Manufacturing Survey Gets Deadline Extension

The deadline for the state’s manufacturing companies to complete a nationwide survey to assess the country’s global competitiveness has been extended to April 8.

The original deadline was March 15 for manufacturers to complete the half-hour, online survey, which is being conducted in New Jersey by the nonprofit New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, based in MorrisPlains.

Lynore DeSantis, vice president of operations at NJMEP, said the American Small Manufacturers Coalition concluded additional time would increase participation in the survey. New Jersey is targeting a response of at least 5 percent from the state’s nearly 11,000 manufacturing firms; so far, about 300 firms have responded, she said. MEP coaches manufacturers on how to cut waste, operate efficiently and invest in new products.

The study will enable manufacturers to benchmark their company’s operations against best practices worldwide. The confidential survey asks manufacturers to assess their performance across six areas: customer-focused innovation, worker engagement and talent development, production process improvement, supply-chain management, sustainability, and global engagement.

The state employs about 281,000 manufacturing workers and most firms are small: according to MEP, 50 percent of the companies have fewer than 10 workers; 83 percent employ 50 or fewer workers.