IIE Solutions articles from July 2001

IIE Solutions archives from July 2001

Sunday night stories.(interorganizational relations)(Brief Article)(Column)
July 1, 2001... Ever since my husband fired the television cable company and had a little satellite dish installed on the roof of our house, my Sunday nights haven't been the same. First, I discovered the HBO series "The Sopranos." Got hooked after one...

Students bring personality to robotics competition.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Robots with personalities popped out of crates and roamed the terrain at Robert Morris College, Moon Township, Pa. The machines then allowed student engineers to take their bows and a host of awards at the Student Robotic Engineering Challenge...

Nation's first manufacturing skill standard launched.(Manufacturing Skills Standards Council )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... In fulfillment of its goal to ensure a skilled, mobile workforce for the manufacturing industry, the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council officially launched the United States' first skill standards for all manufacturing sectors at a special...

Breakthrough cuts LCD manufacturing costs.(IBM researches liquid crystal displays)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Researchers at IBM Corp. may have discovered a way to reduce the cost of manufacturing computer displays drastically while vastly improving screen quality and viewing angles. The breakthrough holds the first potential to replace a nearly...

Tien elected to NAE.(National Academy of Engineering)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... James M. Tien, professor and chair of decision sciences and engineering systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering. Membership into NAE is one of the highest honors an...

Man of the people.(Steven Riehs)
July 1, 2001... Steven Riehs Vice President of E-Learning Medsn Culver City, Calif. From the moment Steven Riehs entered the engineering school at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., he knew his entrepreneurial spirit would steer him...

NEWSMAKERS.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Lee Priest was appointed to eVoice's new senior management team as vice president of telephone industry marketing. Priest, who has more than 10 years' experience, has a B.S. in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech and an M.B.A. from Harvard...

Manufacturers lead B2B e-commerce adoption.
July 1, 2001... Manufacturers are moving toward adopting business-to-business e-commerce strategies at astonishing rates, beating out all other sectors. Manufacturers also have high expectations for a return on their investment, according to a global survey...

Many workplace injuries caused by MSDs.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... The U.S. Department of Labor reported illnesses and serious injuries in the workplace dropped slightly in 1 999. Musculo-skeletal disorders accounted for 43 percent of all lost-work time injuries. The department's Bureau of Labor Statistics...

An on-time flight, rain or shine.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The research of an industrial engineering professor at the University of Iowa may take some of the stress out of air travel. Tom Schnell, assistant professor of industrial engineering and director of the Operator Performance Laboratory in...

Picking the right job candidate.(online interviewing)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Not only can job seekers benefit from Web services, employers can get help assessing candidates with a service called Fitability (http://www.fitability.com). Fitability provides career-related information about an individual's personality...

The Rapid Prototyping Technology Advancement program won the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences 2001 Collaborative Project Excellence Award for exemplary collaboration.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The Rapid Prototyping Technology Advancement program won the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences 2001 Collaborative Project Excellence Award for exemplary collaboration by a diverse cross-section of partners and contributors. The program...

Brown University will receive $3 million from General Motors Corp. to fund a collaborative lab for advanced materials research to find ways to trim vehicle weight, improve recyclability, and streamline assembly.
July 1, 2001... Brown University will receive $3 million from General Motors Corp. to fund a collaborative lab for advanced materials research to find ways to trim vehicle weight, improve recyclability, and streamline assembly. GM and Brown researchers have...

The North Carolina State financial mathematics and engineering master's degree program.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The North Carolina State financial mathematics and engineering master's degree program could begin training students in the 2002/2003 academic year. The program was formed to meet the growing demand for trained financial mathematicians and...

The new LAAW of arc welding.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Arc welding hasn't changed much throughout five decades, but there may be a new system governing the process that joins metal parts on everything from cars to boats to airplanes. Charles Albright, professor of industrial welding and systems...

A walk on the final frontier.(astronaut Michael J. Massimino on training for 2002 mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Michael J. Massimino's career is taking off -- literally. He recently left his position an as associate professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, to prepare for his Jan. 17, 2002,...

Tried-and-true management tools the most popular.(Management Tools Survey from Bain and Company Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Never mind what "new economy" gurus say, executives in North America still opt for tried-and-true management tools to address the fundamentals of cost and corporate direction. The eighth annual Bain & Co. "Management Tools Survey," a...

Engineering education for every American student.(professors Ioannis Miaoulis and Charles Lovas promote early teaching of disciplines which encourage careers in science, math, and engineering)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Their novel ideas about teaching math, science, and engineering to elementary- and high-school students have already caught on in Texas and Massachusetts. Now the two university professors who pioneered those programs are hoping to rally...

Better cost management.(Review)
July 1, 2001... Cost management systems are the foundation for corporate decisions. But traditional cost management defeats its own purpose by leading corporations to make decisions that do not optimize performance, according to engineer and author Reginald...

Defending the nation: An IE's job.(infrastructure researched by industrial engineers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Four industrial engineers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison are a part of an 11-member research team awarded a $4.2 million five-year project by the U.S. Department of Defense to explore problems related to protecting critical national...

Performance-based pay linked to productivity loss.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... It sounds like a fail-safe plan, but performance-based pay -- which is practiced widely in American companies with the intention of increasing shop-floor productivity -- appears to be associated with both higher injury rates and lower...

$25 million gift to engineering education.(from Samuel L. Ginn to Auburn University)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Samuel L. Ginn, a pioneer in wireless communications, wants his $25 million gift to his alma mater, Auburn University, to vault the school into the top ranks of wireless communication and related engineering research. Ginn plans for his gift to...

Performance goal mania.(industrial engineers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... A couple months ago, I began a new job as production manager for a flavored syrup manufacturer. One of my main goals would be to get the most out of each production line on a daily basis. Accepting this new position meant that I would be...

Ergonomic hype filter.(equipment to health facility not what salespeople suggest it is)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... One of my clients invited me to sit in on a meeting between their project manager overseeing the construction of a new facility and a vendor wanting to supply office furniture for the facility. The concern was that the vendor wanted to sell...

Get with the program.(training of computer programers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Programming skills are essential to anyone who wants to build a successful, flexible, and robust simulation model. But I am concerned about the capability of graduating students to write programs involving logic. I asked academics from around...

High-wire act.
July 1, 2001... Step right up to see the dazzling high-wire act of wireless executive Gloria Maceiko. See her juggle e-mails and phone calls well into the night. Watch her tackle the needs of customers in the United States, Europe, Asia, South Africa, and...

Six Sigma to Fit Sigma.
July 1, 2001... What's next in the evolution of Six Sigma? Agility, efficiency, and sustainability integrated across the enterprise "Today, depending on whom you listen to, Six Sigma is either a revolution slashing trillions of dollars from corporate...

Aligning the plant floor to the board room.(electronic work instructions for manual operations)
July 1, 2001... Electronic work instructions bring consistency to manual operations One of the myriad production challenges we face is bringing the same degree of discipline to manual operations as there is in automated operations. Electronic work...

Cross-cultural design.(china and the u.s.)
July 1, 2001... Why Western design can clash with everyday life in China We all have expectations about what is going to happen when we operate a control. You would be shocked, or worse, to find that a clockwise turn of the steering wheel caused your car...

Did you get what you expected?(effective software)
July 1, 2001... The expectations surrounding new software don't always pan out The anticipation, the expectations, and the promises of new software often give way to the disappointment, the let down, and the frustration of new software. The challenge is...

Negotiating to yes.(tips for making a great deal)
July 1, 2001... In business, you don't get what you ask for, you get what you negotiate. Everybody wants to know "What's in it for me?" So to get what you want, you'd better be prepared to answer that question from the people you do business with. I...

SAVE and IIE offer dual membership.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... IIE and SAVE International, a non-profit educational organization that advances and promotes value engineering, are joining forces... and members. Dual membership in the organizations is available at a 20 percent discount off regular fees. ...

CIE meets and tours in Ireland.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Members of IIE's prestigious Council on Industrial Engineering gather periodically to discuss the state of industrial engineering, benchmark best practices, and share insight about IIE. This spring, they journeyed to Ireland, where their...

Get Six Sigma savvy.(productivity methodology seminars)(Brief Article)(Interview)
July 1, 2001... With autumn comes IIE's Fall Productivity Seminar Series. Among the offerings to be held at IIE headquarters are two seminars for Six Sigma training. The seminars will provide black belt and green belt training, led by industrial engineering...

Lean conference is just in time.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Whether you can't get enough information about lean or you're simply wondering what all the fuss is about, IIE's Lean Management Conference Sept. 10-11 in St. Louis, Mo., will be of service. The lean concept, known as just-in-time in an earlier...

Where credit is due.(Institute of Industrial Engineers awards)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Give credit where credit is due by submitting nominations for the annual IIE awards. The deadline for the IIE Transactions and Pritsker Doctoral Dissertation awards nominations is Oct. 1; all other nominations must be received by Dec. 1. ...

Man and machines.(Institute of Industrial Engineers conference)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... IIE is co-sponsoring the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in New Orleans, Aug. 5-10. The conference will feature three days of more than 800 presentations, 14 parallel sessions, interactive sessions, poster presentations,...

New face for Solutions.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... IIE Solutions has a new face on the Web. Although the site address remains the same, http://solutions.iienet.org, there's a new look and a new philosophy for the site. "It has enhanced search capabilities and more material available to...

Pittsburgh professor wows with research.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Bartholomew Nnaji, the Alcoa Foundation professor in manufacturing engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, won this year's David F. Baker Distinguished Research Award. The award, which acknowledges significant contributions to the...

Web site previews an updated look and new functionality.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Take some time to take a sneak peak at the redesigned IIE Web site at http://www.iienet.org. The site is currently in preview mode, which means that although it's not completely functional, users can see the updated graphic design, navigation...

Circular heavy-duty storage shelves.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Each unit of the Robatin 58-inch circular revolving shelves can hold more than four tons of material when fully loaded. Taking up just 25 square feet of floor space, the 1600 series units have shelves that turn, making it possible for workers...

The shoe fits.(FKI Logistex Automation Division's Center Row Shoe Sorter)
July 1, 2001... FKI Logistex Automation Division's Center Row Shoe Sorter has a capacity of up to 540 feet per minute. Sorter lengths are available in excess of 600 feet. The sorter can induct or divert two linear lines of product simultaneously. The Center...

Modular conveyor.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The EM modular conveyor system from FlexLink Systems is compact and built to handle light loads. With four basic models, the EM system can be used to connect machinery built to create larger systems. Conveyor modules are available in seven...

Supply chain assessment software.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The eLean business-to-business software platform allows users to compare their current conditions to the lean state they would like to achieve. Offered by Productivity Inc., eLean is an e-business system that promotes lean manufacturing across...

Integrated warehouse and transportation management.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... PkMS Pronto is an integrated warehouse and transportation management system designed for use in small-to-midsize warehouses. PkMS provides modules that manage a full range of warehouse activities from receiving through shipping. The system...

Workflow engine.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... WorkBridge Factory Manager orchestrates engineering work requests and work-in-process inventory management with manufacturing execution systems. Users can speed their return investment, improve quality control and cost accounting, and deliver...

Supply chain management.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Made2Manage Systems has launched M2M Sychronizer, a supply chain management product for small and mid-size manufacturers. The software offers a theory-of-constraints-based scheduling tool that features an easy-to-use Gantt chart for viewing and...

Room to roam.(Zontec Inc., Mobile SPC)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... The wireless Mobile SPC system from Zontec allows users to move about the production facility to perform statistical process control functions without being tethered to a cable. The Mobile SPC comprises three components: a 32-bit SPC program...

Free project plan views.(GanttPrint.com)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... For every user of Microsoft Project, there are additional team members who need to view or print project plans but who lack the software license and training to gain full access. GanttPrint.com is a free Web server that allows teams to share...

Store it.(shelving from Eagle MHC)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 1, 2001... Eagle MHC's Lifestore overhead track polymer system allows users to optimize their storage capacity in confined spaces. The overhead track is available in lengths ranging from six to 21 feet. The system uses polymer shelf sections with either...

Protecting electronic documents.(innovative method of watermarking text, Mikhail Atallah, Victor Raskin)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... This news just smuggled out of the fourth International Information Hiding Workshop, held April 26-27 in Pittsburgh: Purdue University professors are bringing watermarks into the 21st century. Using watermarks to preserve the integrity of...

Management gurus have the last laugh.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... If you think that some of the current crop of management experts are a joke, you're not far off. Skillful communication techniques, particularly the use of humor, are key to the popularity of some of the world's leading management gurus,...

Poor teamwork is sickening.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... When doctors take sick leave, poor teamwork is often a contributing factor, reports a study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Although doctors don't take much time out for illness, those on poorly functioning teams were found to...

Get Connected with Peer-to-peer Networking.(membership in the Institute of Industrial Engineers)
July 1, 2001... Membership in IIE is about learning, networking and access to resources. With the diversity of the IE profession, it's a challenge to stay current with the rapid developments within the industry. At IIE, we understand that your interests and...