What Is Your Definition Of Real Time Costing You?

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“I get my data in Real Time.”

What does that sentence mean to you?

These days Real time doesn't mean "by end of shift." — These days “Real Time” doesn’t mean “by end of shift” or ” tomorrow morning.”

When I ran a small cold finished mill, (years ago) it meant that I knew which jobs were on which machines.

It meant that I could hear the crane bridging to the scale with bundles, and I knew at the end of the shift how much production I had.

The next morning in the office the production would be checked against the mill orders that had been issued, and the production then entered into inventory.

That was real time.

So that next morning my inside sales team would see that the finished material was now in the system, and start to put together a truckload to get it shipped if it was “hot.”

If traffic could get a truck scheduled, it would probably be arranged for the next shift, when material would be loaded and shipped.

Real time meant, that without heroic efforts, production was at least 2 shifts to maybe 4 shifts and 2 calendar days minimum away from the customer.

On hot expedites, we could use a “sneaker net” as the production cleared the scale to rush production in to traffic and maybe shave a day off this cycle.

What if there was a delay at the machine, a crane breakdown, or unplanned maintenance?

That’s why you didn’t call in the trucks before you had material, right?

At the recent Epicor Insights 2013 conference, I had several conversations with representatives from Epicor Mattec MES regarding real time process monitoring.

In their world real time means I (and everyone on my team that needs to know) knows what the status of every job on every machine is at that moment.

In other words, “Faster time to value.”

That means that they are not waiting for a shift or two to verify production availability and scheduling. They know status as they need it.

So the production can be applied immediately upon completion, and needed steps to get it shipped can be staged with minimal risk.

What is your definition of Real Time?

I thought that knowing it was in the pipeline and when I expected it to be done was Real Time.

Today, technology and smart systems can give you back those extra days of material limbo.

What does real time mean to you? How many hours away from out the door is your system on a normal basis? Worst case basis?

More importantly, what will your customers tell you is their idea of your “real time” capability?

(Epicor is a technical member of the Precision Machined Products Association, an active particpant on our IT committee, and an active supporter and participant of PMPA mamagement and technical conferences. I was invited to speak to their attendees on “Understanding Social Media and Web Search for Manufacturers.”)

May ISM Index at 49- Manufacturing Contracts

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According to the latest ISM report for May 2013, manufacturing is contracting. The ISM index has fallen to its lowest level since June 2009. According to Dr. Ken Mayland, the decline of the PMI below 50 is a surprise to almost everyone.

But it is a continuation of a trend- this is the third consecutive month of decrease.

“Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in May for the first time since November 2012, and the overall economy grew for the 48th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business,^® according to Bradley J. Holcomb, CPSM, CPSD, chair of the Institute for Supply Management™ Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.”

Here are the bullet points:

ISM PMI fell 1.7 points to 49- contraction!
PMI at lowest level since June 2009 when it was 45.8%- Let’s hope we don’t go there!
New Orders index declined by 3.5% to 48.8%
Production Index declined by 4.9% to 48.6%

10 of the 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in May in the following order: Printing & Related Support Activities; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Wood Products; Furniture & Related Products; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Machinery; and Paper Products.

Precision Machining is a subset of Fabricated Metals, which was ranked number three on this list.

Silver Lining Department

“ISM’s Employment Index registered 50.1 percent in May, which is 0.1 percentage point lower than the 50.2 percent reported in April. This month’s Employment index indicates growth in employment for the 44th consecutive month, but at a slightly slower rate. An Employment Index above 50.5 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on manufacturing employment.”

Manufacturers are still looking for to pick up people with skills who can add value.
Graph Courtesy Calculated Risk Blog

Manufacturing Optimism- Roscoe Wallace With Kaiser Aluminum

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We caught up with Roscoe Wallace at PMTS and got his take on Manufacturing from his perspective as an Aluminum supplier.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj_ROV9pQCU]

Positivity about

manufacturing,
productivity,
reshoring,
manufacturing as a career.

Concerns about

material integrity from off shore
right skill sets for job openings that their customers have in advanced manufacturing.

Thanks to Roscoe for his positive news from the aluminum side of precision machining.

And thank you to Kaiser Aluminum.

Vibration, Harmonics and Chatter

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Sometimes the best information that you can get about your machining process requires your sense of touch to feel the vibration.

In many shops, the definition of a problem is “something that is not easily seen.”

Unwanted vibration in our machining processes can cause variation, unsatisfactory surface finish, and dimensional variability. Unwanted vibration is not easily seen.

A friend who plays fingerstyle guitar sent me a link to a video that got me to thinking about the role of vibration, harmonics, and chatter in our shop processes. The genius of the video is that it makes something not easily seen- easily seen!

Don't try this with your iPhone in your machines... — Don’t try this with your iPhone in your machines…

The video is convincing that the sounds we hear are tied to a wave form on the string.

The sounds that we hear from our machining processes similarly are tied to a ‘harmonic’ or standing wave vibration in the workpiece or in the tool and machine. Sometimes, this sound is lost beneath the noise of other processes in the shop.

So when a machine operator complains about variation while machining, I ask him to lay his hands on a safe part of the machine and tell me what he feels.

If it is more like a Rock Concert than a smooth constant vibration punctuated with noticeable jolts from the indexing, I suggest that rather than looking at material, we look at the machine itself and the rigidity of the tooling as the likely cause of the variation being experienced.

Mass in machines is used to attenuate this kind of unwanted vibration.
Wear in machines or any kind of looseness can decouple the tool from that mass, promoting vibration, and thus variation.

In the guitar photo and video, the displacement of the string appears to be far greater than we could imagine possible.

And it turns out that it is an illusion created by the sampling rate of the CMOS camera ‘shutter’ in the iPhone Camera.

Regardless, it serves us a great picture of the unseen and reminds us that in noisy shops, feeling a vibration on a machine may tell us more about the process than our control charts or reading of the tools.

Link to YouTube Video

Distracted Driving- Multitasking Infographic

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National Safety Council produced this infographic.

Link

Schools Offering NAM Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certifications

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The M-List is curated by the Manufacturing Institute to include those institutions that offer NAM endorsed metalworking skills training and certification.

PMPA partners with the Manufacturing Institute to promote the growth of credentialed metalworking professionals following the NAMEndorsed -NIMS Skills Credential Model.

The M-List recognizes high schools, community colleges, technical schools, and universities that are teaching manufacturing students to industry standards. Specifically, these schools offer students the opportunity to earn NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certifications as a standard part of their manufacturing education programs.

The NAM-Endorsed Skills Certification System is a system of stackable credentials that can apply to all sectors in the manufacturing industry. These nationally portable, industry-recognized credentials validate the skills and competencies needed to be productive and successful in entry-level positions in any manufacturing environment.

Right Skills Now is an acceleration of the NAM Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certifications Program designed to fast track qualified candidates into a career in precision machining / advanced manufacturing.

See the M- List here.

If there is no M-List program in your area, don’t despair. PMPA has prepared a database of institutions that offer relevant skills training for precision machining (some of which offer the same NAM endorsed -NIMS Manufacturing Skills credentials here: PMPA Career Training Database

No ROI for college loans? Consider getting a skill that will assure you of a job- and a means to earn your way through college.

If you are one of the unhappy college graduates mentioned in Forbes- perhaps you should consider bringing your talents to work in our industry.

CNN Photo

Why Do They Put Guards On Machines?

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You could ask this woodworker why they put guards on his machines.

Why exactly did you take off the guards? — A better question would be “Why, exactly did you take off the guards?”

The hazards are real.

Respect the horsepower and sharp edges of our steel tools.

No one should get hurt to make something. Not at work. Not in our shops at home.

Machine guards are there for our protection.

We are the reason for the guards.

USE THEM.

Good luck with the skin graft…

One Lesson I Learned From- Karen Martin

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Karen Martin spoke at PMPA’s Management Update meeting earlier this year. Her presentation was based on her book, The Outstanding Organization

It turns out that her book The Outstanding Organization won a 2013 Shingo Research Prize.

The book and its message are heavily pointed at achieving institutional clarity through reducing chaos.

That is a great takeaway, but was not the best one for me.

The One Lesson that I took from Karen’s presentation was that the Shewart Cycle- Plan- Do- Study- Adjust- is the authentic model for continuous improvement.

First proposed by Walter Shewart, and edited, published, and improved by Deming, the Shewart cycle was recast by Japanese executives into PDCA- Plan-Do-Check-Act- and this is how many of us have learned it.

According to Karen Martin

In the 1980’s Deming felt that the model had been corrupted by translation difficulties.
Deming recommended replacing PDCA with PDSA- which he felt was closer to Shewart’s original intent.
“Deming continued to refer to the cycle as PDSA and dubbed it the “Shewart cycle for learning and improvement.” (The Outstanding Organization, pp.128-129.)

So why am I a fan of Karen Martin’s PDSA reframing?

Certainly not because of this little bit of historico-semantic revisionism?

Actually, it is because unlike all of the other graphics that you can find on PDSA on google images, Karen Martin’s book has depicted this cycle as Shewart and Deming have relayed it- a continuous, ongoing process of continuous feedback- ongoing process improvement.

It is not a wheel, PDSA is a continuous cycle of cycles!

This is the One Lesson I Learned from Karen Martin.

Ditch the PDCA wheel visual-Embrace the continuous cycle of cycles model of PDSA.

Here is a whiteboard trailer for the book.

And, congratulations on the Shingo Research Prize.

Wanted- Women To Bring Their Talent To Manufacturing

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There is no reason that the vast majority of new manufacturing jobs have gone to men, but they have.

We need to turn this trend around. We need their talent too.

Why has womens’ representation in manufacturing dropped for two decades?

PMPA Vice President Darlene Miller testified before the Senate Joint Economic Committee last week on the topic of Women in Manufacturing.
As a shop owner, STEP Women in Manufacturing honoree, and member of the President’s Job Council, Darlene has some real world insight into the issue.

Here are her 4 Steps to Encourage Women in Manufacturing Careers

1) It is absolutely essential that businesses engage with local community colleges to assure relevant skills sets are being taught;

2) Equipment needs to be current, not old and outdated. We have high tech $400,000-$500,000 equipment per machine.

3) We really need really excellent math and problem solving skills; we need to tell the Schools what those are.

4) We need to get into middle schools to engage female students at a younger age to potential careers.

Watch the testimony:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN3JQkE3gng&w=420&h=315]

Read the report:
Women in Manufacturing PDF

Precision Manufacturing Healthy and Strong

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We recently caught up with Charles Ruecker of PMPA member company Core Powered to get his opinion on PMTS and the state of precision manufacturing.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/l2o07-wMCME]

Healthy and strong!

Team play. Synergy. Working together.

Thanks Charles.

Core Powered Inc.