Recently, a group of personnel from Muncie met with our customers to develop a faster, easier, and more reliable method for installing PTOs on Ford Automatic Transmissions. The result was the creation of our new FR67 Series PTO.

The FR67’s compact design allows for both 4X2 and 4X4 installations. Our integrated solenoid design provides a single line installation without the need for additional mounting brackets.

The FR67 is one example of Muncie’s commitment to engineering products with your needs in mind.

Muncie’s pump program continues to roll with the availability of the MLSM Live Pak product. Since its introduction, the MLSM has proven to be the product of choice in many applications, with its robust design, repeatable performance and long life. Improved fuel conservation and reduced route times increase fleet productivity and profits.

Take a moment to review the new literature and familiarize yourself with the new Model Number Construction. Of note, the 22 GPM pump is no longer available due to minimal sales demand.

One type of continuous improvement event taking place at Muncie Power Products goes by the unusual name of Poka Yoke. Poka Yoke is a Japanese term that means “fail-safing” or “mistake-proofing,” and the purpose is to eliminate defects by creating an environment where they cannot happen.

The goal is zero defects, never providing a product or service that is defective, but the challenge is to figure out how to make that happen. One often used process to eliminate defects is Final Inspection. However, Final Inspection only catches some of the defects long after they are made. In a Poka Yoke rapid improvement event, the team reviews the data on defects and sets out to find and address the root cause so that the defect doesn’t happen again in the future. There are several root cause analysis tools, the one most commonly used in our events is known as the “5-Why”. This tool is just one of the ways to drill down to why the defect occurred so that corrective action can be taken. In the Muncie, Indiana and Tulsa, Oklahoma facilities, there have been and will continue to be multiple Poka Yoke improvement events in all of our PTO Assembly Cells.

Muncie Power Products held our third Muncie Product and Application School (MPAS) of 2009 at our Tulsa, OK manufacturing division the week of July 13-17. This was another well attended class with ten individuals representing five distributor companies. In addition, three of Muncie's engineering and distribution personnel participated. All told, we had thirteen participants from six states in attendance. As always in Tulsa, the class participants were treated to a tour of the manufacturing and distribution facilities. Steve Terry and Brent Sedersten from the engineering staff served as our tour guides.

Participant comments:

"The instructor does an excellent job in presenting the material."

"It was great. I would change nothing."

"I really enjoyed the class. Very well done."

"The explanation of valve schematics and overall hydraulic systems was very helpful."

The next MPAS will be held on October 19-23 in Muncie, IN. A registration form can be downloaded from the NEWS & INFO section of www.munciepower.com. There is no charge for the class to Muncie Power Products customers.