Remembering a teacher: Workforce Development & Training

In the previous issue’s Manager’s Desk, Keith Jennings, president of Crow Corp., wrote about the trials and tribulations when long-time shop employees become seriously ill or die.

The stark reality for all humans is that the Grim Reaper will eventually pay a visit, completing the circle of life.

Nonetheless, I was saddened to hear about the passing of David A. Dornfeld, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, who died of a heart attack on March 27 at age 66. Although I never met him, I considered him to have a brilliant mind and be a great editorial source—someone who returned my phone calls and had something intelligent to say.

For example, in one of my interviews with Dornfeld, he spoke about automated finishing operations. He recalled talking to engineers at an aircraft-engine manufacturer who were investigating edge finishing on complicated but repeatable operations—ones, he said, “where you can’t rely on the usual slop of a robot or a soft brush. You’ve got to actually try to control the geometry that you’re creating.

“The bottom line is, of course, anything you can get under control in terms of the design and of the tolerances and specifications on the part make it inherently much easier to automate because you have less variability, which means it is less likely to be inappropriately gripped in a gripper or seated in a fixture or carrying device that presents it to the next stage of the process,” he continued. “That’s where the Japanese have always been sort of experts at these kinds of things.”

While not earthshattering, it’s well-spoken and makes sense, as can be said of his other thoughts—page after page of them in my interview transcriptions.