Paulo Pereira
Chief Metrologist
Caterpillar Inc.

Paulo Pereira has 27 years of experience in manufacturing having graduated with his Ph.D. in Metrology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Before that, he completed his Master’s and undergraduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the University of São Paulo – Brazil. Paulo is currently working in the Global Quality Group of Caterpillar Inc. and was previously the Chief Metrologist at the Caterpillar Americas Operations Division where he was responsible for metrology planning and operations.  Before that he was an internal consultant for metrology supporting Caterpillar Inc. manufacturing facilities worldwide. He has also been very active in metrology standards development both at National (ASME) and international (ISO) levels for many years.  Paulo has been an ASQ CQE since Dec/06 and completed a management class in 2007.

PRESENTATION: Hand Gages and Metrology Challenges for Manufacturing in the 21st Century
Continual advances of technology have made the possibility of a "lights-out" manufacturing environment closer to reality. Automation of different levels is now a common sight within many manufacturing facilities. However, a considerable number of hand gages and other measurement devices still need further development to enable total removal of the operator from the shop floor. In addition, the skills of typical manufacturing personnel have been significantly reduced compared to several decades ago and are trending even further in that way, making the use of manual equipment much more difficult. To enable a true lights out environment the metrology community needs to make a variety of leaps in technology.