2.5 percent. This decrease may have been affected by the uncommonly warm winter which left many Americans with lower heating bills. Mining production also dropped in January. But factory output was the month’s saving grace. Manufacturing production has increased by 16.7 percent since its lowest point in June 2009, during the peak of the recession. However, factory output remains below its December 2007 high point of 7.1 percent.

The past two consecutive months showing strong manufacturing growth could prove to be a signal that the economy will continue to grow at a steady pace in 2012. The increase in production coincides with the consistent rise in hiring over the past five months, which has ultimately helped lower the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent. Although no one believes the manufacturing industry will ever be able to return to its pinnacle in the 1950s, seeing as the factory sector makes up only one tenth of today’s economy, factories have greatly contributed to recent economic recovery. Aside from increased hiring, one of the main reasons economists say manufacturing has made a positive impact is because consumers and businesses have begun making purchases that they had put off during the recession.  Consumers are reported to be buying more cars and household appliances while businesses are again investing in industrial equipment and technology.

The government reports that, in January, factories added a net 50,000 workers to the job market. Last year, factories alone created 13 percent of new jobs. Consistent growth in the manufacturing industry has also encouraged hiring in related industries such as warehousing, shipping and auto sales. A spike in hiring confidence presents the perfect opportunity to ensure your workforce is properly trained. A staff that is well educated and which possesses all necessary industrial skills helps enhance productivity and ultimately increases your bottom line. The benefits from industrial skills training are endless and with the right courseware you’ll be sure to boost your factory output too. Contact ITC Learning today to learn more about how our industrials skills training courseware is right for your business.

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The industrial manufacturing industry employs nearly 13.8 million people. With such an immense workforce, an untrained employee can cost a plant millions of dollars whether it is through accidents or inefficiency. Providing an industrial workforce with the proper industrial training is not only an expense but also an investment of resources such as time and money that can potentially either make or break a plants success.

During a recent inspection of a dental products factory in Newark, NJ, the FDA was forced to order them to discontinue production until they can verify that their dental implants meet federal standards. Cases like these serve as evidence that industrial training is an essential element to operating a safe and efficient plant. Workers deal with heavy machinery and electrical currents on a daily basis, making safety and maintenance training equally as important as industrial skills training.

With the economy on the rise and manufacturers once again confident in hiring, industrial training is a must for the safety of your business and your workforce’s wellbeing. Since the beginning of the OSHA in the 1970’s, safe practices within factories have been measured by the rate of failure. However, lowering a recordable rate is not the most effective strategy to making your plant floor a safer place. Your safety program should address everything from leadership to key industrial training skills. The idea is to target not the rate of failure but instead the issues that impact that rate. Quality industrial training is the perfect way to boost leadership and enhance industrial skills in an effort to lower the chances of accidents and/or simple mistakes happening on your plant floor.

ITC Learning is dedicated to offering your business a seamless learning experience for all your trainees, no matter what industrial skills you plan to focus on. Our SCORM based software allows our online courseware to be accessed and saved from any location. We also offer CD and DVD courseware, allowing you to train anyone just about anywhere. Our courseware is interactive and utilizes graphics, audio and animation to engage users and offer the most accurate content available. Contact us today to learn more.

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In December U.S. factory orders rose in response to the increased number of investments in capital goods like heavy machinery. The Commerce Department reported that orders rose approximately 1.1 percent in December, down slightly from the 2.2 percent gain in November. 2011 as a whole saw orders go up by 12.1 percent following 2010’s 12.9 percent gain. But in 2009, when the recession is said to have officially ended, factory orders plunged by 22.1 percent.

Looking back to the positive close of 2011, the Commerce Department’s results topped off another productive year. 2011’s figures along with reports of strong job growth in January seem to signal that economic growth is continuing its climb to recovery. The increase drove the year’s orders to reach $5.36 trillion, just below the pinnacle of $5.44 trillion back in 2008.

December marked a successful month for factory orders. Capital goods rose by 3.1 percent while durable goods, which are those that are expected to last at least three years, increased by 3 percent. While the gains in both are expected to be due partly to businesses taking advantage of expiring tax breaks, most economists predict spending on new equipment will continue as businesses strive to modernize their plant operations.

Currently companies are more confident in hiring, factories are producing more goods and consumers are spending. All these factors point towards positive economic growth. But, with factories purchasing new equipment, proper maintenance becomes a pressing issue. In order to maintain the quality and effectiveness of durable goods that like those that manufacturing businesses continue to invest in, they must also consider investing in advanced industrial training skills. By implementing an industrial maintenance training program, workers can become educated on the newest technologies and learn how to properly maintain their plant’s new equipment. Investing in the newest technologies in the first step to advancing any manufacturing business, but also investing time and money in the most effective maintenance training program is essential to truly being able to maximize your ROI.  Contact ITC Learning today to learn how our SCORM based online courseware can assist your business with maintenance training.

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Industrial training is the heart of every manufacturing business. From safety training to maintenance training to basic boiler and air compressor training, industrial training skills serve as one of the most important building blocks to a successful plant. Just ask durable goods manufacturers around the U.S. who saw a strong 3% increase in December.

On January 26^th, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that during the final month of 2011 manufactured durable goods increased $6.2 billion amounting to a whopping $214.5 billion. Transportation equipment alone has increased for two consecutive months and had the largest growth of nearly $3.0 billion, totaling $58.4 billion. All of which was due to non-defense aircraft and parts. Cliff Waldman, economist for the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation stated, “Like other recent data, the December report on demand for long lasting goods paints a picture of an economy that ended a volatile and challenging 2011 on a positive note…Total new orders, now up during five of the last six months, increased a strong 3% after an even stronger 4.3% advance in November and for the year registered a solid 10% gain over 2010 levels”

Waldman’s statement has given the industry a sense of hope which may incite restored confidence in many manufacturers who have been hesitant to begin hiring new talent. But with a brighter outlook on the new year as the first month comes to a close, manufacturers should see an opportunity to tailor new hires and create an effective and productive industrial worker. How? Simple, by offering easy to use industrial training courseware. Whether it is via an online SCORM based platform or through the use of full motion video courseware, quality industrial training is bound to give you the greatest return on investment. Looking for a nudge in the right direction? Contact ITC Learning today to find out how our industrial training courseware can benefit your plant and your workforce.

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The Council on Competitiveness recently published Make: An American Manufacturing Movement, a report which aims to encourage the American public to remember that manufacturing is and has been the cornerstone to economic prosperity. The series of reports focuses on innovation, expansion, talent and productivity. All of which were shown to the government as a non-partisan strategy in an effort to resolve pressures the American manufacturing industry might face down the road.

Concerning industrial skills, the Council on Competitiveness sees harnessing the power and potential of American talent as one of the main challenges that is faced when it comes to today’s industrial training skills. Their recommended solution is to prepare the next generation of researchers, innovators and skilled workers through different vehicles of industrial skills training.

A few of their recommended courses of action include having federal, state and local governments team up with high schools, universities and community colleges to promote student participation in engineering and manufacturing programs. They also suggest that Congress should implement immigration reform that would allow the world’s brightest talent to work in the U.S. They recommend that the Small Business Administration (SBA) create a program like SCORE to bring retired business executives together and have them mentor younger entrepreneurs. Other recommendations included state of the art apprentice ships, study abroad programs for Americans and for Congress to create opportunities for older generations to remain critical contributors to the industrial workforce.

In the meantime, industrial training skills remain the most important element to maintain a productive and knowledgeable workforce. While the Council on Competitiveness lobbies for manufacturing training programs in all areas of education, plant managers must still educate their current employees to maintain a dynamic team. By implementing online industrial training, industrial skills’ training becomes a breeze. Trainees can learn on the job or from the comfort of their own home through online courseware which meets SCORM standards. Without essential manufacturing training the industry and the current workforce will suffer, but with the right training skills manufacturers can increase output and see a quick return on investment. Click here to contact ITC Learning and learn more about the advantages of industrial skills training.

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With industrial equipment and technology constantly changing, training has become vital to ensure your plant is properly operated and maintained. As an industry leader in providing industrial training skills, we understand that finding the proper material to effectively train your workforce and target each of their specific needs can be a daunting task. Computer industrial training must not only be the best quality content possible but it also needs to be affordable and accessible from anywhere. And today, SCORM (or Shareable Content Object Reference Model) makes delivering training skills such as control training, process training, boiler training and much more easy and cost-effective. SCORM helps consistently provide industrial training materials in a standardized format. SCORM assists in maintaining an interoperable and reusable web-based eLearning system for your online courseware.

SCORM is all the more critical as more and more agencies are beginning to hire. For example, the head of Bombardier Business Air says they plan to expand the company’s Learjet site located in Wichita and create almost 450 new jobs over the next seven to ten years. The news of expansion from one Learjet manufacturer comes with a sigh of relief for many Kansas industrial workers, as The Boeing Co. announce last week they plan to shut down their facilities in Wichita by the end of 2013.

Tennessee also received good news in Clinton when Magna International Inc. announced they are planning a $64 million expansion to be implemented over the next five years. The expansion for the automotive parts supplier hopes to add 188 jobs in their facility. New jobs will include assembly and press operators as well as laser operators and maintenance professionals. Also in Chicago, Illinois the freight company Coyote Logistics announced its plan to create 400 new jobs this year in their facility.

As companies regain confidence to hire and create industrial jobs they also have the chance to safeguard the future or their plant’s performance by employing an industrial skills training program that is both effective and user friendly. And SCORM based online courseware is just that. There is a great training opportunity with new hires and even current employees, take advantage and utilize industrial training skills that will advance your business.

Forecasts are generally what get us through each day. We watch the news for the weather forecast and determine whether we need to bring an umbrella to work that day. We watch for stock market forecasts to figure out whether to buy or sell. And now, we can look to the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) U.S. Industrial Outlook quarterly report to know what to expect in the coming years in the manufacturing industry. The report analyzed 27 major industries and offered mostly positive economic forecasts for 24 of the 27 industries. MAPI predicts that in the coming New Year 18 of the 24 industries studied will show gains.

In the third quarter this year, U.S. manufacturing production recovered by increasing 4 percent. Daniel Meckstroth, Ph. D. and Chief Economist says, “The growth is being led by the energy, transportation and industrial equipment industries…Firms are profitable and have the need to spend more for both traditional and high tech business equipment, and reasonably strong growth in emerging economies is still driving U.S. exports.”

While manufacturing industrial production has increased at an annual rate of 4 percent on a quarterly basis it is also expected to increase at about 4 percent as a whole in 2011. In 2012, MAPI predicts industrial production will increase by 3 percent and another 4 percent during the following year. According to MAPI’s analysis, non-high tech manufacturing, which accounts for nearly 90 percent of total production, is expected to grow by 4 percent through the end of this year and then slow a bit to 3 percent in 2012 and 2013. High-tech industrial production, which includes electronic products such as computers and components, is anticipated to increase by almost 8 percent in 2011. High-tech production should grow by another 6 percent in 2012 and 10 percent in 2013.

With such positive outlooks on the coming years, employers will hopefully begin hiring new industrial talent. To ensure new hires are properly placed, managers should implement advanced industrial training courseware. By assessing the industrial skills of your workforce you can determine their strengths and weaknesses and in turn provide the most up to date and effective industrial skills training. Contact ITC Learning today to find out more.

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Besides technical training, industrial safety knowledge is perhaps one of the most important industrial skill sets plant workers should possess. Today, there are more than 600,000 forklifts operating in manufacturing plants that are powered by propane fuel. And with more and more experienced forklift drivers reaching retirement age, factory owners have to prepare to properly train the next generation of industrial workers, so that their industrial skill sets are not only up to date but also follow the appropriate standards.

Replacing an empty propane cylinder on a forklift is not a difficult task, however there are specific standards that should be studied and applied when doing so for the safety of your employees and for the safety of your business. Some of these standards include the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) Standard of 1910.178 and the American National Standards Institute/Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation Standard B56.1-2009.

According to the OSHA, there are two classes of propane fueled forklifts. The first, Class IV is an internal combustion engine truck with solid/cushion tires. While the second type, Class V, is also an internal combustion engine truck but has pneumatic tires instead. The plus side is that the propane cylinders in both classes can be replaced by following the same procedures. Industrial workers who are not properly trained to execute such an exchange should not do so. Only appropriately trained personnel should handle the replacement by utilizing the proper safety measures and equipment, such as gloves and safety glasses. The forklift operator’s manual should always be reviewed before handling the propane cylinder as with any industrial equipment.

Operations and maintenance training of forklifts is only one example where further industrial training beyond manuals and basic floor training it critical, especially while plant owners prepare for a younger and less experience workforce to take over. Appropriate industrial training and safety measures should always be taken before operating or maintaining a forklift or any other industrial machinery for that matter. ITC Learning offers quality industrial training and expert knowledge when it comes to manufacturing operations. Ensure your employees are properly trained for all aspects of their daily industrial tasks, and contact ITC Learning today.