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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Energy Optimization
November 21, 2008 12:03 pm | by Cassie Quaintance, Energy Market Segment Manager, Schneider Electric | Commentsh4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } How to turn your facility green Going green very often must mean saving green, and this is possible when you successfully implement energy efficiency initiatives that reduce energy consumption.
Water Conservation: The Business Case
October 9, 2008 6:44 am | by William F. Harfst, Harfst and Associates, Inc. | CommentsRecord-breaking droughts have plagued the Southeast and the arid Southwest. Georgia is caught in the grip of a drought that is the worst in 100 years of record keeping while at the same time 30 million people in the Southwest witnessed water reserves in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both part of the Colorado River system, decline to near-record low levels.
Lean Tools- Finding A Fit
October 9, 2008 6:43 am | Commentsh4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } "Why isn’t every manufacturer in the U.
Kinda, Sorta Lean... So What Comes Next?
September 12, 2008 2:26 pm | CommentsBy David R. Dixon, Technical Change Associates. The preemptive competitive advantages enjoyed by early Lean adopters have dissipated as more and more companies are “converted” to techniques that reduce waste and slash lead times. --> h4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .
Style Points
September 12, 2008 1:54 pm | Commentsh4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } By Anna Wells, Editor, IMPO After a huge investment in renovation and sustainability efforts, Garlock Sealing, Palmyra, NY, is new and improved= Garlock Sealing Technologies (an EnPro Industries company) has been a pioneer in high-performance fluid sealing for over a century, with 15 global operations employing more than 1,800 people, and a distributor network that covers 75 countries.
Q & A with Robert J. Latino, Reliability Center, Inc.
September 12, 2008 10:13 am | Commentsh4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } Robert J.
Time To Align
September 12, 2008 8:13 am | by David Zdrojewski, Founder & CEO, VibrAlign, Inc. | CommentsA well trained aligner can accomplish a precision shaft alignment in one or two moves virtually every time. This is true whether the aligner uses laser tools or dial gauges to measure the misalignment— and I'm talking about making shaft centers collinear to within a few thousandths of an inch.
Opportunities In A Tough Electrical Market
September 12, 2008 8:13 am | by Bob Zak, President, Powerit Solutions | CommentsIndustrial manufacturers consume roughly one-third of the power utilized in the US. This fact is not lost on utilities and energy service providers. Lucrative programs and new incentives exist today for industrial companies as power providers try to find ways to tap into the demand side and create more capacity.
Are We Making Progress?
September 12, 2008 8:13 am | by Mike Collins is the author of Saving American Manufacturing, a comprehensive step-by-step strategy that demonstrates how to ultimately become an organization that will continually find new opportunities in today's fast-changing global economy. | Commentsh4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } Manufacturing is going to have to changes its image before it can attract, much less retain, employees.
Q & A with Mike Seals, Jabezco Industrial Group
August 25, 2008 2:11 pm | Commentsh4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } Mike Seals, President/Principal of Jabezco Industrial Group, Inc.
Customers As Collaborators
August 25, 2008 1:39 pm | by Mike Collins | Commentsh4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } "There is a definite shift away from traditional market research methods to customer collaboration.
Paying It Towards The Future
August 25, 2008 10:01 am | by Anna Wells | Commentsh4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } McClarin Plastics, Hanover, PA, takes lean to the next level, integrating its supply chain, employees, and an emphasis on green benefits.
Q & A With Luis Guimaraes
July 16, 2008 9:14 am | Commentsh4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } Luis Guimarães is General Manager, Marketing, Americas for Shell Lubricants .
Job Quality Over Quantity
July 16, 2008 9:14 am | by Mike Collins | Commentsh4 { font: bold 14px Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000; } .byline { font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 4px; } .caption { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 4px; } .sup { position: relative; bottom: 2px; font-size: smaller;" } "If we turn our backs now and depend on just the post-industrial service economy for the future, we will end up a nation of lawyers, consultants, and temporary workers looking for someone to invoice.
Air Pollution Control Systems And Operating Costs
July 16, 2008 9:14 am | CommentsWhen air pollution controls were first introduced in the 1970s, fuel costs were low, electronic controls and technologies were primitive compared to today’s standards, and the energy efficiency of control devices and their sub-components was not optimized. As the cost of energy continues to increase, choosing a new piece of emission control equipment often becomes as important as choosing the production machinery itself.
