Menu
1

The Republic has no need for men of Science. —Jean-Paul Marat

Who we are

  • john allen
    John Allen specializes in the application of engineering principles within the context of product performance, product durability, and reliability improvement in manufacturing companies. John's clients have included General Motors, Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, Rolls Royce, US Steel, Delphi, Philips Consumer Electronics, Siemens Electronics and others. He has worked in foundries and chemical companies, and on precision machining, plastic molding, precision assembly and extrusion and blown film. John has worked on planes, trains, and automobiles around the world.

    Read the full description on John Allen.

    About John Allen

    John's reputation is based upon his ability to efficiently assist clients in solving complex technical problems. There are three projects that solidified his reputation. The first involved defects in cast aluminum heads. Scrap was in excess of 50%, much of it not found until after machining or installation in the vehicle, causing assembly line stops and warranty problems. John's small team reduced the scrap to less than 1%, eliminated warranty claims for the defect, and virtually eliminated machining scrap. The project required only several days of John's time over the course of a few weeks.

    Another important project was at a smelter, which suffered from broken furnace electrodes for more than 50 years. The life of the electrodes was unpredictable, requiring frequent furnace outages. Over the course of one year (it took 6 - 8 months to manufacture and consume an electrode) the life of the best electrodes was extended by 40%, broken electrodes were eliminated, and this type of furnace became one of the most productive in the world. The additional cost to produce these efficient electrodes was about $3 for an electrode that cost in excess of $5,000.

    One more impressive project was for air seals in aircraft engines. The first team that worked on the problem over the course of two years, reduced scrap from 40% to 20% and stated that no further progress could be expected. John and his small team took over. At the end of the project, scrap was less than 1% for these delicate components. John has a reputation for completing complex product performance and reliability projects quickly.

    John Allen is a respected speaker and lecturer. For years, he taught Shainin Statistical Engineering seminars, was an annual presenter at the Shainin Symposium, and was a keynote speaker at the Daimler Chrysler 2003 Black Belt Symposium. John spoke at a conference of West Coast Universities, delivering a speech, "Emulation and Invention: Strategy, Structure and Tactics." He was recognized in January 2002 by Shainin LLC as the first Shainin Fellow for his contributions as Director of Technology, for his ability to teach clients, for solving technical problems and for training consultants.

  • david hartshorne
    David Hartshorne helps clients improve product performance and reliability, and manufacturing performance in Automotive, Aerospace, Electronic and Chemical Industries. David's clients have included Alcoa, Bosch, Carrier, Daimler-Chrysler, Delphi, Delta, General Motors, Hexcel, Lafarge, Philips, Rolls-Royce Aerospace, ThyssenKrupp, TRW and others. He has worked in precision machining, precision assembly, foundries, sheet metal fabrication, plastic moulding, chemical and electronics products.

    Read the full description on David Hartshorne.

    About David Hartshorne

    David worked with Shainin from 1993, and was a founding member of Shainin LLC in 1997. Prior to that, David's career was first in Automotive, then the Aerospace industry, with responsibilities for implementing Lean Manufacturing as well as product performance and reliability improvement. David holds a Master of Science degree from Warwick University, UK.
    David has a reputation for completing complex product performance and reliability projects quickly, and is a respected speaker and lecturer. For years, he taught Shainin Statistical Engineering seminars, and was a presenter at Shainin Symposia.

    David enjoys skiing, landscape design and construction, and reading the history of gardens, science, mathematics and technology.


  • tobias mack
    Tobias Mack's expertise is in solving catastrophic failures with a low failure rate, field failures that so far have not been recreated in-house and longterm chronic problems.

    He has worked on projects and trained engineers at most automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in Europe, North America, South America and Asia-Pacific, as well as Aerospace, Electronic and Chemical Industries.

    Read the full description on Tobias Mack.

    About Tobias Mack

    Tobias Mack's expertise is in solving catastrophic failures with a low failure rate, field failures that so far have not been recreated in-house and longterm chronic problems.

    He has worked on projects and trained engineers at most automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in Europe, North America, South America and Asia-Pacific, as well as Aerospace, Electronic and Chemical Industries. Tobias holds a Dipl. Ing (FH) degree in Mechatronic from the Hochschule Ulm, Germany.

    He started working together with John and Dave at Shainin in 1993 and was a founding member of Shainin LLC in 1997.

What we do

Solve Tough Problems

Using our diagnostics expertise, we work on-site with you to solve your toughest production, product performance and reliability problems. And, we do it fast. You will see the difference in our approach right from the start. First, our diagnostics seek to find out “What’s Happening?” not “What’s Wrong?” This leads to a CAUSAL EXPLANATION, far richer than a root cause. We are not dependent on data analysis, but on effective diagnostics to answer specific engineering questions.You will gain new insight into your products and processes through the use of simple and power graphics and analysis.

Training and Certification

We teach you to do what we do through our effective and efficient training and certification. We will also teach selected people as trainers, allowing them access to our training material.

Sample Articles

Below are four articles that give you a good idea of the kind of things we are about.

Gallery showing TNSFT in action

TNSFT at work…and a little play...

Clients:
  • Bosch Automotive
  • Chemtura Corporation
  • Cooper-Standard Automotive
  • Dana Corporation
  • Delphi Corporation
  • Ford Motor Company
  • GDX Automotive
  • Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
  • Hyundai Motor Company
  • Idexx Laboratories Inc.
  • Logitech International S.A.
  • Metrologic Instruments Inc.
  • Praxair Inc.
  • Switec Microcomponents S.A.
  • The Timken Company
  • TI Automotive
  • TRW Automotive
  • United Technologies Corporation
  • Visteon Corporation