‘Hands-on' project management service launched

One of the UK's leading developers and manufacturer of metrology, inspection and optical measuring equipment Vision Engineering Ltd, has set up a manufacturing services division which can draw upon its internal network of international business expertise to provide a ‘hands-on' project managed service to companies in the electro-mechanical sector for design, development and manufacture. 
In addition, live resource in areas such as the analysis of market potential, detailed commercial aspects and logistics can be provided or woven into any project requirement.
Based in Woking, Vision Engineering's Manufacturing Service division (VEMS) has a major resource to benefit customers as it can call upon and specifically tailor the international expertise of the parent company to support projects involving design, development, manufacture and marketing.

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Automating Manufacturing Programme which looks to address barriers that UK manufacturers face.

Automating Manufacturing Programme to drive increased UK competitiveness

Recommendations made in a recent industry study, Application of Automation in UK Manufacturing 27 Sept 2010, resulted in BIS funding of £600,000K and a two year BARA

The study, which polled a broad spectrum of manufacturers of engineered products and food in Spain, Germany, Sweden and the UK, not only aimed to find out why the UK lags behind the rest of the world in the adoption of automation, but looked to address the issues with an action plan of initiatives to stimulate growth. International Federation of Robotics figures on robot density (number of robots in use per 10,000 persons employed) for all manufacturing sectors excluding automotive, illustrated the poor position of the UK which was at 19% of Germany and only 62% of Spain in 2009. Martin Walder, Chairman of the Engineering and Machinery Alliance (EAMA), commented: "By comparing UK companies with similar businesses in Germany, Spain and Sweden this study highlights our weakness in automation. If UK manufacturing is to remain competitive we have to act now." 

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Productivity: More than Just Speed

An insurance firm discovers through value stream mapping that it must fix its broken processes before it can increase its productivity sustainably.

By Amy Tan and Uwe H. Kaufmann

The goal of any financial services company seeking continuous improvement is to increase productivity. But how should this be done? One way seems obvious: Work faster so that more products get made or services get offered in the same time period. Although this request might have seemed correct 30 years ago, it is highly inappropriate today and would lead to even more frustration among an already overworked staff.

The key to increasing productivity is not about how fast we work. It is about how we get work done; it is about the process, rather than the people.

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Carle Foundation Hospital Accelerates Lean with Rapid Action Teams

Leading Regional Hospital chosen to share findings and results on innovative approach to engaging employees in Lean improvement at American College of Healthcare Executives Annual Congress in Chicago.

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Chicago, Illinois (March 21, 2011) – John Snyder, COO, and Beth Edrington, Director of Internal Consulting and Performance Improvement, will present how Carle Foundation Hospital has employed an innovative method for engaging nurses, technicians and other hospital employees to capture operating cost savings in just 60 days while building leadership skills and employee morale at the same time. The key to success: An innovative small team improvement process, developed by Leap Technologies, that gets hospital employees productively engaged in eliminating waste, implementing best practices and solving problems without the need for extensive upfront training, expert support or time off-the-floor.

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Vehicle Parts Supplier WABCO Opens Lean Six Sigma Plant in China

WABCO, a supplier of components for the commercial vehicle industry, has opened a new production facility in Jinan, China, showcasing the company's Lean Six Sigma program.

The 11,000-square-meter Jinan factory employs 350 people and was designed to combine Lean qualty control methods with Six Sigma process efficiency, starting with suppliers and connecting through to customers. The plant will provide advanced commercial vehicle control systems such as air compressors, air processing units and transmission systems to a wide assortment of Chinese and global vehicle makers.

The Jinan factory is WABCO's second production facility in China; the first manufacturing site is located in Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong Province. Currently, the company has eight production facilities in Asia.

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Theories of Power - A Survey Towards the Development of a Theory of Power

Before beginning the discussion of empowerment and the development of a theory connected with it, I want to deal with a concept that is prior to empowerment—power. Power is a key concept for an understanding of processes of empowerment.The theory of empowerment that will be developed further on will draw its inspiration from an integration of two domains: from an understanding of theories of power and the use of
insights drawn from these for the purposes of developing a theory of empowerment, and from an analysis of processes of empowerment. Hence, this deeper study of it will also make possible a better understanding of states of powerlessness, practices of disempowerment, and processes by which people and communities struggle for control over their lives and environments.

Read more>> http://www.mpow.org/elisheva_sadan_empowerment_spreads

Principles Of Mechanical Measurements

Lecture Series on Principles Of Mechanical Measurements by Prof.R.Raman, Department of Mechanical Engineering,IIT Madras. For more details on NPTEL visit http://nptel.iitm.ac.in

Watch complete serie in: http://www.youtube.com/.....PrinciplesMechanicalMeasurements Prof.S.Raman