Mike Payne wrote: "I can hear the comments "this is a job killer law", when I and probably many of you think the opposite."
I suppose we could take the Keynesian position that enforcing Sec 205b of the Omnibus Trade & Competitiveness Act would increase employment: just imagine all the people that will have to be hired to help the Feds convert to metric! (that's sarcasm . . .) On a serious note: I want to clarify two things about my lengthy email about Mike's petition: First, I think the intent is fabulous, and kudos to Mike for taking the initiative to try and move it along; my concern is only with the wording of the petition. Second, I may have left the impression that my company being metric was of no advantage to us. That most assuredly is not the case. It was not a clear advantage in any specific bid process, but the reasons for that are (a) You never get to see the cost structure and pricing strategy of your competitors, and there are a gazillion ways to structure any bid, and (b) the engineering and manufacturing savings we gained from converting to metric are pretty deeply buried in our cost structure. Regardless, I am confident that being metric adds a point or two to the bottom line, and it certainly was one of the many "feel good" factors that gave Beijer a comfort level that QSI was a company they wanted to buy. Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Payne" <[email protected]> To: "jim elwell" <[email protected]> Cc: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 26, 2011 8:45:03 AM Subject: Re: [USMA:51149] Re: White House Petition My main aim with this petition is to get it out in front of the public, if the news media get hold of it things will really take off, if it generates a national discussion on the value of exports we lose it will help. But we need to get the facts out to the general public and hope the news media picks up on it. I agree the Obama administration will have their hands tied even trying to enforce present law, I can hear the comments "this is a job killer law", when I and probably many of you think the opposite. For this alone, I hope all of you who think it might not work, sign it anyway. One person can make a difference as we saw in Tunisia last year, one person immolating themselves ignited the "Arab Spring", we just need the Spark. Mike Payne On 25/09/2011, at 13:42 , Jim Elwell wrote: Folks: I am as pro-metric as anyone, but I cannot sign this petition. Since I have not posted much in a few years, before explaining why, here is some info about me: I founded a manufacturing company (QSI Corporation) in 1983, which I converted to metric around 1992 (also when we joined the USMA). I sold the company last November to a Swedish manufacturer (our website is now www.BeijerElectronicsInc.com ). In addition to converting a manufacturing company to metric, I helped a dozen or so employees receive USMA CMS and CAMS certifications; I taught perhaps 150 employees the basics of the metric system; QSI distributed tens of thousands of metric rulers around the country (now available at the USMA home page); I have been on the USMA board of advisers for years; I also worked with numerous vendors helping them deal with our metric-only procurement documents (drawings, etc.). We had to do that a lot in 1992, but essentially all manufacturers of any size can handle metric today. (BTW, I would like to say that QSI being metric played a major role in a Swedish company buying us, but that would not be the case. Beijer was delighted that we were metric, as it eases the integration, but they bought us for business reasons (i.e., our size, profitability, market penetration, key business strengths, etc.). If we had NOT been metric, they would still have bought us.) So, there are three primary reasons I cannot sign the petition: 1. I feel it is WAY too generic or un-actionable. "We petition the Obama administration to complete the US transition to the modern metric system." What specifically do you want them to do? Start issuing press releases with metric units? (Utterly useless.) Require federal agencies to procure in metric? (Extremely powerful, may need Congressional approval.) Require all businesses to use metric only? (Guarantees constitutional challenges.) In my thinking, being so unspecific has two negatives: it does not suggest to the Administration what direction they should consider, and leaves the door open to them doing stupid or ineffective things. 2. I have real heartburn over the "allowing us to manufacture items we could sell to the World." There is NOTHING stopping any company that wishes to from manufacturing items to "sell to the World." My company did it, starting when we were non-metric and had all of three employees (in late 1984). The barriers to companies converting to metric have nothing to do with any government barriers, and everything to do with individuals who run the companies seeing any benefit in converting. If there are so many market opportunities out there for companies that convert to metric, why haven't they already done so? 3. I also have heartburn over "We could increase our exports if we manufactured and sold using the metric system." Both the objection immediately above, plus the use of "we." "We" do not manufacture anything -- individual companies, run by individual persons, do. And it is those individuals who are in the position to know whether or not converting to metric would increase their export sales. The world is FAR too complex for even the brightest Administration to know even a tiny fraction of the issues that the millions of individual companies in the country have to deal with. My (prior) company exports to many countries (Canada, France, Japan, China, Brazil, etc.). When we receive an RFQ (request for quote) from a foreign country, it will frequently have certain metric requirements (e.g., cord has to be 2 meters long), but I cannot think of it ever happening that being a metric company gave us a significant advantage over other US non-metric companies (the exception would be a company that refused to comply with metric requirements (e.g., sells ONLY six-foot cords). In my opinion, the single most effective thing the Federal government could do to promote metrication in the US is simply to require that all federal procurement be done using the metric system. The Federal government is the single largest purchaser of goods and services in the entire world, and the millions of US businesses that scramble for government contracts would rapidly metricate if they had to in order to sell to the Federal government. A petition along those lines is one I could support. Jim Elwell ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Payne" < [email protected] > To: "U.S. Metric Association" < [email protected] > Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2011 12:06:22 PM Subject: [USMA:51140] Re: White House Petition As of Saturday 14:00 ET there were 80 signatures, there has to be 150 for the general public to even see this apparently, so I'd like to ask everyone to open an account and vote. We need to get this out to the American public. Thanks Mike Paye On 24/09/2011, at 24:03 , Harry Wyeth wrote: > I signed it, but 41 signatures is pretty pathetic. Let's get on it! > > HARRY WYETH > > > On 9/23/11 1515:15, Michael Payne wrote: >> Please go to http://wh.gov/gw1 I need 150 signatures to keep it on the list, >> 5000 to get the White House to pay attention. >> >> Mike Payne > -- Beijer Electronics, Inc. Jim Elwell | Technical Product Manager [email protected] 2212 South West Temple #50 | Salt Lake City | Utah | 84115 | USA | 801-466-8770 | Fax 801-466-8792 -- Beijer Electronics, Inc. Jim Elwell | Technical Product Manager [email protected] 2212 South West Temple #50 | Salt Lake City | Utah | 84115 | USA | 801-466-8770 | Fax 801-466-8792
