IIE Solutions articles from September 2000

IIE Solutions archives from September 2000

Webvan wows.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Yeah, right. I can hop online during my lunch hour, order all the groceries I'll need for the week, and have them delivered to my door before I head to work the next morning? The ordering process must be slow and tedious. It isn't. High prices....

Letters to the Editor.
September 1, 2000... Out of the Cabinet Not to take anything away from the clearly outstanding accomplishments of Roger W. Kallock, who has recently been nominated as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Material Readiness (IIE Solutions, July),...

Simulating the Olympics.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... How will the Salt Lake City Olympic Committee plan spectator flow, emergency planning, and transportation systems? For the 2002 games, they'll use computer simulation - the same kind industrial engineers use to map manufacturing and assembly...

Risk managers labor in obscurity.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Risk management is a job in which success is measured by how anonymous you remain. Few people know a successful risk manager's name, because her resume is a list of things that didn't happen: planes that didn't crash; brewery vats that didn't...

Job changes for IEs.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Industrial engineers will enjoy a 12.8 percent overall increase in jobs in 2008 compared to 1998, according to the 1998-2008 industry/Occupation Matrix for Engineers in the Spring issue of the Engineering Workforce Commission newsletter,...

Engineers' salaries up 3.7 percent.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... Engineers' salary increases continue to outpace inflation. The median annual income for engineers rose 3.7 percent in the past year, according to the National Society of Professional Engineers' 2000 Income and Salary Survey, while the consumer...

Recruiting engineering talent.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are an untapped source of talent for the science, engineering, and technology workforce, according to representatives of the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science,...

What students should know about technology.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The International Technology Education Association has published Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology. The 20 standards define what students should know and be able to do to be technologically literate from...

NEWSMAKERS.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... * Brian Deuermeyer, Ph.D., was named interim department head of the industrial engineering department at Texas A&M University. Formerly an IE professor at Purdue University and a consultant for several corporations, Deuermeyer has received two...

Management measurement.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... In Bullseye!: Hitting Your Strategic Targets Through High-Impact Measurement, organizational change and management experts William A. Schiemann and John H. Lingle examine the role measurement plays in creating sustained business results and...

Real-time process line monitoring is a winner.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... A system that immediately identifies cutting blade failures on food processing lines made it onto the roster of the 100 most significant innovations of 2000. Broken knives can cause irregular cuts and generate truckloads of product that...

Inventory on Internet time.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... If you doubt that customers are stepping up their demands in response to the Internet boom, just ask Gregory Bunn, who manages inventory and procurement for the Ingersoll-Rand Exit Device Division. "What customers used to want in two to three...

Predicting energy needs.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... According to the US. Department of Energy, traditional software tools that monitor power usage are becoming outdated; more sophisticated tools based on probabilistic assessment are needed. Such software could predict future energy demand rather...

Technology acceptance improves productivity.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Businesses have invested huge amounts of money in computer technology, but they haven't seen similar gains in productivity because employees don't always use the technology effectively, according to University of Arkansas professor Fred Davis,...

FAA fines Boeing for quality problems.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed a total of $1.24 million in civil penalties against Boeing Commercial Airplane Group of Seattle. The fines are the largest in Boeing history, according to a report by the Associated Press. ...

A call to quality.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Because access can make a difference in consumers' decisions, customer access centers, whether they are toll-free telephone numbers or Web sites, can increase the probability that customers will choose and remain loyal to a business. A...

Broad(band) strokes.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Melanie Shook Director of Service Delivery Covad Communications Inc. Atlanta Melanie Shook likes being on the cutting edge of technology, and as the director of service delivery at Covad Communications, she believes she is. "This...

Theory vs. practice.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... I'm confused. Maybe some of you can help me make sense of the state of ergonomics I have been observing the past six months. OSHA keeps making rumblings about issuance of an ergo standard (recommendations, guidelines, etc.) while most...

A professor in spades.
September 1, 2000... Way Kuo, Ph.D., didn't know in first grade that he wanted to be an industrial engineer -- at that time IE wasn't well-known in his native Taiwan -- but he was certain he wanted to be a professor. "My father always said that, even when I was...

Webvan revs up.
September 1, 2000... Industrial engineering is crucial to the success of the newest e-tailer on the block Let's just get my bias out of the way: I am in no way objective when it comes to Webvan, an Internet retailer that delivers everything from groceries to...

Dock-to-shop is just-in-time.
September 1, 2000... It's possible to reduce storeroom inventory and save costs by accepting materials at the dock and sending them straight on to the shop floor Dock-to-shop (DTS) is the process by which material is received from a supplier onto a customer's...

Goals-oriented project management.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... A methodology to manage R&D projects in high-tech environments Research and development teams in various organizations use technology to develop advanced products. In high-tech companies, time-to-market is critical; in fact, in the...

Cooperation builds international alliances.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... IIE has designs on a more global future, and by signing cooperation agreements with two international organizations, it can further its cosmopolitan goal. This summer, IIE signed a Working Together Cooperation Agreement with its Japanese...

New addition.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... In June, IIE welcomed customer service representative Kristy Huizar to the staff. The newcomer made such a good impression during her interview that Director of Member and Customer Support Donna Calvert hired her on the spot. So far, Huizar,...

Industrial Management profiles Powers.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The May-June issue of Industrial Management hits close to home with a cover story on IIE Executive Director John Powers. In the article titled "Envisioning the Path Forward," Assistant Editor Erin O'Briant profiles the organization's leader,...

South-of-the-border student conference.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The Region 13 student chapter enjoyed its first IIE University Conference in March. The Instituto Technologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterey in Guadalajara, Mexico, hosted activities for the 300 attendees and visitors. Organized by...

Clear skies in financial forecast.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Renewing the financial health of IIE has been a key initiative of Executive Director John Powers since his arrival last year. Recently, that effort was given a boost when the IRS relinquished a dispute with IIE that could have cost the...

Rodriguez earns distinguished IE honor.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico named Migdoel Rodriguez its Distinguished Industrial Engineer of 1999. According to Jose Gustavo Vargas, president of the CIAPR's Industrial Engineering Institute, it is the highest...

A 'great' science show down under.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... As part of Australia's National Science Week in May, the Australian chapter of IIE participated in the Great Australian Science Show in Melbourne, Australia. National Science Week's stated purpose is to promote awareness of science,...

Next stop: Dallas.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Dallas is the next stop for the IIE annual conference, which will be held May 20-23, 2001. The city is the top visitor destination in Texas; in particular, as the Southwest's leading business and financial hub, it is one of the foremost...

Duplicate dues.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Q: Why have I been charged twice for m membership dues? A: IIE's Member and Customer Support department processes nearly 200 renewal applications each day. Confusion sometimes results when members inadvertently use more than one form of...

Detroit chapter bestows awards.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... During National Engineers' Week in February, the Detroit Chapter of IIE honored Richard Anderson with the 2000 Distinguished Service Award. Anderson, who has worked in data processing for Chrysler Corporation's Mopar Parts Division for 22...

Better bulk containers.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The Orbis BulkPak KD3230-34 bulk container offers heavy-duty spring-loaded latches that are easy to operate and can be removed and installed with a flathead screwdriver. The improved BulkPak features cross-directional ribs, a strong floating...

Improved quality and process solutions.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Pilgrim software's system-wide version of its Q&MIS suite of enterprise quality management and business process improvement software -- version 4.60 -- includes a variety of new features, such as a utility module for creating custom fields,...

Optimizing design.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Optimus 3.0 works with all major mechanical engineering software programs to help users understand how changes affect designs. Optimus automatically identifies the program's sensitivity to a range of parameters and is simpler and faster than...

State-of-the-art screwdriver.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Mountz Inc. presents E-Driv, an electric screwdriver that feature precision torque control and automatic shut-off. When fasteners are fully seated and the preset torque is reached, a series of safeguards are activated. The screwdriver features...

Learning ergo.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... An ergonomics compliance package is available to help workers and employers understand OSHA's recently proposed ergonomic standard. The package includes Workplace Ergonomics: A Better Way to Work, a video that introduces employees to the...

Portable thermal printers.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Handheld Products has introduced a line of portable thermal printers to complement its Dolphin portable data collection terminals. The lightweight printers are encased in a protective shell of impact-resistant polyethylene and can withstand...

Track your standards.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The Document Center is an information distributor and standards sales and management company that offers three levels of updating service; complete collection management; same-day shipment for most documents; a database that includes daily...

Material handling for metals.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Mathews Conveyor offers a range of material handling products and systems for the primary metals industry. The line includes up-enders, down-enders, heavy-duty roller conveyors made of structural steel, and vertical and horizontal mechanisms,...

Move and weigh pallets.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The pallet truck scale allows an operator to transport and weigh loads in one step for streamlined operations. The pallet truck scale combines Raymond pallet trucks with Weigh-Tronix electronic scales. A backlit indicator and battery are...

Side seal packaging.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Capra side seal systems are custom-built for specific applications. They offer high-speed throughput -- up to 120 packages per minute -- and are designed to handle large products. Features include quick product changeover abilities, an...

Hungering for robotics.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... A research group from the University of South Florida unveiled its food-eating robot in August at a conference in Hawaii Named Chew Chew, the machine runs on 12 wheels and is the first robot to be completely powered by food, hence its...

Law of least effort applies to human brain.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have discovered how the human brain goes to work on solving a problem and how it employs economies of effort in the process. The research, compiled by psychology post-doctoral research associate...

Efficient stitcher.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... "I do cross stitch as a hobby. I map out the route I will take when outlining the design to minimize backtracking and having to knot the thread and start again. I also try to find the best solution for covering an area while minimizing the...

Was it worth it?(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... As with most industrial engineers, my lack of formal engineering economics education gets the best of me sometimes. This happened a few months ago when our management team was deciding which book we should read next as part of our group...

Correction.
September 1, 2000... The May issue Focus story "Student chapters host regional conferences" incorrectly identified the school attended by an award-winning student. Raul Martinez attends ST. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, not the University of Houston.