Hi Pat, I still have a hard time accepting the general message that mm are always preferable to cm. My biggest complaint is that for longer lengths it makes numbers inconveniently long and difficult to read.
If you look through your list, most of the professions that use mm are either technical, or involve small sizes or tolerances more fitting for mm. I suggest that your mm professions caught on more quickly because they are more technically minded and measure length more often than, say, a baker, cook, gardener, or tree surgeon. I am using mm for my work because I'm working with parts less than 1000 m long with tolerances ranging from 0.001 to 1 mm. This works out great, because I never have more than 3 digits on either side of the decimal. Many dimension ARE hard-metric to the nearest mm, so I don't waste my time working with 6 digit numbers in these cases. I would certainly not want to do landscape gardening in mm! John On Tuesday 04 November 2003 13:49, Pat Naughtin wrote: > on 2/11/03 5:34 AM, Mighty Chimp at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > <snip> > > > Can you > > give me some input on how much Australia is metric? Not from an official > > perspective, but from your personal experience. How much imperial/FFU > > lingers on and where? Where does industry stand? > > Dear Euric, > > My assessment of the current situation in Australia is as follows: > > I obtained this list of 115 occupations from a government source and > applied my own assessment of their current metrication status. Please note > that this is my assessment of length measurements only. The whole of > Australia adopted mass measures in grams, kilograms, and tonnes quite > rapidly and pounds are now only rarely heard. Australians also came to > terms with millilitres, litres, and cubic metres quite quickly, too, and > pints and gallons are rarely referred to, Similarly, degrees Celsius were > adopted rapidly and Fahrenheit degrees are now only discussed when the > temperature reaches or exceeds 38 �C. > > millimetres � 89 occupations > > These are the trades, professions and activities that chose millimetres as > their small unit. Metric conversion in these activities was smooth, rapid > and quiet. > > mm Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics) > mm Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Mechanical) > mm Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Structures) > mm Automotive Electrician > mm Binder and Finisher > mm Blacksmith > mm Boat Builder and Repairer > mm Bricklayer > mm Broadcast Transmitter Operator > mm Business Machine Mechanic > mm Cabinetmaker > mm Cable Jointer > mm Carpenter > mm Carpenter and Joiner > mm Communications Linesperson > mm Computing Support Technician > mm Dental Technician > mm Drainer > mm Electrical Engineering Technician > mm Electrical Powerline Tradesperson > mm Electrician (Special Class) > mm Electronic Engineering Technician > mm Electronic Equipment Tradesperson > mm Electronic Instrument Tradesperson (Special Class) > mm Electroplater > mm Engraver > mm Farrier > mm Fibrous Plasterer > mm Fitter > mm Flat Glass Tradesperson > mm Floor Finisher > mm Furniture Finisher > mm Furniture Upholsterer > mm Gasfitter > mm Gem Cuter and Polisher > mm General Communications Tradesperson > mm General Electrician > mm General Electronic Instrument Tradesperson > mm General Fabrication Engineering Tradesperson > mm General Mechanical Engineering Tradesperson > mm General Plumber > mm Glass Blower > mm Graphic Pre-Press Tradesperson > mm Greenkeeper > mm Gunsmith > mm Jeweller > mm Joiner > mm Leather Goods Maker > mm Lift Mechanic > mm Locksmith > mm Mechanical Engineering Technician > mm Mechanical Services and Airconditioning Plumber > mm Medical Grade Shoemaker > mm Metal Casting Tradesperson > mm Metal Fabricator (Boilermaker) > mm Metal Machinist (First Class) > mm Metal Polisher > mm Motor Mechanic > mm Optical Mechanic > mm Painter and Decorator > mm Panel Beater > mm Patternmaker-Grader (Clothing) > mm Piano maker > mm Piano Tuner > mm Precision Instrument Maker and Repairer > mm Pressure Welder > mm Printing Machinist > mm Refrigeration and Airconditioning Mechanic > mm Roof Plumber > mm Roof Slater and Tiler > mm Saw Maker and Repairer > mm Sheetmetal Worker (First Class) > mm Shipwright > mm Shoemaker > mm Signwriter > mm Solid Plasterer > mm Stonemason > mm Textile, Clothing or Footwear Mechanic > mm Toolmaker > mm Upholsterers and Bedding Tradespersons > mm Vehicle Body Maker > mm Vehicle Painter > mm Vehicle Trimmer > mm Wall and Floor Tiler > mm Watch and Clock Maker and Repairer > mm Welder (First Class) > mm Wood Tradesperson > mm Wood Turner > > Centimetres and inches � 13 occupations > > Those who chose to use centimetres as their small unit are still � after 33 > years � struggling to come to terms with metric measures. These people are > noticeable because of their loud screaming about the difficulty of metric > conversion. Characteristically, these folk are constantly doing conversions > from old units to metric units and vice versa. > > cm and inches Apparel Cutter > cm and inches Baker > cm and inches Chef > cm and inches Chef � Head Chef > cm and inches Cook > cm and inches Dressmaker > cm and inches General Clothing Tradesperson > cm and inches Pastry Cook > cm and inches Picture Framer > cm and inches Sail Maker > cm and inches Screen Printer > cm and inches Small Offset Printer > cm and inches Tailor > > centimetres, feet and inches � 6 occupations > > See the remarks for centimetres and inches > > cm, feet and inches Canvas Goods Maker > cm, feet and inches General Gardener > cm, feet and inches Head Gardener > cm, feet and inches Landscape Gardener > cm, feet and inches Nurseryperson > cm, feet and inches Tree Surgeon > > Unknown � 7 occupations > > I was unable to assess these occupations because I am unfamiliar with them. > I suspect that people in these trades don't do much in the way of length > measures. However, as I noted previously, they all measure mass in grams, > kilograms, and tonnes and volume in millilitres, litres, and cubic metres. > > ? Butcher > ? Buttermaker or Cheesemaker > ? Confectioner > ? Hairdresser > ? Smallgoods Maker > ? Supervisor, Hairdressers > ? Supervisor, Meat Tradespersons > > > It's curious that in an international engineering meeting, English is > > the > > > > accepted language. What's not accepted, however, are the units of > > measure on the equipment under discussion. Engineering units still > > cause difficulties in the global interchange of parts and data. > > Measuring units used in engineering only cause problems when conversions > are involved. This happens when someone, somewhere, wants to use dual > units. > > > All countries are now in various degrees of transitions to the metric > > system. Most of the EU countries are nearly completely metric > > Probably about 99.9 % in Europe, The only reference to old units that I > hear out of Europe is when they are referring to an historic unit � such as > the pond or the akker. However these old units now have metric definitions > � such as 500 grams or 4000 square metres. > > > whereas > > other countries such as Canada, India and Australia are about half way. > > My guess is that Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are about 95 % > metric. The only remaining issue is for the folk who chose to use > centimetres as their small unit. They are still struggling with metrication > and THEY'RE A NOISY LOT! > > > In comparison, the USA may be about 20% metric. > > I have seen estimates made by others on this list that the USA is now about > 40 % metric. Perhaps others would care to comment. > > > Many of our products and > > industries have been metric for quite some time, while automotive > > companies have been in this transition process for more than 20 years. > > In the 1970s, the world automotive industry developed the 'world car > concept' that required parts to be interchangeable between all countries. > This meant that Ford (for example) could source brake parts from Australia > and then use them in cars made in the USA, in England, or in Europe. For > this to happen, the same measuring units had to be used by everyone. My > understanding is that the world automotive industry is 100 % metric and has > been since the late 1970s. > > > Changing to the metric system presents an opportunity for companies to > > unify metric standards worldwide and encourage the use of more > > interchangeable parts. These can be mass produced in fewer variety > > which benefit consumers and producers alike. > > Many companies made a lot of money out of metrication, but they tend not to > trumpet this too loudly as they also argued before metrication that, 'It > will be too costly � and we will probably need a government subsidy!' > > > To make more parts interchangeable, other factors must also be > > interchangeable, such as the nominal size of a part, its tolerances, and > > material quality. A bolt, for example, must have the same physical > > size, tolerance, and strength class. Steel plates are interchangeable > > when the thickness, size, tolerance, and the steel quality are > > sufficiently close to swapping one manufacturer to another. More > > importantly, purchasing interchangeable parts and components around the > > world provides an opportunity to reduce manufacturing costs. > > There is a story about General Motors who set up a committee to monitor > their metrication costs with a view of requesting government support for > their metrication program. They closed it down after a short time when they > realised that rationalisation of their inventory, alone, was saving them > more money than the 'metric costs committee' was costing to run. > > 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] > --
