Published January 2006 By Monte Guitar Ted Nugent, internationally acclaimed recording artist, political conservative and ultimate conservationist, will be the key-note speaker at PMPA’s upcoming National Technical Conference in Dearborn, Michigan, from April 29 to May 2, 2006. “Best Practices Driving Change” is the theme for this event. America’s number one outdoors role model and…
Published January 2006 By Miles Free The safety of our employees, precision and quality workmanship have always been guiding principles in the precision machining industry. VIEW ARTICLE
Published November 2005 By Miles Free PMPA provides members with technical understanding on this key issue. The PMPA Technology Services Department has recently published a technical overview of 5 European directives and regulations. The report is available only to PMPA members. VIEW ARTICLE
Published September 2005 By Miles Free I recently attended the Steel Success Strategies conference in NewYork City. My purpose was to find out what is going on in the world markets for our steel raw materials. The following comments were of such broad interest and applicability, I thought I’d pass them along for your review….
Published August 2005 By Miles Free I was talking the other day with the chief executive of a shop when he made the following comment, “We have record-breaking sales, yet we’re barely breaking even. We ran the numbers, and on almost every line item, our costs are up a tenth of a percent or so….
Published June 2005 By Monte Guitar Upfront definition eases compliance. It is a huge and important endeavor to maintain an effective calibration system in any machine shop. Performing appropriate statistical studies on the equipment that makes up this system is also a necessity that must be managed properly. An improperly defined Repeatability and Reproducibility (R&R)…
Published June 2005 By Miles Free and Peter A. Rome The Uniform Commercial Code is the source for commercial laws Today’s quality systems mandate contract review as an integral part of an enterprise’s critical business system. Terms and conditions are seldom given the critical examination that they deserve. While they are often thought of as…
Published April 2005 By Monte C. Guitar You have an effective audit program, but you and your team are in a rut. The same routine has been a part of your process since you implemented ISO 9001:2000. You meet all of the requirements defined within Section 8.2.2 “Internal Audit” of the standard, but it is…
Published March 2005 By Miles Free Over the 4 years that a cadet is at the United States Military Academy at West Point, only once are the parents invited to spend a day with their son or daughter. That day typically includes attending a few classes, seeing the barracks, and getting a first-hand glimpse of…
Published January 2005 By Miles Free Material price escalations exceeding 100 percent; surcharges on top of surcharges; lead times are in excess of 40 weeks on certain items. What can a precision machined products company do to make the best of this current material market maelstrom? How about using lean tools to help minimize the…