New Orleans Wrap-Up

Published: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 - 08:13

CMSC 2012 is now “in the books,” and it was a smashing success at a great venue in New Orleans. Every year, the conference is filled with up-close looks at the latest portable coordinate metrology technologies, unparalleled networking opportunities and social events, and fantastic white paper presentations from thought leaders in academia as well as industry. CMSC 2012 was no different.

In addition to all those great reasons to attend, this year’s conference (the 28th in our history) was particularly memorable for some critical milestones in the development of our personnel certification program within portable 3D metrology. This is the first program of its kind in industry, and at CMSC 2012, we rolled out a pilot certification exam. More than 80 attendees took the test, and the anonymous results are providing us with a wealth of invaluable information. You’ll be seeing summary reportage on these results in the coming weeks, both in this e-newsletter and on the CMSC website at www.cmsc.org.

The other critically important leg of the certification program is our annual measurement study. At CMSC 2012 we ran this event for the third time, following up on 2010, when we performed a mock gauge repeatability and reproducibility (GR&R) study, and 2011, when we looked at how behaviors affect measurement. This time, we considered the importance of practical testing and how it all comes together as part of a comprehensive certification program. Our sincere thanks go out to Metrologic for sponsoring this year’s study, and to Keith Bevan of the U.K.'s National Physical Laboratory as well as Trevor Toman at Coventry University for their work in administering the testing and crunching the data.

If you were unable to attend this year’s conference, you can get the flavor of CMSC 2012 from a video shot by our media partner, Quality Digest, who broadcast an episode of their Quality Digest Live web TV show from the floor of the exhibit hall. You can access the video in this issue of CMSC World. It includes interviews with my predecessor as chairperson, Chuck Pfeffer, along with Randy Gruver, chair of our Certification Committee. Chuck and Randy provide some interesting insights into the pilot examination, the measurement study, and the ways in which the acquired data are being used in the development of our certification program.

The other great way to access content from this year’s show is to join the Coordinate Metrology Society. Membership includes a free subscription to our twice-annual Journal of the CMSC, which presents the best white papers from the conference. Click here to learn more about the benefits of membership to the society.

CMSC 2013 is being planned now, and we already have the dates (July 22–26) and the venue (the beautiful Sheraton Hotel & Marina in San Diego) reserved. Mark your calendars now and plan to join us in southern California for what’s sure to be another memorable conference. Even better, if you’re engaged in a unique project using portable coordinate metrology equipment such as laser trackers, articulated arms, or photogrammetry, or the associated software that functions with it, consider submitting an abstract to our Presentation Committee. The official call for papers notification is coming up wthin the next few months. You may become one of our presenters at CMSC 2013.

Thanks for your support. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

About The Author

Robb McIvor

Robb McIvor is the 2012–2013 chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Coordinate Metrology Society and a toolmaker at Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, Washington.