UTA manufacturing center offers study on global competitiveness

A research study to assess the global competitiveness of Texas manufacturers was launched Feb. 11 by the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center, based at the University of Texas at Arlington’s Automation and Robotics Research Institute.

The Web-based Next Generation Manufacturing Study, part of a 15-state effort by the American Small Manufacturing Coalition, is open to any manufacturing owner, CEO or senior level executive. The questionnaire can be accessed at http://www.ngmstudy-texas.com/ and deadline for participation in March 15.

The study asks manufacturers to rank their progress toward the world-class performance benchmarks of Next Generation Manufacturing, a set of strategies that includes customer-focused innovation, supply chain management and collaboration, global engagement and sustainable products and processes.

“What we see here in the U.S. and around the globe is that the adoption of these strategies aligns with better business performance,” said John Brandt, CEO of the Manufacturing Performance Institute, a global research firm that is conducting the study.

Brandt said a groundbreaking study of 500 manufacturers in Wisconsin confirmed the direct correlation between the growth-driven strategies and readiness to compete globally.

Results from the Texas study are expected to provide a scorecard for manufacturers, to show how they rank against world-class performance benchmarks and target improvements where needed.

bdillard@bizpress.net