I wouldn't know where to begin. But in your estimates did you factor in the cost of training and lost time and productivity due to resistance?
My point is, why should a company bother to metricate its production and staff when it can have the products made in metric elsewhere with no resistance and a lower cost? It's a global market so you have the opportunity to take advantage of the metric used everywhere else with no excess baggage. How many American companies that you know of operate in Australia and function in metric where if they were still in the US they would be doing it in FFU? Jerry ________________________________ From: Pat Naughtin <pat.naugh...@metricationmatters.com> To: U.S. Metric Association <usma@colostate.edu> Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2009 3:08:19 AM Subject: [USMA:44605] Re: cover letter of 1971 U.S. metric report On 2009/04/12, at 1:46 AM, Jeremiah MacGregor wrote: The firms that did not metricate domestically simply had the goods they wanted produced in metric made elsewhere in the world where metric is accepted and not rejected. Why should someone spend time and money to metricate a domestic company only to meet resistance when it is simpler just to close the factory and have the goods made in metric somewhere else? This is more beneficial economically and a win-win situation for the company doing it and the country getting the jobs. If you know your workers and you know that any attempt to metricate the company will be met with with resistance which could waste your money and efforts, would you try to convert or would you simply look for another means to make your parts and goods metric? The auto industry is big and they could make it happen a lot easier then a smaller company where resistance can hurt the bottom line. The simplest and easiest way for others to convert is to simply close the factory go somewhere where there is no hatred of things metric. Metrication is meant to benefit the industry at both the worker's and consumer's expense. Is it any wonder our living standard is bought with borrowed money and not earned money? Jerry Dear Jerry, Have you ever tried to calculate the cost to the USA of these practices. I have tried (at http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/CostOfNonMetrication.pdf ) where I based my estimates of the costs on the UK experience in the late 1960s and the 1970s. I would be most interested to see your estimates. Cheers, Pat Naughtin PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/ or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter to subscribe.
