Industrial Engineer articles from February 2009

Industrial Engineer archives from February 2009

Keeping the doors open.(Editorial)
February 1, 2009... What would you do for your company? This is a loaded question, but conversations about loyalty are varied and frequent. Across industries and businesses, company loyalty as an essential message or employment requirement has overpowered...

Turning off the lights: Office Depot and University of Miami cap energy use.(Front Line)
February 1, 2009... "Buy green. Be green. Sell green." These are Office Depot's three environmental aspirations. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, instead of breaking out champagne, the executive team forged a partnership with the University of Miami's Department...

Don't mess with Texas (Tech): College of Engineering named after IE grad, former AT&T CEO.(Front Line)
February 1, 2009... "Texas Tech has no better friend or loyal supporter than Ed Whitacre," Kent Hance, system chancellor at the university, told Forbes after the announcement of a $25 million gift from AT&T and alliances of the company to the College of...

Sick pay.(PRIME NUMBER)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... According to a recent study conducted by human resources consulting firm Mercer, the total cost of planned and unplanned absences in the workplace is at least 36 percent of the cost of payroll, or about twice as much as the cost of health care,...

War's honorarium: consortium helps veterans start businesses.(front line)(Purdue University. Krannert School of Management)
February 1, 2009... Purdue University's Krannert School of Management has joined a consortium that has more than textbooks on the syllabus when it comes to cultivating business minds. Created at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management in 2007, the...

Recession's perks.(BOOK OF THE MONTH)(Collapse of Distinction)(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2009... With all the depressing news about the economy, a book about the recession being good for business is refreshing and intriguing. At minimum, Collapse of Distinction by Scott McKain is expected to have a unique voice and bring a unique...

Art meets industry: donation to the Smithsonian pays tribute to manufacturing.(front line)(CH2M Hill Constructors Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Engineering history in the form of 36,000 drawings and photographs has a place among treasured art collections thanks to a donation by CH2M Hill, a global engineering, procurement, construction and operations firm. Ink on linen architectural...

Dilbert.(Cartoon)
February 1, 2009... DO YOU HAVE THE APPROVED VENDOR LIST? HMMM, ALICE AND ASOK ASKED FOR THAT LIST TOO. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ARE YOU ONE OF THREE PEOPLE ASSIGNED TO THE SAME PROJECT BECAUSE YOUR BOSS BELIEVES NONE OF YOU ARE RELIABLE? ...

Wall St investment revolution.(QUOTE, UNQUOTE)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... "The world of international investment is now on the cusp of a revolution more profound than anything it has witnessed in literally decades. Hard-nosed Wall Street investment bankers, not a species previously noted for excessive hand wringing...

Real estate transaction coordinator.(UNCOMMON IE)(Karen Doyle)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... THE TASK AT HAND: "For sale" is a familiar phrase in communities every where, but in the state of Illinois, The Doyle Team is three equally recognizable words. Karen Doyle coordinates with clients, realtors, lenders and title companies on all...

FedEx breaks ground again.(Front Line)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Scoring a new manufacturing or distribution hub these days is like striking gold for any city. When big brands are attached to the site, increased employment, traffic and revenue is a great expectation. Kernersville, N.C., is known for its...

Where's the BBQ?(performance)(behavior based safety)
February 1, 2009... COST PERFORMANCE MAY GET A LOT of attention at the middle- and upper-management levels, but we make greater efforts to engage our people in an effort to improve safety performance. This distinction is most obvious when you look at the emergence...

Treading lightly.(management)
February 1, 2009... THE ECONOMY LOOKS quite different today than it did just 12 months ago. At that time, companies worried mainly about the ever-rising prices of energy and the increased cost of nearly every commodity used by manufacturers. Credit was cheap and...

Innovation overseas.(manufacturing)(Column)
February 1, 2009... A LIVELY TOPIC OVER THE YEARS during lunch has been outsourcing, offshoring and product innovation in Asia and the United States. Most of my team has worked with Asian manufacturers and suppliers extensively and some have even lived in Asia, so...

Bond with industry.(member forum)
February 1, 2009... THIS PAST SUMMER, A GROUP OF faculty from business, computer science and engineering were selected by the Boeing Co. to participate in a fellowship program to learn and observe real-world business and engineering practices in the aerospace...

Diary of a veteran eco-innovator: Harbec Plastics Inc. reveals how they did it.
February 1, 2009... IT'S A BIRD... IT'S A PLANE... IT'S A WIND TURBINE! Although more than 25,000 of the fascinating machines are in operation across the United States, one of them acquired fame in 2002 because of its unique presence on Route 104 in...

Dressing for the weather: top supply chain challenges motivate action.
February 1, 2009... IN ORDER TO UPGRADE THEIR SUPPLY CHAINS AND outperform competitors, manufacturing firms are concerned with improvements in their demand planning and forecasting, cost reductions, sourcing optimization and inventory reductions. As research...

A life-saving role: health care information systems are essential medicine.
February 1, 2009... SPENDING ON HEALTH CARE IN THE UNITED STATES continues to grow at the rate of more than 7 percent per year, expecting to reach $2.8 trillion by 2011. Escalating health care costs are impeding U.S. industry's ability to compete globally. As an...

The Baldrige journey: learning from one company's quest for excellence.(Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award)
February 1, 2009... QUALITY HAS MANY FACES--FROM process improvement methods such as lean and Six Sigma to comprehensive assessment methods including the Malcolm Baldrige criteria and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) audits. No matter the face...

Removing dysfunction: a company's culture must be healthy.
February 1, 2009... EVERY COMPANY HAS A DISTINCT CULTURE AS WELL as its own idiosyncrasies. Some idiosyncrasies enhance performance while others breed dysfunction. Unfortunately, the dysfunctional cultures portrayed in "Dilbert" comic strips and The Office...

Root causes.(SOLUTIONS IN PRACTICE)(Institute of Research, Education, and Training in Addiction)
February 1, 2009... The most significant applications of industrial engineering aren't always found where most IEs would expect them. A case study that appeared in the November 2007 issue of Industrial Engineering examined the role kaizen played in providing...

Executive summaries.(Research)
February 1, 2009... As product variety increases, manufacturing facilities need more sophisticated methods to determine which products to make to stock and which to make to order. They also need more advanced methods for controlling production to achieve high...

Ask the expert: answers to your technical questions.
February 1, 2009... Listening to Herzberg Q: How far can we apply Herzberg's two-factor theory to present-day organization, especially in apparel manufacturing? A: Herzberg's two-factor theory can certainly be used in today's environment. This theory...

Emerging technologies: innovative tools of the trade.
February 1, 2009... Transparent identity The increase in consumer technology has also led to a rise in cybercrimes, including identity theft and impersonation fraud. As a result, many companies and, on a more macroscopic level, governments have turned to the...

Past, future will converge at Annual Conference: Penn State sponsors special track in celebration of 100 years.
February 1, 2009... IIE will play host this summer to a convergence of history, networking and golf in the Sunshine State. The IIE Annual Conference and Expo 2009 will be held May 30 through June 3 at the Marriott's Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami. With the...

IIE and UPS continue outreach partnership.(Institute of Industrial Engineers)(UPS Women and Minority Industrial Engineer Outreach Program)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... A 14-year partnership continues to nurture a commitment to higher education through IIE's UPS Women and Minority Industrial Engineer Outreach Program. Since 1994, the outreach program has helped the Institute nourish the minds of those who...

Career opportunities can bloom: IIE'S career center serves students, professionals, employers.(Institute of Industrial Engineers)
February 1, 2009... A new year could spring new opportunities for industrial engineers around the world. Professionals may be looking for a change in their work atmosphere while college seniors seek out that first opportunity. IIE is a ready source for...

Albin named editor of IIE Transactions: Rutgers professor succeeds Candace Yano to head renowned research journal.(Institute of Industrial Engineers)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Susan L. Albin has been named the IIE Transactions editor-in-chief for 2009 through 2012. Albin is professor and director of the graduate program in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Rutgers University, and she served as...

The thrill of competition: Ergo Cup entries from around the world blend lean and ergonomics.
February 1, 2009... It appears that lean is moving in on ergonomic turf. At least, that's the suggestion when looking at the mix of finalists for the annual Ergo Cup competition, part of the Applied Ergonomics Conference and Expo 2009 in March. The Ergo Cup...

The day we strive for.(Children's Hospital Medical Center)(Occupation overview)
February 1, 2009... Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, a 475-bed quaternary care center, is recognized as a leading medical research and teaching hospital. It is consistently ranked among the top 10 pediatric hospitals in the nation and the...