Industrial Engineer articles from April 2008

Industrial Engineer archives from April 2008

Our student body.(editor's desk)(Editorial)
April 1, 2008... IIE's new president-elect Jane Ammons charged through our headquarters with the enthusiasm and confidence of a true leader at February's Presidents' Meeting. A professor for many years, she wasted no time in melting the ice with staff,...

If you ask me ...(RANTS AND RAVES)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... In "Ask the Expert" (January), the question of incentive pay systems was raised. In addition to the response by [Merwan] Metha, I would like to add something based on my experience as a specialist on General Electrics corporate manufacturing...

Apples aren't outdated.(RANTS AND RAVES)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I truly enjoyed "Engineering K-12 Education" by Lee Nickles (Member Forum, January). I am a first-year Ph.D. student in industrial engineering at Penn State University, where I also earned my B.S. and M.S. degrees in IE. Throughout my college...

Fan mail.(RANTS AND RAVES)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I read the "Performance" column by Kevin McManus in every issue of IE magazine. I took early retirement from a Fortune 100 corporation and one of the reasons I did is that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get them to consider...

Better 21st century living possible? Experts determine necessary steps to improve conditions.(Front Line)
April 1, 2008... A diverse committee of experts from around the world has convened at the request of the National Science Foundation and announced 14 grand challenges for engineering in the 21st century that, if met, would improve how we live. ...

Creativity has health advantages.(Front Line)(Survey)
April 1, 2008... Employees who have more control over their daily activities and can do challenging work that they enjoy are likely to be in better health, new research suggests. "The most important finding is that creative activity helps people stay...

Don't text and drive.(PRIME NUMBER)(Survey)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Human behavior is partially responsible for more than 90 percent of vehicle crashes, according to a study released in 2007 by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and the American Psychology Association. Such behavior includes drivers' use...

Zero means zero.(BOOK OF THE MONTH)(Zero Defects Option )(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The Zero Defects Option is the only book that correctly explains the zero defects concept and lays out the seven principles of defect prevention needed to implement the idea. It was written to explain a manager's role in producing defect-free...

Spotlight on New Face: doctoral student Jessica Heier among the chosen.(Front Line)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... From developing real-time imaging systems for unmanned military surveillance aircraft to studying coastal engineering for potential impacts of tsunami events, young engineers two to five years out of school are doing unique work to better...

Nokia to give iPhone a run for its money: company, British university develop nanotechnology concept device.(Front Line)(Nokia Research Center)
April 1, 2008... Morph, a joint nanotechnology concept, developed by Nokia Research Center (NRC) and the University of Cambridge, was launched in February with the "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibition, on view until May 12 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)...

Design of patient tracking tools probed.(Front Line)
April 1, 2008... Proper design of computational tools is critical if they are to be used with success in patient-care settings, particularly in hospital emergency rooms, according to a field study conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo and other...

Dilbert.(Comic)(Cartoon)
April 1, 2008... www.dilbert.com scottadams@aol.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 3-19-04 [c] 2004 Scott Adams, Inc./Dist. by UFS, Inc. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [c] Scott Adams/Dist. By United Feature Syndicate Inc. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

We're IEs, not cops.(performance)(industrial engineers)
April 1, 2008... BELIEVE IT OR NOT, SOME ORGANIzations still use their industrial engineers like a police force. These people are responsible for enforcing work rules, catching time thieves, and making sure that waste levels are minimized. Is this the best way...

Road to compensation.(management)
April 1, 2008... DOES INCREASING COMPENSATION result in higher levels of productivity? A client recently posed this question to us. Our guidance was a resounding, "It depends." Our client owns and operates a manufacturing business at a single site. The...

Warehouse shopping.(supply chain)
April 1, 2008... WITH SO MANY COMPANIES MOVING manufacturing overseas, operating an in-house warehousing network is complicated. As a result, public warehousing--the short-term use of some portion of a third-party logistics provider's facility--is becoming an...

Inside minds: industrial engineering departments around the world represent compelling mix of knowledge.
April 1, 2008... IT'S 2008: INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERS are embedded in every industry that contributes to humankind. A surge in the profession can be attributed to a planet that defies old work standards and downplays the importance of time zones, language barriers,...

Maintenance in reliability: engineering for a life cycle.
April 1, 2008... IMAGINE A CORPORATION FIGHTING AN UPHILL BATTLE to survive in the face of growing foreign competition, an aging work force, and other internal and external issues that seem designed to defeat long-term survival. The CEO decides to focus on...

The emotionally intelligent team: understanding and developing the behaviors of success.
April 1, 2008... THE WORLD HAS CHANGED. ONCE WE THOUGHT THAT an M.B.A. and wireless technology would secure the future. It won't. Reams of data all point to the need to work together in teams and the strategy for sustained team success is emotional and social...

Transforming supply chain performance: creation of a lean extended value stream.
April 1, 2008... AMERENUE IS THE MISSOURI SUBSIDIARY OF AMEREN, which is headquartered in St. Louis and serves approximately 1.2 million electric and 110,000 gas customers. UE repairs many failed transformers that were once used to supply electricity at the...

Define your space: a primer on workplace layout.
April 1, 2008... IN OUR CAREERS, WE WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY BE ASKED to provide some type of facility layout, whether for a small assembly line or a totally new facility. It is important that the steps to accomplish layout are followed in a rough sequence and...

Change with care.(SOLUTIONS IN PRACTICE)
April 1, 2008... Most managers who implement lean into their operations will probably agree that it can be a bumpy road to travel. John Smith, chief operating officer of Michigan-based Ross Controls, can be counted among the converted. When his company--an...

Research.
April 1, 2008... Complex, ever-changing requirements of physical and financial markets in high-risk settings emphasize the importance of scheduling and logistics. This month we spotlight two articles that address this topic. The first article discusses the...

To process or not to process.(ANSWERS TO YOUR TECHNICAL QUESTIONS)
April 1, 2008... Q: I am a cost accountant by qualification and aspiring SAP controlling consultant. I have to submit a paper on costs in tile manufacturing with scenarios in SAP. I am confused as to whether tile manufacturing can be considered a process or...

The latest in IE.(ANSWERS TO YOUR TECHNICAL QUESTIONS)(industrial engineering)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Q: I am in a master's degree program in Turkey. I graduated in industrial engineering last year, and it is time to start my master's thesis, but I want to study current popular topics. Can you tell me which topics I can study? A: I would...

Cross disciplines.(ANSWERS TO YOUR TECHNICAL QUESTIONS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Q: I studied industrial engineering but presently I am working in the commercial department of a conglomerate as a trainee accountant. I am in the audit section, where I go to each of the company's business units reviewing operations and making...

Pit crew approach.(ANSWERS TO YOUR TECHNICAL QUESTIONS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Q: There has been an existing struggle with the transfer of product knowledge and responsibility between manufacturing and design engineering on a product that is approximately three years old. While this product has supporting assembly...

The 10-year plan.(ANSWERS TO YOUR TECHNICAL QUESTIONS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Q: I graduated two years ago with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and operations research and have since worked in a manufacturing operation position. I have decided to pursue a master's degree. I wonder if I should have a...

Assembly pacing.(ANSWERS TO YOUR TECHNICAL QUESTIONS)
April 1, 2008... Q: My shop produces heavy construction equipment. Demand sits at approximately 50 units per month, and the total time to produce a unit is averaging 53 hours per unit, where some are as low as 20 hours per unit and some as high as 80 hours per...

Visualizing the future.(INNOVATIVE TOOLS OF THE TRADE)
April 1, 2008... Wouldn't it be great if the world energy crisis puzzle was solved in the morning? Solutions require innovation, technology, and engineering all working together. A perfect example of this synergy is the clean diesel engine. ...

Leadership in bloom: Board of Trustees, region vice presidents start April 1.(KEEPING PACE WITH IIE)
April 1, 2008... At IIE, springtime signals a changing of the guard. After nearly eight weeks of winter voting, IIE members have picked a new leader. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jane Ammons, Ph.D., P.E., was chosen as IIE's new presidentelect. She is a...

Former IIE president Cotton dies: quality expert founded industrial engineering department at Mississippi State.(KEEPING PACE WITH IIE)(Obituary)
April 1, 2008... Frank E. Cotton Jr., Ph.D., 84, a former IIE president and fellow as well as founder and first department head of industrial engineering at Mississippi State University, died Feb. 5 in Bloomington, Ind. Cotton was president of IIE from 1970...

SEMS backs Engineering Management Forum: Baseball team president Chuck Armstrong scheduled to speak at event.(KEEPING PACE WITH IIE)
April 1, 2008... The IIE Annual Conference and Expo, set for May 17-21, is the most significant industrial engineering event of the year. The Society for Engineering and Management Systems (SEMS) is a major contributor to the conference, with its cornerstone...

Georgia Tech students win SHS competition.(KEEPING PACE WITH IIE)(Society for Health Systems)
April 1, 2008... Two students from the Georgia Institute of Technology were recognized by the Society for Health Systems for outstanding papers that demonstrate the use of IE skills in improving a health care problem. Graduate student Faramroze G. Engineer...

Work perfect: the day we strive for.
April 1, 2008... The EPA is the largest environmental federal regulatory agency in the world. We spend about $7.5 billion a year and employ more than 17,000 people. Most people know us through our regulations and voluntary programs, which address water and air...