Wayne Chaneski President

2 Feb 1998

Reverse Engineering--A Valuable Service

Imagine being asked to supply customers with accurate drawings of their parts. This may sound ironic, but many companies do not have up-to-date drawings of their parts and some have never had part drawings of any kind.

3 Jan 1998

Conducting A Manufacturing Audit

Today's customers expect nothing less than products of the highest quality, and it is incumbent on all manufacturers to assure this expectation is met. A proven technique for checking whether a manufacturing process is in control is a manufacturing audit.

1 Dec 1997

Learning To Deal With New Customers

(This story is true, but the names of the companies have been changed. ) ABC Machine is a successful manufacturer of specialty products.

1 Nov 1997

Aqueous Cleaning--The Cost-Friendly Solution

Last month, I discussed many of the advantages offered by environmentally-friendly aqueous cleaning systems over solvents. One such widely used solvent, trichloroethane 1,1,1 (also called TCA), is legal to use, but is illegal to manufacture.

1 Sep 1997

Small Manufacturer Uses Unique Staffing

Anyone who has ever worked in a manufacturing operation knows that keeping machines running is key to success. A problem that many small manufacturers face is how best to staff their operation to maximize machine run time.

1 Aug 1997

Rapid Tooling Technology: A New Competitor

Many of you are involved in machining of tooling, such as molds and dies. At the urging of your customers, you have probably reduced your leadtimes and tried to contain costs for manufacturing this tooling.

1 Jul 1997

Objectives And Strategies Are The Keys To Planning

All businesses need to establish a plan because they need to determine what they will do before they actually do it. Businesses need a plan so that they have the opportunity to act, instead of being forced to react.

1 Jun 1997

Waterjet Machining -- Its Time Has Come

Waterjet machining has been around for many years, but has traditionally been viewed as a specialty process with limited applications. However, recent advances are making waterjet machining practical for applications never before considered.

1 May 1997

Using Manufacturing Performance Measures

In last month's column, I described some key manufacturing performance measures. This month, I will explain how these performance measures can be used to manage a manufacturing business.

1 Apr 1997

Manufacturing Performance Measures Really Count

In business, you can't improve what you can't measure. Many small manufacturers are content looking at the "bottom line" and measuring their company's performance based on whether they are making money.

1 Mar 1997

Users Look At Computer-Aided Cost Estimating

In last month's column I discussed some of the advantages that computer-aided cost estimating offers to manufacturers. Accuracy and consistency are the main benefits described by those who manufacture computer-assisted cost estimating systems.

1 Feb 1997

Computer-Aided Cost Estimating As A Competitive Advantage

The first interaction with a customer is often a quotation on a specific product. Yet, many companies are not as confident of the accuracy of their quotations as they are of the accuracy of their manufacturing capabilities.