RIMA News March 2019
Wishing You Success This Month...
 Our job here at RIMA is to give you, the manufacturers, the ability and resources to continue and compete and grow among others in the industry.

We are excited to share a number of upcoming events and stories with you!
RIMA Workshop Mfg 4.0
RIMA recently held their first workshop of 2019. With well over 100 people in attendance, our guest speakers expressed the new way to view and operate our manufacturing operations. Dan Dwight, President of Cooley Group, Dave Brousel, co-founder of the Manufacturing Leadership Council and Christian Cowan Director of Polaris did a thorough presentation of all aspects of mfg4.0. The feedback from our survey indicates that in an overwhelming opinion that the information was pertinent and well delivered. RIMA's goal is to bring value to our members so that they can use the information from these workshops to be part of their continuous improvement programs.
Keep checking our events page to keep updated on new events and upcoming registration information!
Even Manufacturers
need the
luck of the Irish
sometimes 
**** Member Spotlight ****
This Month's Member in the Spotlight...
Wright's Dairy Farm and Bakery!

Wright's Dairy Farm and Bakery is a 100-year-old family owned and operated  business  in North Smithfield, RI. At our core, we are a dairy farm that pasteurizes and bottles milk on site, but we are most well-known for our retail bakery that utilizes our high-quality milk and cream as a foundation for a diverse array of cakes, pies, and pastries. This summer we will be launching an on-site ice cream shop featuring our farmstead ice cream. Join us on the farm to experience Real Cows, Real Food, and Real People. 
National Association of Manufacturing
NAM Economic Support
  • There were 493,000 job openings in the manufacturing sector in November, not far from August's all-time high (508,000). In addition, durable goods firms reported the most jobs postings in November (324,000) since January 2001
  • Overall the job openings data provided another solid reading regarding manufacturing job growth, consistent with the strong outlook and a tight labor market. Indeed, manufacturers continue to report difficulties in finding talent as their top concern. For the 9th consecutive month, there were more job openings in the U.S. economy (6,888,000 in November) than the number of people looking for work.
U.S. Manufacturing Production Unexpectedly Contracts in January
  • United States factory production unexpectedly contracted in January, shrinking the most in eight months on weakness in the automotive sector and indicating a weak start to the year as headwinds including a trade war with China weighed on factories
  • Manufacturing output fell 0.9% after a downwardly revised 0.8% percent increase in the prior month
  • The results missed the Bloomberg survey median forecast calling for an unchanged reading
  • Total industrial production, which also includes mines and utilities, contracted 0.6% after a revised 0.1% rise that was also revised down
Manufacturing Output Rose to an All-Time High in Q3 2018
  • Manufacturing produced $2.35 trillion in value-added output in the 3rd quarter, an all-time high, with the sector accounting for 11.4% of real GDP. Adjusting for inflation, real value-added output in manufacturing also set a new record, and overall, manufacturing contributed 0.31 percentage points to real GDP growth in the quarter.
  • Many of the economic indicators out last week contributed to reflect softness in the manufacturing sector, both in the United States and globally. The IHS Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI grew at the weakest pace since September 2017, with slower-but-still modestly expanding-increases in new roders and output, but improvements in hiring and exports.
NAM Survey: Record Optimism Among Manufacturers Continues
  • Manufacturers in American remain upbeat about the economy, according to the NAM Q1 2019 Manufactures' Outlook Survey-the latest edition of a survey routinely cited by the administration, Congress and the media. This quarter's survey continues to show record optimism among manufacturers:
  • 89.5% of manufacturers were optimistic about the future, compared to 88.7% in the last quarter in 2018
  • This marks nine consecutive quarters of record optimism, with an average of 91.8%, compared to an average of 68.6% across 2015 and 2016
  • Manufacturers' concerns about our nation's crumbling infrastructure keep rising, with more than 77 percent saying the state of infrastructure threatens their competitiveness
  • The inability to attract and retain a quality workforce remained manufacturers' top business concern (71.3 percent). The workforce shortage has forced more than one in four manufacturers surveyed to turn down new business opportunities
Institute For Supply Management
U.S. Factory Gauge Falls to Two-Year Low as Orders Cool
  • A gauge of United States factories fell to a two-year low in February, cooling more than expected with a broad decline that suggests economic growth is moderating, though the drop may reflect some weather-related disruptions. The Institute for Supply Management index fell to 54.2 from 56.6 as four of the five main components – orders, employment, production and deliveries – all saw declines. The result missed estimates in a Bloomberg survey calling for a drop to 55.8, though remained above the 50 level that indicates expansion.
  • The U.S. economy grew 2.6% at the annual rate in the fourth quarter. For the year, real GDP rose 2.9% in 2018, or by 3.1% from Q4:2017 to Q4:2018. As such, economic growth last year was the best since 2005, as expected, on a year-over-year basis. In the fourth quarter figures, consumer and business spending were the bright spots, but there were continuing drags in growth from net exports and residential fixed investment.
  • Moving forward, I forecast 2.4% growth for 2019, recognizing that the global economy is softening and there are lingering political uncertainties. With that in mind, policymakers need to build on last year's momentum by taking action on additional priorities, including approval of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement, to ensure manufacturers in America can continue to grow and prosper
Congratulations to CoWorx’ s CEO & President, Michael R. Epstein, who once again has made the 2019 Staffing Industry Analysts 100 List! The list, now in its eighth year, honors 100 individuals whose influence and accomplishments are elevating the workforce solutions ecosystem and taking the industry forward
Industry Week News
64% of Manufacturers Say Retaining and Attracting Talent is a Top Challenge. How can they secure top talent to keep competitive? With the right retirement plan that delivers financial wellness for workers and their families. Which can help manufacturers retain and attract top talent.
The Hidden Threat to Your Network
By Michael Rudnick

There is one threat to your network that the most cutting-edge firewall, anti-virus, and backups cannot protect you from. This threat is the biggest cause of data breaches and ransomware across all businesses and it’s an element of cybersecurity everyone forgets: your employees.

Leaving the Door Unlocked
You can have the best locks on your doors, the toughest steel doors leading outside, small windows with bars on them, and a security guard who patrols the building. But if one of your employees leaves an exterior door propped open while they go on a smoke break, none of your security really matters.

Ironically, people are the least secure part of any security system, and that includes cybersecurity. If you have a good firewall and anti-virus in place, a hacker’s next target will be your employees.

The hackers might send phishing emails, emails that look legitimate (such as a UPS package notification) to try to get the employee to click on them. Once they click the link, they’re taken to a nefarious site and a virus is downloaded onto the machine. Or they’ll try and get the employee to log into a fake banking website to steal their login credentials.

The Best Defense is Vigilance
The only way to keep your employees safe is to give them the tools to keep them safe. Cybersecurity training is a must for any organization. Once employees know what threats are out there and what they look like, they can avoid them or flag them for your IT consultant. As we say at RCC, the best defense against any cyberattack is being vigilant against it.

Of course, this training should be ongoing. Threats are constantly changing, and your employees need to be aware of how to look for these threats. They don’t need to be IT experts but every single one of your employees should be able to spot a suspicious email, link or website on their computer.

Good Cybersecurity Comes from the Top Down
Once you have cybersecurity training available to your staff, you should make sure they take the training; otherwise there is no point in having it. The only way to get staff to take your company’s cybersecurity seriously is if you and your leadership take it seriously. Set goals around taking the training. Offer incentives for scoring the highest. Make sure your employees have time available to take the training. Make sure you are taking the training and meeting those goals as well!

If you need help determining your downtime costs or are concerned about your backups, please contact RCC at (401) 272-9262 or go to www.RCC-pcSupport.com
Thank You To Our 2019 Sponsors!
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We Advocate for Manufacturing
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We Promote Economic Improvement
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  • We promote and support a more competitive business climate
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We Support Education and Workforce Development
  • RIMA's partner, WeMakeRI, develops career, education programs to help companies identify and secure talented workers through certified apprentice programs