Nearly any job done today relies on technology that’s ever changing, requiring ongoing training and resources. Our focus on workplace technology offers a glimpse of the broad range of changes. For our cover story, Laurie Schreiber delves into the world of precision manufacturing — from the world’s largest 3D printer at the University of Maine […]
Nearly any job done today relies on technology that’s ever changing, requiring ongoing training and resources.
Our focus on workplace technology offers a glimpse of the broad range of changes.
For our cover story, Laurie Schreiber delves into the world of precision manufacturing — from the world’s largest 3D printer at the University of Maine to a machine shop in Biddeford that makes aerospace components whose accuracy is within a millionth of an inch. Of the 1,600 manufacturers in Maine, a quarter now deal in precision fabrication or manufacturing. “The sector is morphing, so more companies are using higher technology such as robotics. The growth is in technology-based sectors such as medical devices, composites, electronics and metal fabrication,” says Lisa Martin, executive director of the Manufacturers Association of Maine. Story starts on Page 12.
In the office setting, much of the technology used today literally goes back and forth from work to the home. Laptops, iPads and phones are part of how we communicate in the workplace. Many of us are wearing the technology in the form of Apple Watches and other wearable technology. But, as Renee Cordes reports, this can have unintended consequences for employers and their workers, whose personal data is increasingly up for grabs.
“We’re at a time in the United States when we don’t have any federal law that oversees the collection of this biometric data from an employment standpoint, but we’re seeing more and more states that are stepping in creating statutes to protect consumers and employees from the use of this data, because it’s an asset,” Tawny Alvarez, a labor and employment lawyer at Verrill, tells Renee. See Page 16.
On a far different scale, podcasting is taking off among companies in Maine. It’s part of marketing and yet it also ties in with goals of social media to create a more human face for companies of all sizes. As Maureen Milliken reports, there’s a growing infrastructure around podcasting, with marketers, studios and producers offering services. See Page 20.
Elsewhere in the issue, there’s an “On the Record” interview with former Portland city planner Jeff Levine. See Page 23.
On the list of Maine’s largest private employers, MaineHealth once again is tops. See Page 32.
