E-Archive

MFN Trainer Column

in Vol. 4 - September Issue - Year 2003
Together we stand...
Guy Levasseur, Director of Business Development, NMF Global

Guy Levasseur, Director of Business Development, NMF Global

This column is a regular feature and will be authored by one of our MFN trainers. Readers are invited to send comments or questions to info@mfn.li. For more information about the trainers, see www.mfn.li link workshops.

by Guy Levasseur

In this edition of the trainer’s column, I would like to emphasize the need for industries and peoples to regroup and put their collective knowledge to use for the future.
As all industries, surface treatment and finishing is an industry that has always relied on the talents of the individuals to develop new methodologies and better ways of doing things.
Over the years, many improvements have occurred to the process and we have seen the advent of smaller and more powerful computers and new control systems for media. Also increased sophistication of the metallurgical properties of the substrate alloys used in modern equipment and component design has enhanced the need to push even further the comprehension and control of the surface treatment technology.
As expected all this comes with a price. New equipment must be designed and fabricated and new methodology must be developed. The time for hearsay and self learning is gone. Training and knowledge exchange has become a must so that the people and the industry are able to cope with the technology advancement.
This is not only to provide the industries with the leading edge technology they need to stay competitive, but to keep the technology of peening itself at the forefront of the surface treatment process.
I am very honored to be an MFN trainer and I hope I can contribute to this technology advancement. I feel that it is not only important that people participate in workshop and technology transfer events like the coming workshop in Singapore, but a vital part of ensuring that the technology is taught and knowledge is spread in a format that truly represents this vigorous and evolving technology sector we are in.
The fact that there is competition is not a barrier for people to not exchange ideas about how to develop the process. We all need to work together to provide the industry with a standard people can relate to and a forum where ideas can be discussed and new technology be presented. Workshops unite people to better ourselves and ensure we all help the industry grow so we will keep it strong and very active.

The more people know, the more people will use their knowledge and find new applications for its benefits. As many that are competitors to other companies, we all have the instinct to keep our knowledge and "savoir faire" to ourselves, but this leads to inbreeded thinking and limits the capability you can offer to your customer. The world is a big place, and others have good ideas on bettering the way we do things and the equipment with what it can be done with.
By opening our horizons and sharing with others our experiences, either success or failure, people don’t only get knowledge and experience from others, but an invaluable network of ideas and experience that can only be obtained with people that have had different challenges to cope with and different backgrounds. The MFN Workshop in Singapore is not only a step forward in the bettering of the technology, but a new horizon to ensure that the Finishing technology stays ahead of the pack in this "mighty" fight for survival of the processes.
A workshop is nothing without the people who participate and the people who provide the material that is necessary to furnish an interesting and meaningful training. The expertise that is provided at this workshop is very amazing, from equipment fabrication, to new technology in media, flapper peening, peen forming. The quality of the individuals that are willing to share knowledge and expertise is really amazing and for this, I have to congratulate MFN for being able to get all these ‘competitors’ to share with everyone what made them or their company leaders in their field of work.
Of course, there is nothing like a good demonstration, and thanks to many generous companies and individual, like Mr. Shlomo Ramati from Israel Aircraft Industries with his ‘hands on’ flapper peening. This is a good example of some equipment that will be available on site for the trainers to be able to provide a real life example and hands on training. MFN is always open for those companies that would be willing to contribute training equipment or exhibits for the workshops to better everyones experience.
If you feel you want to participate  in the coming MFN workshop, just use the registration form on page 15. If a company would like to donate training exhibits, please contact us at info@mfn.li.

Author: Guy Levasseur