Does your Company Supply Calipers for Employees?

[kalyhan]

We didn't. But after much fighting with the company, we now do. In my opinion, if the measuring devices must be calibrated, the company should supply them. If workers are paid low wages, you cannot expect them to purchase their own. Calipers & other MTEs are signed out - workers sign a form indicating cost will be deducted from paychecks if not returned. This ensures our calipers and such are returned.

 

[Jim Wynne]

We didn't. But after much fighting with the company, we now do. In my opinion, if the measuring devices must be calibrated, the company should supply them. If workers are paid low wages, you cannot expect them to purchase their own. Calipers & other MTEs are signed out - workers sign a form indicating cost will be deducted from paychecks if not returned. This ensures our calipers and such are returned.

You need to be sure that payroll deductions for lost or damaged tools don't violate federal labor standards; you can create a huge costly mess if you don't heed the requirements. For example, it's pretty much completely verboten to require exempt employees to pay for damaged tools or equipment, and it's also not allowed in some instances for non-exempt employees. In such instances, having the employee sign a waiver won't help. Have a look here for some DOL info on the subject.

 

[kalyhan]

Thanks Jim. I will forward the link to our HR office. I know we checked into it somewhat last year because operators were taking everything home with them. I think they learned that we could not withhold paychecks but could deduct the cost of the instrument, should it not be returned.

Another option for others to remedy the loss of calipers and such, is to just have everyone sign-out their tools at the start of shift and sign back in at the end of the shift - as suggested in an earlier post. We do have operators do just this with higher-end equipment.

 

[jeyaraj]

well, well, this is the first time I'm hearing of employees having to buy their own equipment.

In my company (& in all the other companies I know) in Malaysia, all equipment used in the company, right down to stationery is purchased by the company. Any calipers, loupes, etc is supplied by the company to the concerned departments. However, it is quite rare to hear of each employee being provided with a caliper or loupe. Over here, most equipment are shared, depending on the usage. (i.e. a small QA/QC section may be given up to 2~3 calipers of the same range, & a total of 6~15 calipers with various ranges).

Another reason for the company to buy the equipment is to standardize, using the right tools for the right job. I mean, who needs a digimatic caliper in a die-sinking industry which could be damaged easily due to the coolants & other liquids used ? What they need are water-proof digimatic calipers, or on a cheaper scale, a dial caliper. Standardization, suitability of use & costs are a major concern.

However, if an employee damages or breaks or spoils a piece of equipment, he is responsible to report the damage to his immediate superior. If the damage is due to ordinary use or wear & tear, no questions are asked & the equipment is duly replaced or repaired. However, if it is clearly due to employee negligence, then either a warning or a penalty (normally a percentage or the full cost of a replacement unit or repairs) is issued to the employee.

I guess it's a matter of local culture as well, since if self-buying was implemented here in Malaysia, almost everyone will NOT be buying, & the company is forced to buy the necessary equipment anyhow to ensure there are no disruptions to their production & delivery. Here, the logic is that the equipment used is only for company use & not for personal use (i.e. what to use a caliper at home for ?), therefore all equipment are purchased by the company & located at the company (employees are not allowed to bring home the equipment, no matter how small).

In some smaller companies, however, the employees are allowed to bring home some tools for personal use, as long as permission is requested to & granted from the relevant authorities within the company (i.e. power drill for home DIY, wrenches & screwdrivers for car DIY, etc). But that's quite out of topic, right ?

See what we take for granted ? Personally for me, it is a culture shock to even consider that in certain parts of the world, there are companies where the employees are required to buy their own equipment. We should be thankful for what we have.


~JS~

 

[cogito]

Our company (largest aircraft manufacturer in the world) provides ALL tooling and equipment needed to perform any function, but obviously we have a huge budget for those items, too. However, I've managed in small and medium sized companies and all have provided the same. If companies would hire professionals and pay appropriate wages for them, they'd likely not have so many troubles with improperly treated PME...but that's just my

 

[Keith Childers]

In our company we do not provide calipers for individuals, we set up the work area with the necessary equipment and each shift shares the same equipment.
When a machine is changed over to run another part number the set-up technician checks that all required gauges are available at the work area, and that all gauges are within the calibration period and in good working order.

 

[RayZ-Insp]

No, charging is just petty, maybe more training is needed in the care and use of dial calipers. These are tools that wear quickly, but I would question an abnormal number of damaged calipers.

 

[Umang Vidyarthi]

In my company,as well in most companies in India,the measuring instruments are neither permanently issued to individual workers,nor are they supposed to bring in their own.Emloyees have to get them from stores,as & when required and then return after use.

Umang

 

[kalyhan]

Thanks everyone for your replies. We now have permanent tool boxes in each processing department. Operators are issued the necessary equipment and it is then signed back in before the end of shift. We hold the process owner or lead person responsible for their department's tools. We have not had any major issues as yet.

Thanks again for your input!

 

[BradM]

Thanks everyone for your replies. We now have permanent tool boxes in each processing department. Operators are issued the necessary equipment and it is then signed back in before the end of shift. We hold the process owner or lead person responsible for their department's tools. We have not had any major issues as yet.

Thanks again for your input!

I greatly appreciate you checking back in on the thread to let us know how things are going. Please do, regularly check in on this thread (and others). I would like to know on this one how things are in 3, 6 months, etc. We have a ton of horror stories on the Cove; we do enjoy the success stories too.