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At Burns we take temperature measurement expertise seriously.  To be a TME (Temperature Measurement Expert) in my position as Controller doesn’t require the technical knowledge to provide temperature solutions to our customers, but it does require me to understand what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.  The environment at Burns’ has peaked my curiosity about temperature measurement and how it affects our daily lives.

To that end I spent several hours on the manufacturing floor in training and observing how we producing the products we send to our customers.  It didn’t take long to realize I had wandered into the land of real TME’s.  Employees on the production floor understand and want to understand what they are doing and why they are doing it.  There is a very real sense of treating each item produced as though it was the only item they would produce that day.  At every workstation the TME within the employees has enabled them to develop special techniques to work efficiently and effectively.  One of my first tasks was to attach a coil to leads.  Much of our work is done under a microscope or large magnifying glass.  Precision and dexterity are necessary to complete the task.  Working under a magnifying glass does not come natural.  It is like trying to do something while looking at it in a mirror.  It is like working on a different planet - breathing different air that makes you focus on breathing just to keep your heart beating.  But to the TME’s in production it just comes natural.  My trainers showed me the little tricks.  Like position your hand this way and rest your arm on your wrist to gain stability.  To make a repetitive measurement they showed me how to measure using the scribe mark on my needle nose pliers to gain efficiency.  Every area I trained in had developed techniques to improve quality or efficiency based on the temperature expertise they have acquired.  

My time spent in production left me with several “A-ha’s!”.  It enabled me to learn first hand how our products are produced - I welded, I soldered, I deburred, I measured, and I inspected.  But what I really learned was TME shows up in the care and concern that our employees have for every item we produce.  I can now speak based on first hand knowledge and confidence when I talk to customers or colleagues about the quality built into every item or service Burns produces and the Temperature Measurement Expertise Burns beings to the world.

Thanks for letting me share..

Lee�