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Less than a week ago, I stepped off a plane from Japan—it was a business trip, but like any kind of travel, it left me looking at my life, my business, and other manufacturing companies differently.

One of the reasons I write a blog is so I can share my experiences and thoughts with people like you and other people in business, with the hope that my experiences might teach you something. 

Like many people, I enjoy watching sports. Like many people, I enjoy watching sports. Well, kind of. What I really mean is that I LOVE watching sports and I often get really worked up about the team I’m rooting for.

I was recently lucky enough to attend the Japanese Machine Tool Show in Tokyo, Japan. I’ve been to a lot of machine tool shows but this one seemed different right from the start. 

I have wanted to write this article for awhile. You see, nothing boils my blood faster than encountering living proof of Darwin’s theory of natural selection, especially when that living proof is a customer service rep on the other end of the phone. 

Wow. The virtual ink had not yet dried on my last blog post about piecemeal maintenance when I started getting an influx of emails from readers. Clearly, many people identified with the issue about maintenance not being performed the way it should be.

I was talking with an old friend recently who also works in the manufacturing industry, and has been in it almost as long as I have. Both of us remember when dirt was first invented and mass manufactured. As usual, sitting in my living room, we bantered about many industry topics. 

I attended a trade show in Portland, Oregon a number of years ago. The show was three days long and by the third day, I was exhausted. Standing on that cushionless black trade show carpet for 8 - 10 hours a day is a bit painful.

Chances are, unless you were born under a rock, you remember a very famous Tom Cruise movie where he plays a lawyer who cross-examines a General, played by Jack Nicholson.

When my father immigrated to North America in the early 1960s, he got his first job at a large machine shop. When he reported to work on his first day, the shop foreman took him to a turret lathe and asked him if he had ever worked on a sophisticated piece of equipment like this before. 

I was fortunate enough to visit Milan, Italy this autumn. It was a very busy time of year, with the Expo going on as well as the International Machine Tool Show (EMO). There were literally thousands of people around you at all times. It really puts into perspective how many people are on our planet today.

One day many years ago I found myself sitting in a Purchasing Agent’s (PA) office, thinking to myself that there were so many other places I would rather be. The PA shuffled papers rapidly around his desk as if he were organizing the rest of his day, like I wasn't even there.

The first thing I ask of any company or business I'm considering working with is, “Does your company have a sense of community?” Modern Engineering works hard to build community and I'm proud to be part of it, as well as see the positive effects first hand.

I’ve been in manufacturing my entire working life, making widgets for people used in various industries. There are many manufacturers like me out there. We’ve worked hard to become globally competitive, because we have to be competitive in order to survive. In recent years many of us have successfully helped re-shore, or bring manufacturing back from overseas.

Once in a while I come across a situation where manufacturing companies are doing things that don’t make sense in today’s competitive environment. These companies usually do well for themselves and are quite busy. But they all get to a point where they need to hire more people, or invest in equipment that is more productive.

I, like many of you, work very hard to be innovative and progress in my career and my company. Hours are spent reading and exploring new ideas to implement and take it to that next level. Many sacrifices are made in order to do this. In reality, same as you, I take this very seriously. Every once in a while I come across literature and opinions that make me want to set the rest of my receding hairline on fire.

There are many things that can bother a person in their work and business life, but there’s one that really drives me crazy. I call it, “The Business Yo-Yo”. Every day I speak with business acquaintances and in these conversations we always seem to ask the standard question, “How is business going?” More than 95% of the time we only get two answers:

When was the last time you saw a “Made in Canada” (or USA) on anything? Our company decided to have hats made so we came up with a brilliant idea. Why don’t we have them designed and manufactured in Canada since we are, after all, Canadian. We found ourselves a very nice gentleman to design the hats, who also happened to be the son of one of the employees at Modern.

It seems like every day, at one point or another, I encounter something written about 3D Printing. It's getting so much publicity it seems to be the rock star of manufacturing. 3D Printing is touching every industry, and many have called it the global game changer.

These days when we buy a piece of CNC equipment, they quote the memory of the CNC machine in Meters (although I've never seen it in yards!) Have you ever wondered what a meter of memory looks like? Or how large it will be? Nowadays we're more accustomed to buying memory in megabytes or gigabytes—so what exactly is a meter of memory?

Labor in Europe is expensive, so they are continually looking for ways to decrease the cost of labor per dollar (or euro) of output. They factor in all labor when they look at machining a component. This includes everything from preparation of materials, to shipping.

The number one reason to use an Aluminum Saw Guide is to help prevent back injuries. Not only do back injuries cost a lot when insurance or health and safety organizations are involved, but the impact of losing staff due to injuries can be detrimental to a Sawmill.

As with a lot of feedback, there were many people who were very frustrated with the way things were going in their country. Many answered the question by wanting government intervention (in terms of tariffs and such) as a way of being more competitive. I felt their pain, but I did not to get into that since I did not think this would have constructively furthered anything.

This worked very well but as the circular saws became larger in diameter and thicker, in order to cut larger diameter lumber, this made them heavier and harder to handle.

A few days ago, I was talking with a friend of mine who works at a subsidiary of a well-known Asian car company. My friend’s employer manufacturers components for their vehicles, and sends those parts to Japan to become part of the assembly line.

I drove by a sawmill the other day. It closed within the last few years. I decided that I needed a break to stretch my legs so I pulled over. I stood there, looking at the empty shell of the mill that had once been a vibrant hub of activity. This made me sad for the people who once worked there and for the community that was built around it.

I don’t think I’m alone in having this ailment, but there’s no medical doctor that can help me. When I wake up every morning, I find that the world has changed, and I know it will change again the next day.

Every once in a while, you will find that business is slow and there are just no orders to be had! Unless you really annoyed your customers and have done something very wrong, eventually the orders will start coming in again and life shall return to normal. The issue is what to do as a company while you’re waiting for this to happen.

My mind is like a gumball machine full of ideas on a regular basis.

Do you remember how video rental stores (yes, back when VHS tapes were around) would have those big gumball machines full of rainbow coloured gumballs, plus the odd black one mixed in?

I saved some money yesterday, but today I am bleeding money all over the floor.

It’s a new day in a New Year. I guess if you really looked at this statement, every day is a new day in a New Year but many of us only look at it that way on January 1st. Is that often enough?

As you are reading this blog, many millions of dollars of equipment are be purchased by companies around the planet, much of it is in the manufacturing sector. The question that follows is, ‘Does the equipment being bought actual innovate their business or just renovate?’

I have been asked many times about how to automate things in manufacturing. I've been asked if automation is like “Buying a Robot?” Many people feel they need to replace the human component with a robot to integrate automation. It sounds simple and straight forward. If you look at it this way maybe you or your company are missing the picture of what automation actually is.

Every day companies are facing challenges to compete. These challenges range from the ability to deliver on time to providing a competitive price. Being in North America we have some of the highest labour costs on the planet, certainly higher than Asia. We constantly complain about this as one of the reasons we can’t compete. We’ve been told that automation will allow us to compete and yet many do not adopt it. The logical question to ask is “WHY!” I truly believe that many do not invest in automation because of fear.

In business we seem to always find ways to avoid doing new things or making improvements to our companies. While I was on vacation in Italy, touring around the town of Lucca, I came across a sign that said “Wine-Oil”. I laughed, and began to carry on my way since it was the type of sign you see all over the place.

What I mean by that is, did you choose to leave some options out on the equipment because they drove up the cost, and like most people, you wanted to keep your budget to the minimum? Take my advice and go back and look at the options.

What do I mean by buy-in? Buy-in is getting all the people who are going to have to deal with any aspect of this equipment purchase to agree on the decision. You may be wondering – “why is this so important?” It’s important because

Since I'm in the machining industry, I'm relating this to the type of equipment that I work with, however this pertains to other equipment as well.

I believe vendor selection is one of the most important factors in your decision, with brand of equipment taking a close second. From experience, I‘ve found that you can end up buying the best piece of equipment but if, afterwards, you can’t get the parts and service from the vendor it’s just a liability taking up space on your shop floor.

Modern Engineering is known as a solutions provider for CNC automation and machining, milling and turning. They are an industry leader and one of the most experienced and modern machine shops in BC, supplying customers from Europe and New Zealand, to North America.

Through these years there have been good times and bad times. In the good times we were manufacturing parts made on new equipment (aka awesome new toys) to our many, loyal customers. In the bad times we were going through recessions that made our customers lives, and our own lives, miserable.

The latest equipment, combined with an experienced CNC team, ensures Modern Engineering is ready to tackle even your most complex precision machining problems.

Modern was recognized for their program to help young adults in high-school gain experience in the manufacturing sector by employing them and providing hands-on experience with sophisticated equipment.

The U14 team was sponsored by Modern Engineering and played for BC at the nationals in Vaughan, Ontario.

5-axis machining center MAM72 series can achieve process integration and high-accuracy complex 5-axis machining with one-chucking to meet the need for “various-variety low-volume production” and “Long-hour unmanned operation”.

I read the news every morning when I get up. I usually pay the most attention to the business section, because I can tell if there have been any traumatic events in the world by what the market is doing.

Like many people, I love travelling. Europe is my favourite destination because of my roots and also my love of culture and history. It’s fascinating to appreciate the past as you admire all the historical structures that date back hundreds of years, and the stories behind them.

A lot of people I know are national sports fans, may it be NFL, NHL or NBA. Each one has an annual draft where they try to draft the best up-and-coming talent for their team. Unfortunately, the previous year’s winner usually gets last pick.

After writing about the issue, “Where are we going to find future skilled employees? This is my plan.” I received quite a few emails; many were very positive and others directed me to similar articles on the same subject.

If you’re exposed to any media (newspaper, television, online, etc.) you can’t help hearing the prediction that there’ll be a lack of skilled employees in the future. Usually the stories we hear are meant to be dire predictions of our future. 

In 2012, Modern Engineering called on Delta School District’s Brian Tivy, coordinator of Career Programs and Dave De Pieri, Apprenticeship Facilitator.