Wall Street Journal Alexandra Berzon reported Wednesday that “Federal penalties for workplace-safety violations were increased this week for the first time since 1990, thanks to a little-noticed provision of the budget bill signed into law by President Barack Obama.”
“Workplace-safety experts said that they were caught by surprise by the new mandate, which they say will likely increase maximum fines for the most severe citations to $125,000 from $70,000 and for other serious violations to $12,500 from $7000.”
According to PMPA’s retained labor law firm Fisher Phillips, “That’s when we learned that the Federal Budget Agreement, which was quickly worked out behind closed doors and signed the day before, includes surprise provisions authorizing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to increase penalties for the first time since 1990. To the surprise of almost all observers, the amount of the increase could be as much as 82%.”
“The initial penalty increases must become effective by August 1, 2016, but we can expect to learn well before then the extent to which OSHA will increase these amounts. The Federal Office of Management and Budget will issue guidance on implementing the bill’s provisions by January 31, 2016. Raising the maximum fines in line with the CPI for the catch-up boost requires OSHA to publish an interim final rule by July 1, 2016, allowing the adjustment to take effect by August 31.”
As manufacturers we can expect to receive the full attention of OSHA with our processes’ need for proper machine guarding, hazardous energy control, and lockout-tagout.
If creating a safety compliance culture has not been one of your top priorities, perhaps OSHA’s 82% higher fine and penalty structure will help you move Safety up on your list.
Thanks to the BBB for the photo
Author: Miles Free
There are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have people stop looking for work:
COSTELLO : I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It’s 5.6%.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%.
COSTELLO: You just said 5.6%.
ABBOTT: 5.6% Unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 5.6% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it’s 23% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 5.6%.
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 5.6% or 23%?
ABBOTT: 5.6% are unemployed. 23% are out of work.
COSTELLO: If you are out of work you are unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, Congress said you can’t count the “Out of Work” as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!
ABBOTT: No, you miss the point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn’t look for work can’t be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn’t be fair.
COSTELLO: To whom?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But ALL of them are out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you’re off the unemployment roll that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don’t look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That’s how it gets to 5.6%. Otherwise it would be 23%.
COSTELLO : Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have people stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like an Economist.
COSTELLO: I don’t even know what the hell I just said!
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like a Politician.
Guest post courtesy John LaPine, Facebook Friend, Critical Thinker, and Bon Vivant.
Thanks John!
COSTELLO: You just said 5.6%.
ABBOTT: 5.6% Unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 5.6% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it’s 23% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that’s 5.6%.
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 5.6% or 23%?
ABBOTT: 5.6% are unemployed. 23% are out of work.
COSTELLO: If you are out of work you are unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, Congress said you can’t count the “Out of Work” as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!
ABBOTT: No, you miss the point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn’t look for work can’t be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn’t be fair.
COSTELLO: To whom?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But ALL of them are out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you’re off the unemployment roll that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don’t look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That’s how it gets to 5.6%. Otherwise it would be 23%.
COSTELLO : Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have people stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like an Economist.
COSTELLO: I don’t even know what the hell I just said!
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like a Politician.
Guest post courtesy John LaPine, Facebook Friend, Critical Thinker, and Bon Vivant.
Thanks John!
The October PMI is the lowest reading since May 2013, when the PMI also registered 50.1 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting.
“The October PMI® registered 50.1 percent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the September reading of 50.2 percent. The New Orders Index registered 52.9 percent, an increase of 2.8 percentage points from the reading of 50.1 percent in September. The Production Index registered 52.9 percent, 1.1 percentage points above the September reading of 51.8 percent.
A PMI® above 43.1 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. Therefore, the October PMI® indicates growth for the 77th consecutive month in the overall economy, and indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 34th consecutive month. Holcomb stated, “The past relationship between the PMI® and the overall economy indicates that the average PMI® for January through October (52 percent) corresponds to a 2.8 percent increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) on an annualized basis. In addition, if the PMI® for October (50.1 percent) is annualized, it corresponds to a 2.2 percent increase in real GDP annually.”
According to the report, Fabricated Metal products reported growth in October. Markets reporting contraction — listed in order — are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Primary Metals; Petroleum & Coal Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Machinery; Transportation Equipment; Wood Products; and Computer & Electronic Products.
The September 2015 PMPA Business Trends Report Sales Index came in at 121, stronger than expected, (even with September 2014 and still up 3.3% YTD over CY 2014 average.)
Our 3.3 % correlates nicely with the PMI’s 2.8% estimate for GDP growth as well.
Link to October ISM PMI
Link to PMPA September Business Trends
Graph Courtesy Calculated Risk Blog
Congressman David Joyce toured PMPA member company JM Performance Products, Inc. to see how district manufacturing jobs create value for the entire country and how important STEM is to Manufacturing.
The high torque patented toolholder retention knob product produced by the team at JM Performance, Inc. can help companies that do CNC Milling save on energy, tooling expense, downtime for setups and troubleshooting, and also significantly improve product finish.
Congressman Joyce discussed the importance of innovations like this to help keep American companies competitive in Manufacturing.
With all the bad news out of Washington these days, it was my pleasure to see Congressman David Joyce reach out to the team at JM Performance Products, Inc. to get a sense of how Manufacturing creates value and jobs and helps other companies save time, money and energy.
Does your congressman understand the value of Manufacturing? Why don’t you invite them to visit your shop to see for them self the value and jobs that your and your team create in your shop?
Many people, particularly in Purchasing and Accounting, see buying at the lowest cost as being a key to sustaining their business.
- Solve problems first.
- Solve the problem for good.
- Understand that lowest cost over the long term is not the lowest price over the short term.
- Spend less time and money on maintenance by actually planning it.
Solve problems first
Solving problems is the most efficient use of your company’s talent and knowledge. The effort spent on solving the problem stops the deviation from normal in your immediate operations and reduces the potential expenditures on inspection, remediation and over-processing. Do you have a culture of problem solving?
Solve the problem for good.
It does no good to solve a problem today only to see it return later. That is not problem solving. It is critical to identify the root cause and then take permanent corrective actions to prevent that root cause from ever appearing again. “What problems has your team made go away forever in your shop? can you name one? Two? More?”
Understand that lowest cost over the long term is not the lowest price over the short term.
Yes, you can buy cheaper tooling from a jobber. Many purchasing departments are incorrectly focused on cost per tool, cost per pound of raw material or cost per gallon of metal removal fluid. Cheap drills are no bargain if they only last for 60 to 70 holes instead of 400 to 500 per drill. To be sustainable, the company needs to have the lowest cost to produce a compliant part, not only the cheapest materials to make it. Does your shop reward the purchase of the cheapest inputs for the job, or attaining the lowest cost for production of compliant parts?
Spend less time and money on maintenance by actually planning it.
Our industry is focused on reducing cycle time and Setup time – as it should. Without exception every shop owner or operations manager is focused on these. But if everyone is focused on these, how does that help you? For your shop to be uniquely sustainable, why not focus on eliminating unplanned downtime and lost production time due to unexpected breakdowns? It is a truism that we get what we measure. Today most shops have rigorous systems for ERP and operations planning, but does your shop have any process at all for proactive machine maintenance?
Today, customers expect Zero Defects and 100% On Time – from every supplier. Why not make your shop sustainable by actually having a 4 point process to get there by solving problems first, solving them for good, getting to lowest cost per compliant part produced, and eliminating unplanned downtime by actually planning for it?
For more details, please see our article in October 2015 issue of Production Machining
Photo credit.
Our recent post on the latest OSHA Emphasis program on Amputations brought us a comment from Michael Krizmanich at PMPA Technical Member Logan Clutch about avoiding violations (and potential amputations) through door interlocks. “Some screw machine customers use the Logan Clutch control for machine guarding. The CS2001 Microprocessor Control has two pairs of inputs for two Door Interlock Switches.”
As staff providing member assistance to companies when OSHA visits and cites guarding, we have found that typically OSHA insists on door interlocks, despite the Kershaw Exemption which we have written about here.
So the Logan Cutch Door interlock is a potential solution to the OSHA identified guarding issue.
CS2001 Door Start Interrupt Switch Inputs: How They Work
The CS2001 Microprocessor Control has two pairs of inputs for two Door Interlock Switches. Each pair of is designed for one normally opened switch contact and one normally closed switch contact. The control senses both inputs together and has an override/defeat checking feature to monitor door input functionality.
CS2001 Safety Features & Safety Relay
The CS2001 Control has a stop circuit which integrates a Pilz Category 4, EN 954-1, model PNOZ X2.1 Safety Relay. The safety relay, provides dual-channel E-STOP with monitored manual reset. One channel of the Pilz Safety relay is connected to an output of the CS2001 microprocessor control. One channel of the Pilz Safety relay is connected in series to multiple, maintained contact, red mushroom head push buttons. A second separate contact of the red mushroom head buttons is wired in series into a CS2001 Microprocessor Control input. The reset input of the Pilz Safety relay is connected to an output of the CS2001 Microprocessor Control. All control power outputs to all external machine devices are wired thru the Pilz Safety Relay Safety Contacts.
Additional functionality included:
- Stock Load Position Selector Switch
- Thread Check Failure System
- Short Part & Broken Tool Detectors
- Stock Depletion Detector Inputs
- Machine Lock-up Detection
Here’s a link with more information: http://loganclutch.com/cs2001-door-interlock
The Precision Machined Products Association announced today that it has appointed Bernie Nagle to be the organization’s next Executive Director. Nagle, co-author of the book “Leveraging People & Profit- The Hard Work of Soft Management,” has spent much of his career in a variety of executive and leadership roles with Fortune 500 manufacturing companies and as Senior Consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
“After a very thorough and comprehensive search process, PMPA is pleased to have found the best individual to assume the Executive Director role for PMPA,” said Tom Bernstein, President of PMPA. “Bernie will bring the benefit of his years of experience in manufacturing and process improvement, as well as his strategic focus to his leadership role with PMPA.”
The selection of Nagle caps a search process initiated by a board appointed search committee of member company executives and facilitated by Dise & Company, Northeast Ohio’s premier global human resource consulting firm. “The process involved not only the Search Committee, but PMPA’s Staff Directors, and utilized the SHL assessment and measurement process to define and characterize both the position and the candidate’s attributes,” said Doug Coster, one of the members on the PMPA’s Search Committee. “It was a very rigorous and time consuming process, but it clearly identified Bernie as the best candidate for PMPA from a number of applicants.”
“I’m honored and very excited to assume the role of Executive Director for PMPA. I have been a passionate advocate for manufacturing throughout my career, and I am eager to help PMPA provide the information, resources, advocacy, and networking opportunities to help the manufacturing companies in PMPA to become more productive and profitable. I see the Executive Director role at PMPA as requiring a number of hats- first to listen and develop an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization and the challenges facing the industry. Second, third, and fourth, I see my role as serving staff by providing purpose, focus, and constructive guidance. Together with staff and members, I am convinced that we can make a difference- adding value and growing membership and influence of the PMPA. I am anxious to meet as many members as possible at the October Annual Meeting and in my travels in the weeks and months ahead.”
Nagle holds a bachelor’s in chemistry from Gannon University, where he was named Distinguished Alumnus. He earned a management certificate from Northeastern University Graduate School of Business and a certificate in Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence from CWRU Weatherhead School. He has a number of publications and has been an active volunteer and passionate advocate for a number of social causes. He is the principal at www.Altrupreneur.com
For Media inquiries, please contact Miles Free gro.apmp@eerfM
The number of Americans NOT in the workforce is at record levels, and yet the talking heads assure us that the unemployment rate is just 5.1%
The headline rate “conveniently” ignores the folks that have given up trying to find a job, and so does not count them.
Data here.
How many Americans “are not in the labor force?”
According to BLS, over 94 million.
If you would like to join the workforce, are comfortable with Math and can learn by experience, perhaps you should consider a career in precision machining.
Our shops are scheduling overtime, pay well, and often will help with your training costs.
Where to go for training.
Labor doesn’t add much value. In my experience, it only moved stuff around. The labor jobs went away. Today, I celebrate the process owners like the machinists that can tear down and set up a multi-spindle cam machine in under 2 hours. They own their process and own their craft.
Today, as PMPA’s director of industry research and technology, I compile a survey and report on the wages for the member companies of the Precision Machined Products Association. It covers almost 6 percent of the industry’s employment, according to the U.S. Census. I just reviewed our latest report, and we don’t even have a job title for “laborer.”
Process Owners, Not Laborers
The day of laboring for a living is done. In my career, it was gone by the 1980s. In our industry, the last labor jobs left during the 2009 recession. Today, our shops rely on process owners to operate, set up our equipment, produce parts and inspect them to the highest standards. Today, our shops’ process owners are the go-to men and women that we turn to for understanding when making control plans and corrective action plans, as well as matching machine and process capability to the new jobs we quote.
Here’s what I see when I walk into a PMPA member shop:
- I see esprit de corps every day observing the handoff between purchasing, planning, operations, quality control, shipping and the customer.
- I see our team achieve just-in-time, zero PPM routinely.
- I see our folks are using, viewing, studying, programming and coding using computerized technology, and often doing so in more than three axes.
- I see the pride in our craftsmen and craftswomen when they gage the part, look at the reading, dial an offset into the control, hit start and the next part measures exactly what was required. I share their joy when the parts come back with a green tag and not a red tag.
- I see when they look at the part magnified 50 times or 100 times and the geometric form matches the template perfectly, that tiny smile shows they love their craft and their accomplishments with the technology they use.
- I see our people adding value by assembling components, packaging them securely and getting the correct information in and out of the computer and onto the shipping documents, labeled, then loaded on the correct truck.
The people of the precision machining industry don’t “labor,” they own processes. They master their processes. They are process experts. They use their talent, insight and craft to add value. So automobiles go and stop. So planes fly and land. So people can be healed and reassembled.
I will not be celebrating Labor Day this year. But Process Owners Day- you can bet that I will be appreciative of the craftsmen and women that make our modern lives possible because they own, and have mastered their Craft.
Happy Process Owner Day!
Original Article in Production Machining
At 51.1% the August PMI came in below the anticipated value of 52.8%.
The numbers indicate growth, but the change indicates that in the manufacturing sector growth is slowing, and new orders and exports in particular are vulnerable. This was the 32nd consecutive month of growth of manufacturing, and the 75th consecutive month of expansion in the broad economy.
“The August PMI® registered 51.1 percent, a decrease of 1.6 percentage points from the July reading of 52.7 percent. The New Orders Index registered 51.7 percent, a decrease of 4.8 percentage points from the reading of 56.5 percent in July. The Production Index registered 53.6 percent, 2.4 percentage points below the July reading of 56 percent. The Employment Index registered 51.2 percent, 1.5 percentage points below the July reading of 52.7 percent. Inventories of raw materials registered 48.5 percent, a decrease of 1 percentage point from the July reading of 49.5 percent. The Prices Index registered 39 percent, down 5 percentage points from the July reading of 44 percent, indicating lower raw materials prices for the 10th consecutive month. The New Export Orders Index registered 46.5 percent, down 1.5 percentage points from the July reading of 48 percent.”- Bradley J Holcomb, Chair, Institute for Supply Management, August Report on PMI.
Generally speaking, values above 50 percent correlate with a growing manufacturing sector.
In the August report, Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Fabricated Metal Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; and Machinery Markets showed growth, while Primary Metals; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Petroleum & Coal Products; Computer & Electronic Products; and Transportation Equipment all showed declines.
The Prices index (reflecting raw material prices)was down five percentage points from July to come in at 39 percent. Normally this would be good news for manufacturers, but is actually reflective of a weakness in demand for products worldwide.
Business Insider reports that two PMI indicators from China also fell in August: China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to a three-year low of 49.7 in August from 50.0 in July. The unofficial Caixin-Markit manufacturing PMI slipped to 47.3 in August from 47.8 in July. Any reading below 50 signals contraction. Business Insider
Graph courtesy Calculated Risk Blog