The nature of things in the manufacturing industry has changed. Gone are the days when a physical filing system will adequately contain all the documents and resources you need to help your company thrive. The technology era is here and the manufacturing leaders of the future will be the ones who are able to stay on top of the ever changing technical world and use it to the advantage of their company and employees. In this episode of Making Chips, Jim and Jason point out 3 tools they use consistently that enable them to stay on top of their workload and lives.

Email is more than it used to be

Most manufacturing leaders have been using email for a long time. But are they using it to its fullest potential? Email platforms have changed dramatically, no longer serving as a digital post office, but also integrating with other applications to provide powerful tools for use in your manufacturing company. In this episode, Jim and Jason talk about how they use Gmail and the integrations it has with the Google product suite.

An organized business is a profitable business

In a day when more and more of the resources we use in our manufacturing businesses are becoming intangible through the avenue of digital media, manufacturing leaders must stay on top of the changes in order to keep their shops ordered and running smoothly. Diagrams, schematics, work orders, quotes and estimates, all of these and a thousand other things are being transmitted and stored digitally and need to be available at a moment’s notice. Do you have systems in place that enable you to manage the digital flood? Listen in to this episode to hear Jason and Jim’s recommendations of applications that can help you do exactly that.

Where is that to-do list?

Isn’t it maddening when you have been so careful to write down your tasks and responsibilities so you won’t forget them, but then you lose the list? It’s happened to all of us, but in today’s digital world we don’t have to fall prey to such things anymore. Now there are software solutions for computers and smart devices that will automatically sync on your phone, computer, and via the internet to the storage cloud. No matter where you are, you can log in and find the information you’ve saved. Platforms like Evernote, OneNote, and Dropbox put your resources at the tip of your fingers. Listen in as Jason and Jim tell you the software they use and how it helps with their business.

Dropbox to the rescue

In this episode of Making Chips, Jim and Jason highlight one of their favorite online tools, Dropbox. If you’re not familiar with Dropbox, it’s an online service that allows you to store documents, spreadsheets, images, audio and video files, and much more “in the cloud” (on the internet) so that it’s available for use anywhere you have access to a computer. But just as important is Dropbox’s ability to sync the files to your device so you can always have your documents and resources available even if you don’t have an internet connection. Listen to hear how Dropbox has helped Jason and Jim organize and run their manufacturing businesses.

Outline of this episode

* Welcome to this episode of Making Chips - THE Podcast to equip manufacturing professionals!

* Introduction to the topic: Management Tools for Manufacturing Leaders

* Tool #1: Email - both Jason and Jim use Google apps for business - and why they prefer it to an in-house server system.

* Tool #2: Evernote: A great tool for capturing thoughts, to-dos, recording lists, document storage via images, and even task management. Microsoft OneNote is an Evernote alternative that comes native on many new devices.

* Tool #3: Dropbox: A cloud storage and syncing platform to make files, large or small,