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More from Joe Thompson
2016: A Spatial Thinking Odyssey
- By Joe Thompson
- Dec 9, 2016
- Management
- Blog Post
When Robert Burns penned “Auld Lang Syne” in 1788, a work that was itself based on an even older oral verse, he probably didn’t envision the tacky party hats and annoying noisemakers that accompany that song today. In fact, the Bard of Ayrshire was posing an interesting philosophical, and...
Transportation Sector Report
- By Joe Thompson
- Nov 1, 2016
- Management
- Article
Work in the transportation sector can be quite cyclical.
Why It’s the Greatest Generation
- By Joe Thompson
- Nov 1, 2016
- Management
- Blog Post
It was a rainy summer afternoon in my local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion when the talk, as it is wont to do, turned to history. In between hand after hand of euchre, and surrounded by the ribbons, awards, and photographs of the fallen, we spoke of Normandy, Dieppe, and of North Africa. It...
Moving from manpower to horsepower
- By Joe Thompson
- Sep 5, 2016
- Made In Canada
- Article
B.C. company is a custom job shop with expertise and experience in building large parts for even larger projects.
Big and Tall: Large-Part Manufacturing
- By Joe Thompson
- Jun 6, 2016
- Metalworking
- Article
Large or small, part making has its challenges. But, when parts are large and heavy, simply moving them around the shop becomes a daunting task. The equipment and manpower employed in creating these parts must be chosen correctly and used in a manner that’s the most productive while still...
Eliminate CMM Bottlenecks
- By Joe Thompson
- May 26, 2016
- Measurement
- Article
For manufacturing companies, quality control and part inspection are key requirements before getting customer approval. To perform these jobs, production managers generally choose a coordinate measuring machine (CMM), which is one of the most common types of metrology equipment used to inspect and...
The Waiting is the Hardest Part
- By Joe Thompson
- Apr 6, 2016
- Metalworking
- Blog Post
Most of us are not in the forecasting business anymore. That luxury went out the window in 2009 along with orders, jobs, and rainy-day funds. So unless you are a meteorologist, you likely are living in the now. But the process – even the skill – of forecasting still is of importance,...
Make Manufacturing Excellence a Goal
- By Joe Thompson
- Mar 18, 2016
- Measurement
- Blog Post
The future of manufacturing—like many other industries—is linked to quality. It is the high quality of produced parts and the Canadian workforce that will keep manufacturing strong in this country. Since its founding in 1905, Canadian Metalworking has been observing the metalworking...
Do You Pass the Mirror Test?
- By Joe Thompson
- Feb 12, 2016
- Management
- Blog Post
Psychologists love tests. In their world there are four primary tests: the clinical interview, personality assessment, behavioral assessment, and, of course the classic IQ test. Each is a fundamental of the psychology profession that helps form an understanding of a person’s current mental...
It’s All in the Numbers
- By Joe Thompson
- Jan 5, 2016
- Management
- Blog Post
Numbers are funny things. A truly brilliant mathematician or a truly crooked accountant can make them do just about anything. Much like the evolution of the letters we use today, the use of the 10 glyphs (0 through 9) that we use started many centuries ago. Some scholars date the first use of...
- From Canadian Industrial Machinery
Leaders Must Create Effective Change
- By Joe Thompson
- Dec 14, 2015
- Management
- Article
Business leaders must use all resources available, including other high-level staff, to create effective change.
Innovation Is the Name of the Game
- By Joe Thompson
- Dec 8, 2015
- Management
- Blog Post
In “Romeo and Juliet” the Bard of Avon (a.k.a. Shakespeare, William) opined that a name, in and of itself, doesn’t carry much weight. “What’s in a name?” he wrote. “That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” He of course is implying that the name...
- From Canadian Industrial Machinery
More Feed More of the Time
- By Joe Thompson
- Nov 16, 2015
- Management
- Article
Increasing the feed can create dramatic improvement in Q rates.
- From Canadian Industrial Machinery
Life as a 21st Century Moldmaker
- By Joe Thompson
- Nov 9, 2015
- Made In Canada
- Article
Cavalier Tool & Manufacturing, Windsor, Ont., reinvests as it reinvents itself.
Time Flies and Money Burns
- By Joe Thompson
- Nov 3, 2015
- Management
- Blog Post
Money is not at all like energy, which, according to the first law of thermodynamics, can neither be created nor destroyed. In my experience, money can be destroyed fairly quickly and easily. Burned through, really. Time, like the old saying goes, is money. In math terms it would be written as...
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