IIE Solutions articles from May 2001

IIE Solutions archives from May 2001

Revealing our true selves.(David Merrill's, "Social Styles" management application)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Late last year when IIE Executive Director John Powers announced the formation of a management team "tasked with defining and managing activities to better meet member needs and ensure continuous improvement in all areas of operation," all...

Growing biodegradable car parts.(Elephant grass (miscanthus) research)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Researchers at the University of Warwick's Warwick Manufacturing Group in the United Kingdom are investigating the use of elephant grass to produce biodegradable plastic car parts. Elephant grass (miscanthus) is a hardy, high-yield...

IE prof elected to National Academy of Engineering.(Institute of Engineering, Thom J. Hodgson)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Thom J. Hodgson, the James T. Ryan professor of industrial engineering at North Carolina State University, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. He was one of 74 engineers and eight foreign associates added to the NAE membership...

Robots at work.(industrial use statistics, world)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... 742,500 Number of robots working in industry worldwide 862,000 Number projected to be working by 2003 280 Number of robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees in Japan 48...in the United States 16...in Norway Source:...

The doctor is out ... flying.(Paul Walker, medical flight physician/pilot)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Paul Walker, M.D., went from admiring his engineer father to building makeshift airplanes in the backyard with his brother to practicing emergency medicine in and out of helicopters. Talk about transitions. "My dad was an engineer and got...

Engineering college gets diversity funding.(University of Alabama College of Engineering)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The University of Alabama College of Engineering received $25,000 from BellSouth Corp. to support the college's diversity programs. BellSouth gave the contribution to become a member of the Council of Partners, a group of companies created...

Promises are not enough.(customer realtionship management)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The age of savvy consumers and cutthroat competition puts more pressure than ever on companies to provide satisfactory customer service. Promises of service are simply not enough. The only way to ensure the unswerving loyalty of customers is...

Advanced algorithms make automation more affordable.(new robotic motion control system)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Advanced software algorithms developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology are the foundation for a new robotic motion control system that will help manufacturers reduce the labor involved in routine inspection and materials handling tasks....

NEWSMAKERS.
May 1, 2001... * Gene Topolski joined software developer WhisperWire as a senior account executive, Topolski, who obtained his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Buffalo State University, brings 15 years of experience to his new position. He was...

Funding a virtual learning environment.(at Syracuse and Cornell universities, engineering)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... NASA and the state of New York will jointly fund a three-year program at Syracuse and Cornell universities to develop a virtual learning environment that uses advanced information technologies to improve student learning, on-the-job training,...

Did regulation fears fuel the fight against the OSHA rule?(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... It may be fear of federal regulation that has many employers breathing a sigh of relief after President Bush's repeal of Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations aimed at reducing repetitive motion injuries. But such fears may...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2001... A feature article in the February issue of IIE Solutions failed to cite an important source from which the story was drawn. Processes outlined in our cover story, "Mapping the Value Stream," were based closely on a workbook by Mike Rother and...

Innovative use of technology reduces food waste.(CAT scans used to identify spoiled produce)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, but that shouldn't spoil profits for food suppliers, says T. William Tollner, an agricultural engineer at the University of Georgia at Athens. For the past 10 years Tollner has worked to adapt CAT...

Trends will revolutionize consumer goods logistics.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Expect big changes in consumer goods logistics as three "mega-trends" converge simultaneously, says a study sponsored by Consumer Goods Technology magazine. The major trends cited in the "Logistics Mega-Trends 2000 Study" are: * Near...

Connecticut children in grades 5 through 8 will participate in an ergonomics study.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Up to 600 Connecticut children in grades 5 through 8 will participate in an ergonomics study. The Westport Public School children will test a software program that prompts them to use correct posture while using a computer, explains proper...

The award recognizes an individual who has provided long-standing, exceptional service to the simulation community.(INFORMS College on Simulation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The INFORMS College on Simulation is accepting nominations through Oct. 1 for its Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes an individual who has provided long-standing, exceptional service to the simulation community. Go to...

Business-to-business Internet commerce market remains on pace to total $8.5 trillion.(Gartner Inc. )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Despite a slowdown in the economy, the worldwide business-to-business Internet commerce market remains on pace to total $8.5 trillion in 2005, according to Gartner Inc.

Racking up time savings.(WarehouseHog.com)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... WarehouseHog.com (http://www.warehousehog.com) represents more than two dozen manufacturers of materials handling products. Visitors to the site can obtain three competitive, multi-brand quotes on storage rack and peripheral equipment within a...

Prof helps clinic go electronic.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... A pharmaceutical company just announced it will take one of its medications off the market; doctors must quickly alert patients taking that drug and prescribe a substitute. For a clinic with monster-sized filing cabinets filled with patient...

Learning by pretending.(production management)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... There are no lectures, books, papers, or exams in Management 669 - Manufacturing Practice and Models. The professor describes it as a "learn-by-doing" class, and what the second-year master's degree students are learning is manufacturing --...

Using IT to cut costs, improve care.(use of information technology in health care)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Health-care organizations should view information technology investments as cost-cutting tools that boost business value as well as improve consumer access to care, according to a survey report from Gartner Inc., which identified the top issues...

Overcoming meeting madness.(techniques for productive meetings)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Time is a valuable commodity in most any organization, be it a business, school system, government office, or volunteer group. Time translates directly into money which we as industrial engineers recognize and point out. Watching people spend...

Ergonomics made easy.(process analysis of manufacturing facility)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... A new client hired me to do a process analysis of their facility. One of the jobs is to mix paste with a large vertical shear in 85-gallon drums. The drums are set up on a three-foot stack of pallets to make dispensing easier from the spigot at...

Fantastic voyager.(Joseph Voboril, Executive Officer, USS Winston Churchill)
May 1, 2001... A man stands on the deck of a 170-foot-long, 330-ton ship. The view is astounding: a charming village nestled between two towering mountain peaks. As he takes in all this beauty, perhaps he contemplates how he went from his home in Dwight,...

Where Heroes Go.(company founders as managers)
May 1, 2001... The very people who propel a company from start-up to success are often unsuited to staying on as key personnel It is rare for companies to be able to transition from start-up status to a mature operation while retaining its heroes the...

Timing control in discrete-event simulation.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... A system for ordering and distributing military clothing presented problems from which to learn Simulation is an analytical technique directed toward understanding the behavior of a real system by building a model of that system and then...

Picking the best practices for e-fulfillment.(Industry Overview)
May 1, 2001... Get your warehouse ready to handle Internet-driven business-to-consumer purchases Are first impressions important when developing business relationships? Consider the growing business-to-consumer e-commerce industry The business...

Simulation conference focuses on learning.(2001 Simulation Solutions Conference)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Attendees of the third annual Simulation Solutions Conference, which was held in Denver in March, found themselves focused on practical learning -- whether they were veteran pros or novices. The conference was successful, according to track...

Detroit chapter honors two members.(Institute of Industrial Engineers)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... IIE's Detroit chapter honored both a 30-plus-year IE veteran and an IE student in recent months. Richard Krasnow was given the chapter's Distinguished Service Award and Andrea Lechowicz received the chapter's annual Irv Otis Scholarship. ...

Editorial by George.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
May 1, 2001... In March, Tracy George joined the editorial staff of IIE Solutions and Industrial Management as assistant editor. "I was looking for an opportunity to grow and to cover some new ground, and I liked the publications. I liked the way they...

Hot off the press.(Handbook of Industrial Engineering, 3rd edition)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The third edition of the Handbook of Industrial Engineering is available. It is published by John Wiley & Sons in cooperation with the Institute of Industrial Engineers. The book's editor, Gavriel Salvendy, oversaw publication of the more...

Dallas chapter IE of the year.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The Dallas chapter of IIE named Norman Saenz Jr. its IE of the year. Saenz, who holds a B.S. in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University, is a contributor to the award-winning Dallas chapter newsletter and has published articles...

Flowing in solutions.(LeanConfigurator, manufacturing software by CIMx)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... LeanConfigurator, the latest suite of manufacturing software offered by CIMx Automotive Solutions, allows automotive and heavy industry manufacturers to create manufacturing process information electronically and assemble it into Web-enabled...

Upgraded handheld scanner.(Psion Teklogix 7035)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The upgraded Psion Teklogix 7035 handheld computer now has two-dimensional integrated scanning capability, enabling it to read 2-D PDF417 bar codes. These bar codes are suited to data-intensive applications and cases in which all applicable...

Enterprise-wide software.(EQIP by World Class Information Systems)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... EQIP delivers enterprise-wide solutions to IBM iSeries 400 users. Developed by World Class Information Systems, EQIP interfaces with the iSeries 400 to connect with multiple facilities and data acquisition devices by adding them to the EQIP...

STAK it high or low.(lifting and handling device by Stanley-Vidmar Inc.)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Stanley Vidmar's STAK System combines the efficiency of pallets with a built-in lifting device to offer storage and retrieval capabilities. The lifting and handling device can pick up items weighing up to 4000 lbs., making it suited for...

Carton handling system.(by Weber Marking Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Weber Marking Systems' Carton Handling System loads cartons up to 29.5 inches wide and 39.4 inches thick into an infeed magazine, where they are held in place by a high-grip belt drive that allows for printing or label application. The system...

Increasing storage capacity.(Shuttle Vertical Lift Module by Remstar International Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Remstar's Shuttle Vertical Lift Module makes use of CubeStar, an automated high-density system that pairs hardware and controls to maximize storage space. The system measures each tray of the lift module to determine its storage requirement....

Managing a plant-floor system.(QualTrend, manufacturing intelligence system)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... QualTrend, an enterprise manufacturing intelligence system, allows data managers, suppliers, workers, and customers to use real-time quality data from the plant floor. Users can extract and combine data from diverse plant-floor systems in any...

Making the mark.(I.V./700 NP ink jet printer)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The I.V./700 NP Ink Jet Printer from Diagraph Corp. marks non-porous surfaces with print speeds from five to 250 feet per minute. Ideal for marking films, plastics, metals, and coated corrugate, the printer uses patented print-head technology...

Necessary, sufficient, and fun.(Review)
May 1, 2001... Eliyahu Goldratt's latest business novel, Necessary But Not Sufficient, is his sharpest chronicle of the theory of constraints holistic approach that describes integrating the supply chain. Eli Schragenheim and Carol A. Ptak are co-authors of...

Want to be a bestselling author? Get a personality.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... What separates best-selling science books from those that are destined for the bookstore's bargain bin? Not the validity of the science within, but the "style and personality" of the authors, says Bruce Lewenstein, associate professor of...

This just in: Money can't buy happiness.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Neither money nor popularity is at the root of happiness, according to a new study Autonomy, competence, relatedness, and self-esteem are what bring happiness, notes "What is Satisfying about Satisfying Events?" The article appeared in the...

For a third, eyestrain is all in the head.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... One of three complaints of eye strain attributed to viewing computer monitors is really about employee dissatisfaction with working conditions, suggests research from the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. More than 200...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2001... The basic Extend simulation software package, which was discussed in the February Reader Review. "Extend-ing simulation," retails for $695; although the price can range from $350 to $2,995, depending on the package and options selected.