Manufacturing, Job Creation and Poverty Alleviation in Africa

interesting thoughts on manufacturing in Africa..

Afroinvest Guide

Currently, there is speculation about Africa becoming the next manufacturing hub of the world. African countries have key advantages when it comes to manufacturing, such as low labor costs, abundant resources, duty-free and quota-free access to U.S. and European Union markets for light manufacturing under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act and the Cotonou Agreement. World Bank economists have stated that African nations can overcome their low productive levels by implementing appropriate supportive policies to take advantage of upcoming opportunities. Currently, China is the dominant force in light manufacturing and global export. However, the rising costs of land, regulatory compliance and labor in Chinese manufacturing centers have begun to erase the cost advantage of exporting from there. This trend is predicted to accelerate in the following years. This presents Sub-Saharan African countries with the opportunity to delve into light manufacturing, enhance private investment and create jobs (Dinh, 2012).

 New evidence…

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Cartoon: What if Buildings are Alive?

Cartoon: What if Buildings are Alive?.

Profound!

Profound indeed!!!

Chandru Writes !

 

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Free Reprints of “Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything”

a good read

Steve Blank

The Harvard Business Review is offering free reprints of  the May 2013 cover article, “Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything”

Available here

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Technology changing the way we do things everyday: A case of the Newspaper Industry

                                                                                                                                                            

The digital age is changing the world as we used to know it. Print newspapers are rapidly becoming the exclusive domains of doctor’s office waiting rooms and  reception areas for corporations . To a certain degree this is not so terrible. Newsprint was never an especially good way of transmitting information. Reading things on a computer or a Kindle seems far more pleasant.  Information is now just available at the click of a button, gone are the days when you had to drive or walk to the nearest business center to buy a newspaper.  Will the  traditional newspaper industry survive?  Is it true that by 2038  there will only be one newspaper (traditional paper printed on newsprint) still printing and that it will be in Africa? Ross Dawson a leading futurist entrepreneur and strategist  maps out interesting predictions  for the extinction of the newspaper  see Ross’s timeline here   is Ross correct?

It seems that the predictions and all the noise about the traditional newspaper dying are true. Pulp and paper industry reports  have continuously shown   a depressed demand for newsprint paper in the last few  years, the decline has been attributed  to the closure of small publishing companies  due to the digital age.  An example closer to home is the closure of the Merebank, KwaZulu-Natal newsprint machine by MONDI, this is a clear sign that the days of the newsprint are now numbered.

ALPHA Media Holdings (AMH) chairman Trevor Ncube in his guest lecture at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Zimbabwe, urged players in the printing and publishing age if they wanted to remain competitive in this market see Ncube urges papers to adapt or die   the business magnate  sheds light on a fundamental issue of Agility in any given industry.  If you don’t adapt to the trends you are left out and you will definitely die.  Enterprises need to have agile manufacturing systems or just agile systems that can adapt to changes as they if they are to avoid death. What does it mean to be Agile?? Being agile means being able to respond adequately to changes.Why is it important to respond adequately to changes?Because the environment we live in changes all time and it has been changing faster over the years. If we don’t respond adequately to those changes we may end up doing things inadequately, i.e., things that won’t get us to our objectives.

The newspaper industry is not the only industry being affected by technology all industries across the globe are being forced to upgrade if they are to remain competitive.  Technology has indeed changed the way we used to do things, we now have to do them faster more efficiently and correctly each time.  Gone are the days when old  machinery was shipped to Africa from the Europe and America and the companies importing such machines would be competitive for at least 20 years with the same old machinery. The current trends demand that the latest technologies in Europe be utilized in Africa as well.

Are you serious about workplace safety? Here are the things you need to consider

Are you serious about workplace safety? Here are the things you need to consider.

an interesting article on safety. The guys in Bangladesh must read this and use it. Quite enlightening!!!

S/Africa: ‘Switch Off to Prevent Winter Outages’

S/Africa: ‘Switch Off to Prevent Winter Outages’.

Maintenance is essential and consumers must use energy sparingly during this period.

A different course of action is far less risky than continuing the path of failure

Flexible leadership, Leadership in extreme circumstances and not throwing good money after bad lessons from Stalin, Bligh and Arnold.

Brian O’Neill in his post  on LDRLB titled Three Surprising Leaders Who Demonstrated the Importance of Flexibility brings out interesting strategies leaders can adopt in various situations to ensure flexibility and achieve their manufacturing goals.

As manufacturing engineers we have been taught and have implemented flexible manufacturing systems  and hence the need for flexibility to achieve agility in today’s industry and its importance is not new to us.  The buzz word for today’s manufacturer is “agility”. An agile manufacturer is one who is the fastest to the market, operates with the lowest total cost and has the greatest ability to “delight” its customers. FMS is simply one way that manufacturers are able to achieve this agility. If you are not Agile and hence not flexible, your competitiveness index as a manufacturer , nation or region will be adversely affected. A good example closer to home is the “dying” or “the dead” Zimbabwean Manufacturing Industry. The Zimbabwean industry  lacked Capacity linked flexibility  and could not thrive in the harsh economic hardships and global competition it found itself facing. The industry could not adjust its quality, production methods or manufacturing strategy to take head on the challenges which it was  facing. The comfort zone of quasi-monopolistic dominion was quickly  swept away by the dawning reality of an advanced  global market with lower  unit costs and better quality. Manufacturers found themselves selling at a loss as price determination was now market driven and manufacturers were now price takers. The result is well known, Zimbabwe deindustrialised.

Zimbabwe’s manufacturing competitiveness could have been different had the manufacturers been agile. The time is now for Zimbabwean industrialist to create agile manufacturing systems if they have any hopes of being competitive against their neighbors South Africa.

Some people may argue that the social, economic and political climate in Zimbabwe was a factor for the demise of the manufacturing sector. However I believe  we can not blame Robert Mugabe on this. It is the  manufacturing philosophy  and strategy  of a company or industry sector that drives it. In Zimbabwe’s case we found ourselves wanting of  manufacturing leaders who could stir the ship in extreme circumstances. It is not too late for manufacturing experts to configure their companies to world class standards and improve the country’s economy.

For more information on the strategies available you can read the referred article on this link..

http://ldrlb.co/2013/04/three-surprising-leaders-who-demonstrated-the-importance-of-flexibility/

Defining God-The first cause (Engineering Religion)

Manufacturing and GOD

God created the earth (All the matter that we play with in manufacturing, and all the engineers that tinker with this matter)

 

The word manufacturing comes from the compound ablative Manus (to make) Factus (by Hand). Manufacturing is thus a creation of objects from the hand of a man. From the book of Genesis we find out that God created man in his own image and likeness ( meaning that the creative nature of man is just as intended by God). If thus our inspiration comes from God (Elohim) it is imperative that we understand this God. Today we look at God the manufacturer of the earth and all that is within it the one that inspires man and engineers.

The resourcefulness of God, his agility and how he created the earth that always evolves and continually improves eternally is what inspires the  continuous evolution of the current manufacturing plant. What we call world class manufacturing has already been achieved by God in the most simple of his creations. Hence we see more and more  engineers borrowing a leaf from nature to inspire their designs and their factories.

So who is God?

A general definition of this great First Cause, as far as human words dare attempt one, may be thus given: The eternal, independent, and self-existent Being: the Being whose purposes and actions spring from himself, without foreign motive or influence: he who is absolute in dominion; the most pure, the most simple, and most spiritual of all essences; infinitely benevolent, beneficent, true, and holy: the cause of all being, the upholder of all things; infinitely happy, because infinitely perfect; and eternally self-sufficient, needing nothing that he has made: illimitable in his immensity, inconceivable in his mode of existence, and indescribable in his essence; known fully only to himself, because an infinite mind can be fully apprehended only by itself. In a word, a Being who, from his infinite wisdom, cannot err or be deceived; and who, from his infinite goodness, can do nothing but what is eternally just, right, and kind. Reader, such is the God of the Bible; but how widely different from the God of most human creeds and apprehensions!

We continually work on lean six sigma to ensure we reduce errors and wastefulness such that we can also reach a stage where we can develop a system that can not err.Just like God never errs and is never wasteful

The words always right the first time have always been said in most manufacturing firms and large stickers are plastered on the walls, this is a characteristic of God always right every time.

This moment lets take time as engineers to be inspired by God who daily inspires us to design and develop those systems we call world class.

The only way for Africa -Identify opportunities in Manufacturing

The only way for Africa -Identify opportunities in Manufacturing

A very good article on opportunities for African Manufacturing.