MANUFACTURING & OHMS LAW

MANUFACTURING & OHMS LAW

Manufacturing is a highly technical field that requires maintenance, electronic personnel, and engineers to have specific knowledge of ohms law when working on the various machinery.  No matter what type of machinery is being used in you facility the knowledge of ohms law is necessary.  Ohms law is the relationship between voltage, current and resistance in electrical circuits.

One should think of voltage as the pressure of electrons.  Voltage is represented in Ohms law with the letter E.  Voltage is represented on a volt meter in units of volts.  Resistance is the lack of flow of electronics.    Resistance is represented in Ohms law as the letter R.   Resistance is represented on a volt meter in units of ohms.  Current is the flow of electrons in a circuit.  Current is represented in Ohms law with the letter I.  Current is represented on a volt meter in units of amps.

MANUFACTURING & COMMUNICATION

MANUFACTURING & COMMUNICATION

Effective communication in any type of business is absolutely necessary to make a company successful.  Without effective communication a business will fail miserably.  When talking about manufacturing the dynamics of communication may be a little more difficult to achieve than other businesses.  Communication amongst technical persons and business minded persons in a manufacturing setting may be challenging.

Often times technical minded persons such as cnc operators, engineers, and electronic personnel may be very good at communicating amongst each other with their background of technical detail.  However it may be difficult to explain technical terms with some of the business minded personnel such as sales people, human resources, and customer service personnel.  The same holds true when business minded persons start talking about ROE, ROI and things of that sort to technical persons.  The key is for both technical and business minded persons to break down in detail in simplistic terms to one another exactly what they are talking about.

 

MANUFACTURING & MAINTENANCE

MANUFACTURING & MAINTENANCE

Manufacturing and maintenance are very closely related to one another.  Maintenance is one of the cornerstones of any manufacturing facility.  Every manufacturing facility must have a good maintenance department to remain competitive.  Preventative maintenance is one of the most important aspects when talking about a manufacturing facilities machinery.

When thinking about just in time manufacturing you must have reliable equipment.  When a machine goes down everyone in the facility is waiting to know how long it is going to take to get the machinery back up and running.  If a facility has older equipment you must have spare parts around in order to prevent longer down times.  The older the equipment is the more likely the parts are obsolete, which is another reason why you should have spares on hand.

Another good practice to have when working on equipment is keeping a log book at each machine.  By doing this everyone can see what the last problem was and keep everyone on the same page.  Also it helps people see trends and solutions to previous problems.  One could also keep a log on a computer if they chose to do so.

Leadership and manufacturing go hand in hand. Without great leadership your manufacturing facility will be average. With great leadership your facility will be remarkable. Great leaders don’t stand around and bark orders at their employees. Leaders lead by example.   Great leaders lead by example they are willing to roll their sleeves up and get their hands dirty especially in a manufacturing environment.

Great leaders will not ask their employees to do anything that they are not willing to do themselves. Another crucial ingredient in leadership is asking lots of questions. In manufacturing you need to ask lots of questions to get everyone on the same page. Listening is also a crucial aspect of being a great leader. A big part of leadership is the ability to communicate effectively to everyone. Listening and asking questions are directly related to being good at communicating.  The last characteristic of a great leader is the ability to give great amounts of encouragement.  This helps boost confidence and will result in better performance from all employees.

Growing Manufacturing in the USA

           Manufacturing is crucial in America in order to grow the economy and crawl out of the state we are currently in.  Many individuals thrive off of making things.  I am one of them.  Manufacturing is an industry that has been swept under the rug in many people’s minds.  Lots of Americans view manufacturing in the United States as a dirty low paying job that is a thing of the past.  This is completely false.  However, certain states are waking up and encouraging the growth of manufacturing.

           I read a blog by Mark Troppe titled States Focused on Growing Manufacturing, which had a lot of good things to say.  The blog stated that the National Governor’s Association in Illinois was brainstorming what types of decision making would help manufacturing growth.  For starters states need to start encouraging learning a trade in elementary and high schools.  Not everyone needs to go to college.  You can make a great living by learning a trade such as welding, tool making, and electronics to mention a few.

           Another area that needs to be addressed for manufacturing to grow in states is to lower the corporate taxes.  All you have to do is look at California for an example.  The enormous taxes and union costs drove company after company out of the area.  In order to lure more manufacturing in the United States this problem needs to be addressed.  Hopefully the states will wake and continue their efforts of promoting the growth of manufacturing.

Manufacturing Career

             I just finished reading an excellent blog by Stacey Wagner titled Woman’s Work.  It began by stating that many individuals hold stereotypes about manufacturing being a dirty labor intensive industry, no longer pays retirement benefits, and doesn’t pay well.  All three of these stereotypes are as wrong as could be.  Many individuals in the United States hold these views in their minds if they have not been directly exposed to manufacturing.

            When I was a high school science teacher I was having a conversation with another teacher about how I was going to go back to a career in manufacturing.  This individual looked at me and honestly asked if where I was going to work was similar to where Homer Simpson worked in the television show called the Simpsons.  This is how out of touch many individuals are about manufacturing.

            In reality manufacturing is a great career choice for any person man or woman who enjoys working hard, working with their hands, and earning a good check at the end of the week.  As far as retirement benefits go I have an excellent 401K that is matched by our company.  The days of lifetime retirement benefits are few and hard to find unless you are a Union Worker, which is a whole other conversation.  Schools across America need to realize that not everyone wants to sit behind a computer all day or be involved in a service industry.  Manufacturing is a great career choice for many Americans.

Good Leader Bad Leader

            Many individuals no matter what type of work you are involved in have had a power hungry boss at one point in time throughout their careers.  If you have not had that lovely experience, thank your lucky stars.  Often times these so called “leaders” will not act the same way around strong minded individuals.    One must stay confident around these types of individuals at all times.  If you are weak in the mind and display lack of confidence in your actions you will often times be preyed upon by these types of people. 

            This type of behavior can be seen on any playground across the world.  If you hold your ground and stay confident, these insecure individuals aka bullies/power hungry bosses, will leave you alone and move on to an easier prey.  Each work environment has a different dynamic to it.  From my personal experience manufacturing has a lot of straightforward individuals since there is no time to waste.  It is important to realize the difference between a power hungry boss and a straight talking honest boss.  If you are easily offended by straight forward talk then manufacturing may not be the place for you.

            I read a blog titled Leading Views that was written by James Stockdale that had some interesting views.  It stated that everyone is tired of leaders that they fear and that great leaders gain authority by giving it away.  This was very interesting point.  Many individuals get wrapped up in the power of being a boss.  In actuality it is a privilege to lead people.  Before acting one must listen, ask lots of questions, and realize at one point in time you were on the other side of the equation.

Are You a Leader?

          Having and displaying leadership qualities in a manufacturing setting is essential in the end goal of producing a superior product amongst your competition.  Without the proper leadership in a manufacturing environment you end up with a lot of highly skilled persons not being used effectively.  You must place people in positions in which they can be successful.  This is one of the most important skills you must display in manufacturing.  An example of this would be if someone is good at organizational skills, planning, and communicating you need to place them in a position such as a planner who follows and tracks meticulously the place and process each part is in.

          I read a blog by Art Petty titled Leadership Caffeine  that had some very valid points on leadership qualities.  The first point I found interesting was how many people in charge feel an overwhelming urge to want to tell others what to do.  This is often the case in many work environments.  The article then went on to say most communication by people in charge should be listening and asking questions.  This is an enormous part of being a leader in any environment.  The more you listen and ask questions the better leader you will be.

          Leadership is a skill that is built over time.  A person doesn’t just wake up one morning and become a great leader.  You must watch and learn from great leaders.  By watching other leaders, triumphs and mistakes you can see what works and what doesn’t.  At the end of the day some people have what it takes and some do not.  Great leaders are hard to come by so if you have what it takes show of your skills.

Downtime in Manufacturing

          Everyone that has ever been involved in manufacturing knows that the one thing that kills projected forecasts and cash flow from coming in is downtime.  If a particular machine is down that is crucial in your product line your parts are going to pile up as well as the complaints from customers if you cannot ship on time.  This is a daily struggle for everyone involved in maintenance, electronics, engineering and managers.  All of the sales teams, customers, service representatives, and supervisors are running around asking when are we going to be up and what can we do in the meantime to keep the work in progress going.

          The answer is not cut and dry.  To begin with the older the equipment you have the more prepared you better be.  It’s just like driving an old beat up car to work every day.  You better have a backup plan such as another car to get in when your primary one won’t start in the morning.  With old machinery you need to keep several key components on site such as motherboards, ball screws, motors and drives to prepare for the worst time possible of when you get the call saying the machine is down and we need it right away.

          I just read an interesting blog titled Slaying the Downtime Dragon.  The article mentioned how a team of software engineers from University of Portsmouth had designed some software to help give notice as to when a machine was about to fail.  The article went on to say how the monitoring software and sensors trace algorithms and vibrations to help detect whether a certain component was going to fail in the near future.  This sounds like an excellent opportunity for a lot of manufacturing companies to begin looking into.  The more advantages you have in preventing down time the better.

Manufacturing in the U.S.A

     What has happened to manufacturing in the United States?  In the 1960’s and 1970’s the U.S. was booming with manufacturing jobs nationwide.  Places like Los Angeles, CA were erupting with work for the blue collar individual who was highly skilled using his or her hands and who didn’t mind coming home tired and filthy.  Street corner after street corner had manufacturing facilities such as Honeywell, Hughes Aircraft, and Wolf Range that paid extremely well.  Now all of these facilities have closed their doors or are skeletons of what they used to be.

     Labor union costs, corporate taxes, property taxes, and never ending pension benefits are a few of the many reasons why these companies left and will never come back.  Manufacturing is what made America the successful economic powerhouse that it is today.  We need to get manufacturing back as a cornerstone to our country in order to revive our terrible economy.  Our country can’t survive on desk jobs and service industries.  I have been around manufacturing my entire life and believe that it is essential for the economic future of the United States. 

     I am an electronics technician at a facility that makes and repairs jet airplane engine parts.  I build and maintain very complex equipment that includes mills, lasers, x-ray machines, grinders, casting furnaces, and EDM machines to mention a few.  I love the challenge of solving problems that others cannot.  I am currently earning my MBA at University of Nevada Reno to better my leadership skills with the expectations of one day leading a group of skilled workers in a manufacturing environment.