Tag : american manufacturing

ISO 9001

Top 10 Benefits of ISO Certification to a Custom Machine Shop

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an independent body that develops standards. Standards developed regulate services, products, and systems to guarantee safety, quality, and efficiency. ISO certification is essential for any machine shop. Why?

Some ISO standards govern custom machine shops. The ability to get certified gives several benefits to your business. For example, ISO 9001 sets out criteria for a company’s quality management system (QMS). ISO certification shows that your precision manufacturing company values its products and services.

Here are the top ten benefits of ISO certification to a custom machine shop.

1. Boosts Staff Morale

When business processes are well-managed and defined, employees feel more secure. They enjoy excellent job satisfaction in return. This contributes towards the success of your CNC manufacturing shop. Also, it makes your team satisfied, passionate and motivated towards achieving a common goal.

Motivated employees adhere to and carry out all processes put in place. This allows for quick identification and resolution problems and challenges at the workplace. Lots of research demonstrate the relationship between staff satisfaction and a company’s success. Motivating employees is excellent, but keeping them happy is the real deal.

It is advisable to have a complete QMS. A complete one contains documents, procedures, processes, and responsibilities in a formalized system.

For your business to thrive, it must follow QMS procedures and requirements. ISO certification also provides guidelines on employee training. For instance, CNC machinists need training to cope with ever changing technology. They also need training programs tailored to suit evolving customer needs.

With ISO certification, your business operates well when key people leave. The system implemented enhances teamwork.

2. Customer Satisfaction

Universal acceptance of ISO standards ensures that client confidence is a top priority. Leading CNC manufacturing companies enjoy consistency, efficiency, and dedication thanks to ISO.

ISO standard tracks customer satisfaction levels and reports issues and complaints. Businesses that seek and maintain ISO certification prove that they value quality assurance.

Additionally, areas important to your customers never go unnoticed. ISO certification outlines best approaches and practices based on customer needs and expectations. Manufacturing products that reduce costs and waste enables you to deliver quality products. As a result, it reinforces customer loyalty to your custom machine shop.

3. Improves Supplier Relationships

Best supplier relationships are primary to ISO certification. When followed, ISO certification processes streamline documentation and testing. In return, quality raw materials and general supplies get to your business. The process needs a rigorous evaluation of new suppliers before cutting deals. This enhances consistency on how and where your custom machine shop sources its supplies.

4. Promotes Proper Documentation

ISO standard certifications require proper documentation of business operations. Proper documentation shows any errors, changes, and discrepancies. Appropriate documentation process guarantees consistency throughout production boosting accountability.

Moreover, traceable records are available in case of substandard, non-compliant products or raw materials. This also helps you to pinpoint areas of weaknesses and unaccountable staff.

5. Improves Processes

ISO certification helps you manage reviews, audit processes, and improvement processes based on data. To improve business processes, careful planning and implementation based on facts obtained is crucial. Such data comes from system analysis and documentation. As a result, it helps you to make informed decisions on your business.

Streamlining business processes reduces unnecessary paperwork. Through improved processes, you focus on what’s important- innovation, enhanced growth, happy employees and profitability.

6. Improves Efficiency

ISO certification determines the requirements necessary for a company to source quality management system certification. First, a machine shop must enhance customer satisfaction through efficient and extensive application of management systems. The application features the guarantee of conformity to customer relations and applicable regulatory requirements. In addition, a company should adopt implementation of processes for constant improvement of the system.

Also, a machine shop in Denver has to demonstrate its capabilities to offer products and services that meet applicable regulatory and customer needs. Companies that undergo ISO 9000 QMS certification process strive to maximize quality and efficiency in their operations.

Once the company gets certified for QMS, establishment of precise processes commences. Guidelines are also put in place for all employees and CNC machinists to follow easily. That making transitions, training, and troubleshooting a breeze.

7. Increases Revenue

Several studies reveal that ISO certified companies enjoy improved financial performance and increased productivity as compared to uncertified companies. Having ISO certification for your Original Equipment Manufacturer and Denver Manufacturing business can enable you get partnerships from private and public sectors.

With regards to public sector tenders, ISO certification is a strong indication that a business is credible and well-managed. It eliminates the need for rigorous and extensive due diligence.

Majority of private sector organizations have made it a mandatory requirement for suppliers and partners to have ISO certification. Certified companies demonstrate reliability in all business aspects, professionalism and value quality work.

8. Encourages Consistency

Consistency remains a recognized foundation of ISO. All business processes from research, development, production, to shipping, are exhaustively defined, outlined, and documented. Room for error is minimized significantly. The process of making changes to a custom machine shop process is documented. It guarantees that all alterations made are well designed and executed with the best possible strategy to enhance efficiency.

ISO recommends various industries to use particular software formatting in reports, data collection, and product labelling. Consistent formatting eliminates the risks of using obsolete labels or documents.

9. Get Global recognition

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is wholly recognized as a global benchmark authority for quality management. When your machine shop gets ISO certified, global doors open. International recognition helps you engage international business community, partners and customers.

10. Better Management

Proper analysis and reporting are a fundamental in efficient and prosperous management of any business. The requirements and guidelines set by ISO standards help precision manufacturing businesses to seamlessly manage all their operations. Also, it helps in realizing factual approach to decision making.

For instance, ISO 9000 QMS standards elaborate clear instructions for process reviews and audits. In return, the approach assists in information gathering techniques and decision-making based on factual data from your business.

ISO certification increases the chances of a custom machine shop thriving in business. It makes your employees satisfied, clients safe and confident, and takes your business global. As the world continues becoming more globalized, the need for universal standardization becomes undisputed.

Today, it takes two to tango in business. What you produce contributes to a global business community. Are you interested in working with an ISO certified company? Get in touch with Tag Team Manufacturing.

American Manufacturing

How do US Manufacturers Compare to Overseas Manufacturers?

Labor and production costs stop many American manufacturers from producing products for American consumption. Outsourcing component production or even whole products to overseas manufacturers has saved a lot of money for American manufacturers. But has it? A few strong points show that American Manufacturing compares better to overseas manufacturers.

The Problem

The original reason CNC manufacturing, for example, was outsourced overseas was that wages were lower. So many people needing jobs meant that if someone quit, there were twenty more who could fill the job. Since the foreign workers work for pennies per hour or per day, U.S. manufacturing more or less dried up.

For instance, let’s say mechanical engineering expert Joe Brown has designed a better home automation thermostat. Imagine a Singapore factory has been upgraded for CNC machining to produce the components of the thermostat. Since Singapore workers only make pennies per hour or per day, do they have the necessary incentive to ship quality merchandise?

What Was The Result?

American manufacturers have, for the most part, wanted to save money from the beginning. Over the years, however, some hard truths have come back to bite American manufacturers. A pennies wage isn’t the only criteria by which American manufacturing versus overseas manufacturing is judged.

What Are The Factors?

American schools are the best, bar none. This means that people all over the world trust graduates of mechanical engineering schools and U. S. manufacturing schools. Just ask anyone who uses Apple products, drives a Chevy and orders anything from Amazon on an American-made computer.

There are other factors highlighting the negatives of overseas manufacturing, such as:

-Shipping and handling charges have risen

-When ships remain in foreign ports, for reasons only the foreign country understands

-When merchandise sits at American Customs for weeks awaiting clearance

-It takes weeks and months for a ship to get from the foreign country to America. Meanwhile, the
manufacturer has no product to sell

-Smaller production runs are possible overseas, but shipping costs would be prohibitive

 

The Plus Side

Manufacturing in the USA has its advantages. The light has been shed on these advantages, giving American manufacturers the option of re-shoring or bringing manufacturing back home. Some of those advantages are:

-America jealously guards her intellectual rights. Manufacturers won’t worry about their designs being
stolen

-Safety standards, labor standards, and a healthy work environment ensure workers have incentive to
produce a quality

-A big rig transporting Mr. Brown’s product in days hands down beats a ship taking weeks or months to
arrive

-Manufacturing disasters like the one in Bangladesh many years ago don’t happen in America. American
manufacturers won’t have to explain to the buying public why its factory collapsed and killed thousands
of people

-American manufacturers have the flexibility to meet new production runs for increased sales

The Realization

One of those hard truths concerns having no inventory while product is in transport. The need for close proximity sourcing has become evident to American manufacturers. As a result, some companies are bringing manufacturing jobs home. While they’re on their way, the manufacturers are using nearby sources to keep product coming.

American manufacturing has come to the realization that in outsourcing to overseas manufacturers versus domestic manufacturing, there’s no place like home.

Medical Device Manufacturers

4 Latest Innovations in Medical Device Manufacturing

Saving lives requires a high degree of precision. No field requires CNC machining more than the medical device manufacturers. The application of CNC precision ranges from necessary MRI scans to cardiac catheterization. Currently, there are numerous ongoing researches, and some results have been produced.

Medical device manufacturing is on the brink of unleashing breathtaking technologies if it hasn’t yet. Here are four states of the art medical devices that revolutionize the industry thanks to CNC precision:

3D Tissue Printing
A few years ago if one mentioned the possibility of developing 3D bio-printing of tissues, it was seen as pigs flying. The tech is here with us. The entire process relies on the liquefaction of donor cells or a patient to provide the required nutrients and oxygen. With high precision, the cells are put on a scaffold in small layers that are characteristic to that of the patient. Incubation follows until viable tissues are obtained.

3D printing opens room for surgeons to carry out tissue and organ repairs by relying on the patients’ mature cells or a perfect donor. Gone are days that they depended on foreign tissues.

Smart Scalpel and Probe

With medical device manufacturers, CNC precision equipment such as smart probes with smart scalpels gives hope to patients who have cancer. Due to their high precision and small size, they can be made tissue selective a crucial necessity in targeting cancerous cells especially in nerves or vascular tissues.

Once the smart probes are inserted into the body tissue, they can be directed and guided to the tumor location. At the tip of the probe are sensors capable of distinguishing between healthy tissues and cancerous ones. They have been tested and found to detect up to 7 signs of breast cancer.

The high-end technology sends tissue information in real time, giving surgeons and radiotherapists’ accurate data.

Electromagnetic Acoustic Imaging

It has been a journey for medical technicians looking for better and safer ultrasound devices that the commonly used CT scanners. Electromagnetic acoustic imaging is a top-notch technology that employs bio-electromagnetism and acoustics.

The combination produces quality MRI images and is safe. Moreover, physicians can comfortably differentiate malignant tissues from healthy ones.

The science behind the high sensitivity is that different tissues react differently to stimuli. Physicians use light, electromagnetic and ultrasound energy to stimulate tissues. Healthy tissue will not respond the same way to the infected one. The differences can then be projected on an ultrasound detector for interpretation.

Cancer tissues have high conductivity as compared to normal tissues. Electromagnetic radiation penetrates deeply into the body tissues making it ideal for acoustic imaging. Due to its high penetration, it can detect tumors located deep inside body organs or bones.

EMAI has the following benefits:

-Safe
-Portable equipment
-Effective
-Fast
-Less expensive

Nanobots
Apart from being the 5th killer, stroke causes disability in the long term. Living with the condition is heartbreaking and costly to both the infected and the affected. It is caused by the blockage of blood vessels delivering oxygen and blood to the brain. Consequently, the brain cells die.

Nanobots are now being used in the treatment of stroke by unblocking blood clots. The removal of clots also creates passageways for drug delivery with the aim of reversing stroke effects.

Tag Team Manufacturing is a leading manufacturer located in Colorado specializing in CNC precision for various industries including medical device manufacturers. Contact them for all your CNC Machining solutions.

US Manufacturing

7 Reasons Why US Manufacturing is Important

Considering the current scolding regarding the importance of the US manufacturing industry, there have been critics who have tried to discredit the benefits associated with manufacturing in the current transformational age. However, their arguments are not right considering these seven benefits associated with US manufacturing.

Manufacturing enables Creation of Strong Middle-class Jobs.

Regardless of the claims from critics that manufacturing jobs are unpleasant, they, in fact, have not been to a modern machine shop as these offer a good work environment and a dependable source of income for many American families. Furthermore, most of them come with irresistible perks such as good health insurance, 401k plans and short term disability for its employees. Also, despite the fact that all jobs are good depending on personal preferences, some higher positions even pay up to $80,000-$100,000+ per year!

Manufacturing Creates Jobs

With a relatively high unemployment rate particularly among the youth, expansion of the US manufacturing industry has gone a long way in providing the much-needed jobs. Now, trade schools offer a 2-4 year education in Precision Machining. This is a good starting point if you are interested in manufacturing and machining. Unlike other positions that require high qualifications, entry level manufacturing jobs do not require such specialized skills and can absorb anyone willing to learn (although some schooling is a plus and will help the employee move up in the company). With schooling and on the job training, anyone with a passion in manufacturing can fit into the industry.

Manufacturing creates National Wealth

Buying and consuming imported goods will only make the country poorer since there will be no foreign income. However, by manufacturing products which can be sold locally and internationally, the nation’s economy becomes stronger since there will be foreign cash.

Factories/ Machine Shops are now Safer than before

The current American factories are very safe now and those interested in the industry should not be worried to work in this type of setting. Rarely are their incidences of safety breach or accidents with proper training and shop safety. Also, with the recent embracement of the worker safety policy countrywide, the possible safety incidences are continually being suppressed.

U.S. Industries are very clean

Compared to other countries where waste products are directed in rivers and other water bodies, American factories a very clean and are even getting cleaner. The waste produced in US manufacturing industries is treated and recycled to ensure that it does not harm the environment. As such, the world will be a healthier place if people bought more goods from the U.S. compared to other countries.

Workers with good jobs are healthy

Jobs in the US manufacturing industry are in most cases physically taxing. Whereas this may be seen as a negative, it is, in fact, good for the employee’s health as working in manufacturing also doubles up as exercise. Machinists are on their feet all day, constantly moving around. As a result, earning money and remaining healthy go hand in hand.

Manufacturing research leads to creative ideas

The US manufacturing industry contributes to approximately 75% of the private sector development and research. The mind-blowing innovations from the U.S. manufacturers keep the country competitive in the global platform hence making it an economic powerhouse.

In a nutshell, if taken alone, the manufacturing industry is the ninth largest economy in the world. As such, critics need to reevaluate their stand about the U.S. manufacturing industry.

American manufacturing

Why Manufacture Your Products in the USA vs. Overseas?

You’ve got products to be made. But where? Should American manufacturing be done overseas, from inexpensive factory sources? Or in the United States, where your costs might be higher and your profit margins squeezed? This is usually how the choice is presented.

In fact, both time and money factors very often point to American manufacturing having the edge in efficiency.

Maintaining Local Accessibility

Doing business with a U.S. manufacturer means your product can be available quickly, by domestic shipping. You’ll be able to keep in constant contact with the manufacturing company.

You’ll have the option of working with its specialists from start to finish with considerable ease.

For example, you can have quick access to manufacturers’ samples of a product line ahead of a full order.

Indicators for Future U.S. Manufacturing Growth

There might be other factors in a decision to go with a U.S. manufacturer. Much more than a wage-per-hour figure is in play.

Supporting American manufacturing gives you the power to support the future growth of the sector, and its solid role in a strong economy. It is an investment in the future of U.S. workers and job security overall.

Under the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and other international trade agreements, the United States has suffered a job drain, and the movement of factory trade to foreign locations. At some point, truth be told, US policy changed. It gave up on promoting economic growth from within. It began to rely, and has increasingly relied, on overseas manufacturing.

The public mood may be swaying the Trump Administration to revamp key aspects of international trade. We are optimistic. In our view, there has never been a better time to invest in the future of US manufacturing. Instead of offshoring, the emphasis will be on reshoring.

To that end, President Trump has expressed a commitment to have the US Commerce Department identify trade agreement infractions, by any country, that have harmed US workers. Accordingly, all relevant agencies should use every US and international legal means to end the abuses.

Investing in Communities and Work Environments

Now, let’s return to what we as ordinary people can do to support US industry’s future growth. This involves putting our money where our mouths are—that is, actually relying on American manufacturing for the production of goods. This brings funds into the businesses that can hire local personnel and invest in communities.

Should you commit to working with US-based manufacturing, let your clients know in turn. Be sure they’re aware that part of the cost they’re paying is an investment in the sector.

Tag Team Manufacturing is a US-based company fully dedicated to the economic success of our Denver community. We believe in providing a work environment where machinists are rewarded and retained. We trust our staff to suggest and implement improvements and supply the highest quality parts for our customers.

Call Tag Team Manufacturing today to plan your next manufacturing project: 303.841.5697.

American manufacturing

Reasons for Optimism in the Manufacturing Industry under President Trump

One of the most polarizing elections in American history is now over and Donald Trump is the President of the United States. Trump promised to boost the American economy by bringing back jobs; however, the manufacturing industry has a right to remain skeptical of this promise. After all, it has been decades since American manufacturing was a strength of the economy. On the other hand, there are numerous reasons for Americans in the manufacturing industry to remain optimistic that manufacturing is on the rise. Numerous polls have already demonstrated that Americans are optimistic about the manufacturing outlook. Why is that?

President Trump has Promised to Lower Corporate Taxes

One of the biggest problems with the loss of manufacturing jobs to overseas is the high corporate tax rates imposed on American corporations, notably 35 percent. President Trump has promised to lower this tax rate to around 15 percent. This translates into more money in the pockets of the companies that they can then use to hire more employees and invest in the company. Companies may be interested in investing money in CNC automation technology. With lower corporate taxes, this can happen.

President Trump has Said he will Increase Infrastructure Spending

An increase in infrastructure spending will demand an increase in American manufacturing jobs because, without the increase in manufacturing, there will be nothing to build this infrastructure out of. This means that companies will need to produce the materials used to build this infrastructure. This means more jobs in the manufacturing sector and more dollars heading into CNC manufacturing. There will be a significant amount of pressure on manufacturing companies to deliver the goods to fulfill the promises of the new president. This means a heavy investment in manufacturing jobs and manufacturing technology.

President Trump is Going to Renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Also called the TPP, this agreement has drawn the ire of the entire manufacturing industry because this is seen as the culprit that led to the massive job loss and movement of manufacturing opportunities overseas. President Trump has promised to renegotiate this deal, leading to bigger benefits for US corporations that keep their jobs at home. This means that more companies are going to need to hire skilled manufacturing workers to fill these positions. Those interested in positions in the manufacturing industry should keep their eyes open for changes to this agreement.

President Trump will Alter the North American Free Trade Agreement

This deal has been called NAFTA and has led to a significant trade deficit with our trading partners. This deficit has placed a significant amount of pressure on American manufacturing companies, specifically the manufacturing industry, because they feel they are fighting an uphill battle in the global market. A renegotiation of this deal in favor of American manufacturing could help to keep more companies in business, keeping more jobs available in the American economy. All of these reasons have combined to generate a positive outlook for the manufacturing industry under the new President.

Contact Tag Team Manufacturing today for all your cnc manufacturing needs. 303.841.5697.