Education Category - Page 9 of 14

Understanding Speedtronic Mark VI and Mark VIe Part Numbers

When working with any legacy system it’s important to understand naming conventions of the part numbers and how those part numbers may have changed through various part runs. AX Control sells many legacy systems, including several of the Speedtronic series like the Mark I-II, Mark IV, the Mark V, as well as the Speedtronic Mark VI and Mark VIe series boards.

When we look at GE’s Speedtronic Mark VI and Mark VIe as an example, we can see how this works. They have designed their part number so it gives the user a significant amount of information–if you know how to break down that information properly. Let’s look at one example.

An IS200AEAAH1CPR1 board from GE's MKVI Speedtronic line for gas and steam turbine control. — The IS200AEAAH1CPR1 Mark VI Turbine Control Card, available on AXControl.com

If we take the above IS200AEAAH1CPR1 board, we can break the number down into several different parts that will each tell us something about the board: IS/2/00/AEAA/H/1/C/PR1

What is Lean Manufacturing?

We answer some of your questions about Lean.

Pexels Photo Cogs — Lean helps all parts of your organization come together as an organized machine.

History of Lean Manufacturing

“Lean Manufacturing” as a term has only been around for a little over 30 years. The term was originally coined by John Krafcik (now CEO of Waymo and former CEO of Hyundai Motor America) in his MIT master’s thesis entitled “Triumph of the Lean Production System.”

Definition: Lean Manufacturing
a practice or process
that seeks to minimize waste while maximizing value to the customer or client.

While Krafcik may have created the term, lean manufacturing has been around for significantly longer. It can be traced back to the work of Eli Whitney, who was the first to successfully manufacture a product with interchangeable parts, and to time and motion studies by engineers like Frederick Taylor and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth applied to industrial workers of the early 20th century. Additionally, Henry Ford’s assembly line was also a leap forward in lean manufacturing.

Manufacturing Disaster Recovery Plan: Create Yours Now

A natural disaster or pandemic doesn’t have to mean disaster for your manufacturing facility. Be prepared.

We may remember the last few years as the time of unending disasters. Historic spring flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, and other storms were so widespread across the USA in 2019 one-third of the country qualified for federal disaster relief. In Australia, nearly 30 million acres burned during their 2019 wildfire season. Then the pandemic began. With it came civil unrest, supply chain nightmares(remember all those ships stuck in the Suez Canal) and yet another round of natural disasters.

Close up of a fire truck. A manufacturing disaster recovery plan helps keep fire trucks far away. — A manufacturing disaster recovery plan lets everyone know what to do when disaster strikes.

It should be a wake-up call for everyone. Natural and other disasters can strike any part of the world. The probability of something unexpected impacting your manufacturing plant is high, and shouldn’t be ignored.

Here are some key steps in minimizing the risks associated with an unforeseen disruption.

Have an established action plan for your personnel.

If a disaster occurs, your managers and team members should know exactly where to go, what to do, and what they are responsible for. Outline responsibilities in advance. This will help each person or team understand how their role will help in maintaining safety or in returning operations back to normal. Your manufacturing disaster recovery plan should include the following: