Geometrical Tolerancing courses enter the NPL Training Framework

Two of our Geometrical Tolerancing courses are now available as accredited training courses through the National Physical Laboratory Training Framework.

• Geometrical Tolerancing to BS 8888 and ISO Standards.

• Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing to ASME Y14.5.

We are running the first of these as an open 3 day course at the National Physical Laboratory on 25th, 26th and 27th May.

 

As far as I know, this is the first time that accredited Geometrical Tolerancing courses have been available in the UK. The courses are accredited by the National Physical Laboratory and validated by The National Skills Academy for Manufacturing.  Delegates who successfully complete the course receive a numbered certificate, registered with NPL Training, which also carries the National Skills Academy logo.
The same courses are also still available from us in non-accredited form (which means that they cost less).  I have no idea yet how much interest there will be in accredited training in these subjects, but the response to the public course we are running at NPL later this month has been very good, and the course is almost full.

 

Email me if you want further details about these courses, or know anyone else who might be interested.

Gadgets

This month I took delivery of a new HTC Desire mobile phone.  What a brilliant little device!  The Google Sky Map is a fantastic app.

Also stumbled across a web site for some of the most amazing time pieces you are likely to see: check out the 'Horological Machines' at http://www.mbandf.com./  Will someone get me one for Christmas please.

NPL Training Courses

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the UK's National Measurement Insitute.  They are responsible for measurement standards in the UK, and are a leading centre for scientific research.  NPL provide guidance on good practice, wide ranging resources for education, along with commercial training and consultancy services.

The NPL Training Framework consists of a matrix of measurement-related training programmes.  The framework has been developed in partnership with industry with the following objectives:

• to develop core skills and competencies in practitioners
• to raise the level of technical knowledge
• to promote and instil good practice
• to foster a questioning and planning culture

The NPL training programmes are accredited by NPL, validated by The National Skills Academy for Manufacturing, and delivered only by NPL Accredited Training Providers.

Iain Macleod Associates became an NPL Accredited Training Provider last year for the courses in dimensional measurement.  These courses teach the fundamental principles of metrology for engineers, inspection and QA people.

Courses which teach people how to inspect engineering components obviously have a natural fit with courses which teach people how to specify engineering components, and make a logical extension to our training portfolio.  This means that we can now offer a consistent range of training courses across the spectrum of design, manufacture and inspection.

Click here for a flyer describing these courses in more detail.

Only in America ...

Frosty in Vienna

Recently returned from the ISO TC213 conference in Vienna. Vienna was beautiful, but bloody cold.

Some useful progress was made in some of the working groups.

WG17, which I chair, has been given the task of updating a document which has the vaguely threatening title of 'ISO/TR 14638 - GPS Masterplan'. This document maps out the structure of the entire ISO GPS system, and describes how the different standards relate to each other.

The document has not been touched for about 15 years, and is very hard to understand, so there is quite a lot of work to do. In fact, most of the 'up-date' will probably involve redrafting large sections of the text just to try and make it comprehensible.

In the previous TC213 series of meetings in San Antonio, a new study group was set up to map out the differences between the ISO GPS system, and the American ASME Y14.5 standard. The study group is jointly led by Archie Anderson of the USA, who oversaw the development of Y14.5 for many years, and Renald Vincent of France, who has played a major role in the development of GPS over recent years.

Meeting again in Vienna, we have now mapped out a structure for the comparison, and can start to fill in some of the detail. I think that this could potentially be a very useful study, as the differences are not always well understood, and organisations in many areas of industry are having to work with both systems.

WG 18, which deals with the geometrical tolerancing standards, was a much patchier affair. Too many new options and possibilities being introduced, and not enough progress on sorting out what we already have.

Encouraging signs for 2010

It is a long time since I posted anything here. Happy New Year to anyone who reads this.

We seemed to turn an economic corner around Autumn last year. There was a noticeable upturn in the number of enquiries I was receiving in November, and then things started to get very busy indeed in December. The level of work has continued into this year - I've been away training for most of the last two weeks, and have a reasonable number of courses booked in for the next couple of months.

In the last few days, I've even had an enquiry from a company in the automotive supply chain, the sector which was probably hardest hit of all in the downturn, so all around there seem to be positive signs of recovery.

During the quieter bits of 2009, I became a licenced deliverer of some of the metrology courses offered by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and I intend to expand that area of activity in 2010. These courses teach the fundamentals of measurement and inspection, and are a perfect fit with the geometrical tolerancing training that I offer already. It means that we should be able to provide a seamless, and fully consistant, series of training programmes across the disciplines of design, manufacture and inspection.

One area of particular interest is Large Volume Metrology, where laser scanners or trackers are used to scan large components or assemblies to very high levels of accuracy. The aerospace insdustry is starting to use this technology extensively, and it also has applications in other industries.

New Years Resolution - to try and keep this blog updated more frequently.

Three days in San Antonio

The latest ISO TC213 conference was held in San Antonio, Texas. Other commitments meant that I was only able to fly in for three days of the conference, which lasted about 10 days altogether.

I flew from Manchester via Atlanta, a most efficient airport, where it took no more than about 30 minutes to pass through immigration, collect luggage, redeposit luggage, pass through security and make my way to the correct terminal and gate for the next leg.

I arrived in San Antonio, which had been enduring weeks of heat wave recently, to find it raining. Their first proper rain for 18 months, timed to greet a visitor from Manchester! It rained on each of the following three days as well.

Most of the trip was spent inside the Holiday Inn, where all the delegates were staying, and all the meetings were being held. I was in meetings from 9:00am to 8:00pm on the first day, and 9:00am to 6:00pm the second day, so I did not see a lot besides the inside of the hotel until day 3.

San Antonio itself is smaller than I expected, as American cities often seem to be. I expect them all to be huge, and most of them aren't. According to Wikipedia, its population is around 2 million (smaller than Manchester), and it is still the seventh largest city in the USA. Rain showers each morning cut the humidity to comfortable levels, and left it pleasantly warm and even fresh while I was there.

We saw the Alamo, of course, which is close to the centre of the city.

Also in the heart of the city is Riverwalk: one storey below street level, there are walkways along either side of the San Antonio river, where there are clustered a vibrant collection of bars, shops and restaurants. We strolled along here each evening to find somewhere to eat, and always ate well.

My flying visit was quickly over, and then it was back to Manchester (which had enjoyed some of its sunniest weather in my absence).

The next TC213 conference will be in Vienna in 2010, which I will look forward to. I just hope that the ISO habit of scheduling meetings to run all evening as well as all day will still leave a little time to see the city.