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Time to Learn; Time to Save

A contributor at engineering.com posted an optimistic blog entry entitled ‘Time to Learn; Time to Save’. This entry addresses employment and professional development during recessionary times.
Corporal Willy (excerpt) 
The worst time to do nothing is when nothing is being done.  Economic Recovery is being talked about but when you are unemployed that can seem like an eternity.  I suffered through a few recessionary periods in my working career and in my career choice if the “Stock Market Coughed and Sneezed, then Big Construction got a Severe Cold.”  Because of things like the prime interest rate and some other factors all governed by the Stock Market, Banking industries and Material Suppliers, our jobs could be here today and gone tomorrow.  I have had to travel far away like many others in the building trades to get construction jobs. Many brother members of my local worked on the Alaskan Pipeline when there wasn’t any other work available.  “Have tools will travel” was kind of a war cry back then and still is today.  But armed guards had to watch over you at times because of the polar bears in the area that were suffering hard times too.  It wasn’t an easy career and it was very hard on marriages and all the other things that a normal kind of living should be like.  Yet it was rewarding too.  It fostered a way of life in most of us that could be summed up in this aphorism, “never put a wishbone where your backbone ought to be.”  We made our own futures…
The entire entry can be read here:
-Andy

What Do You Hope To Achieve Through Training?

During the NPE 2009 trade show, an attendee asked me an insightfull question…
Paul
If I intend to get serious about training my employees, what factors should I take into consideration.
My Response
I answered, if you’re serious about improving the skills of your production workforce, you need to begin by asking yourself a few questions:
1. What training methods have you used in the past? Were any of these methods effective? Which metrics did you use to measure their effectiveness?
2. What about now…how much time do you devote to training? Which training methods are you currently using and are they working?
3. More importantly, what effect has the current training plan had on your bottom line?
4. Lastly, what are your training goals? What do you hope to achieve by training your workforce? 
Additional Thoughts
Training needs to take place regularly, and time needs to be allocated for this purpose. Proper training requires resources, so it is essential to have the support of management when establishing a training system for your workplace. Make sure that management, as a whole, understands the scope of the training plan – and which metrics can be used to verify its effectiveness.
In the end, training should be purchased to help meet your company’s specific employee development goals. 
-Andy

NPE 2009 Technological Highlights

At NPE 2009, I teamed up with Josh from IDES to acquire footage of different technologies featured at the show. Back here at the office, we cleaned up the footage and added some explainations to make it more interesting to your employees…

These can be viewed here:
After viewing these yourself, I recommend you use it as a teaching tool to introduce some of your employees to these great technologies.
Also, feel free to forward the link to anyone who might be interested.
-Andy

Crystallinity In Layman’s Terms

In a recent e-mail, I received this question regarding crystallinity…
Sam A
Can you explain Crystallinity in layman’s terms? Also how the process affects it.
My Response
In essence… crystallinity is a phenomenon where segments within the polymer chain either (1) align themselves in an orderly, structured fashion or (2) align themselves with portions of adjacent polymer chains in a similar fashion. These semi-crystalline structures tend to improve properties such as strength, barrier, and impact.
These semi-crystalline structures do not exist when the polymer melt is above the melt temperature. As the polymer temperature drops below the melt temperature, these semi-crystalline structures begin to form. The faster the polymer cools, the fewer semi-crystalline structures appear. Likewise, the slower a polymer cools, the higher the degree of crystallinity within the polymer.
One if the biggest factors regarding crystallinity is dimensional stability… Since semi-crystalline regions are more dense than the polymer in the amorphous state, higher degrees of crystallinity create higher shrinkage. The more even the cooling, the more even the shrinkage, and therefor the more dimensionally stable the part will ultimately become.
Additional Thoughts
Keep in mind, the same principles apply to both extrusion and blow molding. Ultimately, any process change that increases melt, mold, or die temperature will decrease the rate of cooling… resulting in an increase in crystallinity. This is one reason why it is always important to think twice before making a temperature change in your process.
-Andy

The Science Of Training – An Executive Audiobook

New Executive Audiobook:
I have just released an audiobook on professional employee development entitled ‘The Science of Training’.
You can listen to it here:
You can also download it here:
Sample Excerpt:
Just to give you a taste of what is covered… Below is a short transcription from the middle of this executive audio CD:
Many companies also make the mistake of training only their “key employees.” You know the people I am talking about… these are the go-to-guys and gals at your plant on whom you rely to get everything done. While these few ‘key’ employees may become much more knowledgeable than their co-workers, this disparity could trigger some negative tensions. Also, the production personnel get into the bad habit of always running to the ‘go to guys’ to get things done – instead of solving the problem themselves.

In reality, these people are relied upon again and again because they are reliable. I have spoken with employees who have gone for three and four years without taking a vacation. I bring this up because you have probably heard, or even said the phrase… ‘If I train them, they will just leave’. Well, if you just train your key employees then they will leave. The reason is… you are sending the message of… ‘I want you alone to learn this, implement this, and add this to your overwhelming list of stuff you already have to do’.
As always, feel free to give me your feedback and comments.
-Andy

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