“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” — Benjamin Franklin Ben Franklin was right. Manufacturing equipment maintenance and prevention are usually less expensive than repair or replacement. As a maintenance manager, you must determine whether to schedule preventive maintenance, repair, or replace each machine. Plant managers depend on reliability. It’s the hum that drives…
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The manufacturing industry has never been more competitive. Sometimes, the best way to maintain profitability is to make smarter decisions around the plant. Save money at your production site by following these suggestions from industry experts: Work closely with suppliers Your suppliers need business to remain operational. Like you, they prefer long-term relationships that provide…
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When you think of manufactured houses, what comes to mind? Mobile homes? The future of manufactured homes could be 3D-printing in concrete! While there have been many excellent examples of concrete printing, including a castle and individual components like structural beams, the game changer could be a company in Russia that printed an entire residential…
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First, what is corrosion? Corrosion is a natural process where unstable materials (such as metals) are gradually destroyed (and thus made more stable) by chemical reaction. The most common of which is rusting, where iron and iron alloys are broken down by exposure to mixture of oxygen and moisture. In the service center we are…
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Only 45% of Americans report job satisfaction. This figure is down from 1987’s 61.1%. Why should this matter to you? Employee happiness is linked to productivity. So, as a plant or maintenance supervisor, how can you best utilize this information to increase company productivity? Maintain an open dialogue Employees require more than an “open door…
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Checks, safety procedures and standard flow processes are all in place in manufacturing plants for a reason: they assure proper use of machinery and proper employee conduct. It’s not enough to just have those systems in place, however. Workers are more productive in their daily work and more loyal to the company if they have…
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Everyone wants to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. At least that’s what the news outlets say. The concept is solid: Many Americans are ready for a return to manufacturing prominence. But there’s also a problem: Manufacturers aren’t ready … yet. In a 2015 survey, over 80% of international manufacturers — including those…
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Connectivity is integral to the Internet of Things (IoT): billions of connected devices in our cars, on our bodies and in our manufacturing facilities. And manufacturers drive these innovations with connected device production. Simultaneously, the very technology manufacturers create transforms their processes. These transformations can result in increased productivity but can also expose manufacturers to substantial and…
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What is efficiency? How can it be achieved? These two questions are common in most manufacturing plants. The questions seem simple enough but have plagued maintenance departments, production coordinators and supply chain supervisors for years. To answer these questions you must first figure out what efficiency means to your facility. There are three killers to…
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There was a time in the history of the United States that making something move was an example of ingenuity, imagination and innovation. Whether it was a wrench turning a nut, a gear turning a spoke or a chain hoist lifting something into place, movement has always been intricately woven into our society. Designing something to…
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