Continuous improvement

Maker's Memo | January 2023

Time to chuck the status quo?

“You make the wine flow through a hose; you don’t move the tanks," said Jerry Burd, co-owner of Black Mesa Winery & Cidery. Jerry highlights the importance of continuously evaluating and improving his production process instead of maintaining the status quo.

With his wife Lynda, an artist who designs all of the labels, Jerry has owned and operated the Velarde winery-cidery for 20 years. He credits the winery's longevity to hiring skilled employees and partnering with business resource providers like New Mexico MEP.

New Mexico MEP "helped us to see how a minute here and a minute there adds up to a lot in a year,” said Jerry.

Call NMMEP for an evaluation

Get an introduction to Black Mesa Winery & Cidery

Ask a lab

Access to highly specialized equipment and expertise can make or break the path to business success, especially for startups and new product launches. February 9 is the deadline to apply for technical assistance from Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories through New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program (NMSBA) leveraged projects. While individuals can apply for assistance throughout the year, leveraged project applications, which address challenges shared by multiple companies, are accepted just twice a year. The NMSBA program has provided almost $72 billion in technical assistance to New Mexico businesses since 2000.

Begin the process

Complex 3D printing … automated

“Slice the bunny with 2mm layer height.”

“Increase the infill gradually in the last few layers

to make the ears stronger.”

“Printing speed looks good overall but reduce it

a little bit on sharp corners to maintain better accuracy.”

That's AiSync giving instructions to a 3D printer … it's a GPT thing — a text-generating AI. The goal is for products like AiSync to empower designers and engineering teams to optimize production at lightning speed.

More technical talk

2022 Income Tax Updates for Small Businesses

January 26, 2023
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
In Farmington
Hosted by New Mexico MEP, SBDC, and Farmington Chamber of Commerce
Email Denise at New Mexico MEP for more information

Northern Region Workforce Professional Development Conference

Feb. 8-9, 2023
Santa Fe Convention Center
Including topics within the Trades/IT, Healthcare, and Hospitality sectors.
New Mexico MEP contributes its expertise to a panel discussion
Register here

Fundamentals of Lean Manufacturing Workshop

Thursday, February 16, 2023
8:30 am – 5:00 pm
New Mexico MEP Albuquerque Center
Hands-on introduction to eliminating non-value-added activities while streamlining value-added activities
These workshops fill up fast!
Deadline to register is February 9
Email Linda at New Mexico MEP to register

Advanced Manufacturing Summit

Thursday, March 30
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque
Presentations and demos
Details and registration coming soon!

Ongoing: New Mexico MEP classes

5S Workplace Organization
Quick Change Over
Lean 101
Lean Cellular Flow
Pull/System/Kanban
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
Standard Work
Tools & Measurements
Held at the Albuquerque training center, your business, or a community location in your community
For class descriptions and more info go to https://newmexicomep.org or call us at the number below

NEW MEXICO MEP | newmexicomep.org | 505-262-0921