Wednesday, Feb. F, 2012
newsedffclackamas.edu
The
Ron H am m on, sales engineer fo r Gosiger Inc., talks about the capabilities o f the new C N C m illing machines th a t have been delivered to the college. T h e college a n d Gosiger
are partnering to showcase the machines fa r the company a n d train students how to use the cutting edge technology.
Company, college collaborate for success
By Joshua Dillen
Associate News Editor
“These machines can make
anything o ut o f anything,” said
Scott Giltz, dean o f technol
ogy, health occupations and work
force at Clackamas Com m unity
College. H e was beaming with
pride a n d excitement as he
explained the capabilities o f the
three new com puter numerical
control (CN C) machines that had
been delivered to room 152 in
Barlow Hall on Friday, Jan. 13.
' Giltz spoke with enthusiasm
about a new partnership between
C C C and G osiger' Inc. T he
new C N C machines are worth
$500,000 to $750,000 depend
ing on final specifications and
configuration. T he company sells
and services the machines, yet
its closest dealership is in Seattle,
Wash. T he milling machines are a
vital part o f m anufacturing world
wide. W hether it is a plastic part
in your com puter or a tiny screw
in a hearing aid, m ost o f what we
use every day would n o t be pos
sible w ithout these behemoths o f
m odem technology.
“Its a win-win situation for all
o f us,” Giltz said.
Based in D ayton, O hio,
T he deal will allow Gosiger
Gosiger always strives to make the representatives to dem onstrate
machines they distribute as acces their inventory and its capabili
sible and usable to their manufac ties to clients, while manufac
turing customers as possible. W ith turing and engineering students
no showrooms in the area and an get hands on training using the
industry shortage o f professionals m ost advanced technology o u t
trained to run these sophisticated there today. Gosiger will rotate
machines, the company needed a machines through the Barlow lab
way to connect and build a net in the manufacturing shop. W ith
work o f manufacturers and a quali some m inor upgrades to bring
fied employee base. Most impor- power to the machines, the cost to
tandy, they needed a convenient die college will be minimal com
Oregon location to showcase their pared to the huge expense o f just
products to their areas customers. one o f the machines. Students are
Ron H am m on explains the com the true beneficiaries. T he college
panies marketing strategies with can now graduate and certify stu
passion .
dents w h o can operate the newest
Local companies like Boeing, technology. ;
C A D /C N C Instructor Chris
Nike and several small manufac
Rizzo, with 25 years in the field,
turers need fully trained C N C
machine operators to replace a retir and seven years at the college, said
ing workforce and staff a growing | “I have a pretty good finger on
industry. Ham m on is Gosiger s sales . the pulse; o f what’s going on in the
engineer. H e voiced his concerns manufacturing industry. ’
about a shortage o f skilled workers.
Rizzo’s personal network con
He describes a potential dilemma nected him with Gosiger and
on the horizon. H am m on is part of allowed him to get the ball rolling
the team coordinating die installa and help link the company and the
tion o f the machines.
college.
. “O u r industry is going to be in
Giltz worked at the Wilsonville
a crisis by 2012,” he said. “N o one campus before he became head
is being trained to replace those o f his departm ent at the m ain
campus, which used to be hom e
retiring.’
to Oregon Advanced Technology
Center (OATC). T he OATC was
similar to this partnership in that
connected local manufactures,
C N C dealers and trained opera
tors.
T he O ATC no longer exists.
Rizzo knew o f that program’s suc
cess through consulting work in
the past. H e decided to figure
out now to make something like
that happen in Barlow’s m anu
facturing shop and got the ball
rolling. Rizzo organized a meeting
attended by H am m on and other
representatives from Gosiger with
himself, Giltz and Bob Delgatto,
C C C m anufacturing instructor,
last August that has culminated
in a synergistic relationship. These
m en hope to give C C C graduates
a jum pstart in the field o f m anu
facturing, by working to build
this relationship. These workers
will not need to be retrained on
advanced equipm ent..
“Instead o f on the job, we can
train students here,” said Rizzo.
D elgatto h ad the same excite
m en t about this project as Giltz,
H am m o n and Rizzo. T h e pas
sion for engineering and m anu
facturing was only superceded
by their desire to prepare stu
dents in the best way possible.
D elgatto was ju st as passionate
about enabling students to gain
the employable skills they need.
H e was particularly anim ated
w hen telling about th e void the
industryds experiencing w ith the
growing lack o f skilled operators
“T here are 600,000 jobs o u t
there th a t can’t be filled,” he
said.
“W e are all very excited about
w hat th is can m ean for our
students arid th e m anufactur
in g .com m unity as , a w hole,”
D elgatto stated in a n email.
.. D e lg a tto
expects
th e
-machines, to -b e u p a n d .ru n riin g
ii>, two to t h r e e ; , , f ¡ S o m e
accessories an d parts need to be
delivered and there is quite an
install process he said.
Delgatto also gave kudos to
Rizzo. T‘H e was very instrum en
tal in getting the ball rolling on
this arrangem ent,” he, stated.
T h is brilliant engineering o f
an exceptional partnership has
rocketed C C C to th e forefront
m anufacturing training;
“T h is is the future o f America”
said Rizzo as he adm ired the
new advanced m anufacturing
lab in Barlow.
Littering the halls of justice: is America lawsuit-happy?
By James Duncan
Design Editor
W ith lawsuits on the campus’ mind, this
writer finds the topic o f the law and the way
people wield it against each other, deeply
fascinating. Over the course of the last many
decades trie law has become easier to use in
m ote and m ote frivolous ways.
In 2006 the parents o f a student decided
to sue a school because a teacher woke the
student up in a less than polite way. While
it is terrifying to be jarred awake suddenly
from a nice classroom nap, I’m not sure it
has even spontaneously resulted in severe
hearing loss or “emotional trauma” the par
ents and the student claim. This is one
instance where there is a chance, no matter
how small, that the plaintiffs are actually
responding to an injury or they are lust tak
ing advantage o f the system to make some
quick money.
Just last week an instructor was throwing
pen caps at m e for sleeping in class! T he
precedent has been set, litigation will be
swift. “Pen bruises” should be worth at least
a couple million.
A woman sued a pair o f girls because she
had a panic attack when they brought her a
plate o f cookies in 2005-
Cases like this litter the halls o f justice
but why is this allowed to happen? W hy
is a person able to make a sandwich in the
back o f a Winnebago, while driving and sue
the company when they crash? T he simple
answer is because people are no longer held
accountable for their actions.
There was once a time not that long ago,
as a matter o f fact, that when you burned
yourself with a cup o f tea it was your own
fault for not blowing enough or sipping)
A n increasing num ber of people are decid
ing that rather than looking at themselves
and saying “Wow, maybe I did something
wrong and should not d o that,” they would
rather say “I can do no wrong. Iam going to
sue the closest person I can blame!”
Now this is not to say that all lawsuits are
silly. M any that look luce a desperate ploy
for free money have valid reasoning behind
them. A famous case that’s cited by many
as frivolous legislation is the McDonald’s
hot coffee case, also known as Liebeck v.
McDonald’s Restaurants. In this case Mrs.
Liebeck opened a cup o f coffee that was 180
degrees and spilled it into her lap. Stop here'
ana add that she was initially awarded $2.7
million; it starts to look like she was g o b
bing for all she could steal
T he facts though, paint a different pic
ture because after receiving third and second
degree bums to 22 percent o f her body, she
asked only that McDonalds pay for the
extensive skin graphs and eight days o f work
she was forced to gfve up for her stay in the
hospital after the incident. She requested a
total o f $10,500 that would be needed to
cover the medical bilk and compensate her
for missed wotk, but McDonalds offered a
total am ount of $800 and refused to budge.
An overzealous lawyer and a jury decided
that she should be compensated for two
days’ worth o f total coffee safes. This amount
was lowered by the appeal o f McDonalds
and Mrs. liebeck. In m e end they settled
for an undisclosed am ount that was less
than $600,000.
T he power o f the law was laid down to
protect people and to keep us all safe from
others who would choose to put us in harm’s
way, to keep us from harming ourselves and
to keep us from harming each other, but
whatever happened to learning from your
mistakes? W hen did personal responsibility
go flying out the window? W ho knows!
Maybe people need to learn that even
if you leave your two-year-old alone with
a small toy and they shove it so far up their
nose that you need to take them to the
hospital, that it isn’t the responsibility o f the
t t y maker to prevent Y O O from being a
bad parent or an overall bad person. Yes that
is the end o f it! If you are dum b enough
to be injured by the day to day activities
o f being alive you don’t deserve to make
money because you can call a lawyer. You
see lawsuits ate like children, just because
you have the skill set to make one doesn’t
mean you should.