AFS, NADCA Form Government Affairs Alliance

AFS, NADCA Form Government Affairs Alliance
The AFS Board of Directors has approved combining its federal government affairs services with the North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) effective July 1. The collective effort will entail coordinated, joint federal advocacy while maintaining each group’s status as a separate organization. It will be called the Metalcasters Alliance for Government Affairs.

The Metalcasters Alliance for Government Affairs will continue to be represented by Waterman & Associates, a Washington, D.C. firm. The three common issues with which Waterman & Associates will continue to assist include:

• Employee Free Choice Act;
• Family Medical Leave Act;
• OSHA reform.

In addition, a website has been created for the new alliance, disseminating the latest news and government updates, detailed information on priority issues and important government related links. The website can be visited at www.metalcastinggov.com.

New Lead Limits for Consumer Products May Impact Metalcasting Operations
The Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act of 2008 set new federal lead limits for products that may be used by children. Specifically, products designed primarily for children 12 years of age or younger may not contain more than 300 parts per million by August 14. The lead limit will be reduced further to 100 parts per million by August 14, 2011 and will be enforced by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission.

While the requirements are focused primarily on children’s products, they have been broadly interpreted such that many metalcasting products may be impacted. Metalcasting facilities should assess its products to determine if these new requirements will impact its operations. To assist members, AFS has prepared a summary of the new requirements such as applicability, certification and testing provisions. To view it, click over to the Metalcasters Alliance for Government Affairs website.

Successful Leaders, Leading Firms to Speak at Executive Conference
Many challenges face our industry, making this a crucial time for us to stay ahead of the pack. What strategies are metalcasting facilities utilizing to compete in today’s global marketplace? How is your facility measuring up to safety and health excellence? What is the status of the current political landscape? All of these questions and more will be addressed at the 2009 Foundry Executive Conference, which will be held Sept. 20-22 at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Coronado, Calif.

Featured topics include:

Beyond Employee Retention–Developing an Inclusionary Culture, Tim McMillin, Fairmount Minerals
The Application of the Golden Rule for Life and Business, Van Richey, ACIPCO
Reality Becomes Perception: McWane’s Success Story and the Public Campaign Behind It, Michelle Clemon, McWane Industries
Achieving Safety and Health Excellence–Being in the Top Five Most Dangerous Industries is Nothing to Brag About, Ed Foulke, Fisher & Phillips

Special events include a tour of the MCAS Miramar, which is home to the 3^rd Marine Aircraft Wing of the U.S. Marine Corps, known as “America’s 9-1-1 Force.” Guests will view combat-tested aircraft as part of the tour of the flight line. Active duty Marines will introduce guests to the Marine Corps aviators. To take advantage of the MCAS tour, you must register by Sept. 1.

For more information or to register for the 2009 Executive Conference, visit www.afsinc.org/events or contact AFS customer service at 800/537-4237.

Complimentary Webinar to Discuss Hearing Conservation
AFS will be producing a free webinar on hearing conservation July 9 at 11 a.m. EST. The webinar is intended to discuss:

Exposure monitoring;
Audiometric testing;
Hearing protection;
Education & training.

To register for this webinar, click here or contact Dave Krugman, AFS PR and marketing coordinator, at 800/537-4237 x 286 or dkrugman@afsinc.org.

Early Bird to Meet Casting Buyers Ends Today
The early bird discount for the What Are Casting Buyers Thinking conference ends today. Conference early bird pricing is $299 for AFS members, $299 for Metal Casting Design & Purching advertisers and $499 for nonmembers/nonadvertisers.

Register today by contacting AFS customer service at 800/537-4237 or visit www.www.afsinc.org/castingbuyer to download a conference brochure.

New Webinar Available at Moderncasting.com
On June 24, MODERN CASTING magazine sponsored a free 30-minute webinar focused on advancements in the cleaning and finishing of ferrous castings. The webinar was presented by Maus USA Inc., Virginia Beach, Va. Click over to www.moderncasting.com to view the webinar.

CMI Launches New E-Learning Website
CMI is expanding internet course availability through a new website. These new on-demand courses are immediately available to start as soon as you register, and consist of PowerPoint based presentations narrated by industry experts, with assessments to check comprehension. PDF copies of the presentations can be downloaded, and users can print out their certificate of completion after passing the course. Classes available now are Hazard Communication Training, Defects Related to Gating & Riser Design. Cost for each course is $100 for AFS Members, $125 for AFS nonmembers.

Detailed information about these courses can be found on the new CMI website, located at castmetalslearning.com. For questions regarding internet courses, contact Jennifer Head, CMI course coordinator, at 800/537-4237 x244 or jhead@afsinc.org.

CMI Offers On-Demand Six Sigma Green Belt Certification
CMI will be offering an on-demand Six Sigma Green Belt Certification course July 1 - June 30, 2010. Students will learn:

identification and collection of relevant data;
to lead project teams through the DMAIC process improvement methodology;
basic statistical tools and techniques for defect elimination and process simplification;
chart runner statistical software to perform statistical analysis;
to turn data into information and information into knowledge to make process improvements;
support of Black Belts on Six Sigma projects.

This is a six week subject specialist facilitated course that will include reading materials, assignments and weekly quizzes. Information will be presented through video lectures. The student will not have to be on-line at a certain time of day or a certain day of the week, however weekly assignments must be completed by the due dates assigned. Students will spend an average of 10-15+ hours per week on the course work and on completing the Six Sigma Project. At the end of the course, those participants that meet the minimum required score of 150 out of 200 points, will receive a certificate from CMI awarding 6.0 CEUs and Green Belt Certification.

For more information or to attend this course, contact AFS customer service at 800/537-4237, or click here to register.

Learn Metallurgy of Copper Base Casting Alloys With CMI Course
CMI will be offering a Metallurgy of Copper Base Casting Alloys course Aug. 25-27 at Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This is a practical course for producers and users of copper alloy castings, and will acquaint the student with metallurgical technology, solidification characteristics and the features of various copper alloys used in metalcasting production. Students also will acquire an understanding of the latest metallurgical quality-control procedures.

For more information or to attend this course, contact AFS customer service at 800/537-4237, or click here to register.

Looking for more information on metallurgy of copper base casting alloys? Click over to the AFS E-Store today for more information on this and other metalcasting related topics. While you're there, take advantage of the June publications sale, which includes a 25% discount on select titles on numerous safety, ferrous, nonferrous and finishing subjects, to name a few. To view all of the titles on sale, click here.