I’m Ashley Jernigan, Marketing Specialist at UniTherm. I’m a Texas native, but I love to travel with my husband and two-year old son. I love coffee, music and watching the Rangers play baseball. I look forward to chatting, learning and working with you!
The Down and Dirty on Reusable Shopping Bags
Whether you use them to do your part to be a little greener, or your city/state has enforced a bag ban – you probably own at least a few reusable shopping bags. (I personally own a few dozen since I never remember to put them in the car and end up buying more each time I shop.)
My usual routine is to come home, unload the groceries, and then cram all the bags inside one giant Central Market bag, shove them in the bottom of the pantry and forget all about them. But that routine is changing starting this weekend. Something I never thought about before is the stuff that gets left inside those bags – namely bacteria and mold.
The Canada Times found that “64 per cent were contaminated with ‘some level of bacteria,’ about 30 per cent had ‘elevated bacterial counts’ higher than what is considered safe for drinking water, 40 per cent of the bags had yeast or mould, and some of the bags had ‘an unacceptable presence of coliforms.'” (Yep, coliforms, as in “found in feces of warm blooded animals” via wikipedia)
It should probably be obvious that the fruit, vegetables, leaky milk jugs, and packaging that’s gone through who knows how many hands would be covered in some pretty nasty stuff, but how many people really wash their shopping bags between each use?
How To Clean Reusable Shopping Bags
Fortunately its pretty easy to get rid of the mold, bacteria, and yeast with a quick warm water and mild soap rinse. Hang those bags to try on a clothes line (or hang them on your kids’ swingset like I do for all of my line-drying needs) and fold and store them when they are totally dry. Its also a good plan to bag meats and fish separately, as well as put your produce together. And if you like to purchase in bulk from warehouses like Sams and Costco, try taking your own plastic bins to carry items home in, a quick rinse with the hose and some dish soap will leave them clean and ready for the next trip to the store.
How many of you still use plastic bags for shopping? If your area has banned them, how has it affected the shopping experience for you?
[Review] Total Quality Process Control for Injection Molding
Peter Van Puyvelde of Materials Views provides the following book review of M. Joseph Gordon’s Total Quality Process Control for Injection Molding, 2nd Edition.
Total Quality Process Control for Injection Molding, 2nd Edition
M. Joseph Gordon, Jr.
Hardcover
746 pages
US $175.00
In this lengthy book, a total quality approach for injection moulding applications is presented. The aim of the work is to provide a detailed planning for the implementation of total quality management (TQM) control procedures for the production of plastic parts. Moreover, limits for quality control assessments are established.
In the first chapters, an overview is given of the different aspects of TQM. Next, the complete chain of a plastic product processing operation is discussed, going from the material, over the machine and mould design towards the final processing operation. When discussing the received material to be processed, one should for instance be aware of the inherent variability of the feedstock that is used. This discussion leads to procedures to properly characterize for instance the thermal properties of the material. In the part that describes TQM principles for the machine, attention is given to the machine itself and the auxiliary equipment that is needed for a successful operation.
Energy Management Bootcamp
This blog post is based on Dr. Robin Kent’s Energy Management Bootcamp webinar presentation. You can view the presentation below.
Reducing energy expenses is top of mind for almost everyone in the plastics manufacturing industry. Energy expenses account for about 6% of costs (very close to labor which equals about 10% of costs) and that number grows every day.
You’ll find the near-complete recording of Energy Management Bootcamp below, due to technical issues the first 10 minutes have been excluded, but we’ll do our best to sum up what’s missing.
Dr. Kent begins his presentation by talking about the new words – the words that drive media and activists; global warming, greenhouse effect, carbon management, carbon footprint, sustainability, life-cycle analysis, corporate social responsibility, stakeholders, and energy efficiency. These are words we won’t be focusing on today, instead we’re going to focus on the old word (and the most important word) Money.
Dr. Kent is not a tree-hugger. He is in this for the money and while he believes the new words are important, he reminds us that none of us would be here without the money.
Energy costs can easily be reduced by up to 30% with a 3-pronged strategy. 10% is management, 10% is maintenance, and 10% is technology or capital investments. Management must walk the walk instead of simply talking the talk to seriously impact energy costs. That’s a different session though, today we’re talking about the technology, and the low-cost investments that can bring the largest returns.
Taking energy management seriously is difficult because energy has always been low-cost and low priority. Most facilities aren’t equipped with the right tools and skills to handle the job, but energy is now the second or third largest variable costs – and rising. Energy supplies are no longer assured and totally secure and other countries and companies are already ahead of you in their efforts to reduce energy costs. [Read more…]
Pasadena, Here We Come!
On Thursday, April 14 we’ll be headed to Pasadena, Texas for the 2011 ASME Plant Engineering, Inspection and Maintenance Trade Show where we will feature SolarTech by UniTherm, a UV cured glass reinforced plastic laminate. The purpose of the ASME Plant Engineering and Maintenance Technical Chapter show is to provide a forum to share knowledge, create networking relationships and provide technical programs that emphasize the hands on aspect of Mechanical Engineering.
We’re excited to be heading south to some warm weather in the next couple of weeks to see everyone at the show. If you’re attending, grab a drink and then visit us at booth #518 for a cool giveaway to help keep that drink cold.
Not able to make it to the show, but don’t want to miss out on the fun? Follow us on Twitter (@unitherm) to be updated on what’s happening.
Mark Your Calendars for NPE 2012
We know it’s a year away, but if you’re attending NPE 2012 in Orlando, Florida next year, be sure to stop by our booth #3833 and catch up with us! This is the first time in over 40 years NPE will be at its new location at the Orange County Convention Center and we couldn’t be more excited to attend. UniTherm’s booth will showcase some cool new interactive features. As the show gets closer, follow our blog to receive up-to-date information about the show, UniTherm’s booth and Orlando area events.
Already have your booth number? Leave a comment and let us know!