Expertise

Just two years ago, in Q2 2020, we saw GDP drop 11.1% from Q1. Unemployment reached 14.7% that April. Fifteen million people were unemployed and 30 million were collecting unemployment benefits. Hospitals were filling up with Covid patients, 100,000 had died from Covid, and a vaccine was six months away from being developed.

Todos los días escuchamos malas noticias sobre tragedias violentas, como los horribles y sin sentido asesinatos en Uvalde y Tulsa y la guerra en Ucrania. Es más fácil para mí concentrarme en temas mundanos como la economía, la inflación, la recesión y los cierres en China.

We hear bad news about violent tragedies daily, such as the senseless, horrific murders in Uvalde and Tulsa and the war in Ukraine. It’s easier for me to focus on mundane topics like the economy, inflation, recession, and China lockdowns.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG)—these aspects of modern corporate responsibility have taken the manufacturing world by storm and are transforming the way we operate and invest in business.

The current pressing economic conundrum is how to reduce inflation while avoiding a recession. What a choice. I don’t want inflation or a recession. As the Federal Reserve tightens money and raises the interest rates, the economy slows, unemployment rises, and consumer spending goes down. This is a painful cure for inflation.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics are becoming increasingly important to companies everywhere. Investors consider ESG scores as part of their decision-making process, driving stock prices up or down based on these metrics. To deliver good performance in the “environmental” category, manufacturing companies need to adopt a full sustainability strategy that goes beyond recycling.

We all know that safety is important. We want our team members to arrive home from work after every shift in the same (if not better) shape they were in when they clocked in. In today’s labor market and operational environments, safety is an even hotter priority. With people having to do more with less and the fast pace required to keep up with demand, it can be tempting for plant teams to cut corners—and it hurts the team even more than ever when someone is out due to injury.

Carbon neutrality is a goal shared by many companies across a diverse range of sectors. Amazon, Netflix, Meta/Facebook, and Coca-Cola have all announced target dates for when they will achieve it. With an increased focus on ESG metrics, sustainability and financial outcomes have never been more linked.

Continuaremos enfrentando muchos problemas para el 2022. Incluso con mas del 70 % de los Estados Unidos ahora vacunados, las muertes por Covid-19 se han duplicado sorprendentemente a mas de 800 mil casos este año, y los casos reportados de Omicron superan los 600 mil por día. Desafortunadamente, parece que las variantes de Covid-19 estarán con nosotros por mucho tiempo. Los problemas de la cadena de suministro tampoco desaparecerán pronto. Las preocupaciones por la inflación y la locura política continúan. La escasez de chips y el encontrar mano de obra calificada y no calificada sigue siendo difícil. La confusión política en Rusia y China también nos afectara.