- The Roundup - A roundup of posts from this week, as well as a few other things we thought were worth noting. Have a great weekend! Concept to Completion Manufacturing and the China Effect in 2016 Safety Lessons Learned the Hard Way Continue Reading
- Safety Lessons Learned the Hard Way - Just this past weekend a worker died in the Alberta oil sands region near Fort McMurray. We can take lessons from this tragedy and remind ourselves to study our practices to ensure that corners are not cut and best practices are employed to assure workplace safety. This blog post speaks to safety issues in general,… Continue Reading
- Manufacturing and the China Effect in 2016 - On the first day of trading in 2016, the Chinese stock market collapsed. Chinese stocks tumbled seven percent in their opening session of 2016, forcing the exchange to suspend trading. Most analysts blamed the sharp decline on reports of weak factory activity. China’s economy, based heavily on manufacturing, is sputtering. Its manufacturing index has dropped… Continue Reading
- Concept to Completion - We like to provide clients with a turnkey solution, and often use the phrase From Concept to Completion. (Some people say cradle to grave, but I think this is much friendlier!) Defining project requirements is the “concept” portion of the project and having a working solution with a delighted customer is “completion.” How do we… Continue Reading
- Collaborative Robots With Coordinate Measurement - I had seen early adaptations of collaborative robots at a Hanover Fair in 2007, but it was only last year when they started showing up here at Optimation. Collaborative robots Articulated robots in manufacturing have traditionally been separated from operators by safety guarding. Despite all of the advantages that can be achieved by using robots… Continue Reading
- Manufacturing Using Process Skid Based Systems - At Optimation we support and promote manufacturing by designing, fabricating and installing manufacturing systems. There are many different needs by different manufacturers. One of the common requests we get from manufacturers is to fabricate skid based systems. From a simplistic perspective, a skid based system can be compared to using a modular home instead of… Continue Reading
- Government Investment in the Future of Manufacturing - We are constantly reminded as we hear the news of the contributions of government to research and development in the manufacturing arena. For years, we heard about the government’s role and contributions promoting ethanol manufacturing and we saw laws mandating its use as an automotive fuel. With the rapid decline in oil prices we don't… Continue Reading
- 5-Star Planning for Project Success - One of my wisest and most-respected managers often cited General Eisenhower’s credo, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” While you may have heard this before, consider the rest of the thought from the genius responsible for D-Day’s planning: “There is a very great distinction…because what you are planning for is unexpected; therefore it is… Continue Reading
- Document Project Requirements BEFORE You Go Out for Bid - One of the most important factors for a successful project is being able to specify the requirements up front. Many times, the customer doesn’t know exactly what he needs. More preliminary engineering is required to get the project requirements specific enough for suppliers to offer a fixed price bid for the project. But often, clients… Continue Reading
- How to make complex capital projects manageable - As an engineering service provider, one of the most impactful skills we employ for our clients is the ability to reduce the risks associated with their capital project investments. The road to a successful project implementation is fraught with many twists, turns, and obstacles when it comes to securing the benefits as intended when a… Continue Reading
