Record-Breaking Sales: Barely Braking Even
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. That doesn’t sound like much, but at the end of our study, those one-tenths added up to almost 7 percent. The Fed and Greenspan missed it. Inflation is alive and well. I can show it to you in my books."
Work And Network On Florida’s Sunny Gulf Coast
这个机会只有一次a year, so make plans to attend the 2005 Annual Meeting, October 15-19, 2005. The Hyatt Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Bonita Springs is one of the newest resorts on Florida’s southwest coast, conveniently located between Fort Myers and Naples. The beautiful, state-of-the-art facility is the perfect location for this year’s meeting where industry peers will come together to seek answers to the challenges facing the precision machined products industry.
米ember Profile: Amerikam Inc.
By: PMPA: Precision Machined Products Association -Amerikam Inc. designs and manufactures precision products such as valves and fittings for the flow control industry. Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the company recently celebrated its 70th year in business.
Statistical Studies: What Is Required?
By: Monte Guitar -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) program can drain a company of resources and reduce the effectiveness of the shop.
The Importance Of Terms And Conditions Of Sale
By: Miles Free -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 mere contingency details, the day may come when the contingency has arrived. How has your organization implemented contract review?
米icron Manufacturing's Lean Team Reduces Setup Time By More Than 50 Percent
By: Miles Free -米icron Manufacturing, a PMPA member located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, faced a setup problem. More than half of the company's sales came from its Acme Gridley multi-spindle equipment. Unfortunately, the average run quantity was shrinking, thus increasing the number of setups required. Because the setup time was becoming a greater percentage of each order's total time, it was driving up costs.
PMPA Education Foundation Presents First Grants
By: PMPA: Precision Machined Products Association -The PMPA Education Foundation recently awarded its first educational grants to benefit training programs in Ohio and Illinois. According to foundation president, Michael B. Duffin, the grants have been used to help educate the metalworking technicians of tomorrow.
Data: The Language Your Process Uses
By: Miles Free -These days, with six-sigma, zero ppm, loss function, lean and many other programs, it is easy to overlook the basics. We have many different processes, systems and computers. Where is the knowledge that is contained in our daily deluge of information? Whose desk is not drowning in sea of paper? And yet, when a problem occurs, we ask for data that describes the problem and are met with blank stares.
#basics
Why Do Customers Buy From Us?
By: Miles Free -"Why do customers buy from us?" is one of those easy-to-overlook questions that can explain much about the state of our current business. With its easier-to-answer but trickier-to-solve cousin, "What do customers buy from us?" the question can illuminate your underlying business approach and explain why your sales are what they are.
Internal Audit Program Improvements
By: Monte Guitar -The following steps will assist in addressing other ISO 9001:2000 requirements.