Dear Paul, As far as I know the situation here divided industry into two camps with respect to fasteners as well as to many other aspects of metrication.
1 Progressive companies, such as motor vehicle manufacturers and some home builders, used the opportunity to reconsider their designs and how these would effect their components inventory. These people often made truly massive savings from the metrication process. 2 Conservative companies tried the 'ignore it and it will go away' approach. These companies have gone, and are going, out of business as they cannot compete with the more progressive companies over the long haul. The companies that are still doing this, even after more than 30 years of metrication are those companies in a particular localised niche who have little competition. Sadly, I cannot provide you with any proportional figures to support my view, but I know the truth of these observations from my experience of individual companies and the approaches that they took to the metrication process. Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS Geelong, Australia Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- on 2003-06-22 03.15, Paul Trusten, R.Ph. at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Before I keep typing, I just want to remind everyone that I re-subscribed to > this list fairly recently, so please forgive me if I am asking a question > which covers old ground. > > Jim Elwell's post regarding the terminal design issue made me stop and think > of the larger question: how have the recently metricated countries (Canada, > Australia, South Africa) dealt with the problem of fasteners? We in the > United States have erected a complex society full of equipment based upon > our own jealously inspired units of measurement, and the prospect of US > metrication suggests to me that there will be a constant struggle (and a > great market for expertise!) to solve numerous problems in this regard, and > that the US struggle will be similar to the ones now being endured by > Canadians, Australians, and South Africans. What do you think? > > Paul Trusten, R.Ph. > 3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apartment 122 > Midland TX 79707-2872 USA > 432-694-6208 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > "There are two cardinal sins, from > which all the others spring: impatience > and laziness." > ---Franz Kafka >
