HUNTSVILLE, Alabama--Major gains in productivity among Alabama manufacturers tie directly to increasing use of industrial technology, better workplace planning and other efficiency efforts, say a chorus of Alabama industry observers.

Reflecting a national trend, Alabama manufacturing is improving, producing the same amount of output with fewer workers.

Since 2004 manufacturing has contributed about 18 percent of the state's total gross domestic product. And while it took 15 percent of Alabama's workforce to do that in 2004, 13 percent of Alabama workers do that today.

Credit increasing use of industrial technology for part of that. The past decade has seen a dramatic rise in the use of robotics and other technology in Alabama's manufacturing sector, says Ahmad Ijaz, Associate Director and Director of Economic Forecasting at theCenter for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

"Labor productivity has improved. It's just a fact we're producing more with fewer workers.  We're using more automation, especially more robots. "

"You can see this in the job openings from our manufacturers.  They're looking for people who can service and repair, as well as operate, these robots."

A little-know fact is that Alabama has risen to third place among U.S. states in the use of industrial robots, says AIDT project manager Rick Maroney at the Robotics Technology Park near Calhoun Community College.

Robotics and other technologies such as 3-D printing are major sources of productivity gains, says Athens State University business professor Josh Zender.

"We've found many advantages in using robotics. They add higher levels of dexterity in doing certain kinds of tasks. Robots are better for repetitive tasks. They've really expedited the automotive industry's ability to weld and perform those repetitive functions."

"This makes Alabama a very good place to bring your manufacturing business," he says. "It gives the state an economic edge."

"3-D printing is another area. It gives these companies the ability to produce some parts in house, which has really cut development costs and reduced material waste."

The news of Alabama's productivity gains comes on the heels of just-released figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing U.S. manufacturing productivity rose at a 2 percent clip in the third quarter of 2014 compared to the third quarter last year. That's welcome news when compared to productivity gains of 1.0 or less in recent years. 

Alabama's main business advocate, the Business Council of Alabama, sees rising productivity as an integral part of the state's overall business climate. BCA president Bill Canary says it's all part of the long-range plan to lure companies and hold them here.

"Over 85 percent of jobs come here from existing companies," he said, and companies create new jobs where they can make the most money.

He gives several reasons for Alabama's rising productivity.

• Alabama's strong infrastructure base and location in what he terms a "very important transportation corridor which allows us to move goods into and out of our state easily."
• A strong work ethic among Alabama workers. "Our workers take pride in their work," Canary says, which makes companies looking for place to land take notice.
• Strong workforce development initiatives that have expanded to a greater emphasis on dual enrollment among high school students. "We want to keep them in school and train them for strong career paths."

But it's more than just robotics, says Alan Hill, Executive Director of the Alabama Productivity Center at the University of Alabama main campus, who works with many Alabama auto suppliers and other industries.

"Alabama has a lot of Tier One automotive suppliers, and they have invested in technology to improve worker efficiency. Some of it is in robots, but a lot of it is better production cell layout, laying out the workplace in a more efficient way. They're reducing the amount of travel getting resources needed to do their job, reducing wasted time and motion. You're really seeing industry embrace this a lot today."  

Alabama training and productivity initiatives also help. Canary credits Alabama Industrial Development Training and the more recently-formed Alabama Technology Network as two other magnets that draw companies to the state.

"These programs are internationally recognized for their training efforts, whether its robotics for the automotive industry or welding for Austal in Mobile."

Advanced manufacturing technology can extend to lean manufacturing processes. At Brown Precision in Huntsville, a high tech machine shop serving the aerospace and medical industries, vice president Greg Brown says a variety of advanced machine tools, lean manufacturing processes, and mechanical engineering allows him to produce more with fewer workers.

 "In particular, machine tools are getting better.  In our industry, speed competes, and that gives us more outputs with the same number of workers. That's especially important because it's getting harder to find skilled workers."

Full Article: http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf/2014/11/better_alabama_productivity_mo.html#incart_related_stories