MRO Today - Manufacturing Industry News archives

Manufacturing Industry News:
News from the week of March 28, 2005

Factory orders increase in February
Unemployment falls to 5.2 percent in March
Web site consolidates complex government standards
Pipe manufacturer fined $4.5 million under Clean Air Act
OSHA notifies employers of high injury, illness rates
ISM MRO Group changes name

Factory orders increase in February
New orders for manufactured goods increased $600 million, or 0.2 percent, to $380.4 billion in February, according the the Commerce Department.

This was at the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992. The increase followed a slight January decrease.

New orders for durable goods increased $900 million, or 0.5 percent, to $200.9 billion, revised up from the previously published 0.3 percent increase. This followed a 1.2 percent January decrease.

Transportation equipment, up following two consecutive decreases, had the largest increase, at $900 million, or 1.6 percent, to $53.6 billion. The increase was due to nondefense aircraft and parts, which increased $1.8 billion.

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Unemployment falls to 5.2 percent in March
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 110,000 in March, and the unemployment rate declined to 5.2 percent, according to Department of Labor.

Several industries added jobs over the month, including construction, mining, health care and wholesale trade.

Both the number of unemployed persons, 7.7 million, and the unemployment rate, 5.2 percent, was down from 5.7 percent a year earlier.

Manufacturing employment declined by 8,000 jobs in March. Job losses occurred in textile mills (-2,000) and apparel (-5,000), as both industries continued to experience long-term job declines. Since last summer, manufacturing employment declined slightly.

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Web site consolidates complex government standards
Protracted and fruitless searches for government technical standards may soon be a thing of the past, according to a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

A new Web site, www.standards.gov, provides businesses, other organizations and interested citizens with a direct portal to sources of information on the thousands of specifications that government agencies reference in regulations or use to guide their purchasing decisions.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched the new site to further the government’s progress in using private-sector standards in lieu of agency-unique specifications, whenever practical.

From basic tutorials to a searchable database of standards referenced in federal regulations, the Web site offers a broad perspective on the government’s complex standards landscape.

Using the site, visitors can quickly find their particular interests, be it standards incorporated into drinking water requirements, specifications for military equipment, guidelines for respiratory protection in the workplace or other topics.

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Pipe manufacturer fined $4.5 million under Clean Air Act
Tyler Pipe Company, a division of McWane Inc., agreed to plead guilty to two felony counts, pay a criminal fine of $4.5 million, and undertake extensive upgrades at its iron foundry facility near Tyler, Texas.

The settlement arises from its illegal construction and operation of the facility's south plant cupola.

“This is the first federal criminal prosecution of its kind,” said Thomas V. Skinner, EPA’s acting assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance. “Tyler knowingly failed to secure required air permits when it undertook construction, and it attempted to conceal its actions. That type of conduct will not be tolerated.”

Tyler Pipe is one of the largest foundries in the U.S. It manufactures grey and ductile iron pipes and castings. Central to this process are Tyler Pipe's 60-foot north and south plant cupolas: large furnaces that melt scrap metal, such as shredded car bodies, to produce molten iron.

The cupolas generate substantial air pollution, including significant emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide and lead.

From December 1998 through January 1999, Tyler Pipe razed its old south plant cupola and replaced it with a new cupola. Under the Clean Air Act’s prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) provisions, Tyler Pipe was required to apply to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for permission to construct and operate the new cupola.

The act would have required that pollution from the new cupola be controlled using the best available control technology. Instead, Tyler Pipe concealed the construction of the new cupola from the TCEQ and connected its new cupola to the existing pollution control device, a water scrubber designed and built in the 1960s.

“Emissions from this facility travel great distances and affect the health of communities far from Tyler, Texas," said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional administrator Richard E. Greene. "I am pleased that EPA, in coordination with our state and federal partners, has been able to use the effective enforcement tools provided by the Clean Air Act to protect human health and the environment while ensuring a level playing field for industry.”

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OSHA notifies employers of high injury, illness rates
Approximately 14,000 employers have been notified that injury and illness rates at their work sites are higher than average and assistance is available to help them fix safety and health hazards, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

In a letter this month to those employers, Jonathan L. Snare, acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, explained the notification was a proactive step to encourage employers to take steps now to reduce those rates and improve the safety and health environment in their workplaces.

"This identification process is meant to raise awareness that injuries and illnesses are high at these facilities," Snare said. "Injuries and illnesses are costly to employers in both personal and financial terms. Our goal is to identify workplaces where injury and illness rates are high, and to offer assistance to employers so they can address the hazards and reduce occupational injuries and illnesses."

The workplaces identified had 6.5 or more injuries or illnesses resulting in days away from work, restricted work activity, or job transfer (DART) for every 100 full-time workers. The national average during 2003 was 2.6 DART instances for every 100 workers.

For more information on how you can stay OSHA compliant and avoid fines and citations, go to www.complianceregs.com to learn more about OSHA regulations, EPA standards and everything you need for a safe and healthy workplace.

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ISM MRO Group changes name
The Institute for Supply Management's MRO Group changed its name to the Indirect-MRO Buyers Group in January, according to group chairman Joel Thomas.

The group's new Web site is up, running and continuously updated at www.indirectmro.com.

The steering committee continues to work toward development and approval of a set of rules of management, along with succession planning, and so forth. This will provide for continued service to Indirect-MRO Buyers Group membership.

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