SME names Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence Engineer Tim Pheland on ’30 Under 30′ List

Congratulations are in order for Tim Pheland, Manufacturing Engineer at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, who was recently named on the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) 5th annual ‘30 Under 30’ list. The ‘30 Under 30’ program is designed to recognize and encourage young people who can make a difference in advanced manufacturing across all levels of the organization: on the shop floor,in an engineering or R&D department, or in the boardroom.

Tim started his engineering career at the Pilgrim Screw Corporation in Providence, Rhode Island, where he manufactured precision fasteners for the aerospace industry. After completing his bachelor’s degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, he accepted a similar position here at Hexagon, and continued his education by completing his master’s degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering in 2016.

As a vital member of the PartsManufacturing Department at the Quonset Point, Rhode Island office for the past three years, Tim continues to improve upon processes and manufacturing systems, resulting in better throughput and quality of product; specifically, the X and Z axis beams for the assembly of Hexagon’s coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and their all-important air bearings for these assemblies.

“Tim has excelled in his position by taking the initiative to define and implement significant process improvement opportunities to reduce costs and improve process efficiencies. One major example of his contributions to Hexagon lies in our existing CNC process,” states Brian Malloy, Senior Manufacturing Engineer at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence.

“Our CNC systems were overdue for a thorough review and optimization. It is critical that our manufacturing facility can successfully provide machine components globally, given an increase in demand. To achieve this, our only option was to drastically reduce cycle times. This is where Tim took the initiative to find and correct the inefficiencies that existed with both programming and useof tooling. As a result of addressing those opportunities, Tim has successfully yielded a significant reduction in cycle time in the region of approximately 49%. Over a six-month period, Tim successfully assessed the machining cycle times for 11 different parts, all resulting in significant reductions in cycle time. Because of this, we have now doubled our throughput in the same period of time, cutting our cost per part in half.”

With Tim’s expertise, the production process on the shop floor has nearly doubled, and other processes needed to catch up. The finishing process was the next obstacle.

“For this initial rough machine process, Tim has adapted our systemto reduce the handling damage, and to ensure proper poka-yoke setups. Rather than having to risk critically scratch-prone components on fixture plates, the part now attaches on the outer ends, which allow for a 0% risk of scratching duringsetups and changeovers,” Brian explains.

This is just one example of the many improvements that Tim has generated over the last year. He continues to contribute to making Hexagon a more efficient company and has built a solid reputation by exceeding the expectations of those around him. He has been challenged time and time again, only to deliver a reputable solution that falls within our cost and time constraints.

Congratulations, Tim, from the entire Hexagon family, on a job well done! To learn more about Tim, check out his 30 under 30 profile. To read more about SME’s “30 Under 30” initiative, check out their website.