Most of us are more concerned about the risks our competitors pose to our businesses than about learning any lessons from them. But, believe it or not, competitors can be valuable resources. Your relationships with them don’t have to begin and end with making sure you’re on top. In fact, there are a number of…
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Your programmable logic controllers (PLC) are critical to the smooth operation of your factory. That’s why it’s very important that they are up and running at peak efficiency every day. If any part of your PLC goes down, you may need to repair it or at least replace a part or two to sustain PLC…
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It’s easy to look around our modern world and see what looks like science fiction brought to life. From self-driving cars to 3-D printers and the sum of the world’s knowledge accessible from a device you can fit in your pocket, it’s sometimes hard to imagine what the future could possibly hold that we don’t…
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In an ideal world, your equipment would never go down. Your machinery would always work perfectly and consistently, and you could keep manufacturing all day long. Unfortunately, you don’t live in an ideal world. You live in the real world where equipment sometimes breaks down and everything comes to a grinding halt. Every minute your…
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After we repair a device, one of the frequent concerns our customers have is about the reliability of the product itself. Especially once failure analysis reporting is completed and the technician has stated that the unit failed due to normal wear and tear or end of life issues. Are other units of the same type…
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Japanese automaker Nissan has announced a new approach to their manufacturing process. Many Japanese manufacturers practice the concept of “Kaizen” , which is where processes are improved in small ways over time. Kaizen emphasizes full effort and support from every employee from the manufacturing floor, to the executive office. This concept has allowed consistent delivery…
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The point of inspection and quality control in manufacturing operations is to avoid manufacturing mistakes. Inspection professionals are trained to seek out potential problems so manufacturers can take steps to prevent them before they happen. Without regular manufacturing error inspection, many mistakes would get through that could have catastrophic consequences for a business. This is…
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A recent ruling by the International Trade Commission claims that imported parts for solar panels have caused “serious injury” for American-based manufacturers Suniva and SolarWorld. While there is a possibility of a less stringent outcome, the ruling will likely mean the ITC proposes steep tariffs on imported goods, causing prices to go up, many installation…
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With the official Manufacturing Day just around the corner — the first Friday in October to be exact — what are you doing to prepare? Of course, you don’t have to celebrate Manufacturing Day on the exact date. In fact, the Manufacturing Day website suggests you plan your festivities for whichever day in October works…
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There is no doubt the manufacturing industry is advancing: Humans are working alongside cobots, big data is allowing decision-makers to make more educated and predictive decisions, and machine learning is making its mark on plant productivity. While some manufacturers are wary of incorporating an ever-growing amount of technology into their plants, many are catching on…
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