Production Logistics
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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
An Easy Reach: Industrial Ergonomics
June 17, 2013 4:45 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsErgonomics can be thought of as much like a dinner table setting: Everything should be in easy reach and no one should have to reach too far or stretch into an unnatural position to get at what they need, says Ed Metzger, president of BioFit. “By ensuring that workers have the freedom to move comfortably and naturally, companies can prevent many of the musculoskeletal injuries and fatigue that leads to lost time and productivity.”
Texas Gov. Courts CT Gun Makers On Tour
June 17, 2013 2:14 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsTexas Gov. Rick Perry has come to Connecticut in search of gun manufacturing and other jobs while talking up the importance of competition. Perry met privately with gun manufacturers and other businesses at a downtown Hartford restaurant on Monday. He told reporters it's part of his state's drive to compete for jobs.
Long-Haul Jets Get Boost At Paris Air Show
June 17, 2013 10:05 am | by Lori Hinnant, Associated Press | News | CommentsAirbus and Boeing both won pledges for big purchases of long-haul, wide-body jets Monday, as the Paris Air Show got off to a robust if rainy start. The global aviation event at Le Bourget airfield north of Paris is once again showcasing the rivalry between U.S.-based Boeing and French-based Airbus.
Measuring The Impact: Quality Metrics And Manufacturing Intelligence
June 14, 2013 8:00 am | by Steve Wise, VP of Statistical Methods, InfinityQS Intl. | Articles | CommentsWhat if you could report to your board room that reducing scrap has increased your company’s profit by 10 percent? Or, what if you could show plant managers that exactly 15 defects occurred within a particular shift? Because quality affects every level of an organization — from the plant floor, to the C-suite, to the customer — it is far more than a cost of doing business; it is a game changer.
Fiat: Supplier Delays Will Force Shutdowns
June 12, 2013 1:36 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsItalian carmaker Fiat says it will temporarily stop production at some European car plants in the coming days due to insufficient deliveries of plastic parts. Fiat said in a statement Wednesday that more than 5,500 vehicles can't be completed due to missing components from the Italian supplier Selmat, creating an "unmanageable" backlog.
Root Cause Failure Analysis: Reducing Costs & Increasing Customer Satisfaction
May 31, 2013 1:44 pm | by Joseph Berk, Principal Engineering Faculty, Eogogics Inc | Blogs | CommentsRoot cause failure analysis is a technology for objectively identifying all potential failure causes, and then objectively and systematically identifying the likelihood of each potential cause. This article describes how root cause failure analysis identified and eliminated recurring Apache main rotor blade rejections.
Assess Your Technology Ladder When Addressing Burn Risk
May 31, 2013 1:44 pm | by Scott Brooksby, Olson Brooksby PC | Articles | CommentsThere are few more sophisticated and complex high-heat metallurgy manufacturing processes — and few with less tolerance for error — than the processes involved in manufacturing components of the hot-section of an aviation gas turbine engine. This precision minimizes the risk of catastrophic aviation disasters such as uncontrolled engine failure.
Painting Robots Speed Boeing 777 Production
May 30, 2013 2:23 pm | by Dominic Gates, The Seattle Times | News | CommentsInside a sealed building in Boeing's Everett widebody-jet assembly plant, two robotic machines glide along tracks on either side of a 106-foot 777 wing laid flat, their heads reaching out like animatronic dinosaurs nibbling at the giant wing.
Motorola: 1st U.S.-Assembled Smartphones Coming
May 30, 2013 2:21 pm | by Will Weissert, Associated Press | News | CommentsCellphone pioneer Motorola says it's opening a manufacturing facility that will produce the first smartphone ever assembled in the U.S. — its new flagship device, Moto X. The Texas site was once used by fellow phone manufacturer Nokia, meaning it was designed to produce mobile devices, said Will Moss, a spokesman for Motorola Mobility, which is owned by Google.
Kobe Steel To Close Kobe Blast Furnace
May 29, 2013 10:05 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsKobe Steel Ltd. said Wednesday it will close a blast furnace at its iron mill in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, and increase utilization ratios at two other blast furnaces in the same prefecture. The company said it will consider building a thermal power generation plant at the premises of the furnace to be closed in order to expand its power supply business.
Creating Better Jobs For Manufacturing’s Comeback
May 29, 2013 8:00 am | by Ray Attiyah, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Definity Partners | Articles | CommentsScan through the business section of the news, and you’re likely to see stories about the resurgence of U.S. manufacturing, about how companies are moving jobs back to the United States because of the rising cost of manufacturing in (and shipping to and from) China. Certainly good news for American manufacturers, but I would argue that this trend is not what the resurgence of U.S. manufacturing should be built on.
Maintaining A U.S. Manufacturing Presence
May 28, 2013 8:00 am | by Lindsey Jahn, Associate Editor, Food Manufacturing | Articles | CommentsFood Manufacturing spoke with Roger Kilmer of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) about the importance of maintaining a strong manufacturing presence in the United States, and what resources are available to domestic manufacturers. The purpose of the NIST MEP program is to enhance the productivity, technological performance and global competitiveness of small- and medium-sized U.S. based manufacturing firms.
UV-/Light-Curing Adhesives Improve Manufacturing Productivity
May 24, 2013 2:12 pm | by Torsten Uske, President DELO Industrial Adhesives LLC, and Dr. Martin Kluke, Product Manager DELO Industrial Adhesives | Articles | CommentsThe manufacturing world is constantly looking for processes that can accelerate production while lowering unit costs and improving product reliability. Each innovation must mesh with the overall production process to achieve high output levels.
Boeing Examining Speed-Ups On 787, 737
May 22, 2013 2:07 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBoeing may accelerate production of two of its most popular planes — the 787 and the 737. It's already doubling 787 production, from 5 per month last year, on its way toward 10 per month by the end of this year. The efficiency of the 787, Boeing's newest plane, has made it very popular with airlines. The company has orders for more than 800 that it hasn't built yet.
U.S. Auto Factories Cutting Back On Summer Downtime
May 22, 2013 10:25 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsThe Detroit automakers are largely forgoing the traditional two-week summer break at their factories and speeding up production to meet buyers' growing demand for new cars and trucks. Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday that 21 of its North American factories will shut for only one week this summer. That includes the Chicago plant that makes the Ford Explorer SUV and the Mexican plant that makes the Fusion sedan.
UAW: Nissan Subsidies Top $1.3B
May 20, 2013 10:05 am | by Jeff Amy, Associated Press | News | CommentsNissan Motor Co.'s Mississippi plant is on track to receive more state aid and tax breaks than what state and company officials have previously revealed, according to a study paid for by the United Auto Workers, which is questioning whether the state is getting enough for its money.
1 Millionth Jeep Wrangler Built At Toledo Plant
May 20, 2013 10:00 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAuto workers in Toledo celebrated a milestone this past week. The 1 millionth Jeep Wrangler rolled off the assembly line at Chrysler's assembly plant that opened in 2006. Chrysler marked the occasion Friday with a ceremony at the production line.
Top 10 Coolest Things At AMUG 2013
May 16, 2013 8:01 am | by IMTSTV | Videos | CommentsiSpy Jake Ervin attended the AMUG (Additive Manufacturing Users Group) Conference in Jacksonville, Florida this year. Vendors displayed some very exciting parts manufacturing with additive technology. Jake shows us the top 10 coolest parts exhibited at the event.
Boeing Resumes 787 Deliveries After 4-Month Halt
May 15, 2013 2:05 pm | by Joshua Freed, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsBoeing restarted deliveries of 787s on Tuesday after a four-month halt while it dealt with the smoldering batteries that had kept the planes grounded. Boeing handed the plane over to Japan's All Nippon Airways at its factory in Everett, Wash.
Amid Low Prices, Alcoa Weighs Production Cutbacks
May 1, 2013 2:02 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAlcoa Inc. said Wednesday that it might reduce production because of a slump that has cut aluminum prices by more than one-third since they peaked in 2011. The reduction could affect up to 11 percent of Alcoa's aluminum-smelting capacity, a cut of 460,000 tons of capacity. The company has already idled 13 percent of its capacity.
The Next Killer Manufacturing Technology App
May 1, 2013 11:57 am | by IMTSTV | Videos | CommentsToday, there is an extensive amount of data produced relative to the manufacturing process. However, this data is typically “trapped” in equipment used in the production of products or the operation of the facilities or it is recorded on paper where it cannot be easily analyzed. The purpose of MTConnect is to “unlock” this data and provide it in a format that can be used by software applications.
Climate Curtain Protects U.S. Glass Block Manufacturer
April 29, 2013 9:00 am | by Marcus Mohwinkel, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Goff’s Enterprises, Inc. | Articles | CommentsPittsburgh Corning is a world leader in innovative glass block products for commercial, institutional, government and residential building applications. The company is the only U.S.-based manufacturer of glass block. The company needed to create a climate-controlled, low-dust environment. Further, the warehouse measured 100 feet wide by 400 feet long—but assembly operations required only a portion of the total area.
Boeing Slows 747 Production On Weak Demand
April 19, 2013 4:03 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBoeing says it will slow down production of its superjumbo 747-8 because of weak demand. Boeing builds two of the planes every month. It's slowing that rate to one and three-quarters per month. Boeing had warned that a slowdown was possible if demand didn't improve. Boeing has orders for 64 of the planes still to be built, including freighter and passenger versions.
BMW Manufacturing Reports Record Production Volume
April 5, 2013 2:53 pm | Articles | CommentsBMW Manufacturing achieved another record production year. Annual production of 301,519 vehicles marks 2012 as the highest production volume in the Spartanburg, South Carolina plant’s 19-year history. This represents a nine percent increase over the production volume for 2011 (276,065). Since 2010, the plant’s production output has increased by 90 percent (159,284).
U.S. LNG Exports Will Spur Manufacturing Momentum
April 2, 2013 8:02 am | by Jessica Kennedy, Energy Curtailment Specialists Inc. | Blogs | CommentsThe U.S. must soon decide whether to allow unrestricted liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to non-U.S. markets, or to enact limits on natural gas exports to keep more of the fuel in the country. Vast reserves of natural gas in the U.S. and newly developed extraction techniques have made it economically sensible to extract previously unviable deposits of natural gas.
