If I can figure that out over a bucket of balls on a Sunday morning, maybe we should take our politicians out en masse to hit a few.

Now I understand that arguing with each other is part of the job, but as our elected officials do their best Lucy and Ricky impersonations, I can’t help but think that they are not being all that productive.

For years Canadian manufacturers have been trying to become more productive to compete with cheaper-labor markets. Now, unfortunately, as energy costs rise and the loonie soars, we also have to compete with our manufacturing juggernaut of a neighbor as Canadian companies snowbird their way south.

There are a lot of opinions out there, some politically motivated, some not. But the prevailing theme is that maintaining the status quo will continue the trend of Canadian manufacturing jobs trickling away like sand in an hourglass.

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) is asking Ottawa to provide incentives for companies that invest in R&D, as well as new machinery and equipment.

The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) says we need a new national automotive policy that is “strong, effective, and modern.”

Newly minted National Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair even weighed in, taking a swing at the country’s natural resource sector and the federal government as he did so. Mulcair said the Tories are neglecting manufacturing and putting too much focus on the extraction of natural resources.

“That’s driven up the value of the Canadian dollar [and] made it more difficult to export our own goods. We’re killing our manufacturing sector,” said Mulcair.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), which hosts the Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show (MMTS) this month, reports that the most pressing challenge facing Quebec manufacturers in 2012 is the need to do more with less. The survey also found that more than one-half of manufacturers surveyed cited improving workforce productivity as a primary concern, followed closely by the need to update equipment and processes and to lower overall production costs.

Other challenges facing Quebec manufacturers include finding ways to expand into new markets, attracting and retaining qualified personnel, keeping up with industry trends, and dealing with uncertain customer demand.

The clock is ticking, and we all still need to figure out what the new manufacturing reality is in this country. And, it may be a hard lesson to learn for some. Just like learning how to hit that perfect flop shot.

And while I don’t necessarily need the Geek Squad to set up my laptop, hacking The Matrix is definitely not in my future either.

My organizational system was working for me, but it still had to go. It was a method that involved yellow sticky notes, telephone numbers scribbled on coasters, doodles, chicken scratches, and enough paper to keep AbitibiBowater and Domtar busy for the near future.

Enter the tablet.

My recent gadget acquisition sparked an evolution that was necessary in today’s fast-paced world. I simply had too many pieces of information coming into the office daily, combined with too much time spent on the road and a rapidly decreasing capacity to remember things.

Now imagine if this information needed to be shared with multiple people in multiple locations. It’s not like I can ship my hand-written notes to a colleague, say in Rockford, Ill., while maintaining access to them and being able to collaborate to change them.

Enter the cloud.

Cloud computing uses a network of externally hosted Internet servers to share, store, and manipulate data, rather than relying on a local hard-wired system. Cloud-based computer applications are accessed by a Web browser or even a mobile app, but the software and data are actually stored at a remote location. This software and information can then be accessed from anywhere at any time.

Imagine being able to access and edit large CAD files from any of your manufacturing facilities remotely. Think of the power and flexibility gained by having the same ability with your enterprise resource planning (ERP) or customer relationship management (CRM) software suites.

A report from the researchers at IDC Manufacturing Insights, Framingham, Mass., states that cloud computing “is the most important productivity platform for the next decade.”

Computing powerhouse Microsoft even polled 152 decision-makers within the automotive, aerospace, electronics, and industrial equipment manufacturing companies in the U.S., France, and Germany for its 2011 Discrete Manufacturing Cloud Computing Survey who said that the biggest benefit of cloud computing is the lowered cost of optimizing infrastructure. Efficient collaboration across geographies and the ability to respond quickly to business demands were also seen as benefits.

This type of setup just makes sense. It allows you to run more jobs in a day, reducing per-part costs, while increasing throughput.

The goal of any manufacturer should be for its equipment to be up and running for as many hours per day as possible. However, just because the machines are running doesn’t mean that money isn’t being lost. Equipment that is operational all day is consuming energy all day.

Recently the good volk at Volkswagen got serious about this consumption and asked the Institute for Machine Tools and Production Technology (IWF) to examine its Baunatal, Germany, facility.

“The plant possesses around 5,000 machine tools, with plenty of relevant data available. This means that for the first time we can use trend analyses to derive statements on how the energy consumption of machine tools has developed over time,” explained IWF scientist André Zein. “Our analyses show that the energy requirements of different machinery concepts for the same machining job can differ by a factor of five. This forms the motivation for our research into efficient solutions.”

The key question posed by the researchers was, What exactly is an energy-efficient machine tool?

The results of the study at Baunatal have shown that it’s about more than simply using machine tools equipped with energy-efficient motors. Manufacturing theory also plays a key role. For example, components that are produced closer to their final tolerances before being loaded onto a machine tool for the final touches require less material removal. This means that the machine will not need to be run at its full load – saving energy in production.

Also, eliminating wait times means that the machine tool will be running only when it’s producing parts and not running – and not consuming energy -- while waiting. Ideally, a machine will consume a minimal amount of energy while waiting, yet become ready for operation and reach its operating temperature quickly, when needed.

The IWF team is hoping to standardize a set of energy-consumption tools for machine tool testing, and is looking for support from both end users and machinery manufacturers. This will allow manufacturing engineers to add electricity consumption per part to their list of collectible data.

Eliminating waste in all its forms is at the heart of lean manufacturing. Reducing energy consumption places less burden on the grid, not to mention that it keeps your cash where it belongs: in your pocket.

Gone are the days of the Fenian Raids and Volstead Act-breaking rumrunners. It’s also no longer all that important who burned down whose White House (sorry, America).

These days we have it pretty good with our neighbor to the south.

While the border typically runs like a well-oiled machine, wait times to cross it are increasing. Anyone who has been stuck on the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge after tailgating at a Buffalo Bills game knows this wait can seem like an eternity.

Late last year Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama signed agreements to streamline the shipping process between our two countries. With $525 billion in trade flowing across the 39th parallel annually (2010 figures), there is a lot at stake.

Much of the delay can be blamed on new security measures enacted after 9/11, but increased truck traffic following a rebound in the economy has affected crossing times as well. What nobody wants is for companies to reduce or eliminate the flow of goods because of these delays.

Joint inspection processes and joint security programs will begin to be put in place this year with the goal of streamlining traffic flow while maintaining the safety of both nations.

For manufacturers, transportation and its associated costs have always been of paramount importance. Whether it’s bringing in raw materials or shipping out finished or semifinished products, transportation by road, rail, sea, and air is a vital part of the manufacturing process.

As our economies become even more closely intertwined, unimpeded border crossings will become more necessary.

“Geography has made us neighbors, history has made us friends, economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.”

These are the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy spoke in 1961. A few years later our own three-named leader, Pierre Elliott Trudeau compared living next to the U.S. to “sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly or temperate the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”

Let’s hope those twitches and grunts remain small.

The Maya calendar doesn't come to an abrupt end on Dec. 21, 2012, as some have said; it just flips back over to zero like the odometer in my old Ford LTD.

This day ends an epic time cycle of more than 5,100 years and, quite simply, starts another. So can we all agree to stop focusing on this date and get back to the business of progress? It's what the Maya would have wanted.

The awakening of a new year can serve to get us out of the post-Christmas funk brought on by too much eggnog, tryptophan, and family time. It's a time to reorganize and re-energize both personally and professionally.

It's time to look ahead to the rest of the year and form the plan of attack that will make us successful in our endeavors. It's time to explore new options in manufacturing technology and theories emerging in the market. It's time even to explore our own businesses to examine work flow and eliminate inefficiencies. And, no, this exploration doesn't mean playing Marco Polo in the warehouse when the boss is away on winter holiday … although everyone needs a break now and then. I know I do.

It was a rather heavy autumn travel schedule that recently had me feeling less like the aforementioned Mr. Polo and more like the Sky1's idiot abroad, Karl Pilkington (seen in Canada on Discovery Channel).

The crew is right there filming as the curmudgeonly middle-class Brit Benny Hill's his way around the world, taking part in other people's bucket list items. It's unscripted TV at its best.

For the uninitiated, a bucket list is simply a list of things you want to accomplish before you die.

Here's my take on what a Canadian manufacturer's bucket list might look like:

5. See the Great Wall of China. (And not following a visit to the shop that pirated my business.)

4. Learn to play an instrument. (We've been getting played for years.)

3. Run with the bulls in Pamplona. (I really have been getting the horns lately anyway.)

2. Skydive. (Maybe I can catch lot sizes, which are also plummeting.)

1. Go on a road trip across Canada. (See the roads, rails, and waterways that take our manufactured goods to the world.)

One man taking the spice out of his life, or at least his wardrobe, is local-boy-made-good Sergio Marchionne. In an interview with reporters following a recent speech, the Italian-Canadian head of Fiat and Chrysler explained why he wears the same clothes — a black sweater and black pants — every day.

“I prioritize in the morning. I made a decision to start wearing black sweaters and pants a long time ago, because [otherwise] I have to make a choice between spending three seconds deciding whether to wear a blue one or a black one, and I don’t want to spend the three seconds,” he said. “It’s an allocation of time and resources. I like simplicity almost to the point of being monastic. But it’s clear. I’m not confused. All my bloody pants look the same. All my sweaters look the same.”

Thankfully with today’s manufacturing equipment, a more tailored approach often is used.

One example comes from the engineers at Mazak Corp., Florence, Ky., who have developed a five-tiered approach to multitasking.

A recent trip to Bluegrass Country showed off the company’s five product line levels, starting at Level One, which are machines that typically have a single turning spindle and drum-style turret with rotating tool capability for processing simple workpieces. The following levels Two through Five add Y-axis functionality and twin spindle/milling turret or twin spindles/twin turrets; independent milling spindle headstocks with B-axis indexing, as well as Y-axis travels and tool storage magazines; automation and the ability to process large or highly complex workpieces; and, finally, specialized machining tasks, such as gear cutting, honing, and grinding.

This theory has even spawned its own Web site. Check it out at www.mazakfivelevels.com.

Waterjet manufacturer Flow showed its ability to produce made-to-order systems at the recent FABTECH® show. The company’s new modular systems allow customers to choose bed size, pump style and pressure, and head type and number to create a unique, tailored system for their specific needs.

These are just two examples from the many equipment manufacturers that are getting away from the out-of-the-box, one-size-fits-all approach.

I can’t wait to see what the next trend will be.

Maybe even Marchionne will come to realize that a change can be a good thing. Although I don’t expect him to lose the Johnny Cash look any time soon.

Most provinces and territories — Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Yukon -- actually observe this day as a statutory holiday. The rest should follow suit.

It’s a time to reflect on the sacrifices the armed forces made on foreign soil so that we may remain free. Free to work, play, and love ... free to complain about our taxes.

No matter where you stand on our nation’s military spending, a perennial political hot button, you most likely recognize that keeping Canadian manufacturers at work to build the tools of war for our servicemen and -women is smart business.

With Canada participating in the development of the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft, local manufacturers will gain production and service work for years to come.

Now comes word that two of the nation’s largest naval production facilities will get to work on next-generation ships to protect our shores and interests at sea. Deputy Minister of Public Works and Government Services François Guimont announced that Nova Scotia’s Halifax Shipyard and Seapsan Marine Corp. of British Columbia each received a piece of the recent $33 billion deal - the largest naval procurement in our history – to manufacture naval warships, supply vessels, and other noncombat craft.

According to Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), the Canadian economy is the big winner.

“Beyond the benefits for the winning companies and their workers, the shipbuilding contracts will have profound benefits for the entire economy, coast-to-coast,” said CME President and CEO Jayson Myers. “We congratulate the government on a fair and transparent process that will maximize opportunity for participation and growth throughout all regions of Canada to address the subject matter.”

In a time of increasing scrutiny of how tax dollars are spent, this may be turn out to be a coup for a manufacturing industry that is much in need of a shot in the arm.

It also proves that we can manufacture our own high-tech military materiel and not be reliant on hand-me-downs and diesel-powered British refurbs.

Some people will still argue against any military spending, but at least this spending is putting money back where it belongs: in the pockets of Canadian workers.

In a recent survey conducted by Canadian Industrial Machinery, manufacturers said that they are running closer to full capacity than they were a year ago. In 2010 shops reported that they were producing at about 77 percent of their full potential. This year that percentage has risen to 84.8 – a definite step toward the competitiveness and profitability needed in this economy.

The survey was conducted between July and August and was designed to provide insight into Canada’s metalworking and fabricating purchasing intentions for 2012. More than 1,000 telephone surveys were completed.

Some very interesting metrics were revealed when last year was compared to this year. While not on par with Sir Ronald Fisher’s exact test, the numbers generated seem positive. Following are a couple of highlights.

• Large companies (100 or more employees) planning on making an equipment purchase will likely use cash flow (68.2 percent) rather than a loan or lease program. The statistical average for companies of all sizes is 48.7 percent.
• While there was no major statistical difference in the total number of companies planning on making capital equipment purchases this year compared with last year, companies of all sizes do plan on increasing tooling purchases for their shops.  Significant interest also was reported for milling technology and punching equipment. E-mail or call for a free copy of the results from CIM’s 2011 capital equipment spending survey.

Meanwhile on Parliament Hill, the federal government seems to be intent on moving forward with plans to reduce the federal corporate tax rate to 15 percent from its current level of 16.5 percent by January 2012.

This was the message from Industry Minister Christian Paradis at the inaugural Canada-U.S. Manufacturing Summit held in Montreal this past September.

With more money in their pockets, Canadian manufacturers may now be engaged to invest in equipment for their shop floors. The elimination of tariffs on all manufacturing imports, including machinery and equipment, and accelerated capital cost allowances for clean-energy production, should also help an industry in need of a shot in the arm.

“We are not going to compete with emerging economies on wages or in the assembly of low-cost, low-skill goods,” Paradis told the partisan crowd of manufacturers and government officials from both sides of the border. “We will compete by increasing productivity, by developing more value-added products and services, and by being the first to tap into new niche markets.”

Those are fine words. Now it’s time for action.

The basis for most well-known self-help guides requires the recognition of a personal problem or deficiency and the promise of success following a change in attitude, actions, or activity. And while I may know the difference between Tony Horton and Tony Robbins, I’m certainly no expert.

Dale Carnegie, however, was an expert, and his How to Win Friends & Influence People, the On the Road of the self-improvement movement, has sold more than 15 million copies. First published in 1936, this book of life tips got a major facelift in 1981 and once again became an international phenomenon.

Carnegie’s fundamentals for handling people include the following three gems:

1. Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.

Numbers 2 and 3 are easy enough to understand and implement. Anyone with even the smallest amount of interpersonal skills should be able to add these mantras to their daily lives, and maybe even be better off for it. Although the first little tidbit is simple enough to say, it is often difficult to put into practice in today’s fast-paced, stressful, results-driven industry. I would guess that criticizing, condemning, and complaining are the three most common lunchtime and smoke-break activities practiced in many shops in the country.

Morale is important in business today, though. Employees with low morale are less productive and more likely to call in sick or get hurt on the job.

Warrior-turned-writer Sun Tzu knew this, and he advised this: Find the means to keep your morale high and the morale of your charges high.

I noticed the opposite approach during a recent shop visit — a sign reading “Complaints Department” was cleverly placed under another sign that read “Exit.” While amusing, I’m sure that message hasn’t done much for the company’s communication flow.

The moral about morale is simple. The higher it is, the better off your work environment will be.

So as I do a little bandwagon-jumping and try to capitalize on the self-help money train with my upcoming project, Chicken Soup for the Canadian Manufacturer, I think we all can learn a little from Carnegie. But what do I know; I also was the office Door-Slamming Champion (2002-2007).

As an aside, September is also Be Kind to Writers and Editors Month... just sayin’.

Sluggers like the Toronto Blue Jays' José Bautista enter the batter's box with a plan. They wait for their pitch, and when they see it, they swing. It's carpe diem, baseball-style. However, success in this sport is a very relative thing. You are deemed a success when you fail seven times out of 10.

It's August, and as we enter the seventh-inning stretch of summer—the so-called dog days—we take a page from the book of baseball and examine the "three up and three down" of manufacturing.

Three Up

Costs. Costs are rising across the board, and the prices of just about everything are higher today than they were yesterday. The price of raw materials, labor, fuel, and utilities all are, to put it gently, trending upward. The price of gasoline alone jumped nearly 30 percent in May, the biggest monthly increase since 2005.

Complexity. The parts produced in Canadian shops are becoming more complicated, a byproduct of the offshoring of simple work. The manufacturing base is shifting to higher-value-added manufactured products that require both highly skilled labor and the newest technologies.

The dollar. As mentioned in this space last month, the Canadian dollar continues to rise in comparison to the currency of other nations. For certain types of manufacturing work, this is making the country a less desirable destination. We can no longer rely on a low dollar to drive the industry; however, we also should not use this high dollar as an excuse.

Three Down

Margins. Directly linked to the rising cost of doing business, the margins in today's work are growing ever smaller. Understanding the total cost of doing business and its effect on cost per part is of paramount importance.

Lot sizes. A trend that has been witnessed for the past decade, lot sizes continue to shrink. Low-volume, high-variety work is becoming the norm, and your shop needs to be able to keep pace by reducing WIP and setup times.

Delivery times. Not only is the work becoming more complex and time-consuming, but shrinking lead-times will push any shop to the limit.

So as the pressure mounts and life gets just a little more hectic, my prescription is a trip to the ballpark ... and a cold one.