Archive for May, 2011
Car lifts can be found in most urban cities. You see them being used by mechanics to raise vehicles access from underneath. In the past, most lifts were of the in-ground type. These days, the majority of garages have surface-mounted lifts, which are bolted to the ground and utilize a hydraulic pump or a screw-type drive powered by an electric motor.
Here are the different types, available from garage equipment supply dealers:
In-Ground Car Lifts
This type of auto lift is assembled below the floor of the garage. It consists of one or more pistons, depending on its maximum weight capacity. Lifts with one or two pistons are used to raise compact, mid-sized and full-sized cars. Lifts with three or more pistons are used for larger vehicles, such as buses and RV’s.
Two-Post Surface Mounted
The most common vehicle lift utilized today is called the “Two Post Surface-Mounted Lift.” On each column, there are lift arms. These are controlled mechanically, electronically or hydraulically.
Multi-Post Runway
The most common type of Multi-Post Runway lift is the four-post mounted lift, which is extensively used by transmission, oil change, and muffler service shops. You’ll find this type of vehicle lift in wheel alignment service stations as well. The car is driven onto the two runways and raised, exposing its underside.
Low/Mid Rise Frame Engaging
This type of car lift engages the vehicle’s frame while lifting. There are two ways this type may operate. One way is scissor-style, moving straight up. Another is parallelogram-style, moving forward or backward, while raising or lowering. This type is commonly used for wheel, brake, and tire services, as well as auto body repair.
Drive-On Parallelogram Vehicle Lift
The Drive-On Parallelogram Lift is a surface-mounted auto lift. It has two runways where the wheels of the car should be placed. It has a lifting mechanism that moves the vehicle a short distance forward or backward while raising or lowering. The direction depends upon the way the lift is mounted.
Scissor Lifts
The Scissors Vehicle Lift can either be of a fixed-pad type or a roll-on frame/underbody engaging type. It has a lifting mechanism that’s similar to the parallelogram lift. The main difference is that the scissor lift goes up and down, on a straight vertical path.
Movable-Type Wheel Engaging Automotive Lift
This type of auto lift is used for vehicles that are longer than conventional cars, such as buses and trucks. It consists of several lifting columns in sets of two, four, six, or more. Columns can be moved can can be connected with other columns so that their movements are synchronized.
When it comes to employment very few people enjoy the freedoms of a truck driver. Over the road CDL driving jobs give people the freedom to see the country and get out from behind the desk of a structured 9am to 5pm job. The paid travel and less than set schedule can give people peace of mind and help them excel.
A life style where you don’t have a set schedule is very appealing to many people who have been living the daily grind. Punching in and out on a set schedule can wear out even the best of us. Given the fact that over the road truck drivers can earn a descent living makes the line of work attractive to many.
The opportunities that over the road CDL driving jobs can offer a driver can be priceless. Having the ability to see all that the United States has to offer gives people the opportunity to experience freedom first hand. Imagine getting paid to see Boston one day and then heading down to Dallas the next. Many drivers take photographs of all the different sites they see. Others collect postcards and mail them to friends and family.
CDL jobs give a driver the freedom to plan their trip as they see appropriate. Trucking, which takes a limited amount of training to get started, is one of the few entry-level professions that give an individual the freedom to plan their day. Breaking the set schedule mold is just what many people need to excel in their job. Imagine the stress relief when you don’t have to rush to punch a clock or get to stop at your leisure for lunch.
For many people getting paid to travel is just what the doctor ordered. For others, having control and being able to make a few scheduling decisions is a ticket down the high pay highway. What ever your attraction to CDL driving jobs, just remember that safe driving is the key to your success.
Mature demands and constant pricing pressures are triggering automotive manufacturers to reduce costs, ensure good quality and compliance with strict regulations such as TREAD, CAFÉ, and ISO 14000 etc. This increases the demand for precise strategic measures and requires focus not only on revenue drivers but also in augmenting the productivity and operations across global manufacturing networks. Increased pressures to achieve standardized operations across world-over manufacturing networks requires full coordination, inter plant collaboration, intra-plant collaboration and adequate liaison between departments manufacturing services providing companies.
Manufacturing being the core function for any automotive manufacturing unit, peripheral activities like market research, product development, utilities, logistics etc. can be handled by external agencies, aiding bottom line profits. These agencies can be categorized into four broad categories:
Automotive Market Research Companies
Backed with in depth knowledge of the automotive industry, market research companies provide in detail and reliable automotive information, accurate forecasts, actionable research information and recommendations to improve strategic position of the client organization. They offer unique perspectives to standardized approaches on the basis of comprehensive statics and accurate, reliable forecasts.
Product Development Companies
Since the automotive product development processes have become increasingly complex with the need to collaborate tightly across various design disciplines, global scattered design teams, and geographically dispersed manufacturing operations, the involvement of product development company spans across every phase of product development process including ideation, R&D, optimization, testing, pre-production prototyping, production control, post production lifecycle monitoring and support. They help automotive companies meet these challenges head on and enable product development across heterogeneous environments, facilitating design and equipment reuse.
Utilities Management Companies
Business costs to carry out full procurement, audit and management of company’s utility equipments and telecom can be a nightmare to deal with. Companies hire / outsource the trouble area to utility management companies, thus saving time and money. These companies analyze company’s consumption data, detect inefficiencies and procure new energy and consumption contracts to improve accuracy and usefulness of management information on utilities.
Third Party Inspection Companies
Third party or external inspection companies provide a whole range of services from design assessment, examination of raw material, in-process inspection to final inspection. They also ensure that the machining equipments and processes at vendor’s end meet prescribed quality standards. Powered by highly skilled, experienced and qualified inspection engineers, these companies bring along hands on experience in of the best-in-class automotive manufacturing practices.
Logistics Service Providers
The backbone of a functional supply chain system is the efficient and timely logistics of end products. More and more automotive consumers are requesting highly individualized and customized vehicles. The shift in trend raises highly complex modules of supply chain with order/vehicle specific mo being supplied in sequence. As a result, logistics service providers are further in pressures to support lean and fast LSP (Large Supplier Park) operations with towering volumes across numerous commodities.