PMPA’s Index of Sales of Precision Machined Products rose to 85, the  highest value for the year. This is an increase of 30.8% in the Sales index compared to the 2009 low of 65 in May for the 96 companies reporting this month.   Our industry  sales  continue to recover.

Five consecutive months of growth in sales. And high for the year.

Reason for optimism:  October marks the fifth month in a row of increasing sales in the precision machining industry. The three month moving average crossed the 12 month moving average. For our industry, this data shows that recovery is underway. Thirty-four percent (34%) of participating shops reported double digit sales increases in October. 

Sales Outlook: The percentage of respondents who felt that sales would decline over the next three months was almost equal to the percentage that thought sales would be up, (25% vs. 26%) with 48% expecting sales to remain about the same. The outlook for sales in the short term has stabilized.

Our report for October 2009  confirms that the sales of the precision machining industry are recovering.  The percentage of respondents showing positive sales growth, the three month  moving average for sales crossing the 12 month moving average for sales,  five consecutive months of improved sales, and the rise of the sales  index by 30.8% over the year’s low  in May are strong and positive indicators of sales recovery.

How can we help you?

Guest Post By Jeff Wiltsie, Vanamatic Company.

Here is a photo of manufacturing in China.

Proposed USEPA GHG regulations will actually promote this overseas.

The comment period for USEPA proposed Greenhouse Gas (GHG)  Regulations is coming to a close on 28 December 2009.  It is important to understand that GHG emissions are a global problem, and without global solutions, all that  these “US ONLY”  regulations will do is distort  and reduce even further the competititveness of US manufacturers compared to countries that are not held to the same standards.

1.  US GHG regulations increase costs for US manufacturers;
2. Increased  manufacturing costs result in US customers shopping for cheaper goods;
3. Cheaper goods will be produced by manufacturers in countries where GHG regulatory controls are not enacted;
4. US manufacturing declines as production is moved overseas;
5. Jobs are lost;
6. Imports of High GHG produced goods replace US goods in our market;
7. US deficit in balance of trade grows;
8. Increase in Global GHG emissions as regulated US manufacturing is replaced with high emitting Non Regulated GHG production overseas.

GHG is a global issue, not just a local issue. US manufacturing jobs are the only thing likely to be reduced under the USEPA’s proposed regulations, and world GHG emissions will continue to rise. 

What am I missing here? Do you see unilateral rules as being in our favor? Or is the plan to eliminate manufacturing here in the US, to Export our pollution? What do you think?

To comment  :

Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2009-0517 by one of the following methods:
    • http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions
for submitting comments. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0517.
    • E-mail: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. Attention Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0517.
    • Fax: (202) 566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0517.
   

For more information on the differences between US and China Environmental performance: http://www.americanmanufacturing.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/chinaenvironmental-report-march-2009.pdf

Tired of innovation? Fed up with other people’s ‘good ideas?’ Here are 6 rules to stifle innovation from one of Americas most readable writers on management, Rosabeth M. Kanter. *

1. Be suspicious of any new ideas from below.
2. Make people go through several organizational levels before getting your approval.
3. Give criticism at every opportunity.
4. Keep people in the dark about what is going on in the firm.
5. Manage tightly; control everything to the nth degree.
6. Have the attitude that top management already knows everything there is to know.

Come to think of it, these sound quite a bit like the PPAP process.

I had the distinct pleasure of working in shops where these were the basis for how management managed.

They were great examples of how I did not want to manage when I got my chance.

How many of these ‘rules’ are alive and well in your shop?

How many would your employees say?

Into innovation? Here's your book.

*Rosabeth M. Kanter wrote these in 1991.  I found them in The Quest for Competitiveness: Lessons from America’s Productivity and Quality Leaders  Y.K.Shetty Editor, Vernon M Buehler Editor. If you can find this book (try Amazon) buy it!

Now is the time for innovation- throughout our organizations, not just the shop floor. Today we’ll provide you with a free “Tool You Can Use” courtesy of  Knowledge @ Wharton and  Boston Consulting Group.

Another piece of the competitiveness puzzle.

“When people think about lean, they often associate it with reducing the workforce. But the cost is not in the line labor, its in the overhead. The most important thing  is the seamless integration of everything that goes into the production.” -Adam Farber, Boston Consulting Group.

Lean had its genesis in post-WWII Japan- facing a world with no capital and few raw materials, innovation at Toyota became a necessity- a process known as the Toyota Production System, or Lean.

Today, like Japan after the war, our organizations face a similar crisis: no capital, few orders, difficult to obtain raw materials, and difficult to find skilled people. Innovating throughout our organizations- NOT JUST IN OUR SHOP OPERATIONS, but  in sales, engineering, administration, in fact all areas- through the use of Lean tools can help us eliminate waste. Less waste means add more value for customers, improving the sustainability of our companies.

Click here for Rethinking Lean, Beyond The Shop Floor, a free .pdf from Wharton Business School and Boston Consulting Group.

In  1957  MIT economist Robert Solow showed capital and labor only accounted for about half of growth. The remaining half he attributed to innovation. For his work on the importance of innovation, Solow received a Nobel Prize in economics. For your work in innovating throughout your organization, you too may earn a grand prize, a more sharply focused, less wasteful, more sustainable enterprise. 

And that more competitive enterprise, is a prize worth having.

I went to the U.S. Government’s  Bureau of Economic Analysis Site the other day looking for some information on imports and exports of manufactured goods.

However, when I saw the data for General Imports of Crude Oil by Country, what I saw stopped me in my tracks. (in the supplement, Exhibit 3,  page 35 of 47 in the .pdf.)

We use a lot of oil...

Here are the top 10 foreign suppliers of petroleum to the U.S. Figures cited are in thousands of barrels, and are for the month of August 2009 from Supplement Exhibit 3:

Venezuela is our number 2 supplier?

Nigeria is number 5.

Iraq is 6th, and Angola and Colombia make the top ten?

Quick!  Can you name  any U.S. companies that manufacture solar panels  here in North America? A technology that might just help us replace the need for imported petroleum in our daily lives?

Can you name any North American companies that manufacture lithium-ion batteries?

What do you make of these facts?

Perhaps distance and perspective give them clarity.

It's the value of the dollar...

We follow the ISM Manufacturing Index as an input for our sensemaking as to what is going on in Precision Machining. PMPA’s own Business Trends Report has shown sales in our industry to be recovering.  So as we were considering the latest ISM Manufacturing Report, we came across this story from the Financial Post.

The  U.S. manufacturing sector grew in October at its fastest pace since April 2006, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM’s manufacturing index climbed to  55.7 from 52.6 in September. This is the third consecutive monthly reading above 50. BElow 50, the index indicates contraction in manufacturing, the line that divides expansion and retrenchment. Also unexpectedly, hiring plans in the beleaguered sector turned positive for the first time in more than a year.

Some economists say they were most encouraged by the signs of hiring in the sector. The employment index surged to 53.1 from 46.2. However PMPA’s survey of members showed that plans to add or recall workers were still nascent, and very dependent on further increases of orders.

Still a way to go until callbacks happen.

 According to PMPA’s respondents, “A further 50% increase in sales will result in in the majority of the precision machining industry’s laid off employees being recalled from layoff. A 25% increase is said to be likely to lead to the recall of about 39% of workers on layoff.”

In this post we’ll take a look at the significance of the last 2 digits of the steel grade designation. We will be discussing carbon, not alloy grades.

The first 2 digits give us an idea about whether the grade is a plain carbon or alloy steel. See our post here. So 1018 is a plain carbon grade;  1137 is a resulfurized carbon steel; 4140 is an alloy steel.

So lets look at those last two digits in the 4 digit  AISI/ SAE grade designation, and what they mean in the carbon grades we see in our shops.

The secret to understanding real estate  is location, location, location.

In steel, the secret to understanding is carbon, carbon, carbon.

This is .21 Carbon steel from the hull of the Titanic.

Carbon is so important in understanding a steel’s characteristics, that in the North American nomenclature system, the last two digits of the grade are the average carbon content expressed as weight  %. Carbon is the most important indicator or predictor of a steel’s properties and response to processing.

So in that 1018 steel, 0.18 weight % carbon (on average) is implied; in 1137, 0.37 wt % carbon (on average) is implied; in 1144, the average carbon content we expect is, you guessed it, 0.44 wt.%.

So what does that mean to us as machinists?

Very low carbon. Grade 1008-1010. The low carbon content makes these steels low strength and very ductile. Typically used for cold heading. Cold forming. The machinist would characterize these as gummy. Chips are stringy, continuous, and soft.

Low carbon. Grade 1018; 1022. Low carbon means low strength. The non alloys in this range are weldable, and all of these grades are cold formable with out  the need for an anneal.  Grades in this carbon range are often carburized to achieve a high surface hardness. Not a good choice for machining, difficult to get chip to break.  Chips are somewhat continuous, and soft to semi-soft. Parts made from these grades tend to have low stock removal, and look like the bar that they were made from- bolts, light duty shafts, tie rods,  pins.

Medium carbon.  1045, 1137, 1144. Medium carbon means medium strength. Usually cold drawn. Can be heat  treated. Not recommended for cold heading. Welding requires special practices and residual control.  (Do not weld 11XX grades due to high sulfur content!)

Chips are continuous and semi hard (1030), continuous and tough (1035), and continuous and start to become springy or hard (1045-1050).  Small shafts, forgings, and kingpins are typical of these grades. Not usually annealed. Heavy draft (cold work) followed by a stress relief operation can get yield strengths into the 100,000 psi minimum. ASTM A 311 class B is one such designation, Stressproof (TM)  is Niagara LaSalle’s trademarked name for a similar product.

High carbon. Above 0.50 carbon, most of us start to describe steels as “high carbon.” Depending on the application, and carbon content, an anneal may be required for processing. My rule of thumb for carbon grades  is at 0.60 and above, an anneal is required prior to cold drawing. ( For alloys, generally annealing is required at 0.40% carbon.)   So a 1060 bar would be annealed prior to cold drawing.   The type of anneal for these steels would be called a lamellar pearlitic anneal. It would help to develop a  predominately coarse lamellar  pearlitic structure in the steel. Chips are continuous and range from hard (1060) to tough (1070) to springy (1080 and above).

Very high carbon. At 0.90  carbon and above, (drill rod and bearing steels) a different kind of anneal is called for. It is called spheroidize annealing, and results in a greater mean free path of ferrite between the hard carbide particles in these steels. Very high carbon steels are most machinable in the spheroidize annealed condition.

Adding sulfur to carbon steels is called resulfurizing. This addition provides a way to break up the chip, thus escaping the continuous chip that we get from 10XX steels. This is why 11XX and 12XX steels are so machinable.

Click here to learn how  steel chemistry might have contributed to the sinking of the Titanic.

Photomicrograph from JOM, 50 (1) (1998), pp. 12-18.

The bill is H.R. 3548. 

The House passed the bill yesterday and the President is expected to sign it  today. 

Call your tax advisor promptly!

You should consult your tax advisor immediately, as this bill provides for immediate tax refunds on taxes that your business has paid over the immediate 5 years, instead of the the usual 2 years for the tax period 2008 OR  2009  (not both!) There are other terms regarding the fifth year that we will not get into here.

The existing law per the stimulus bill only allowed for losses incurred in 2008, the language that PMPA worked to get passed added coverage for 2009.

Thanks to all  who responded to our Action Alert October 23. Your action and support of this important provision  has made a difference!

The US, EU and Mexico have just  (2 hours ago) jointly made a formal request to the WTO for a dispute-settlement panel to address China’s export restraints on a number of  raw materials  of interest to our precision machining industry.  Bloomberg coverage here.

Raw materials such as

• coke ( used in steel), 
• zinc (used in brass),
•  bauxite (aluminum ore),
•  fluorspar (steelmaking slag conditioner),
• magnesium,
• manganese (steelmaking ingredient),
• silicon metal (steelmaking deoxidizer),
• silicon carbide (desulfurizer)

 These are among the materials listed in the filing. These are important (essential!)  ingredients into the steel and metallic raw materials our industry consumes. We remember reading about this as an emerging concern in June in the Globe and Mail.

How they load steel in Hubei, China.

 The economic issue is that this “resource hoarding” results in artificially lowered cost for these raw materials in China  and in effect becomes a subsidy for those  manufacturing operations that China deems “strategic.”  While at the same time making these materials more difficult (and Expensive) to obtain for non Chinese companies.

“Peace” according to Ambrose Bierce, in The Devil’s Dictionary, “in international affairs is a period of cheating between two periods of fighting.”  I think that this is a particularly useful perspective in this situation.

“Diplomacy,” according to my 8th grade History teacher, Mrs. Abernathy, “is war by other means.”

Our industry, the EU, Mexico, and the United States- all of us  are certainly looking forward to some diplomatic success. 

The panel is expected to be convened Nov. 19th.

We all live here together. Why not trade fairly?

Steel loading Photo via  Globe and Mail originally Shanghai Reuters.

Earth photo credit: NASA.

Put this subject on your watch list…

This act charges the EEOC with  issuing finalized regulations by November 21, 2009.

Bush signed it. Ted Kennedy acclaimed it.

These regulations have not yet been finalized, despite the claims of purveyors of employment law posters who insist that you need  a new poster…

Title I of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 prohibits discrimination based on genetic information in health coverage and employment. Title II prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of genetic information. Title III  contains  numerous miscellaneous provisions including updates to child labor laws as well as establishing penalties.

The law requires full compliance by employers with 15 or more employees, employment agencies, labor unions, joint labor-management training programs, and all federal employers. GINA also updates language from ‘Handicap’ and ‘Handicaps’ to ‘Disability’ and ‘Disabilities’ in the existing EEOC code. This law extends HIPAA protections to genetic information.   Ted Kennedy called it “”the first civil rights bill of the new century of the life sciences.”

The implementing regulations from EEOC are not out yet, but here are some ‘tools you can use’ to prepare for the upcoming rules in November:

Fact sheet.

Final version.

As a .pdf.

Final note: If your health or wellness plan pays or incentivizes employees to submit a family history, that is likely to change!

Kami PT. PRESTASI GOLF ANDALAN (Golf Driving Range & School ) membutuhkan :

Receptionist:

Kualifikasi : min SMK atau sederajat, fasih bahasa Inggris, wanita,
tinggi min 160cm, umur min 20 max 25

Surat lamaran, cv, foto terbaru, fotocopy ijasah,ktp,transkrip nilai dikirim ke
T. PRESTASI GOLF ANDALAN
Kawasan Niaga Terpadu Sudirman, Lot 16
Jl. Jend. Sudirman kav. 52-53
Jakarta 12190,
Indonesia
Telp (021) 5279 381
Fax (021) 5279
382

Kami, PT Gizania Group, memiliki anak perusahaan yang bergerak di bidang
produk dan jasa telepon selular dan beroperasi di daerah Jakarta
Selatan, membuka kesempatan bagi Anda, untuk bergabung bersama kami pada
beberapa posisi:

1. Customer Care

Kualifikasi:

· Wanita (maks. 25 thn)

· Fresh Graduate

· Pendidikan min. D3 semua jurusan

· Dapat mengoperasikan komputer

· Komunikatif

· Dapat berbahasa Inggris

2. Accounting

Kualifikasi:

· Wanita (maks. 25 thn)

· Pendidikan S1 Ekonomi Akuntansi

· Pengalaman min. 2 tahun

· Dapat berbahasa Inggris

· Dapat mengoperasikan Microsoft Office

Kirimkan Surat Lamaran, CV, dan foto berwarna, ke:

putrirp@gizania.co.id

Actions always speak louder than words.

Made in China. Protect the environment.

Here’s what GE’s CEO, Jeffrey Immelt,  told the Detroit Press Club back in June:

“We would do much better to observe the example of China. they’ve been growing fast because they invest in technology and they make things.  They have no intention of letting up in manufacturing in order to evolve into a service economy.”

This is the same GE that closed lighting manufacturing plants here in Ohio.

Who decided to close our manufacturing plants here in Ohio, Jeff?

Who decided not to reinvest money here in Ohio to “make things?”

Who decided that absorbing say, $500 000 000  in restructuring costs to close a small number of plants is better than spending,  $40-45 000 000 in reinvestment to make new CFL technology light bulbs here in the USA?

Where do you suppose US workers might get those “green manufacturing jobs” if you’re not building the factories to make light bulbs here in the US?

So before you reach for that  that “green” CFL lightbulb with the GE logo on it, remember the hypocrisy of  Jeffrey Immelt, “20 % of US jobs should be manufacturing jobs,” while closing plants and failing to reinvest to make these “green products” here in the US. 

When you see that ad on TV from GE to “Buy Green,” what they are really saying is “BUY FROM CHINA.”

Note to Jeff Immelt:  US labor productivity is among the highest in the world. Our factories are subject to stringent regulations to assure that we protect the environment. Why would you not want to make this staple “green” product here?

Just wondering.

Grand Sahid Jaya Jakarta is currently seeking qualified candidate to fill the positions :

EXC. SOUS CHEF
FRONT OFFICE MANAGER
BAR SUPERVISOR
FEMALE ASST. LOUNGE MANAGER
TRAINING MANAGER
PURCHASING MANAGER
GUEST RELATIONS OFFICER
SALES MANAGER
CHEF DE PARTIE

Requirements :
1.     Degree/Diploma in Hotel Management with 3/4 years experience in a leading 4-5 star hotel
2.     Strong leadership, innovative, good communication and quick decision making ability
3.     Right personality towards the role and responsibility
4.     Able to work with flexible working hours

For those who are interested in this position are welcome to submit your CV and be addressed to :

herwanto@hotelsahidjaya.com
Or
Herwanto
Human Resources Manager
Grand Sahid Jaya
Jl. Jend. Sudirman No. 86 Jakarta 10220

PMPA is actively working on Capitol Hill,

They are deciding on whether or not to give you a tax break. Contact them NOW.

 as well as with the Administration and business groups, to extend the Net Operating Loss (NOL) carry-back tax provision to support companies who will incur losses in 2009.

Through our lobbying firm, The Franklin Partnership, we are hearing that Senate Democrats are considering adding a four-year net operating loss carry-back provision to bills being considered this week. The tax provision would enable unprofitable companies to obtain immediate cash refunds on taxes they paid over the prior four years, instead of the usual two years.

The proposal floated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) falls just short of our hope to extend refunds to cover the previous five years. However, this is a VERY important step needed to help small manufacturers who are suffering today and inject immediate cash in to their businesses. Extending the loss carry back period to 5 years will allow small businesses to recover cash that could be used to help pay debt or invest in equipment and people in this difficult time. 

Please support PMPA’s efforts on the NOL provision and contact your Senators and Representative, by clicking here,  to urge them to support extending the NOL carry-back provision to five years and covering losses incurred in 2009.

Its really up to you.

http://capwiz.com/pmpa/issues/alert/?alertid=14223241

Now that manufacturing is two months into expansion, September 2009 ISM Report , our short list of long delayed purchases will once again be under serious consideration. Here are 6 reasons to throw out your old list and start a new one.

1. It’s not the old economy. It’s no longer business as Mayberry RFD anymore. 
   

   This is your grandfather's economy.

   What you were looking at before the recession was what you needed for a prerecession economy. That’s not today.

2. Your suppliers have been busy. Making improvements, reducing costs, increasing capabilities of their products. Machines, tools,  and software especially. What may have been a “lock” 6 months ago may in fact be a dog compared to currently available offerings.
3. Your customers have changed. Some have gone away, and some have lost your trust. Do you really want to buy something that is single purpose for an account that you can’t trust?
4. Your market focus has changed. The lessons your team learned in this downturn are what your customers will continue to buy from you and what they didn’t (won’t). Maybe what you were planning on buying was to produce something for the stuff that hasn’t been selling these days…
5. Your needs are really, really different today. When you first made that shopping list, your planning assumptions included readily available bank credit, solvent customers, 16 million plus auto sales in US and full employment in your shops. Today availability of credit is iffy, customers that remain are slow to pay, and auto sales are not likely to top 12 million. The headcount in your enterprise has been drastically reduced. What you wanted then is NOT necessarily what you need today.
6. It won’t be appropriate in your new structure. How will what you wanted back in the good ol’ days be appropriate in your shop today with half your staff on layoff and  the remaining staff working OT?

Is now the time to be faithful to a dusty old procurement plan based on a vanished Mayberry RFD economy? 

This is your current economy.

We have just survived the Terminator economy. Tell me again why  you want to buy Andy of Mayberry’s fishing pole?

Which items on your list remain viable, and what new ones will you be adding?

The AP reported that “Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it will add 4.5 million older-model vehicles to the long list of those recalled because a defective cruise control switch could cause a fire. ”

"Could cause a fire."

Photo credit: NYTimes

“The latest voluntary action pushes Ford’s total recall due to faulty switches to 14.3 million registered vehicles over 10 years, capping the company’s largest cumulative recall in history involving a single problem.”

Here is a list of the latest affected vehicles: 1995-2003 Ford Windstar; 2000-2003 Ford Excursion diesel; 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 Ford F-Super Duty diesel; 1992-2003 Ford Econoline; 1995-2002 Ford Explorer; 1995-2002 Mercury Mountaineer; 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Ford Ranger; and 1994 Ford F35 Motorhome vehicles.

Our relevant question: Are the defective parts, reportedly produced by Texas Instruments,  produced here in North America? Or were these safety critical parts produced overseas in order to obtain the lowest globally available price?

 Just answer the question, please.

Photo credit: NYTimes

Multi-tasking is very common in the hotel industry. Start of the day, you want to check your e-mails, talk with staff, and then attend to work. I like to pay any current bills at the beginning of the day. Hotel bills consist of: Newspapers, phone charges, uniforms, guest supplies, etc. When it’s a busy day, it’s all hands on deck. Heavy check-in days, requires attention and patience. You have the phone ringing from guests from in and out of the hotel. Attending meetings is a daily thing. Leading stand up meetings with department staff to pass on important new information about hotel & groups in house. Guests issues/inquires are common everyday, they love to speak to a manager even when it is something anyone staff member can handle. These are usually calls that take little time, but the frequency of calls adds up. They call to make a slight change in a reservation, or to extend or change arrival date/departure date. Often times, they want to request a room with a king bed or double beds. Room rates are always a common question, they are always looking for discounted rate (AAA, Gov, Senior) for their stay. If they qualify for that specific rate, I usually give it to them to make them happy.

The great thing about the hotel industry, is it’s never the same thing everyday. Each day is unique.

For the Precision Machining Industry, a strong case can be made that our sales are recovering.

Comeback performances are not just limited to Athletes

PMPA’s Index of Sales of Precision Machined Products rose to 82, just one point below January’s high of 83.

4 months in a row of sales increases.

 This is an 11 percent rise in the sales index compared to August, and documents  the 95 reporting companies in aggregate are showing a 26% recovery in sales compared to the 2009 year low of 65 in May, 2009.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of our particpants reported double digit sales increases in September.

The outlook for sales in the short term has stabilized, with only 19% of respondents expecting a decline in sales overthe next three months.

For almost a year, Tom Brady sat on the sidelines, working on his recovery. In the sixth week of this new season, he set an NFL record for touchdown passes in one quarter.  What a comeback!

 The Precision Machining Industry is still on the field despite being hamstrung last fall by the economic meltdown. Our performance continues to be 100% on time and zero ppm. We just need more time on the field. Comeback in progress!

See the full report.

We have open time on our machines. How can we help you?

According to numerous news outlets the Padres interviewed Dodgers assistant GM Kim Ng for the vacant GM job. So this is who Jeff Moorad was talking to right before I walked into his office. He told me that he just finished up a telephone interview with the person and would meet with them this weekend in person (they were spotted having lunch together on Saturday). He also told me that if “they had to make an announcement tomorrow (Friday) regarding a new GM that they would have their person”…..meaning sorry Kim they’ve already got their person.

Another season, another unsatisfactory conclusion.

A few days removed from what was an exceptionally painful ending (Jesus, anyone but him…) many Revolution fans are taking time to step back and look at the bigger picture.  And I’d have to think that most don’t really like what they’re looking at.

2009 was the 3rd consecutive year in which the club earned fewer points and had a worse goal differential than the previous season.  It’s difficult to draw any other conclusion then the organization is moving in the wrong direction.  And it’s time for that to stop before the situation gets any worse.

It’s beyond time for the Revolution to make sweeping changes to their organization, both on and off the field.  Players, trainers, coaches, executives, peanut vendors – they should all be evaluated, and none of them should be assured of returning in 2010.  Because as a Revolution fan from Day One, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to get excited about a club that seems to be stagnating on the playing field and at the gate.

And if the team truly wants to remake itself – and they should – then those changes need to include finding a coach.

The argument in favor of keeping Nicol usually boils down to a complaint about how much the club is willing to spend on player salaries.  And admittedly, I’ve voiced the same complaint in the past.  But at some point, the salary structure is what it is.  If the job description involves winning on the cheap, then it involves winning on the cheap.  And if Nicol can’t do it, then the Revs need to try and find someone who can.

And while we’re at it, let’s not lose sight of the fact that he’s squandered many of the resources he has been given.  The signings of Mauricio Castro and Gabriel Badilla loom as tremendous mistakes.  Edgaras Jankauskas’ signing made it clear that Nicol had the green light to add a significant salary to his roster, but he chose to wait until the season was half over before pulling the trigger on 36-year old forward who seemingly doesn’t have much tread left on his tires.  Chris Albright has given the team virtually nothing in his two seasons with the club.  That’s nearly $675,000 and three international roster spots wrapped up in players who didn’t contribute a whole lot.

Of course Nicol has his positives.  While I don’t feel qualified to judge his tactics, he remains very popular with his players.  Over the course of his tenure, he’s done remarkably well in the draft, and there’s no short-changing the job he’s done developing players like Jeff Larentowicz.

I also understand that the Revs have been bitten pretty severely over the past two years by the injury bug.  But to write off this team’s shortcomings to injuries does nothing but gloss over the fact that they’ve never been good enough under Nicol’s tenure, even when completely healthy.

Bluntly, Steve Nicol is part of the problem in Foxboro.  Is he the entire problem?  No.  Is he a bad coach?  Probably not.  But he’s been in place for seven seasons now, and there’s no sense that he’s suddenly going to come up with the magic formula to win in Foxboro.

I fully concede that things may get worse should Nicol and the Revs choose to part ways.  There’s no guarantee that the next manager would be any better the the former Liverpool legend.  But I no longer believe that a Nicol-led Revolution squad will eventually lift an MLS Cup.  And once enough Revolution fans reach the same conclusion, it’s time to make serious changes.