Synchro ERP Customer Can...

Have a Safe Day

Howdy from Texas and this is my second post of the New Year!  Y2K + 15.  It's been fifteen years since the horror and disasters and near disasters of Y2K!

"Have a Safe Day".  I sometimes get a quizzical look from others when I bade them "Have a Safe Day" instead of "Have a Good Day" or some other friendly parting comment.

Why "Have a Safe Day".  When I started at Texas Foundries, AKA Citation Lufkin, the most important training I received during my new employee training were the safety courses.  Safety was a mantra and was not just a "passing thought".  A metalcasting operation is an inherently dangerous working environment.  However, the uninitiated would be led to believe that the biggest safety concern and issue was the liquid metal.  In reality, and I recently had the opportunity to confirm this with a metalcasting insurance agent, that the majority of the accidents and fatalities, yes, you can die at work, are related to forklifts and not wearing PPE, Personal Protective Equipment, especially eye shields when in the grinding and finishing areas.

Texas Foundries and the employees were proud of the safety record and worked very hard to maintain a safe and secure work environment.  We achieved, if I recall correctly, four million man hours without a lost time accident.  The company gave away nice "gifts", some that I still have today like flashlights, coolers, etc. for reaching certain milestones and anytime there was a huge milestone, the company catered a huge catfish fry that was all you could eat.

Unfortunately there were lapses of judgment and the lack of management supervision during the course of my tenure there and metalcasters went to work in the morning, but never returned home.  Forklift races in the early hours of the morning are never acceptable.

Thus, safety is instilled into the very fiber of my being.  It's a "bonafide" that I as well as the other Synchro ERP team members know metalcasting and can assist your facility in running efficiently and productively and most importantly profitability.  You don't gain this kind of knowledge without having experience it in the real world in the bowels of the foundry where profit and loss is decided on a daily basis.

I make sales visits to metalcasters.  I travel with my own PPE of hardhat, earplugs, and safety glasses, with the exception of the heavy and bulky metatarsals.   Oh sure, this is a "sales tactic" in some respects with my name and company logo on the hard hat,  but I want to make it crystal clear to the metalcaster that I am visiting that I know metalcasting and appreciate safety.  When I was at the foundry, it always impressed us when contractors or consultants showed up with their own PPE.  It gave us a warm and fuzzy feeling that they knew what it was all about.  I had the pleasure of "busting" a group of our corporate folks for being in the foundry working without any PPE.  I had asked them in advance to bring their own safety equipment and metatarsals as they were going to be in a very dangerous area of the plant, the shipping dock.  They paid no heed to it, but after the safety manager lectured them and how they might "blow" our four million man hours and get hurt or even killed, they paid attention.

I was reminded of safety not long ago when a friend of mine from the foundry were with others and were walking through a door way at a store.  The entry floor mat was curled up.  Funny, at the same time both of us bent down to straighten it, it was just automatic.  We didn't have to say anything to each other, we just did it naturally.  Another person with us asked "why did you do that, it's not your job to do that"?  We both answered in unison, SAFETY IS EVERYONE's RESPONSIBILITY!

Until next time, see you on down the road.

Shane Allen

Synchro ERP

Head of North American Operations

2014 Out as a Lion. 2015 In as a Lion

Howdy from bitterly cold and wet Texas!

Yea, I know my Northern USA and European friends would scoff at mere 19f low temp, but here in Texas, BURRR...

Synchro ERP ended 2014 with a lion roaring as we added a multitude of new customers, which is unusual based on past experience.  Typically, from the week before Thanksgiving through the New Year, sales slump as metalcasters are focused on the bottom line and getting work out the door before the close of the year.  Plus, many metalcasters take a shut down during the holiday season.  Of course, past experience is not always an indicator of future experience!

Here we are in the first week of 2015 and the lion is still roaring!  We have already inked two brand new customers into the world of Synchro ERP!  The Synchro ERP Express has left the station and there is no turning around!

Anyway, I do hope you and yours had a safe holiday season and wishing you all the best in 2015.


Ah, a blog posting would not be replete without some pictures!  These are pictures of my very favorite spot in the whole wide world.  A mere twelve+ hour solid drive from where I am at, and you are still in Texas!  

Big Bend National Park
These pictures are actually some screen grabs of live webcams in the area, which I call the West Texas Trans Pecos Big Bend Region.  Meaning, the area west of the Pecos River...

Until next time, see you on down the road...

Shane Allen
Head of Synchro ERP North American Operations 

I'm a Foundryman...

Howdy from Texas,

Looking back on it all, I didn't start my "career" as a foundryman.  Heck, I didn't even know what a foundry really was until 1994.  I started out "life after college" as a computer programmer for insurance companies, chemical companies, cosmetic companies, and state government.  Looking for a "change of pace and location" and the opportunity to get my MBA,, I stumbled into the foundry business.  A foundry was hiring a computer programmer, I applied, and got hired and spent twelve years smelling burned sand, chemicals, and hearing and feeling the massive molding machines at work.  I got "down and dirty" all of the time crawling in the rafters, working around the machines, etc.

I was very fortunate as a number of people at the foundry, Texas Foundries AKA Citation Lufkin, took me under their wing and taught me the foundry business.  The Industrial Engineer, payroll, accounting, sales, order processing, shipping, metalurgical departments - heck, the whole facility taught me the foundry business.  Most importantly, I wanted to learn the foundry business and I embraced it and found it exciting and fascinating.  After my stint at the foundry was done, I fortunately made the leap over to Synchro ERP.  That in itself is an interesting story that I will have to share someday. The story goes a long ways as to explaining "who I am and what type of person I am".   

When I see a fire hydrant or a man hole cover, I see foundries at work.  When I see new products, I wonder, what kind of application could this be used for in a foundry.   Case Point example, I stumbled across a new product called NeverWet and my first thoughts were, wow, this is neat and then how could this be used in a  foundry environment?  At the foundry, ductile iron and steel, we were constantly battling rust on castings in stock.  Castings were treated with oil, placed in special containers with absorbent materials,  etc.   Unless you are a foundryman, you might not even realize that rust and corrosion are issues in a foundry, especially on finished castings out of the shot blast tumbler.

It would be good to hear from you to see how you got the foundry industry in your blood!  Drop me a line and let me know! 

At the end of the day, Synchro ERP is all about metalcasting, our people know metalcasting, and we can assist your metalcasting operations.

Well, tis the season here and I want to wish you all the very best and have a very safe season.

I'll catch up with you on down the road next year!

Shane Allen
Head of Synchro ERP North American Operations
 

The Tides of February...

Howdy from Texas,

The weather here has been on-par for February, but certainly not November.  In fact, it has been colder in November than it was all last winter.  I hope this is not foreboding of  what is to come...  Sure glad I'm in Texas and not in Buffalo NY where they are dealing with 6 FEET of snow so far and another 3 to 4 FEET expected!

 

First off, if you saw my last blog entry regarding manhole covers, Most Don't Even Notice Them, it is kind of ironic that the American Foundry Society, AFS, picked up on this and has launched a contest about this very subject!

Castings You Encounter in Everyday Life

All is well in the land of Synchro ERP and the implementation team, sales team, support team, development team, and sales team have been hard at work trying to wrap up another banner year.  It has been a great year at Synchro ERP.  I myself have been extraordinary busy doing demos, including demos of the Shop Floor Data Collection APP the Synchro ERP Way!  If you haven't checked this out, then please get in touch with me and I will be tickled pink to give you the grand tour.


Well, here in America we are gearing up for the annual feast of Thanksgiving; the day when there are probably more heart attacks than any due to people stuffing themselves silly with turkey and dressing and ham and pumpkin or pecan pie!  Many will be glued to the TV watching American Rules Football.     Thanksgiving originates when the "Pilgrims" and the Native Americans, Indians, got together and broke bread.  At least that is what the legend purports.   It's also a time to give "Thanks" for whatever you are thankful for.

What am I thankful for? Every morning that my feet hit the floor it's going to be a good day as it can't get any better than that and the alternative isn't pretty.

Well, here's to you and until next time, see you on down the road in December...

Shane Allen
Head of Synchro ERP North American Operations

Most Don't Even Notice Them...

Manhole covers.  When I see a manhole cover, I see a casting.  A manhole cover is a well designed, extremely high quality, and safety sensitive casting.  Think about it, the absolute worst thing that could happen to a manhole cover is that someone is walking over it and it fails.  Manhole covers are abused day in and day out by cars and trucks driving over them and subject to all of the temperature and weather variations.  Manhole covers are designed to last and last a very long time.  They have to be produced so that they are within very tight tolerances so that they fit exactly in the underlying support structure so that they do not "shift".

Walking Wyatt Earp early on Saturday morning, I came across a very ornate manhole cover.

The Synchro ERP software assists all metalcasters in producing high quality castings, reducing scrap, improving throughput, increasing efficiency, and at the end of the day; making more money!

So, next time you walk across that manhole cover, think "CASTING" - think of all that went into making that casting - from the pour all the way through quality control and shipping.

Until next time, see you on down the road.

Shane Allen
Synchro ERP
Head of North American Operations  

October Almost Slipped Away

Howdy from Texas,

October almost slipped away from me without a single blog posting!  Apologies to one and all.  No excuse, except that the entire Synchro ERP team has been as busy as a one armed paper hanger!  It has been a whirlwind of a month, but a good month at that as we have continued to add new customers to the fold!  Customers come first at Synchro ERP!  I've actually got writers cramp from signing so many quotes as the software only for metalcasters is that good.

At this years show, our MD/CEO demonstrated the future of metalcasting software with Google Glasses for "Shop Floor Vision".

This is a a picture of Leland and his lovely wife.

The team met up at the ICI 2014 Expo where we said goodbye to Leland Martin as he is entering into the wonderful world of retirement.

 

I really enjoy the ICI as so many of our investment casting customers stop by for a visit and tell us all of the good "stuff" they are doing with the software and how it has really helped move their business along.   

 

I have a new camera and got to play with the panoramic feature which I really like!

 

As per usual, some people see fire hydrants, Corvettes, and man hole covers, being a foundryman, I see CASTINGS.

 

It is always good to catch up with our MD/CEO Chris Collins and Global Implementation Manager Simon Adlington.  We make quite a team!

 

I myself am a man of many talents as I hoover the floor....  Reminds me of a chimney sweep.

 

After the ICI, Simon and I hustled over to Palm Springs California for the NFFS show, and boy what a time we had.  Jared and his folks know how to put on a spread.

 

The Synchro booth, as usual, per the hard work of our Sales & Marketing Director Barbara Nolan Collins and her right hand Bianca Catherall, the booth looked great.

 

A good time was had by all, and we did sign yet another contract as a result of the show!

Of course, while Simon and I were sipping wine and eating posh steak, the support crew of Lee Mahon, Jon Mapp, and everyone else were doing the "per standard" bang up job of keeping the support desk humming along.  Without their tireless dedication and vast knowledge, none of this would be possible.  And of course, while all of this was going on, Jean-Marie was in the Oceanic region for the AFI! 

Well, I will leave you with just a smidgen more of some pictures from Palm Springs and until next time, see you down the road in November. 

Shane Allen

Head of Syncrho ERP NA Operations