Who is UL? UL stands for Underwriter’s Laboratories Inc., an independent organization providing professional public safety testing. UL is the most authoritative testing institute in the United States and one of the world’s largest public safety testing labs. UL was established in 1894 by William Henry Merrill, an electrical engineer who devoted his efforts to developing standards, launching tests, designing equipment, and uncovering hazards. Aside from his work at UL, Merrill served as the National Fire Protection Association‘s secretary-treasurer for six consecutive years and as president for two years and was an active member of the Chicago Board and Union Committee. In 1916, Merrill became UL’sRead More →

As Covid cases continue to rise and the temps start to drop, there is discussion on weather being a factor contributing to the increase. However, we ask – is it the weather that affects the virus or human behavior that is affected by the weather? Weather affects  Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin say “the novel coronavirus spreads with about the same efficiency regardless of air temperature and humidity”. Scientists say social interaction and human behavior, remains the biggest factor in the spread of COVID-19. As stated by Dr. Aaron Glatt, chair of the department of medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital inRead More →

As a Massachusetts based, family owned manufacturer of life safety devices, we are pleased to be celebrating National Manufacturing Day this Friday, October 2nd 2020.  MIJA’s production teams are made up of hardworking and skilled individuals in U.S. and Mexico, and we are proud to say we stand behind every gauge and device that leaves our doors. National Manufacturing Day was created in 2012 to celebrate the over 12 million skilled and talented workers in the manufacturing sector. As stated by Jeffrey Krause, CEO of SME. “A serious misconception is that manufacturing is dirty, dark or dangerous; and isn’t seen as an optimal career choice.Read More →

The novel Coronavirus has cast a spotlight on ventilators as a life saving device, but few know much about what they do or how they work. From the first day of the coronavirus outbreak hospitals in the U.S. began scrambling to collect ventilators. The idea was that people’s lives would be saved if they had enough ventilators for everyone with Covid-19. However, the picture is changing quickly as medical professionals learn more about this never before seen virus and as the infection continues to spread across the globe. How does Covid-19 affect the lungs? There is still a lot that researchers and medical professionals doRead More →

Data from the World Health Organization suggests that while 80% of Covid-19 cases are mild or moderate, approximately 15 % of the cases are severe and will requiring oxygen therapy and 5% will be critically ill requiring ICU treatment. While oxygen is all around us, we often forget it is also a life saving medicine. For the individuals facing severe cases of the novel coronavirus, medical oxygen is a key treatment that can save their lives. What is Covid-19 Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. And while There are many types of human coronaviruses, including some that commonly cause mildRead More →

During a recent conversation with one of our customers, MIJA was pleased to hear feedback from one of their customers. en-Gauge stated, “It was a sobering moment as I listened to our client, a Fortune 100 Corporation that had installed en-Gauge technology a little over a year ago.” “We haven’t been able to get into our building for the last 3 months due to the virus and there is so much that we are falling behind on.  But the en-Gauge technology connected to our building automation system is keeping our facility code compliant when inspections by our personnel is next to impossible.”  Listed, proven andRead More →

There’s nothing like a nice cold draft beer, especially in the summer. Beer on tap is the way to go, because a good bar – whether it’s a craft beer bar or your favorite neighborhood dive bar, will usually put time into its draft selections.  In a bar, draft should be moving faster than bottles, so it’s usually fresher too. But not many of us know what really goes into serving the perfect beer.  How Keg Beer Stays Fresh A kegerator is a draft beer system that is housed inside a refrigerator. The main parts of a kegerator include the refrigerator, beer keg, CO2 tank, regulator, shank, draftRead More →

MIJA has successfully completed an 8-week Plant Layout workshop, that was lead by MassMEP as part of our continuous improvement plan. Before starting the program, there were many opinions on how to improve the layout of the production floor, but by following the Systematic Layout Planning approach we were able to come to a consensus and the results are remarkable. During the 8-week program, we learned to identify key relationships and eliminate waste, based on the flow of materials and the non-flow relationship between activity areas. We started by identifying key activity areas and documented how the materials flow between each. Then by value streamRead More →