Industrial Engineer articles from April 2004

Industrial Engineer archives from April 2004

No editing for the enemy.(Editor's Desk)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... YOU CAN'T BE A LITERATE ADULT WITHOUT HAVING AT LEAST A PASSING familiarity with the topic of global warming. But perhaps you're not acquainted with the emerging news about the U.S. federal government's attempt at global chilling. The cooling...

Cover to cover.(Rants and Raves)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... The recent issues have been very well done, and I've been reading them cover to cover. Keep up the great work! STEVE DELGROSSO Raleigh, N.C.

Significant column.(Rants and Raves)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... The recent Member Forum column by Vivek Mahajan ("American Manufacturing is not Dead," January) is probably one of the most significant and important articles published in IE. It affects thousands of us as technicians and millions of us as...

Fair wages ignored.(Rants and Raves)
April 1, 2004... After reading Vivek Mahajan's column "American Manufacturing is not Dead" (January), I felt that the issue of manufacturing in our country has not been given proper review and analysis. Mahajan has a misunderstanding of the problem, and his...

Clarification.(Rants and Raves)
April 1, 2004... In the March Focus section, the article "It's Official... " lists the winners of three regional vice president elections with the 2004-2005 Board of Trustees elected officers. However, IIE regional vice president positions are not IIE Board of...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2004... In the January article "The Best Defense," the name of the company Northrop Grumman was misspelled. Our apologies for the error.

The world is your interface: new ways to communicate with a computer.(News, Trends & Tactics)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Imagine ordering a restaurant meal with a series of taps on the table or selecting clothing purchases by touching a store's window. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The technique remains futuristic, but not for long. A PanEuropean research...

Logistics could save India billions: but constraints are formidable.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... India can save up to $5 billion every year through improved logistics management across all categories, according to the Asian Council of Logistics Management. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] India spends the equivalent of 13 percent of its...

Quality reformation.(Book of the Month)(Book Review)
April 1, 2004... Quality maven Keki R. Bhote, one of the creators of the Six Sigma concept, proposes a new frontier in The Power of Ultimate Six Sigma. He takes aim at the current "sorry road to quality" created by 50 years of program-of-the-decade fads and...

Bright productivity solution.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Exposure to bright light improves the alertness and productivity of people who feel sleepy during the day, revealed researchers from Australia's Monash University in Victoria. The finding could lead to increased performance of workers by using...

Events.(Calendar)
April 1, 2004... * APRIL APR. 14-16 Ergonomics Society Annual Conference, Swansea, U.K.; +44 0 1509 234904; www.ergonomics.org.uk/events/AC2004.htm APR. 27-29 Confectionery Manufacturing Expo, Wiesbaden, Germany; +44 0 208 542 9090;...

Bleak prospects for U.K. manufacturing.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... More than half of the top 100 manufacturing employers in the United Kingdom expect to make staffing cutbacks sometime this year, according to a survey by the manufacturing union Amicus. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Employment prospects,...

Not their cuppa.(Prime Number)(RFID technology)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Despite widespread publicity about RFID technology, 85 percent of companies in the United Kingdom have no plans to introduce it into their organizations. Source: E. centre, a U.K. supply chain efficiency association

Power grid would benefit South Asia: regional model created at Purdue being developed in Bangladesh.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A regional power grid could create greater prosperity and political stability in South Asia, according to Purdue University industrial engineers who developed a planning model that has been adapted by Bangladesh researchers. A power pool...

New members could help E.U. productivity.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The 10 new nations joining the European Union will increase the E.U.'s productivity growth rate and bring it closer to that of the United States, The Conference Board reports. The Conference Board report provides a comparable worldwide...

UPS chairman leads U.S.-China council.(Front Line)(Mike Eskew )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... UPS Chairman and CEO Mike Eskew was elected chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council, the principal organization of U.S. corporations engaged in business relations with the People's Republic of China. "The United States and China have...

Rolling out flexible screen technology: organic leds lay a supple foundation.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Engineers at the University of Toronto are the first Canadian team to construct flexible organic light-emitting devices (FOLEDs), a technology that could lay the groundwork for future generations of bendable television, computer, and cell phone...

Sites to see: in service to humanity.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... This month, we highlight four sites that help engineers serve humanity by volunteering in places around the globe: Engineering Ministries International (www.emiusa.org) allows engineers and other technical professionals to participate in...

Good year for Airbus.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... With 305 deliveries in 2003, aircraft manufacturer Airbus slightly exceeded its target of 300 and remained at the same level as it was in 2002 (303 deliveries), despite difficulties in the air transportation business last year. The company,...

Quote, unquote: unprepared for success.(Front Line)
April 1, 2004... "A year ago, I was very optimistic, but today I am worried. Israel's main problem is that there are four salary tiers for high-tech personnel in the world. The first tier, with a salary of $150,000 annually, includes the U.S., Great...

The new American workplace.(Performance)
April 1, 2004... FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS, I HAD the privilege of working in what I have come to think of as a "new American workplace." We enjoyed a diverse, international work force, a leadership team that was 50 percent female, a customer focus that...

When in Rome.(Management)
April 1, 2004... IT IS NO LONGER A NOVELTY WHEN American managers are dispatched overseas to run a foreign operation of a U.S.-based company. Having been responsible for European companies and Third World manufacturing operations, I learned the following...

Easing international trade.(Supply Chain)(CUSTOMS-TRADE PARTNERSHIP Against Terrorism )
April 1, 2004... THE CUSTOMS-TRADE PARTNERSHIP Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) is a major U.S. Customs anti-terrorism initiative. Unlike the Container Security Initiative, C-TPAT is strictly voluntary. Because C-TPAT is not compulsory and your company may have...

Designs from the holodeck: Adam Opel is not only designing futuristic cars, it's designing futuristic factories to make them, too.
April 1, 2004... CAR DESIGNERS CRUISE INTO THE 21st century with an array of powerful visualization tools at their disposal. Computer-aided design programs honed during the past three decades have made drafting tables and modeling clay a thing of the past....

A mission of opportunity: Sergio Grullon is improving the quality of life and business in the Dominican Republic.
April 1, 2004... IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF "Mission Impossible." It was the autumn of 2000 and Sergio Grullon had been working as a senior manufacturing engineer in Minneapolis when he got a call from his uncle, who told him he had a job for him--an...

Inbound for Mexico: overcoming supply chain challenges for a U.S.-Mexican maquiladora.
April 1, 2004... ALMOST EVERY MAJOR U.S. MANUFACTURING COMPANY has a branch in Mexico--either as a company formed to serve the local market or as what is known as a maquiladora to serve the U.S. market. A maquiladora is a Mexican assembly or manufacturing...

Think lean in China: an American in China identifies what it takes to improve operations.
April 1, 2004... AMERICAN MANUFACTURERS HAVE BEEN UNDER pressure to cut costs. This is particularly critical for industries that are facing competition from low-labor-cost countries such as China. To counter the competition, many manufacturers have started...

On the rise in Asia: academic engineering enrollment trends in the United States and Asia.
April 1, 2004... Because the industrial revolution was most fully realized in the United States, industrial engineering became popular and contributed very significantly to the social welfare of the country as well as the rest of the world. After studying...

International engtneers: spanning the globe with our profession.
April 1, 2004... WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE ALL THE industrial engineers? Nearly everywhere--based on the responses we received when we asked IIE members from outside the United States to tell us about the state of industrial engineering in their countries. Their...

Research.(production and inventory planning )
April 1, 2004... The first paper summarized below analyzes the problem of production and inventory planning in a manufacturing environment that incorporates remanufacturing of returned products. The second discusses the problem of where to locate drivers in the...

Measuring R & D.(Answers to Your Technical Questions)
April 1, 2004... Q: My department primarily deals with work measurement and cost reduction for our food processing plants. Our area of expertise is the measurement of the short-cycled, highly repetitive jobs of the production lines. I have been asked to...

Labor standards.(Answers to Your Technical Questions)
April 1, 2004... Q: I am setting labor standards for assembly line processes. Because of the balance of the lines, it will be impossible for the line as a whole to run at 100 percent. I have two questions: 1. What is the typical ratio of theoretical vs....

Annual manual: hitting the high points of IIE's 2004 Annual Conference.(Keeping Pace with IIE)(Institute of Industrial Engineers)(Calendar)
April 1, 2004... It's your last chance to get in on the industrial engineering event of the year. The IIE Annual Conference hits Houston May 15-19 and features a number of new events, including a colloquium designed specifically for IEs just entering the work...

Chapter check-in: international edition.(Focus)(Canadian Society for Industrial Engineers)
April 1, 2004... Concordia University (Montreal) In January, the IIE student chapter at Concordia University in Montreal hosted the 24th Annual Canadian Society for Industrial Engineers National Conference. CSIE is a division of IIE. According to chapter...

The sun never sets on IIE: a roster of international chapters.(Institute of Industrial Engineers)
April 1, 2004... IIE is fortunate to have chapters in numberous cities and universities around the world. These chapters offer an extension of the Institute's resources and fellowship to members in the farthest reaches of the globe. While many of these chapters...

Staff right.(What Engineers Want)(PlanStaff Manager )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... PlanStaff Manager is a dynamic staffing decision tool that integrates enterprisewide data to generate realistic staffing levels automatically. The staffing levels are based on engineered standards and volume driver values; therefore, results...

Enhanced statistical software.(What Engineers Want)
April 1, 2004... Minitab Statistical Software for Windows, now in its 14th release, offers extensive enhancements. Included in the latest version are expanded and simplified graph creation and editing, better looking graphs, new quality tools, additional...

Real-time profitability.(What Engineers Want)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Invensys Real-time Performance Management comprises consulting and software services designed for process manufacturing environments. The main offerings of the Performance Management set include Real-time Finance, Real-time Business...

Eye-catching earpiece.(What Engineers Want)(Motorola's HS810)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Motorola's HS810 is a stylish headset that allows users to connect wirelessly to Bluetooth-enabled devices within a 10-meter range. Weighing less than an ounce, the headset boasts a unique boom microphone, high-quality sound, and noise-reducing...

Deadly downsizing: corporate layoffs aren't good for the heart.(Beyond the Norm)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... No matter that you managed to keep your job while others around you received pink slips, layoffs are bad for your health. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Research from Finland shows that corporate downsizing may increase absences due to illness...

Dilbert.(Beyond the Norm)(Cartoon)
April 1, 2004... Dilbert reprinted by permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Research party.(Beyond the Norm)(ethyl alcohol)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Long the lubricant that greases social interaction, alcohol also proves a good tonic for international cooperation. A consortium that includes the United Kingdom's Manchester Metropolitan University, Germany's TTZ, and Portugal's National...

Quelle chance!(Beyond the Norm)(lucky people)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Long believed to possess legendary luck, the Irish aren't actually the most fortunate people after all. That distinction goes to the French. A survey of 100,000 people from 10 countries reveals that 20 percent of the French classify...