The Importance of All of Us Getting Out
Go visit other machine shops when possible. Go to industry events. Go where you can network with others who might share the same challenges, pain points and successes as you.
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Job Candidate Questions and What They Tell Us
Individuals who ask thoughtful, original questions in the interview set themselves apart.
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Recognizing Signs of a Degrading Workplace Culture
Is your machine shop missing key “culture elements?” Here are ways to identify if your organization is heading in the right or wrong direction in terms of establishing a healthy company culture.
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Is a ‘Side Hustle’ on Your Horizon?
I’ve written about machine shops that have created a separate business for fun, as a complement to their existing operation or as a means to leverage their manufacturing prowess. Here’s a bit about a few of them.
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AI and Your QMS Procedures
Will artificial intelligence soon impact your quality system operating procedures? It could.
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A Tale About an Automation Solution Discovered in Production Machining
A CNC Swiss production supervisor took to LinkedIn to describe how he discovered a rotary parts collector in the pages of our publication and has since purchased and benefited from it.
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Manufacturing Madness: Know When to Speed Up and When to Slow Down
Knowing which to do when can make the difference between world-class leadership and average management.
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Opening Up to Possibilities
As a business leader, are you wasting time defining barriers when you should be defining the possibilities instead?
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The Promise of a New Access-to-Capital Model
A free online loan prequalification tool currently offered in Colorado with the potential for introduction to other U.S. markets can enable manufacturers to more easily finance new technologies including automation equipment.
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Addressing Machining’s Necessary Evil
Many view quality control as such, but integrating new measurement technologies and approaches can ultimately minimize QC’s impact on throughput and a company’s bottom line.
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10 Ways AI Might Impact Manufacturers
Artificial intelligence offers the promise of assisting decision-making processes and boost overall manufacturing efficiency.
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A German Machine Tool Builder’s “Second Push” Into the U.S. Market
Spinner recently has taken strides to boost its presence, service and support in the United States as well as Canada and Mexico for its multifunction CNC lathes and milling machines.
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CNC Machine Shop Employment Positions to Consider Beyond Machine Operators
Many machine shops have open machine operator positions to fill. But does it make sense for shops to also seek automation engineers, IT managers and assembly personnel?
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Gardner Business Index: Precision Machining October 2023
Precision Machining activity was spared another month of accelerated contraction and held into October the same index reported in September.
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Good Advice? Ask 5 Questions
As business people, when we are asked for opinions or advice, we are usually quick to give it up. This is rarely the best response.
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Improved Waste Stream Processing is a Pathway to Savings and Compliance
In metalworking, addressing two specific aspects of waste stream management — wastewater and spent cutting fluids — can help companies not only meet environmental compliance, but also reduce expenses.
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Strengthening Manufacturing Workplaces Through Active Listening
A good strategy to weather the storms of manufacturing market upheavals and unpredictable factors is to commit to continuous, active employee listening.
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Gardner Business Index: Precision Machining September 2023
Precision Machining activity contracted at an accelerated rate again in September.
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Does the Used Equipment You’re Buying Have a Lien on it?
When purchasing any type of used business equipment, including machine tools, make sure the seller is allowed to sell it in the first place.
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