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Karl Schmidt Unisia: Best of all worlds
Karl Schmidt Unisia's piston plant in Marinette, Wis., has taken a proactive, team approach to ensuring reliability and overall equipment effectiveness. Editor Paul V. Arnold provides all of the details.


Departments
Reliability in Action
Bridging Primavera, SAP to aid planning, scheduling
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: 
• Departments|Reliability in Action
An electrical utility solves its software integration issues related to Primavera and SAP.
 
Editorial
Editors Column
Farewell to a friend
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Paul V. Arnold, Editor
• Editorial|Editors Column
Paul V. Arnold remembers former UAW executive vice president Nate Gooden.
 
Features
Advisors
The perils and pitfalls of RCA
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Tor Idhammar
• Features|Advisors
Root cause results are greatly enhanced if basic planning and scheduling and PMs are established first.
 
The what, why, how of wrench time
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Doc Palmer
• Features|Advisors
Doc Palmer gets down and dirty with wrench time.
 
Compatibility and switching suppliers
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Mark Barnes
• Features|Advisors
The single-biggest problem companies face when working with a new lubricant supplier is the issue of incompatibility.
 
Key lessons for senior management
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: John Schultz
• Features|Advisors
John Schultz says it's your job to convince senior management why condition-based maintenance is important.
 
The plaque on the wall
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: John Ha
• Features|Advisors
John Ha believes that the benefits of having a clear set of values tied to a corporate vision and mission can be immense.
 
Ideas, actions, results are rewarded
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Tim Goshert
• Features|Advisors
Step up! Your employer and others need your ideas, actions and results to prosper. Cargill's Tim Goshert explains.
 
Applied Reliability
Lean-based material handling
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Mark A. Lewis
• Features|Applied Reliability
Enhance MRO stores management by applying modern material handling practices and technologies.
 
IR: In-camera training and certification
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Ray Garvey
• Features|Applied Reliability
This article explains that training and testing should be included in the firmware of an infrared imaging camera.
 
Adhesives assure fastener reliability
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Andy Bardon
• Features|Applied Reliability
This article explores the challenges and importance of proper bolt, nut and screw fastening.
 
None
Spelling lean O-E-E
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Mike Verdin
• Features|None
Mike Verdin dissects the concept of OEE, explains how it relates to lean, and explores how managing it can make equipment lean, reliable and productive.
 
Web Exclusives
The Toyota concept of 'respect for people'
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Jim Womack
• Web Exclusives|None
In recent years, Toyota has made "respect for people" one of the pillars of the Toyota Way. So, lean guru Jim Womack decided to ask the best Toyota managers how they show respect for people. The answers he heard are a good bit different from what he has heard at many other companies.
 
Maintenance systems: A case for data scrubbing
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Mary Cenedese
• Web Exclusives|None
Often, maintenance systems don’t reap the benefits that they promise through no fault of their own. How can you expect a system to improve underlying data? You can’t. What you need is to have good data in the system so that it can be accessed, processed and used to provide practical information for the organization.
 
Lean Six Sigma improves Humvee repairs
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Spc. Matthis Chiroux, USAREUR Public Affairs
• Web Exclusives|None
The U.S. Army is using Rapid Improvement Events to improve processes on a Humvee engine rebuilding line in Europe. An RIE is a project designed to quickly identify inefficiencies and recommend immediate corrective actions.
 
The value of predictive analytics: A sampling of power gen catches
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: 
• Web Exclusives|None
Most companies have reached a performance plateau, undermining their ability to achieve corporate goals, objectives and strategies. The result is an equipment performance gap that inhibits corporate performance. However, there is a solution that closes this gap.
 
Case study: Drives and retrofits on paper mill slitter-rewinder
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: 
• Web Exclusives|None
To increase productivity and efficiency, a paper mill in the southeastern United States decided to rebuild its slitter-rewinder and incorporate the latest technology. The goal of the upgrade was to improve roll quality, increase machine speed to the highest possible level and eliminate costly shutdowns.
 
Finding, hiring, training, keeping skilled employees: Is it 'collaborate or die'?
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: 
• Web Exclusives|None
Finding, training, and retaining people to fill skilled manufacturing jobs is much more than a vexing problem to men and women like Ajax; it's literally a matter of business survival. Figuring out the solution is crucial, not only for helping businesses succeed, but also understanding how low-income workers can get and stay on a career path that leads to higher incomes and, at least as important, building assets.
 
NFPA70E, arc flash, and safe and efficient thermography practices
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Billings, Atlas Inspections, and Art Stout, Electrophysics Corp.
• Web Exclusives|None
Estimates indicate that 10 to 15 serious arc flash incidents – those that result in burn injuries requiring treatment in a burn center – occur each day in the U.S., so it is not surprising that awareness of the hazards associated with arc flash continues to grow.
 
Identifying motor defects through fault zone analysis
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Noah P. Bethel
• Web Exclusives|None
Electrical maintenance personnel have for years been limited to troubleshooting with no more than a fluke and a Megger.
 
The pluses of outsourcing inventory catalog management
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Mary Cenedese
• Web Exclusives|None
Outsourcing your catalog management is a big step for any manufacturing organization. It sounds great in theory, but the execution is not always clear. What exactly can you expect from the service provider? How does it really work? … And most importantly, is it the right thing to do?
 
5-S in 2007: Lower your stress by decreasing the mess
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Newswise
• Web Exclusives|None
For many, a new year ushers in opportunities for fresh starts. For those hampered by last year’s (or the last decade’s) clutter, decreasing the mess also can reduce stress.
 
Nissan is perfecting the art of auto manufacturing in Mississippi
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Les Jackson, AIADA
• Web Exclusives|None
When it comes to making vehicles economically, it’s all about productivity, and that translates directly to the number of labor hours it takes to build each one. Nissan’s plant in Canton, Miss., is a very good example of how planning and execution come together effectively to drive down labor hours. In 2006, Nissan led all manufacturers in fewest labor hours per vehicle.
 
Checklists can make all the difference
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Mike Wroblewski
• Web Exclusives|None
Set-ups, office procedures, quality activities, kaizens and even meetings can all benefit by using a checklist. It is a simple way to ensure that you do not forget important items that can make all the difference between success and failure. Columnist Mike Wroblewski provides some colorful insights on the topic.
 
State of organized labor: ‘Joe Lunchbucket’ becomes 'Chris Briefcase'
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: Newswise
• Web Exclusives|None
The stereotypical image of a U.S. union member is that of a blue-collar, middle-aged white male employed in manufacturing, construction or transportation and residing in the Northeast, the Great Lakes Region or on the West Coast. However, that image needs updating.
 
Ohio State professor gives birth to robotic spiders
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: 
• Web Exclusives|None
For the past three years, an associate professor in The Ohio State University’s Art and Technology program has been working to create a new method of robotic movement. The research has resulted in six-legged creatures called Autotelematic Spider Bots.
 
Variable speed drives critical to RainForest’s heat wheels
• Issue: 1/2007
• Author: 
• Web Exclusives|None
Without state-of-the-art HVAC technology, it is doubtful that The RainForest, located within the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo complex, could exist. And, it continues to benefit from equipment improvements, such as advanced motor and drive design. Check out this interesting and unconventional case study.