Production Machining - Your access to the precision machining industrial buyer.
Issue link: https://pm.epubxp.com/i/891400
Helping Precision Machine Shops Be More ProducƟ ve and Profi table 20 PRODUCTION MACHINING :: NOVEMBER 2017 To grow and profi t today, you have to work smarter. You have to relent- lessly eliminate waste. PMPA is the way to expand your knowledge and increase your capabilities in order to grow your business. Through daily interaction with PMPA staff members, you have access to our expertise on important issues. You're also able to tap the collective knowledge of your peers: those who have "been there" and "done that." Through the meetings, resources and online connections, reports and more, we give you the tools to grow. We look at emerging markets and let you know what's hot and what's not. PMPA programs help you un- derstand your markets so you can make sense of the issues. And we provide relevant information to help you make informed decisions. Why Join GROW! Why Join PMPA? PMPA Membership Value Continued from page 17 focus on technical, quality and management tracks contin- ues to reach those who want to learn. 2. Recognize the programming that we offer as worthy of continuing educational units. We track these units by indi- vidual. Should anyone give us a call, we would be able to identify not only the type of training that was offered, but also can summarize each class and activity with the pro- motional material from the actual event. 3. Participating on a committee or chapter leadership group. Many times, the lessons learned from this involvement are beyond just 'going to the meeting.' The discussions out- side of the formal agenda are the opportunities to further enhance/develop ideas to take back to the shop. 4. Involvement has many forms. Just getting to an event could be a huge start for many. Others like to be part of the leadership groups, from chapter to board. The key is to continually grow. The method by which that is done is up to the individual. So why choose PMPA over any other association? Technology, technical talent and like-minded people. PMPA is the only national trade association exclusively serving the needs of the precision machining industry. Our association does not try to cater to everybody. We focus specifi cally on high precision contract machining. This means everybody in this association can address the concerns of another member. The machinery that our members use is fundamentally similar. And while we are expanding our reach to address other means to make our parts, the industries we serve remain the same. The employer gets industry-focused networking. Not just with whoever happens to be in their geographic neighborhood, but contacts in the same industry facing the same challenges, and solving many of the same problems. Managers do not have to go it alone. Nor do they have to talk with the guy that owns a couple of neighborhood car washes to fi gure out what is going on in the business world, because is who else is in the local chamber. Through PMPA, shop owners and managers have a network of trusted fellow business owners they can have a conversation with, share lessons learned or combine forces with to address shared concerns. It can be lonely at the top, especially if you are the only precision machining shop in your zip code. Where do you turn for assistance as a business owner? Many other associations offer a lot of special shopping deals for members, but when you have a machine or production line down with a never before seen problem, how does the special discount pricing deal they offer help you? PMPA's manufacturing and technical listserve provides a prompt and authoritative means to get the collective wisdom of the industry's real experts on just about any problem that can arise in a shop. Along with that comes recommendations for vendors, offers of loans of parts, tools, or gages or other necessities to get the process back into production. "But, I can use Google and get the same results." We have heard this before, but do not believe it to be a valid statement. There is an authenticity/ownership of the posts from our people. They know that more than 1,000 others are on the list and can see how they respond and the advice that is being offered. Our lists offer the group fact-checking and problem-solving methods. Our people hear different opinions and ideas because they know that the feedback will either reaffi rm what they suspected or give them another way to look at the issue. Our most active list is the technical list. We call it our shop's 9-1-1. How much is a down machine costing each hour that you wait for a factory person to come in? In most cases, there are three to four actionable responses to get equipment up and running immediately. This is a real-time response, not a forum that somebody may choose to get to sometime down the road. When our people see posts, we know that someone is in need now. Credibility is key. PMPA members have credibility and a shared commitment to strengthening North American manufacturing.