Legal – Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendment Act (ADAAA)
Tuesday August 04, 2009
The ADA was significantly amended effective January 1, 2009. This article summarizes those changes.
Month: August 2009
Benchmarking is not a comparison of numbers or indicators. Benchmarking is an ACTIVITY or PROCESS to determine Best Practice, and your relationship to that Best Practice.
Benchmarking is an activity that employs a systematic and continuous effort to identify important measureables (benchmarks). It employs a defined process to compare your organization’s status to that of a best-in-class company or companies. Benchmarking is a tool that helps you identify, improve and implement the practices or methods that will enable you to become the new ‘best-in-class.’
Two rules for effective Benchmarking are:
- If Benchmarking does not lead to a specific action, it is a waste of your company’s resources;
- If you aren’t Benchmarking to the best, your Benchmarking will be under effective.
Competitive analysis can tell you what the differences are between you and another company, but it does not give you any insight into how that difference exists. Benchmarking focuses on best practices and methods, resulting in process changes and improvements that will achieve improved customer satisfaction.
Site visits in my experience result in some limited information sharing and collection of novel ideas, but after the visit, these are recognized to be a smorgasbord of unfocused facts. While these facts may be interesting, they may or may not be applicable to your firm or what you are trying to accomplish. This is especially true if the facility that you are visiting is not a best in class peer.
PMPA members have a Benchmarking ‘tool they can use’ to measure their company’s performance against their peers in manufacturing.
Called PMPA iLumen Benchmarking Service, this safe, secure online tool allows participating members to compare their company’s financial and operating performance against that of their peers or other manufacturing companies. Seeing the difference between their firm’s and other firms’ performance in key areas gives the PMPA members a focus for their company’s improvement activities.
In the April Issue of PMPA’s Business Trends Report, almost half of the companies that reported double digit sales increases over the prior month were PMPA iLumen Benchmark participants.These companies have used the intelligence of the PMPA iLumen Benchmarking data to show them where to address improvements in their organization.
Participation in PMPA iLumen Benchmarking is no extra charge for PMPA members- it is a member benefit.
Numbers may be the language of Benchmarking, but they are merely raw material that drives the real activity- continuous improvement and transformation of your people, processes, and systems. These improvements will result in higher quality, lower costs, and ultimately, improvement of your company’s products and services. PMPA’s iLumen Benchmarking Service can provide you too, with “tools you can use” to drive improvements in your companies processes and performance.
The medical industry will continue to develop new products, require new capabilities from their suppliers, and maintain their drive for continuous improvement in technology, costs, and quality.
Production of precision parts for medical applications is constantly changing. More challenging materials, geometries, and ways to assure conformance / performance are what’s ahead in this market.
What are the keys to meeting these challenges if this is your market?
Key #1- Technology
Technology is certainly a key part of a sustainable commercial strategy. With tolerances, finishes, and geometries standard that were unheard of in other markets years ago, modern equipment is a must- capable, productive, precisely controlled equipment.
Key #2- Zero Defects not just Zero PPM.
Zero PPM tells us about your process. Or Processes. Zero Defects is a condition of your products. In the surgery, they don’t have the ability to analyze your ppm. They need defect free. Zero Defects. And that means anticipating and preventing latent defects… so close communication with design is a must, as well as process control and understanding.
Key #3- Knowledge and Training
Knowledge and Training not just for operators. Engineering, Programming, Toolmakers, Quality Assurance as well as Operators all need upgraded skills to successfully manufacture complex geometries from materials such as Titanium and Stainless Steels such as 316L. Simple form tooling is no longer adequate for the complex forms now being generated by whirling or interpolation of milling cutters. This requires higher skills and process knowledge.
Which of these is most important?
If any of these is missing, it would be a showstopper for your medical market business. They are all important. But if one had to be ranked most important, I would say that it would be knowledge and training. With a knowledgeable and well trained crew, you could find the technology and reinvent the mistake proof processes needed to succeed in the business.
Without knowledge and skills, all you would really have is a technology showroom or museum.
What do you think? Is knowledge and training first among equals? Or is it silly to rank any of these as more important?
Legal – Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Amendments
Tuesday August 04, 2009
The FMLA was significantly amended effective January 16, 2009. This article summarizes those changes.
The Institute of Supply Management said its index of the manufacturing sector, also known as the Purchasing Managers Index, rose to 48.9 percent from 44.8 percent in June.
That figure was better than Wall Street’s expected level of 46.5 percent and closer to the 50 percent level that separates expansion and contraction. 48.9% is knocking on 50%’s door…
The ISM said that although the factory sector contracted for an 18th consecutive month, the decline was modest and suggested the slump is ending.
“It would be difficult to convince many manufacturers that we are on the brink of recovery, but the data suggests that we will see growth in the third quarter if the trends continue,” according to ISM survey chief Norbert Ore.
Additionally, the survey showed growth in both the new orders and production sub-indexes. The survey also indicates that the headline index was pulled down by weakness in inventories and lingering declines in employment.
We don’t think that it would be difficult to convince our members that “Now is the time,” for the orders to appear. We just hope that we can all have access to credit to cover our payrolls while we wait for payment on the new business that is imminent.
According to the NSBA’s July Report , access to capital continues to be a major issue, with 80 percent of small-business owners negatively impacted by the credit crunch—up from 67 percent one year ago. Sixty-eight percent reported worsening terms on their credit cards and 38 percent were subject to a decrease on their lines of credit or credit cards.
It takes energy, machinists, materials and supplies to keep our machines running. And all of those require working capital.
Recovery may be imminent, but its duration will be measured by our ability to fund our work.
What has your shop done that is out of the box to stay ‘in the game?’
Published August 2009
By Jeff Wiltsie
“Controls restrict, restrain, limit and regulate…” Proper use of controls provides a safe operating environment in many aspects of our daily lives.
Published August 2009
By PMPA Staff
Northwest Oil Company is a supplier of industrial lubricants and specialty fluids, including cutting oils, water-based coolants, grinding fluids, cleaners, degreasers and corrosion inhibitors.
Published August 2009
By Miles Free III
The automotive market is an important sector served by the precision machining industry