IIE Solutions articles from March 2000

IIE Solutions archives from March 2000

Sad news.(Obituary)
March 1, 2000... Sad news is always difficult to break. Less than three weeks after his election as 2001-02 president of IIE, Eric Malstrom died from a heart attack while jogging. He was 54. Malstrom was a professor and chairman of the department of...

Letters to the Editor.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Engineering the sale I particularly liked Jane Gaboury's editorial in the January issue ("We're all selling something"). If there is any one thing an IE needs, it is the ability to sell. I can't think of a time in my 45 years in...

Erratum.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Production problems at our printer caused errors in several sections of the February issue of IIE Solutions. Electronic files for one of the typefaces were corrupt, which resulted in lost punctuation -- apostrophes, quotation marks, and dashes....

Management behavior is key to worker effort.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Managers should respect workers' rights and maintain a productive environment if they want employees to put more effort into their jobs, according to a study by Randy Hodson, professor of sociology at Ohio State University. "There's been a...

Workplace injuries, illnesses at record low.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... In 1998, the incidence of workplace injuries and illnesses reached its lowest rate since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting such cases in the early 1970s, A total of 5.9 million injuries and illnesses were reported in private...

R&D funding up in 2000.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Total research and development expenditures in the United States are expected to increase to more than $266 billion in 2000, according to a forecast conducted by Battelle and R&D Magazine. Researchers believe the rise in R&D funding is...

A new breed of master's degrees.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Innovative master's degree programs are springing up all over the United States. These programs promise to give students the business and technical skills they need to work as engineers or engineering managers. * Students at the University...

Robots on the rise, says new book.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The population of robots in North America has nearly doubled during the past decade, says the most recent edition of the Handbook of industrial Robotics. The book, which includes a foreword by Late science fiction writer Isaac Asimov and...

NEWSMAKERS.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... * Fourthchannel Inc., an Internet commerce application service provider, hired Dennis Shank as vice president of customer operations. He will be responsible for post-deployment services, customer support, operations, and corporate MIS. Shank...

A partner in publishing.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... When Frank Cerra graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964 with a degree in industrial engineering, publishing was the last thing on his mind -- he wanted to work in sales. And for a couple of years, that's what he did. But thanks to...

A leaner Air Force.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The U.S. Air Force awarded a $5.7 million contract to the Southwest Research Institute to develop lean operations at military repair depots. The five-year program, called Lean Depot Repair, seeks to optimize repair cycle time, reduce...

Stock Performance linked to measurement.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... If a company's stock is outperforming competitors', chances are good that the organization's CEO is leading a formal strategic performance measurement system, according to a report by The Conference Board. The study of 113 major...

Info management in Michigan.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences and IntelliSeek are working with the state of Michigan on a pilot project to help bolster the competitiveness of Michigan manufacturers. Bulls-Eye Express, an information management tool that...

Waste-free manufacturing manifesto.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... In Fast Track to Waste-Free Manufacturing: Straight Talk from a Plant Manager, author John W. Davis draws on his 30 years of experience as a plant manager to show how companies can implement waste-free manufacturing, a new system that rapidly...

Brooks Automation Inc.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Brooks Automation Inc. acquired both AutoSimulations Inc. and Auto-Soft Corp. from Daifuku America Corp. Brooks and Daifuku intend to establish an alliance that allows both companies to provide solutions to their customers through joint...

AIA Health Care Guidelines Revision Committee.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The AIA Health Care Guidelines Revision Committee announced the opening of a comment period on the proposed 2001 edition of the AIA Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital and Health Care Facilities. The document can be accessed at...

Stanford announces new engineering department.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... In an effort to consolidate the resources of the former department of industrial engineering and engineering management and of the department of engineering-economic systems and operations research, Stanford University has created a department...

Alcoa awards diversity grant.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... A $30,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation and Alcoa Mill Products will fund diversity outreach and the international student exchange program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering. A portion of the grant will fund...

Engineering students learn business etiquette.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... About 50 engineering students will be minding their manners thanks to a short workshop offered by the Engineering Career Services Office at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The one-hour presentation showed students how to dress for an...

A vision for productivity.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Wondering whether your business needs optical technology? University of Arkansas industrial engineering professor Earnest Fant, who refers to optical technology as "machine vision," has written and released a CD-ROM titled "Consider Machine...

Netsource.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... ErgoBuyer http://www.ergobuyer.com If you are looking for ergonomics products or services, ErgoBuyer has the scoop. The site provides information on ergonomic trends and job analysis, and it offers a search service for solving...

Keep your skills up to par.
March 1, 2000... Just before to sitting down to write this article, I was preparing a new hand-drawn lay-out of a report. I had the straight edge out and the mechanical pencil in hand -- I was going back to my roots! This was not the first time that I had...

Sound soapbox design.
March 1, 2000... I received a phone call from an ergonomics equipment sales representative the other day inquiring if I had knowledge of workstation design with regard to safety and ergonomics. I faxed him a list detailing my services and their prices. I...

Are you right...or just scary?(verifying facts)
March 1, 2000... Professor Pritchard's study was absolutely quiet. Hundreds of books lined the walls: Fundamental Principles of Thermodynamics, Advanced Applications of Matrix Algebra, and Theory and Practice of Operations Research. A volume of Shakespeare was...

Running on smart growth.(urban sprawl)
March 1, 2000... "I've survived the first month, so it looks promising," says industrial engineer Chuck Harris of his new position on the Loudoun County, Va., Board of Supervisors. In fact, he's done more than survive: After winning his first political...

Consultant Abroad.(engineering consultant in Peru)
March 1, 2000... As I went to the back of the car and slid the key into the trunk lock to retrieve my power quality metering equipment, I heard the unmistakable "cha-chunk" of a pump action shotgun chambering a shell. S-l-o-w-l-y I turned and looked up the...

High-tech, low-cost ergonomic solutions.
March 1, 2000... Technology is the culprit behind many ergonomic maladies; it's also often the solution History is rich with examples of technologies as both causes and cures for ergonomic maladies. As one example, the telegraph became widely used as a new...

New tool for business process re-engineering.
March 1, 2000... Activity-based simulation offers functionality that we've never experienced until now Imagine you are the plant manager of a large global manufacturing enterprise. You are called into the CEO's office and he tells you he just returned from...

How great expectations become reality.(management)
March 1, 2000... It begins with managers who understand and use the power of leadership As a manager in your organization, you've got the content of your business down cold. Now, what is it you want to be right about? * Do you want to be right in your...

Software Buyer's Guide Project management.
March 1, 2000... Artemis Management Systems 6260 Lookout Rd. Boulder, CO 80301 Telephone: (303) 531-3159 Fax: (303) 531-3140 Web: http://www.artemispm.com E-mail: info@artemispm.com Product: ActiveAlert Price: $100 - $2,000...

Focus on IIE.
March 1, 2000... A note from the president IIE 2000: Our path forward The Institute of Industrial Engineers has a rich heritage of making contributions to management science, technology, and society. However, over the years, the size of our...

Turn pallets into chips.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The Pallet Muncher turns wooden pallets as large as 48 inches by 54 inches into a pile of chips. Depending on pallet size, the Muncher can chew seven to 10 pallets per hour.

Network-based manufacturing.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... QI Analyst Enterprise uses a common database to communicate information across the organization in real time. This statistical process control software enables enterprise-wide process monitoring and analysis, helping manufacturers reduce scrap...

The model truck.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... AutoSimulations and AutoLogic Systems have a new template for modeling manual handling and forklift trucks. The template, called AutoTruck, works with AutoMod discrete-event and continuous process simulation software. Users can model truck...

Pneumatic scissors for fewer CTDs.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The Airshirz industrial pneumatic scissors provide accurate cutting, snipping, and trimming of aluminum and other metals, fiberglass, cardboard and bulk paper, rubber, and fabrics. The scissors require 90 percent less muscle activity to operate...

Dock levelers for safety and productivity.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Rite-Hite's HD-1700 line of dock levelers can be configured to meet specific safety and productivity demands for virtually any loading dock operation. The HD- 1700 STL hydraulic dock leveler offers fully hydraulic operations, Rite-Hite's...

High-capacity wheel load scale.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Vehicles can be weighed quickly and accurately with the LP600 scale, which weighs 44 pounds but can handle loads of up to 20,000 pounds. The scale is designed to maximize legal payloads while helping users reduce maintenance due to overload...

Shrink wrapper for food products.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Great Lakes' stainless steel horizontal wrapper is suitable for over-wrapping products at speeds up to 80 per minute. The HCS27 is designed for dairy, food, and frozen food products and provides a tight, full enclosure with clear or printed...

Continuous-motion packing.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The TrayStar 60 is a high-speed, continuous-motion tray packer that can collate round bottles, cans, or jars and load them onto a wraparound tray at speeds up to 60 trays per minute. The packer features rapid changeover capabilities for various...

Utility cart offers flat and box tops.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... It's the first utility cart to function as both a flat-top and box-top cart: The ProCart is designed to move cartons, loose components, or mixed items in manufacturing, health care, and order-picking applications. Its flexible design allows a...

Self-teaching optical sensor.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The 6K subminiature optical sensor from Balluff isn't just teachable -- it's self-teachable. The sensor can determine the optimum trigger point for a target without operator intervention. The self-teaching mode can be activated with a single...

Don't worry, be healthy.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... If your doctor is up on the latest medical news, he might soon recommend that you have two happy thoughts and call him in the morning. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., published a report that confirms what many doctors --...

The fling's the thing.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... Product testing is nothing new. Depending on the products a company makes, everything from taste tests to ballistic analysis could be recommended by the engineering department. But a product that demands both taste and ballistic assessments?...

Out of this world.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2000... The folks at NASA were interviewing professionals to be sent on the first manned space flight to Mars. Only one person could go, and the individual would not be able to return to Earth. The first applicant, an engineer, was asked how much...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
March 1, 2000... Mark Brauer, the subject of our January issue Profiles in IE ("Engineer undercover") sent an e-mail to clarify some of the statements he made to author Erin O'Briant in the course of their interview. "I served and flew with the Air Force...