Despite the fact that there has been no significant “recovery” of employment under the current Administration and Congress, There is a way to create your own personal “employment recovery.”
PMPA tracks employment sentiment monthly as part of our Business Trends reporting,
Employment outlook sentiments have been positive for the PMPA members- above 90% for the entire year of 2013.
And our shops have been scheduling overtime- average length of first shift is 42.8 hours for calendar year 2013.
And by the way, earnings of new hires in manufacturing are higher than those not in manufacturing. 38% higher according to the U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration
The folks in Washington haven’t done much to turn the nation’s employment situation back to the upside as you can see in the top graph.
But if you are comfortable with high school math- geometry, algebra, and trig- you could have a great career in precision machining.
For info on training programs in your area check out the PMPA Comprehensive Career Training Database.
Career overview.
Why you should consider a career in manufacturing.
One of our members posted on Linked In “We would hire 3 guys right away with the right skills.”
Get skills. Create your own personal economic recovery.
Author: Miles Free
I had the privilege of participating in the Business Leaders United Fly-In to Capital Hill in Washington D.C. earlier this week representing the Precision Machined Products Association.
In our Monday evening meeting we were joined by Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzger, and from the White House, Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.
The fact that we got to meet with top staffers at various Senate and House offices, as well as staffers from the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee convinced me that we had the attention of the folks who could make a difference in Washington, D.C..
I spoke with top staff assistants handling policy for Speaker Boehner and Senator Portman from my home state of Ohio.
We had substantive and frank discussions about the facts (on which we all seemed to agree) and possible solutions for this issue.
What worked – creating employer driven partnerships- even among competitors- summer youth programs, quantifying local area opportunities and job market research to make the career case- was shared and explored.
The challenges- lack of educational attainment, lack of ‘soft skills,’ and various funding issues were also discussed.
It is no longer about admitting that we have a lack of skilled workers in the ‘unemployed workforce.’
There was no evidence of denial of the problem of unemployment and lack of skills.
What all of our contacts asked about was centered around three key questions:
- What works to help us qualify and put to work long term unemployed in middle skill jobs?
- How do we build the ROI case for this?
- How do we scale it nationwide?
My fellow small business delegates from BLU shared some of their challenges, but more importantly, their success stories of their local partnerships.
What Washington wants/needs to know is how can we build these up to gain national traction?
What would you suggest?
Normalizing is a thermal process where steel is heated about 100-150 degrees F above the critical range followed by cooling in still air to below that range.
On some steels, this normalize process is followed by a temper or stress relief anneal below the Ac1 to remove residual stresses resulting from the air cooling and to reduce hardness.
Normalizing Steel gives you
- Reduced hardness and removes residual stress
- Improves machinability
- Develops desired mechanical properties (especially in larger sections)
- Improved austenitizing for subsequent quench and tempering
Adding costly thermal treatments to a production process is seldom a good idea. But
- if you need high side mechanical properties as a result of the quench and tempering operation you have planned,
- if the heat is lean on chemistry,
- if the part to be quenched has a large cross section or wall thickness,
- if you know from experience that you have difficulty getting to high side with your quench,
Normalizing can help.
For the end quench position of the bar that corresponds to 90% martensite, a non-normalized 4140, austenitized at 1550 degrees can have anywhere from a 7 to 14 point Rockwell C hardness deficiency compared to the same steel that had been normalized. Using an austenitizing temperature of 1650 (200 degrees F above the Ac3 temperature) the non-normalized 4140 could still exhibit as much as a 10 Rc hardness deficiency compared to normalized stock for the same time at temperature. For 4340 steel, the hardness deficit can range from 10 to 18 points of Rockwell C hardness deficiency for the same austenitizing time.
Normalizing was a necessary step in the days of highly variable microstructures resulting from Ingot steels and analog controlled processes. Today’s modern computer controlled steel making processes provide more consistent products and structures, making normalizing a less utilized process. But normalizing remains a way to coax better properties or performance out of some steels.
We’re not a big fan of adding “fire for fire’s sake,” but if you suspect you may have difficulty in developing the full hardenability out of your steel, Normalizing may just give you the edge you need to assure you develop the as quenched hardness you need.
Photo credit: Above The Law Blog
The PMPA Business Trends Report for September 2013 shows our sales /shipments index to be down to 115 for September, up 12 points over September 2012, but down 9 points from last month,
Outlook for sales and employment remain high, and sentiments for profitability remain positive.
81 % of respondents felt sales would remain the same or increase over the next three months.
This positivity in the face of an actual decline in shipments for most respondents is a sign that the variability seen is expected, rather than a harbinger of a more drastic slowdown industry wide.
You can download a copy of the Sept. Business Trends Report Here
By the way, over one third of respondents were scheduling 45 hours or more of overtime…
The deadline for employers to train employees on the new GHS system is December 2013.
It is our pleasure to provide you with the essential links to the materials you need for providing the training your employees will need.
Final Rule : https://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/GHSfinal-rule.pdf
OSHA Guide to GHS: https://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/ghs.html
Training Requirements: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3642.pdf
Labels and Pictograms: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3636.pdf
Safety Data Sheets: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3514.pdf
And just a note, the GHS pictograms do NOT replace those diamond shaped DOT labels we’re also used to seeing.
By the way we posted on this originally in March of 2012.
“Rigging equipment for material handling shall be inspected prior to use on each shift and as necessary during its use to ensure that it is safe. Defective rigging equipment shall be removed from service.”- OSHA 1926.251(a)(1)
Fabric and cable slings are widely employed in our shops to lift and move bundles of bar stock in particular, as well as scrap totes, pallets, and other equipment when needed.
They often carry weights as much as 5 tons. over valuable equipment, and in the vicinity of employees.
A failed sling could cause thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage as well as potential injuries.
Do you know where your slings and straps are?
Do you know their condition?
Do you have a process to assure compliance?
Dan Ignaziak at Sepco-Erie and his super cool team do.
Here are some photos of the Best Practice Sling inspection control system in use at Sepco Erie.
It doesn’t take a lot to get your shop into compliance for 1926.251.
Dan and his team wrangled all the slings into a defined place, numbered them, and inspect them, recording the inspections on the Inventory sheet shown on the clipboard.
This could be run on a spreadsheet on a computer as well.
The key is to be
- aware of the requirement,
- set up a simple system to track slings
- then execute with training to inspect before use and to inspect monthly .
Dan’s Training Tip: ” It’s also critical to train your people that slings are not to be used without affixed, legible identification markings, required by paragraph (a)(2)(i) of the OSHA regulation.”
There you have it- Best practice compliance on slings, lifting devices, and rigging equipment from Sepco-Erie.
Their shop epitomizes the fun but professional spirit that makes precision machining super cool today.
In what area is your shop the exemplar for Best Practices?
In June, OSHA issued an enforcement memorandum instructing their CSHO’s to “be mindful of whether the employer has provided and maintained adequate means of egress from work areas, eg., adequate number of exit routes are provided, exit routes are free and unobstructed, and exit doors are not locked.”
Here are some training materials from Ohio Bureau of Workmen’s Comp for training in this area.
Your employees and trainers are sure to enjoy these!
OSHA Standard
Photo
www.ohiobwc.com/downloads/blankpdf/06sw4aslides.ppt
21 PMPA member shops across the country took part in MFG Day 2013.
Here are some photos and some lessons learned:
Lesson 1: Pride of Job. The hosts at the various shops were obviously proud of the work that they do and the equipment that they use.
Lesson 2: People doing the work connected with the attendees. In nearly every case hosts- guides, speakers and demonstrators- were the actual workers on the machines.
Lesson 3: Connection and interest existed in attendees.
Lesson 4: Manufacturing is an area worthy of career consideration. ask the hundreds of attendees to PMPA member shops hosting MFG. Day Events.
Manufacturing Day participation by PMPA member companies helped to change the perception of Manufacturing in the minds of attendees- some of whom we will employ as our future workforce.
And in their communities.
Next year, we hope that you can open your shop to the local community and potential workforce as part of MFG Day 2014. Our 2013 experience tells us that you’ll be glad that you did.
PMPA member and Erie, Pa employer American Turned Products looking to increase its skilled workforce by 30%!
Click here for Video
Erie TV Channel 12 :
“Manufacturing jobs are plentiful in Erie County and throughout North America.
That’s the word from Darlene Miller, President of the Precision Machined Products Association. Miller was in Fairview today touring the shop at American Turned Products. She says there are job openings at every shop she has visited. She says the challenge facing manufacturing shops is finding interested and qualified people to fill job openings. She blames parents who are not encouraging young people to consider a career in manufacturing.
“We’re the guilty ones because we’re not showing them what manufacturing’s all about. Plus, our schools have stopped having any kind of manufacturing-type classes, whether it’s tool shop, automotive, or whatever. So they’re not exposed to manufacturing and they have no clue how high-tech it really is,” Miller said.
American Turned Products currently has 130 employees. It plans to increase its work force by 30% by the end of next year.”
Today is Manufacturing Day.
The purpose of Manufacturing Day is to highlight the opportunities for skilled people to find rewarding career opportunities.
PMPA Companies hosting MFG Day Activities
For resources to find a career PMPA Career Resources Page
For Career Training Database
Fast Facts about U.S. Manufacturing
- In 2012, manufacturers contributed $1.87 trillion to the economy, up from $1.73 trillion in 2011. This was 11.9 percent of GDP. For every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, another $1.48 is added to the economy, the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector. 1
- Manufacturing supports an estimated 17.2 million jobs in the United States—about one in six private-sector jobs. Nearly 12 million Americans (or 9 percent of the workforce) are employed directly in manufacturing.2
- In 2011, the average manufacturing worker in the United States earned $77,060 annually, including pay and benefits. The average worker in all industries earned $60,168.3
- Manufacturers in the United States are the most productive in the world, far surpassing the worker productivity of any other major manufacturing economy, leading to higher wages and living standards.4
- Manufacturers in the United States perform two-thirds of all private-sector R&D in the nation, driving more innovation than any other sector.5
- Taken alone, manufacturing in the United States would be the 10th largest economy in the world.6
Consider a career in Manufacturing. We’re actually hiring.