by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Oct 4, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
I am writing this column on the heels of Manufacturing Day, October 1, 2021. Despite the event having already come and gone, in recognition of it, I’m prompted to investigate what’s shaping the future of this powerful segment of the global economy. But first, we...
by Bob Williamson, CMRP, CPMM, MIAM, Editor | Sep 27, 2021 | Newsletter Column, Plant Operations
While always important, equipment performance and reliability have become even more so as businesses deal with the onslaught of post-pandemic challenges. Is your equipment doing what it’s supposed to do, first time, every time? What causes poor performance?...
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, T.A. Cook/Accenture, 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...
