Industrial Engineer articles from August 2006

Industrial Engineer archives from August 2006

Done that, been there.(editor's desk)(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... Abilene, Texas, takes prides in its physical and philosophical location on the frontier--preserving its old West heritage while embracing the trappings of a contemporary community. Sounds charming. And until I read Kevin McManus' column this...

Boeing and FedEx test active RFID: tags on major airplane parts may enhance both companies' efficiencies.(radio frequency identification)
August 1, 2006... The Boeing Co. and FedEx have initiated an in-service evaluation of active radio frequency identification tags on some major airplane parts for a FedEx MD-10 freighter. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "The RFID technology is designed to help...

A fly in the pudding: keeping foreign objects out of food.(ultrasonic technology identifies foreign objects in food products)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... The last thing a consumer wants to find in his or her food is an unidentifiable object. And the last thing any food producer wants is to hear from such a consumer. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A new ultrasonic technology could tell food...

Sounds like a crisis.(Joel Leonard's song in various musical genres)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Self-proclaimed "maintenance evangelist" Joel Leonard has enlisted musicians to record blues and reggae renditions of his ditty "The Maintenance Crisis Song." Leonard wrote the song in 2002 after attending a conference and hearing...

Sick system.(services of systems engineers and researchers)(Quotation)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... "Health care delivery in this country is in a crisis of inconsistent and sometimes dismal quality, safety, and efficiency with exploding costs. A major reason for some of these shortfalls is the lack of involvement from the systems engineers...

Drug supply chain tracking mandate: FDA measures will protect against counterfeit pharmaceuticals.(Food and Drug Administration)
August 1, 2006... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced new steps to strengthen protections against the problem of counterfeit drugs. The measures, which were recommended in a report released in June by the agency's Counterfeit Drug Task Force,...

Twists of fate, turns of fortune.(BOOK OF THE MONTH)
August 1, 2006... Decades before Bill Gates, Alfred P. Sloan reigned as the world's most successful CEO. Under Sloan's 33-year-term, General Motors surged ahead of Ford and seized 52 percent of the U.S. automobile market. For his trailblazing organizational...

Part of the solution.(Engineers for a Sustainable World and engineers in poverty control)(www.esustainableworld.org)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Every day, more than one-third of the world's people are trying to work their way out of poverty. Engineers for a Sustainable World operates on the premise that engineers can be part of the solution. The nonprofit organization uses the...

Hypnotherapist.(services of Richard Burke )(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... THE TASK AT HAND: A business improvement manager for Hasbro in Dublin, Ireland, Richard Burke received his qualifications as a clinical hypnotherapist and analytical psychotherapist in 2005. Launching into part-time private practice last year,...

Technology for teaching engineers.(Oregon State University)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Oregon State University is one of 40 colleges nationwide to receive a 2006 HP Technology for Teaching Grant to improve classroom learning through innovative uses of technology. Two OSU professors, Shiwoo Lee in the department of industrial...

Dilbert.(Cartoon)
August 1, 2006... www.dilbert.com scottadams@aol.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 9-6-05 [c]2005 Scott Adams, Inc./Dist. by UFS, Inc. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [c]Scott Adams/Dist. by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

E-week program takes honors: award presented at conference on volunteering and leadership.(Front Line)(Future City Competition,)(educational outreach program)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... The National Engineers Week Future City Competition, an educational program designed to inspire future engineers, was named Connect America Partner of the Year. The announcement took place in June at the National Conference on Volunteering and...

Misplaced fear: worker perceptions about risk aren't realistic.(Front Line)(National Safety Council survey)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... While American workers recognize safety as a serious issue, their perceptions about the greatest safety risks do not mirror reality, according to a new National Safety Council survey. In the Council's 2006 American Worker Safety Survey...

Have you been to Abilene?(performance)(Column)
August 1, 2006... OF ALL OF THE TRAINING VIDEOS I have seen, "The Abilene Paradox" is the most memorable. In it, a rural Kansas family gets into their car and takes a long, undesired trip to town. Why do they do this when only one family member wants to go?...

Manufacturer redux.(management)(advanced supply chain initiatives)
August 1, 2006... THE WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTED in its May 30 edition that U.S. manufacturers' profit growth not only outpaced the rest of the economy, but it has exceeded the levels reached during the boom years of the late 1990s. Still more amazing, March...

Answering the call: BellSouth tailors lean and Six Sigma to fit the service industry.(Enhances organizational capability)
August 1, 2006... It's 8:35 a.m. on a sunny Monday in downtown Atlanta. Andrea and her team of telephone testing technicians are discussing the group's previous day's performance, the current day's schedule, as well as future plans. The team is excited to learn...

A balanced value system: an industry analyst takes a stand on outsourcing as a matter of standards and survival.(future of the United States)
August 1, 2006... Competing internationally is not just about wages. It is about total cost--design, quality, and customer satisfaction. It is about an organization's and the broader communities' legacy and the need to work with an integrated and balanced value...

Educating stars: the University of South Florida is making engineering accessible to grade-school students.(science, mathematics, engineering, and technology)
August 1, 2006... Recent reports of the performance of America's youth from both the third International Mathematics and Science Study and the National Assessment of Educational Progress echo a dismal message of lackluster performance in mathematics and science....

Service with a smile: lean solutions extend beyond the factory floor.(antagonistic relationship between management and employees )
August 1, 2006... When Taiichi Ohno of the Toyota Motor Co. visited Ford Motor Co.'s River Rouge plant outside Detroit in 1949, he was impressed with the idea of continuous flow on the manufacturing line. However, other aspects of mass production appeared...

Cool convenience.(SOLUTIONS IN PRACTICE)(bagged ice and make purchasing crystalline cubes)
August 1, 2006... A rapidly growing Florida company is out to put an end to bagged ice and make purchasing crystalline cubes as easy as driving to an ATM machine. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ice House America, which began operating in early 2004, has grabbed...

Research.(designing better statistical process control charts )
August 1, 2006... The August issue of IIE Transactions (Vol. 38, No. 7) focuses on quality and reliability. The papers from that issue described below concern designing better statistical process control charts when there is asymmetry in the system with respect...

Efficient bottleneck operations.(ANSWERS TO YOUR TECHNICAL QUESTIONS)(Interview)
August 1, 2006... Q: I work in a plant where, in an effort always to have a backup plan, the machines (especially bottlenecks) are tooled up to run as many parts as possible. This causes more harm than good since the flow is chaotic--the parts are processed in...

Setting the standard.(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Q: I am working for a company that has a different concept than mine of what the number on a time study represents. All of my training and experience tells me that the pieces per shift is the maximum number, which includes the average of the...

Video benefits.(calculating takt time)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Q: I have a family of multiple products with work content differences running on one production line. How do I calculate the takt time? Most explanations of takt time seem to use simplified examples with just one product. A: Divide the...

By any other name.(registration of professional titles)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Q: Can someone use the title industrial engineer if he or she has no formal training and no industrial engineering degree? A: That question has vexed not only our field but many others as well. It depends on the country and state in which...

Engineering teams.(professional development for industrial engineers)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Q: Why is it important for engineers to have an understanding of the other branches of engineering in addition to the field they specialize in? A: Industrial engineers do not work in a vacuum. They work with engineers from many different...

Banking career.(industrial engineer in business continuity planning)
August 1, 2006... Q: What value-added contributions can an industrial engineer make in the area of business continuity planning, particularly in a central bank? A: Industrial engineers are hired into all walks of business. It is not uncommon for an IE to...

Meeting of the minds: Orlando welcomes engineers at Annual Conference and Expo.(KEEPING PACE WITH IIE)(Annual Conference and Exposition)
August 1, 2006... In May, hundreds of industrial engineers, experts, and students from around the globe flocked to SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla. But they weren't there to watch Shamu jump through hoops for fish. More than 1,300 people attended the IIE Annual...

Road work ahead.(WHAT ENGINEERS WANT)(Combination Desk/Portable Pop-Up Tape Strip)
August 1, 2006... Swiss manufacturer Victorinox has modified its widely used knife and transformed it into an essential tool for the mobile engineer. The SwissMemory has the scissors, blade, and nail file expected in a traditional Swiss army knife but also...

Work perfect: the day we strive for.(healthy environment for the miners)
August 1, 2006... Mines are inspected routinely for dust compliance, and when there's a mine having problems getting their dust concentrations into control, we're called in. We're tech support. We don't write citations; we go in to help the mine get into...