Manufacturing Extension Programs

Manufacturing extension programs help companies modernize or upgrade their operations, often with state and federal funding. The National Institute of Standards and Technology manages federal funding for the program through its Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (MEP). In the current climate of government downsizing, Congress is reconsidering MEP funding. One issue Congress is evaluating is whether MEP services have helped businesses improve their performance. GAO did a national survey of manufacturers that had received MEP services in 1993. The survey results, described in a 1995 report (GAO/GGD-95-216BR), indicate that 73 percent of respondents viewed MEP assistance as having a positive effect on their overall business performance. In addition, most respondents found that MEP assistance had had a positive effect on their use of technology in the workplace, the quality of their products, and customer satisfaction. This report further analyzes GAO's national survey results. GAO (1) identifies factors that may have contributed to the positive impact on overall business performance reported by the majority of respondents; (2) determines whether MEP assistance met companies' expectations for specific performance indicators, such as manufacturing time frames and labor productivity; and (3) determines whether companies thought that MEP had actually demonstrated attributes that they valued most, such as MEP staff expertise, timely assistance, and reasonably priced fees.

GAO found that: (1) the results of its survey could not be applied to all MEP participants or all MEP service categories; (2) companies that supplemented MEP assistance with their own resources, implemented more MEP recommendations, were small and relatively new, and did not pay fees for MEP assistance were more likely to view the MEP program positively; (3) the source of MEP funding did not influence companies' views of the assistance's impact; (4) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) officials believed that NIST support improved MEP programs' efficiency and effectiveness and made MEP services more widely available; (5) about two-thirds to three-quarters of the companies that expected MEP assistance to enhance specific business indicators believed that the results met or exceeded their expectations; and (6) over 90 percent of the companies rated staff expertise, timely assistance, and reasonably priced MEP service fees and project proposals as important MEP features and most were satisfied with their specific MEP programs in these areas.