Have you thought about Implementing an Andon station on your shop floor? Do you have CIMCO MDC-Max running in your shop already? If you answered yes to either of these questions then it is easier to deploy than you think. What is Andon? Before we look at how, let's take a brief look at what Andon means in manufacturing. Wikipedia defines Andon as: A manufacturing term … [Read more...]
Five Methods to Measure Your Hidden Factory
Recently we shared some inspiration provided by some up and coming engineers we've had the opportunity to work with. Part of this inspiration was their ability to think bigger, be more creative and make incremental improvements to a project providing much better results for their employers dollars invested. This big picture thinking drew out some thoughts about the process a … [Read more...]
Thinking Big and Planning Small
As many baby boomers retire from manufacturing jobs, it is inevitable that younger people must come in and fill the ranks. At a recent event by SME and SVMI, Chico State Alumni and current SME Sac Valley Treasurer Ryan Greenehagen was sharing his goal of building a bridge between the Chico State Manufacturing Engineering program and employers in the Sacramento area. As he put … [Read more...]
How to Find a Complete Machine Data Collection Solution
In recent years improvements in machine data collection protocols have paved the way for more companies to offer products to the CNC machine monitoring industry. This is both good and bad. It is great to have competition, it makes us all better and forces software developers to improve or step aside. For that reason we welcome this development. The downside however, is that … [Read more...]
Manufacturing Led Workforce Development is the key to Resolving the Skills Gap Crisis
It is a great, but terrifying time to be a manufacturer in the United States. New manufacturing plants are popping up and existing manufacturers are pushing their capacity to the limit. The big issue that remains however, is the skills gap. Retiring baby boomers are vacating skilled manufacturing jobs. To complicate matters our culture tends to emphasize academics more than job … [Read more...]