How a Shop-Floor Problem Led to a New Way of Measuring

Many manufacturing innovations do not begin in research labs. They start with frustration on the production floor.

For Charles Aldrich, Owner of Aldrich Engineer LLC, the path to inventing the decimal inch tape measure began long before the product itself existed. It started with service, education, and firsthand exposure to how small misunderstandings in measurement can create costly results.

Aldrich served four years in the United States Marine Corps, working in aviation electronics under MOS 6672. After completing his service, he used the GI Bill to attend college, earning a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering with minors in mathematics and computer science.

When Aldrich entered the workforce, he encountered a recurring issue across multiple companies. Production employees struggled to read traditional fractional-inch tape measures accurately. Even after being taught how to interpret each line, errors continued. Measurements were misread, marks were off, and rework followed.

By the early 2000s, most engineering drawings had already shifted to decimal-inch dimensions. Tape measures, however, remained fractional. Every measurement required mental conversion. That added time and introduced errors that compounded across production runs.

Aldrich recognized that the issue was not a lack of training or effort. The tools simply no longer matched the way modern engineering work was documented.

In 2020, he addressed that mismatch by inventing the decimal inch tape measure. The design allows users to measure directly in decimal inches without conversion. The concept later received U.S. Patent 11,796,294.

Bringing the idea to market required committing to an initial manufacturing run of 3,000 units. That step led to the formation of Aldrich Engineer LLC.

Today, Aldrich Engineer offers four decimal inch tape measure formats, each developed in response to specific needs:

•  A 5-foot tailor-style tape
• A 10-foot steel tape
• A 25-foot steel tape
• A 165-foot steel tape

The 25-foot tape measure is now used in production environments ranging from submarine manufacturing to spacecraft assembly. The 10-foot version was developed at the request of a bus manufacturing company to support accurate seat placement. The 165-foot tape was requested by an aerospace manufacturer for measuring aircraft wings during production.

The 5-foot tape has taken on a different role. It is used in preschools to teach three-year-olds numbers, counting, and basic measurement. The decimal format allows young learners to understand measurement concepts with minimal instruction.

Decimal inch tape measures are also used in homes for family projects. Aldrich recalls a customer who contacted him to say that household projects had consistently failed because measurement marks were inaccurate. After switching to a decimal inch tape measure, those issues were resolved.

In industrial settings, the impact is quantifiable. Companies that use decimal inch tape measures report reduced scrap and rework. Eliminating the need to convert from decimal drawings to fractional tools saves time and removes a common source of error.

The evolution of Aldrich Engineer LLC reflects how practical experience, rather than theory alone, can drive meaningful change. By aligning measurement tools with the way modern engineering work is actually performed, Aldrich’s solution continues to improve accuracy in classrooms, homes, and some of the most demanding manufacturing environments in the world.

Related: How Aldrich Engineer Reimagined the Tape Measure