Random Stuff to clutter your Brain

Just a bunch of short and unrelated postings to break up your day.

YOU THINK ENGLISH IS EASY ??

Homographs are words of like spelling but with more than one meaning. A homograph that is also pronounced differently is a heteronym:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture..

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert..

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.1

8) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear..1

9) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Historical Trivia 

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted.  Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms.  Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted.  Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more.  Hence the expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.'   (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint) .

 At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming.  She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in 'pints' and who was drinking in 'quarts,' hence the phrase 'minding your 'P's and Q's'. 

QUOTE FROM RETIRED CHEMICAL ENGINEER HAROLD: "I've often been asked, 'What do you old folks do now that you're retired?'  Well...I'm fortunate to have a chemical engineering background and one of the things I enjoy most is converting beer, wine and scotch into urine.  I do it every day and I really enjoy it."

Harold is an inspiration to us all.

Poka-Yoke Applied to Manufacture

Poka-yoke devices prevent components being processed incorrectly, or allowing faulty components to move to the next operation. They ensure that any defect is identified immediately, before further value is added and that only defect free components pass to the customer. Poka-yoke devices should be simple, not require maintenance, wear or fail, and should be incapable of being removed or deactivated. All too often, bad Poka-yoke devices can become very complicated and can be over-ridden.

There are three types of Poka-yoke device:-

Contact - where the shape, dimensions or other

properties of the component, such as holes, prevent the components from being located incorrectly in an assembly or a tool.

Fixed Value / Constant Number – where a system is programmed to ensure that a specific number of actions are undertaken to complete a task – filling in a form on the internet usually requires that every box is completed otherwise an error message is given. Egg boxes and milk crates only allow a specific number of parts to be packed in one container.

Motion Step / Sequence – ensures that a correct number of steps are taken in a sequence.

Checklists (before an airplane flight) or light beams to ensure that parts are picked from boxes in the correct sequence are examples.

Typical Examples of Manufacturing Poka-Yoke Devices

Below are some examples of the application and types of Poka-Yoke devices: -

• Sensors to prevent assemblies moving to the next operation until all parts have been installed.

• Bar codes fitted to each component and which are scanned after the operation has taken place.

• Locations cast, forged or moulded in position.

• Light beams which need to be broken to ensure that parts have been fitted.

• Auto stop devices which will not allow further operations to take place until action has been taken.

• Proximity sensors.

• Painting components when they are identical in every respect except for the material spec..

 Counters to ensure tools are not used longer than their economical life.

Change Begins With The Right Vision -- and the Right Communication….

So how to select change agents.

Here are some of the signs you might be a change agent.

• You love taking out the garbage: all that waste!

• Your children know the difference between Operation Cycle Time and Shop Lead Time.

• Your garage is 5-S'ed with labels and shadow boards.

• You load the dishwasher using the Theory of Constraints, and prefer to load small batches for a mathematical reason.

• You refer to your ex-spouse as "Non-Value Added / Corrected"

• You and your children decorate cupcakes using single piece flow.

• You ask your husband what work center he is in when he sits in the recliner, with the remote control in his hand, watching the football game. You ask him how many target hours he has for that work center, because the dishwasher work center is next for him, and it must be loaded using the theory of constraints.

• You buy bread and milk in accordance to a takt rate. You know the ex-wife never did figure out that takt rate.

• Your progress using 'Weight Watchers' diet is plotted in Excel and hung on your bathroom wall. The graph has a baseline, and a goal. When you reach your goal, you establish upper control limits on the chart. The chart is mounted directly above the scale in the bathroom as a visual reminder for you to weigh in each morning.

• You keep two egg crates in the fridge. The forward one is the one in use. When that one is empty, you bring the back one forward, and use the empty crate as a visual reminder to buy more eggs.

Our thanks to Gary Lister for these insights.