Time to upgrade equipment
Machinist's Corner columnist Michael Deren recounts how he responded when upper management issued a directive to increase throughput.
Magazine Column
Machinist’s Corner
I really, really love my job!
Learning to love your job can be frustrating, so says Machinist's Corner columnist Michael Deren in the May 2013 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering.
Eyes wide open
Several weeks ago, my wife and I attended a dinner party at her sister's home. One of the guests heard I was in manufacturing and introduced himself. He's 48, married and has five children and a mortgage. He's a pleasant individual, and we spoke about his trials and tribulations over the last few years. He lost his job during the Great Recession and has since been struggling to find a steady job. Unemployment checks and odd jobs, as well as assistance from their church and friends, have helped his family muddle along. His experience is in customer service and sales.
Help wanted–start now
In the January 2013 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering, Machinist's Corner columnist Michael Deren reviews a recent "60 Minutes" report about the skills gap in manuafacturing.
Don’t let perfect trump better
How many times does a project break down just from trying achieve perfection? Machinist's Corner columnist Michael Deren urges readers not to let perfect trump better.
Improvement via Kaizen events
Machinist's Corner columnist Michael Deren observes the importance of speaking with the people working in the area of the assembly line that has been targeted for improvement.
How are your assets doing?
Machinist's Corner column as published in the July 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering.
Benefits of a material review board
A material review board can help determine if you're having vendor problems, suggests the Machinist's Corner column in the May 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering.
Measuring machine productivity
Many large corporations are well versed in total productive maintenance, but smaller companies are probably not. To learn more about the concept, I attended a 1-day seminar about TPM at a local technical college.
Regional shows the way to go
Michael Deren covers the benefits of attending regional trade shows in his January 2012 Machinist's Corner column for Cutting Tool Engineering.
Fourth and goal — time to score
Machinist's Corner column in the October 2011 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine suggests that now is the time to tap into unallocated company funds.
The art of documentation
Document jobs to reduce setup time when they repeat.