International Journal of Metalcasting Receives Thomson Reuters Accreditation

International Journal of Metalcasting Receives Thomson Reuters Accreditation
The quarterly technical journal of the American Foundry Society (AFS), the International Journal of Metalcasting (IJMC), has been given the distinct honor of being accredited by Thomson Reuters, a world renowned information source. In addition to being accepted as an accredited source of technical information, the IJMC now is included in the Thomson Reuters research and citation database.

The database provides a platform for finding scholarly peer-reviewed materials—materials that are unbiased, current and accurate—and achieves a level of quality not reached by solely searching the internet. It also is used to evaluate the scientific performance of authors.

In addition to Reuters, the IJMC also is included in three other databases: Chemical Abstracts, ProQuest and EBSCO. These links can be found by visiting www.metalcastingjournal.com.

For more information or to subscribe to the IJMC, contact AFS customer service at 800/537-4237 or visit the AFS e-store at www.afsinc.org/estore.

HR Solutions Casting Care Now Available for Corporate Members
AFS and its endorsed insurance and risk management broker, Willis HRH, have announced the HR Solutions Casting Care program, intended to help Corporate Members control health care costs.

Key aspects of HR Solutions Casting Care include:

a health benefit program with premiums tailored to each employer;
financial protection with an A+ rated carrier;
multiple design options through a PPO, EPO or high-deductible plan with a health savings account or health reimbursement arrangement;
the ability to save up to 10-15% by eliminating costly state mandated benefits;
potential savings annually for good claims experience;
cost-effective claims processing administered by a fully automated third party administrator.

This program is intended to complement HR Solutions, an AFS corporate member service designed to use the cumulative strength of the U.S. metalcasting industry to offer competitive and cost-effective employee benefits and risk management solutions.

For more information on the HR Solutions Casting Care program, contact Leo Baran at 800/537-4237 x 201 or lbaran@afsinc.org.

Looking for New Business? Meet Casting Buyers On Aug. 5
Seize the opportunity to hear from and meet leading casting buyers at the What Are Casting Buyers Thinking conference on Aug. 5 at the Westin O'Hare, Rosemont, Ill.

Speakers include:

Keynote: State of the Manufacturing Economy: Metalcasting in Interesting Times, Greg Chaudoin, Stuart School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago;
U.S. Dept. of Defense Weapon Systems: Dean Hutchins, Castings Manufacturing Program Technology Manager, Defense Logistics Agency, Washington, D.C.;
Oil Field & Energy: Daniel Crane, Purchasing & Supplier Development, Kimray Inc., Oklahoma City.

Other attendee benefits include updated forecast data, a chance to meet tabletop exhibitors, featuring web designers, graphic artists, printers, marketing agencies and casting designers that can help you, drawings for free advertising design, and free sales and marketing toolkits.

For more information or to register, visit www.afsinc.org/castingbuyer or contact AFS customer service at 800/537-4237.

Senate Plans to Mark Up Climate Change Bill Before Aug. Recess
Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will soon have to decide whether to strengthen emissions reduction targets in a U.S. House-passed climate change bill while she tries to appeal to moderates and win Senate passage. She said she would release language in a matter of days as a counterpart to House legislation, HR 2454, a bill that narrowly passed last month.

Boxer, who needs to win over about 15 moderate Democrats nervous about the bill’s economic impact, also faces pressure from environmentalists who think short-term emissions reduction targets in the House bill are too weak. The House bill will be her model, she said, although she did not commit to adopting the same emissions goals.

For more information, contact Stephanie Salmon, Metalcasters Alliance for Government Affairs Washington, D.C. office, at 202/842-4864 or ss@wafed.com.

What Do You Do When OSHA Shows Up? Find Out at Complimentary Webinar
AFS will be producing a complimentary webinar on what to do when the Occupational Health and Safety Administration shows up. The webinar will be held July 23 at 11 a.m. EST and is intended to discuss:

OSHA Inspection Priorities;
OSHA Inspection Procedures;
Records Needed During an OSHA Inspection;
“Do List” …Considerations During Inspections;
“Don’t List”…. What Not to Do During Inspections.

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.

New Audiocast Available at MetalcastingDesign.com
Listen to the new audiocast at www.metalcastingdesign.com with Greg Brew, director of industrial design at Polaris. In this taped conversation, he talks about the Polaris Victory Core concept motorcycle and the role that the cast aluminum frame, which won the 2009 Casting of the Year, played in its design.

CMI Offers Interactive Six Sigma Green Belt Certification
CMI will be offering an Interactive Six Sigma Green Belt Certification internet course Sept. 8-Oct. 19. This course is intended to gives students the tools and techniques
essential to be an effective member of Six Sigma Green Belt teams. It will focus on effective data collection, and covers the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) phases of Six Sigma methodology, with special references to metalcasting processes.

Participants to this course will learn how to provide data collection support to black belts and how to fulfill the project leader’s role on small green belt metalcasting projects. Using various exercises, the participants will have an opportunity to learn when, why and how the basic Six Sigma tools are used to identify and minimize the variation in metalcasting processes.

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 six sigma green belt certification? The publication Achieving Six Sigma Maintenance can help. AFS Special Publications has everything you need to supplement your metalcasting training. Visit the AFS E-Store today.