Modern Machine Shop Features JR Machine in 90th Anniversary Issue
Modern Machine Shop magazine is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. At the time it was launched, the magazine, its look and distribution strategy were innovative for the print industry. Modern Machine Shop was a digest-size magazine sent free-of-charge to qualified individuals in metalworking shops. The driving force of its business model has always been its content, helping manufacturers increase their competitiveness, productivity and production quality.
Ninety years later, Modern Machine Shop is still investing in print, increasing its size, and functioning as an effective resource, educating readers about the technology, products, processes and trends affecting and transforming the manufacturing industry.
This month, Modern Machine Shop released a special anniversary edition, showcasing articles from every decade dating back to the 1930s. The 2018 February issue, which features JR Machine in the cover story, was chosen to represent the 2010s. The story reported on JR Machine’s investment in bringing its equipment and capabilities together into unified digital systems.
JR Machine is committed to a system of digitally monitoring machine-tool performance and responding to the data it produces. Everyone on the shop floor can see, at a glance, the shop’s performance in real time. Plus, that information is accessible to managers via their computers, smartphones or tablet devices through the machine-monitoring software JR Machine uses. That way, they can remotely check in on a machine’s status at any given moment and receive alerts when a machine shuts down or an alarm is triggered.
JR Machine uses the machine data it collects to develop a monthly productivity index: a ratio of machine green hours to the payroll hours of the person tending the machine. In essence, this metric demonstrates how well the shop uses its payroll hours compared to its machine hours.
This helps shape a number of key business decisions:
- What type of equipment the shop should buy (or sell)
- What job might be better suited for a machine with more automated capabilities
- What job seems to require too much operator intervention
- What type of work the shop should go after
- What type of work it should avoid
- If its effective billing rate is appropriate
- If it needs to pursue additional business
Ultimately, it reveals true shop costs and profit.
“It has become fun tracking the index and identifying ways to improve those ratios and grow the business at the same time,” said Parker Tumanic, JR Machine’s vice president. “We see the real numbers and where even small process improvements can be impactful.”
These process improvements continue to deliver significant value to JR Machine’s customers, most notably those in the oil, gas, and renewable energy sectors.
Turnkey Manufacturing Solutions for the Energy Industry
Oil and energy equipment present a number of unique manufacturing challenges. When human lives and the environment are at risk, you need the support of a manufacturing team with strong technical expertise to ensure every component meets the strictest quality and durability standards. JR Machine knows from experience what’s at stake when a client in the energy industry reaches out with a project. On-time delivery is critical, with even a brief shutdown resulting in enormous financial losses, and worker safety is a constant consideration.
Whether it’s components for oil exploration, extraction, refining or transportation or more specifically, replacement wear parts for rebuilding and maintaining your operations, you can rely on components machined by J&R Machine to withstand the harshest of environments and rigors of a busy production schedule.
What to expect when choosing JR Machine for the manufacturing of your energy equipment components:
- Clarity in communication and expectations
- The assistance of a highly-skilled engineering team experienced in concept design and development
- Exceptional precision through CNC turning centers, CNC machining, and multi-spindle machining
- CAD/CAM to increase efficiency and maintain close tolerances
- An ISO 9001:2015 quality system, making JR Machine compatible with oil and energy industry expectations
- Complete in-house inspection capabilities
- Expedited lead times when required
There’s never been a better time to be a part of the oil, gas or renewable energy industries: demand is soaring and new technology and innovations are emerging every day—but that technology is only as valuable as the parts from which it is assembled!
Whether J&R Machine is developing parts from your specifications, improving existing designs, or machining replacement parts, you can rely on its experienced team for all of your contract manufacturing needs.
Request a quote to see how JR Machine can power your next project!