Manufacturing’s new era requires new tools

In tiny settlements sprinkled throughout the world’s Stone Age landscapes, early humans had a problem: Their tools were terrible.

After millennia of people using humble stone, bone, wood, and copper tools, the development that happened next–sometime before 3000 BC--would change everything. It was a technological and material science advancement called bronze.

Bronze, of course, is a copper alloy first made with arsenic and, later, with lead. It was the most sophisticated material of its time and still was widely used in the later Iron Age. Unsurprisingly after five millennia, today’s tools are on another level altogether. They are digital.

A new web-based instructional tool has just launched that aims to help manufacturers solve both their everyday “I run a busy shop” problems, as well as aid in bigger-picture executive skills development. It’s expert advice and training developed just for manufacturers.

Manufacturing Masters and its accompanying website, www.manufacturing-masters.com, is a storage house of guidance from today’s best manufacturing minds. The site itself is the brainchild of Darrin Mitchell, a manufacturer turned content producer who envisions it as a Netflix for manufacturers.

“This is a subscription-based platform that provides expert advice, training, and content for manufacturers,” explained Mitchell from his P.E.I. facility. “I have been a manufacturer for the last 23 years and I’m always cautious who to reach out to for help to grow my business, especially because it can change daily.”

The website features dozens of manufacturing experts from around the world who have all provided short videos on how to tactically achieve a particular goal in manufacturing.

Some of the topics are how to do a supplier scorecard, the role of a CFO in a manufacturing business, and a check list to run through before ordering a new piece of equipment.

So, how does Mitchell intend to stand out in a world of information overload and fragmented attention spans? It starts with getting the right people.

“We ask experts to make content only if they have actual manufacturing experience,” said Mitchell. “We also have asked the experts to generally keep the videos to five minutes by removing all of the storytelling and getting to the point.”

Being a member of an online service means that if you are having a challenge in a particular part of your manufacturing business, you don’t have to commit to a six-week-long course or fly to a conference to get help. You can access an online tool.

“Ultimately, the best thing we have done is curated the world's best manufacturing experts and put them in one spot,” said Mitchell.

With more than 80 videos and counting, there’s enough solid information on the website to fill a shipping container … if you can find one.