Industrial Engineer articles from August 2003

Industrial Engineer archives from August 2003

Traveling without moving.(Editor's Desk)
August 1, 2003... I've spent the last week looking at apartments and condominiums, trying to make one of life's big decisions: to move or not to move. These days, the housing market is good for buyers and renters. But selecting a place to live can be like...

Keep up the good work.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... I recently received a copy of the May Industrial Engineer, and although I am not in the habit of writing letters, I felt I had to write to congratulate the staff on an excellent publication. Its quality, content, design, and title are all...

Unsupportable economics.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... Seymour Melman's arguments opposing multinational corporations and his call for reindustrialization use anecdotal information and are not supportable by either macro- or microeconomic facts ("Provocative Politics," May). His example of the New...

Data drives competition.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... The concept of workplace democracy offered by Seymour Melman in the May article "Provocative Politics" is one that is certainly desired by all people who have experienced freedom. The workplace may be one place where democracy misses the point....

Recalling Melman.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... I was struck with a chord of nostalgia when I read the article about Seymour Melman ("Provocative Politics," May) by Steven Averett. I note that Melman is quite consistent over these many years. He was one of my engineering instructors at...

IE from an M.B.A. perspective.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... I was fortunate to be able to read a copy of Way Kuo's article in the May issue ("Redefining Our Relevance"). Although I am not an industrial engineer, but a business major, I have always had great respect for what IEs bring to the business...

More on plant engineering.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... I am an IE who has been working in the plant/facilities engineering field for several years now. It would certainly be nice to have some articles in the plant engineering/maintenance management field in future Industrial Engineer magazines. I...

Avid reader of Walls.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... I look forward to reading Hal Walls' management column each month and find myself turning to it first as soon as I get IE each month. His ideas are thoughtful, and better yet, inspire me to reflect upon the way I interact with people around me....

A home railroad.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... I do indeed have a home project that has utilized my industrial engineering skills. One of my hobbies is model railroading. At the moment, I have a garden railroad in progress. This project has been in the planning phase for nearly a year and...

Design disenchantment.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... I continue to be disappointed with the graphical layout of our magazine. (On the other hand, the content is fine.) The magazine is just difficult to read--print too small, headings are not standard, colors are dull, etc. It's a shame because it...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
August 1, 2003... In the June article "Planning in Uncertain Times," the author's place of employment was incorrectly stated. Milton Meckler, P.E., is the president of Design Build Systems in Los Angeles. Our apologies for the error. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Ultimate Altima assembly.(News)
August 1, 2003... Nissan's Smyrna, Tenn., operation set a new benchmark for assembly productivity in "The Harbour Report North American 2003" released in June. The Smyrna car plant, which produces the Altima, led all assembly plants reviewed with a measure of...

Communication is key to cancer treatment; IE prof leads research center of excellence.(News)
August 1, 2003... The National Cancer Institute will fund the $10 million Center of Excellence in Cancer Communications Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It will be led by industrial engineering professor emeritus David Gustafson. The purpose of...

Beyond basic value stream mapping.(Book of the Month)
August 1, 2003... How can you apply value stream mapping and lean concepts to the complex environment created by mixed-model manufacturing? IIE member Kevin Duggan addresses that dilemma in his new book, Creating Mixed Model Value Streams. [ILLUSTRATION...

Idea man.(Uncommon IE)
August 1, 2003... To say Anthony Levandowski thinks outside the box is to sell him short. The box better suits him as a platform to stand upon and declare his next unlikely idea. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I had a whole bunch of crazy ideas," the...

Strange but fun.(Site to See)
August 1, 2003... If you have kids in middle school or junior high, direct them to the Strange Matter Web site at http://www.strangematterexhibit.com. Sponsored by the Materials Research Society, the site and an accompanying touring exhibition illustrate the...

Supporting women in science, engineering.(News)
August 1, 2003... Through the creation of a U.S.-based fellowship that parallels an existing international grant program, L'Oreal USA will expand its commitment to the Women in Science program. The fellowship offers support to women in pursuit of scientific and...

Northeast, Midwest counties have best access.(News)
August 1, 2003... While locations in the Northeast and Midwest United States continue to be most accessible to the largest concentrations of people in the country, research shows that areas in the South and West are making inroads. A new study examines, for...

Back pain drugs should also improve productivity.(News)
August 1, 2003... Painkillers not only relieve lower back pain, but they should improve functionality as well, according to a study from the University of Alberta. The research team led by UA Director of Pain Medicine Saifee Rashiq, M.D., has provided the...

Delta looks to reduce costs 15 percent.(News)
August 1, 2003... By redesigning travel processes, enhancing operational efficiency, increasing productivity, and reducing employee costs, Delta Air Lines plans to decrease its current costs 15 percent by the end of 2005. The Atlanta-based airline says the...

Business briefs.(News)
August 1, 2003... BMW has implemented new computer-aided inspection technology in its engine building plant in Steyr, Austria. With help from Australian technology firm Westcam, BMW Steyr will generate exact 3-D digital models directly from scanned physical...

Education briefs.(News)
August 1, 2003... Bill and Gladys Allison of Houston have committed their support to Texas A&M University's Engineering Scholars Program with a $35,000 endowment. The gift will establish an undergraduate scholarship for high-performing students. * Civil and...

Calendar.(Calendar)
August 1, 2003... AUGUST August 7-8 Effective Persuasion Skills for the Technical Professional course, Los Angeles; (310) 825-1901; http://www.uclaextension.com/shortcourses August 7-8 The Engineer in Transition to Management course, Los...

The change problem.(Performance Improvement)
August 1, 2003... One of the most popular sessions at this year's IIE Annual Conference dealt with getting people to alter their behaviors in support of workplace improvements. People flock to such sessions in search of the answer to how to motivate people to...

Through a glass clearly.(Management)
August 1, 2003... There is a biblical expression that, prior to enlightenment, we see "through a glass darkly." The phrase has been widely employed in English literature to describe our tendency to obscure clear, simple truths with complicated evasions,...

Opportunities lost.(Manufacturing)
August 1, 2003... Why are we leaving the land of opportunity? I just met with a client who is determined to move a manufacturing operation from the United States to Mexico. During the past five years, I have been involved with several similar projects. My...

St. Michael rising.(Cover Story)
August 1, 2003... St. Michael Hospital has always been inextricably linked to the community it serves. As a fixture of northern Milwaukee for more than 50 years, the hospital has been subject to the same forces that affect the surrounding neighborhood. But...

To merge and acquire: an IE presence is required for companies to come together successfully.
August 1, 2003... Your client is a small division of a public company. Industry growth has been flat to declining for several years. Competition has been so fierce that several companies have already left the industry. Your division is approached by another...

The bare necessities of lean: 10 things your lean guru may not tell you about making just-in-time work.
August 1, 2003... The current intense interest in lean manufacturing represents a validation of industrial engineering principles and practice. However, as with many popular management movements, there is a lot of misinformation and confusion regarding the...

Oncoming wave of collaboration: the TIDE program is showing small firms how to jump into manufacturing networks.
August 1, 2003... Manufacturing is undergoing a major transformation. Companies are migrating away from the traditional manufacturing environment to one in which they act as designers and systems integrators, with the actual manufacturing being done by smaller...

Executive summaries of current studies.(Research Reports)
August 1, 2003... This month we highlight three papers that focus on different aspects of production systems: the development of an integrated production planning and scheduling system for the auto industry; a model that can be used to determine the effects of...

3rd Annual Lean Management Solutions Conference.
August 1, 2003... September 7-11, 2003 * Atlanta, Georgia * Sheraton Buckhead LEAN FOR ACCELERATING GROWTH INTO THE FUTURE The 3rd Annual Lean Management Solutions Conference... it's the place you'll find the leaders in lean and all the tools you need...

IEs among the roses: the 2003 Annual Conference blossomed in Portland, Ore.(Focus on IIE)
August 1, 2003... Industrial engineers from around the world gathered in Portland, Ore.--the city of roses--to celebrate their profession at the IIE Annual Conference. The city's trademark showers were fortuitously absent as 979 attendees poured into the city...

IIE's continuing education seminars.
August 1, 2003... Take advantage of IIE's many new comprehensive seminars and you'll come away with practical information you can use to strengthen your knowledge and improve the way you work. Seminars Our expanded seminar schedule for Fall 2003 and...

Resources.
August 1, 2003... Work Measurement MTM Association * Work Measurement Systems * Work Measurement Software * Industrial Engineering Training and Support * Ergonomics Training * Productivity Improvement Analysis * Profitability...

Can you spare a dime, a nickel, and three pennies?(Punchline)
August 1, 2003... Americans who want less loose change in their pockets should start bucking for an 18-cent coin to replace the familiar thin dime, according to Canadian mathematician Jeffrey Shallit. Shallit has determined the optimal denominations that...

Separate work and family life: to be happy, leave paperwork at the office.(Punchline)
August 1, 2003... The ubiquity and affordability of technology have changed the way we work--in part by changing where and when we work. The ability to make a phone call from the comfort of one's afternoon commute or to send important documents by e-mail from a...

Who cares what others think? In all likelihood, you do.(Punchline)
August 1, 2003... Practically everyone cares what people think of them, including those who insist they are not affected by others' opinions, suggests research by a Wake Forest University psychology professor. "The results of the study show that social...