by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Sep 20, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM's Human Factor
What members of our plant-floor workforces do and how they do it directly impacts equipment performance and reliability. Traditionally, machine operators operate; maintainers maintain; engineers engineer; planner/schedulers plan and schedule; supervisors supervise;...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Sep 13, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
Up until a few years ago, I used to make an annual “back to my roots” pilgramage to visit my parents who lived just outside the old mill/market town of Wigan, in Northern England. Halfway between Liverpool and Manchester on the Leeds-Liverpool canal waterway system,...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Sep 6, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
In my August 30, 2021, article, “High School Robotics Competitions: A Source of Next-Gen Technicians” (see link below), I described how certain hands-on applied-technology programs in schools are building excitement, skills, and knowledge for careers in industry. The...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Aug 30, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
This week’s newsletter column is a follow-up to my previous column on “How To FIND A Job” (see link below). My argument in that discussion emphasized the importance of communicating effectively. To be clear, strong communication skills (oral and...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Aug 22, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files, Workforce Issues
This column’s title is similar to that of an article in a periodical I enjoy reading. The author made the point that “many people lose their jobs, not because of lack of technical skill, but because they lack the ability to communicate effectively.” Well...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Aug 16, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Workforce Issues
Manufacturing in America is a global force to reckon with. Our technology, machinery, facilities, and transportation systems are powerful and robust. The challenge we had prior to the advent of COVID-19, was availability of a sustainable and skilled workforce in many...
by Drew Troyer, CRE, CMRP, Principal, T.A. Cook, Editor | Aug 8, 2021 | Asset Management, Newsletter Column
From a climate change perspective, carbon dioxide (CO2) gets all the press. But methane (CH4), the primary component of natural gas, is growing at a faster rate than CO2, and control of it is much more attainable in the near term. As a greenhouse gas (GHG),...
by Ken Bannister, MEch (UK), CMRP, MLE, Editor | Aug 2, 2021 | Newsletter Column, RAM Tools & Methods
As an old proverb warns, “There are none so blind as those who do not see.” When it comes to maintenance inspections, that adage has both literal and metaphoric meanings. It’s no secret that visual acuity deteriorates as we get older. According to the illuminating...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Jul 26, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
I’ve been an advocate of manufacturing all my life. Growing up in manufacturing and maintenance, educated in and then teaching tooling and machine design, and spending nearly four decades consulting on and writing articles about the people side of...
by Heinz Bloch, P.E., Editor | Jul 18, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations, The Bloch Files
If you don’t believe the above title, consider the following: Think about a healthy individual who seeks medical advice at the first sign of illness. Then compare his or her chance of recovery with that of a person who waits around and battles several different...
