Industrial Engineer articles from March 2005

Industrial Engineer archives from March 2005

Yellow light, green light.(radio-frequency identification revolutionizing the supply chain)(Editorial)
March 1, 2005... LAST NOVEMBER, PBS' FRONTLINE PROGRAM AIRED "IS WAL-MART GOOD for America?"--a thought-provoking and riveting examination of the company's apparent stranglehold on the big-box retailer market. No matter where you come down on the debate as to...

Score one for lean: computational tool helps manufacturers improve their productivity.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Two Virginia Tech researchers have developed an innovative computational tool that can help manufacturers improve their productivity. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Lean Decision Support Tool, developed by Frank Chen of the industrial and...

Depending on foreign brain power: visa restrictions on foreign grad students will curb innovation.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Tight restrictions on student visas for foreign graduate students will hasten the erosion of America's global dominance in innovation, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher. Economics professor Keith Maskus found that...

Foundation of success.(QUOTE, UNQUOTE)
March 1, 2005... "Leaving engineering is not, of itself, a failure of either the individual or the profession--engineering is great preparation for many careers. Consider that 22 percent of Fortune 200 CEOs have a B.S. in engineering. In fact, engineering is...

The Missing Pieces.(Business performance management)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Performance management is the process of managing an organization's strategy through an integrated system of business improvement methods supported by technology. According to IIE member Gary Cokins in his book Performance Management: Finding...

Overexertion hurts.(front line)(cost of workplace injuries)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The bad news: The cost of workplace injuries continues to soar. The good news: From 1998 to 2002, there has been a drop in the number of serious injuries, and the ranking of the top injuries has remained consistent, allowing risk and safety...

Lean's not so mean: taking waste out of manufacturing doesn't have to stress workers unduly.(front line)(lean production removes worker stress)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Contrary to the notion that a necessary byproduct of lean manufacturing is increased stress in the work force, research shows that lean may be a boon to worker attitudes. A three-year investigation based on information from 1,391 factory...

Events.(seminars of engineering associations)(Calendar)
March 1, 2005... MARCH MARCH 14-16 * Six Sigma Green Belt seminar, Norcross, Ga. MARCH 21-22 * Project Management Skills for Industrial Engineers seminar, Norcross, Ga. MARCH 21-23 * Successful Business and Change Management Skills...

Head of the class.(UNCOMMON IE)(Classmates.com)(RedWeek.com)
March 1, 2005... As Randy Conrads and his wife approached their 20-year high school reunion, they did what any alum would do: Look for long-lost classmates. "I graduated in the Philippines, so I figured it might be harder to find people," recalls Conrads,...

Green machines: Honda comes out on top in the race for environmental production.(front line)(Honda Motor Company Ltd. awarded for producing environmental products)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Honda has pulled ahead in the race for the title of most environmentally responsible automaker. The Union of Concerned Scientists rates car manufacturers biennially and presented Honda with its 2004 Greenest Automaker Award. In contrast,...

Scholarly searching.(SITE TO SEE)(www.google.com)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Scholarly research builds on past learning; therefore, knowledge of existing research is essential. Leave it to search specialist Google to devise a tool for the research community. Called Google Scholar (www.google.com/scholar), the Web...

Exec measurement: scrutinizing performance metrics.(front line)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... While few companies make significant use of people measures to meet their strategic targets, a majority say they will increase their use of these tools, according to a report from The Conference Board. Of the human resources executives...

Ergonomically exasperating.(PRIME NUMBER)(injuries due to consumer product packaging)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... In the United States, 206,548 injuries were reported in 2003 as a result of household consumer product packaging, which is more than twice the amount attributed to skateboarding. Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Manufacturing a career: strategic plan to draft and prepare workers.(front line)(Department of Labor announces grant to give training to workers )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Late last year, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao announced a grant of nearly $500,000 to inform students, parents, and educators about career opportunities in advanced manufacturing. The $498,520 grant was awarded to the Manufacturing...

A firm foundation.(performance)(workplace performance improvement)
March 1, 2005... THE ESCALATING POPULARITY OF home improvement TV shows brings to mind similarities between the efforts we undertake to improve our homes and those we launch to make our organizations more effective. Unfortunately, some of the cultural factors...

The pulse of manufacturing.(management)(computer-aided engineering in manufacturing facilities)
March 1, 2005... EACH YEAR, THE MANUFACTURING Performance Institute, Industry Week magazine, and Grant Thornton LLP perform a census of American manufacturers. The latest offers a surprising and encouraging snapshot of the current state of manufacturing in the...

Delivering the goods: RFID conveys a sharp signal to the supply chain world to come.(Radio Frequecy Identification Systems)(Cover Story)
March 1, 2005... "I think the industry has sold itself on a program that offers so little return that it simply won't be worth the trouble and expense." --Midwest grocery chain executive discussing the potential of bar codes in 1975 NO DOUBT YOU HAVE...

Doing by virtual experimenting: a reactive scheduling system in semiconductor manufacturing.
March 1, 2005... CHINA HAS BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL center for semiconductor assembly and testing mainly due to relatively cheap labor and easy access to a huge market (Figure 1). With increasing facility and capital equipment investment, the demand for soft...

Written on the wind: one company generates renewed interest in alternate energy.
March 1, 2005... WITH OIL PRICES ON THE RISE and daily reminders of the ever more dire consequences of greenhouse gas emissions, it is only natural to revisit the latent promise of alternative energy sources. While solar, hydroelectric, and other renewable...

Recognizing the 'I' in 'team': three easy assessment tools for determining individual performance.(evaluation methods in a teamwork)
March 1, 2005... THE COMPLEXITY OF TEAM EVALUAtion processes varies from relatively simple techniques to extremely complex systems. A broad variety of evaluation metrics exist, including subjective, objective, heuristic, and other measurement criteria....

Virtual world view: use simulation to perfect virtual scenarios before attempting them in the real world.(SIMULATION ADVERTORIAL)
March 1, 2005... THE DESIRE TO GAUGE THE EFFECT OF MAKING A CHANGE WITHOUT incurring the risk of actually doing so was the genesis of simulation. Employing evermore realistic models, organizations now have the luxury of modeling their entire operation and...

Fighter facilitator.(SIMULATION ADVERTORIAL)(robotic paint systems )(Advertisement)
March 1, 2005... DELMIA CORP., THE LEADER IN digital manufacturing software solutions, recently announced the successful use of its advanced robotic simulation and analysis tool, IGRIP. Lockheed Martin Co. and system integrator CTA Inc. applied IGRIP with the...

Same-day simulation.(SIMULATION ADVERTORIAL)(Flexsim Software Products Inc)(Advertisement)
March 1, 2005... The problem As the average age of the United States population gets older, certain cancer screening tests have become more common. As a result, the need to increase capacity to service more patients each day has become a primary concern....

A measure of urgency.(SIMULATION ADVERTORIAL)(urgent care center new facility )(Advertisement)
March 1, 2005... The story Consistently recognized as one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation, York Hospital in York, Pa., faced a competitive threat. A rival facility was planning to build an urgent care center (UCC) in the area. David Eitel, Ph.D.,...

Six Sigma sidekick.(SIMULATION ADVERTORIAL)(Cummins Inc.)
March 1, 2005... CUMMINS INC., A LEADING ENGINE manufacturer headquartered in Columbus, Ind., is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute, and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls,...

The birth of a new model.(SIMULATION ADVERTORIAL)(Advertisement)
March 1, 2005... MANY INDUSTRIES ARE FEELING caught between a rock and a hard place. Health care professionals must continue to find ways to become more efficient and effective to keep up with varying patient needs while continuing to re-evaluate their facility...

Virtual traffic jam.(SIMULATION ADVERTORIAL)(Advertisement)
March 1, 2005... Executive summary With the increasing use of simulation applications in a wide range of industries today, technological development is now concentrated on: * Reducing the time required to build a simulation model. * Using virtual...

Soda bottleneck.(SIMULATION ADVERTORIAL)(quantitative analysis of conveyor system using simulation model)(Advertisement)
March 1, 2005... Client overview PepsiAmericas is one of the largest canning and bottling groups in the Pepsi organization. Its interests include canning and bottling facilities, call centers, and refurbishing of vending machines. PepsiAmericas'...

Research: executive summaries.(supply chain management using simulation models in hospital emergency rooms )
March 1, 2005... This edition of Research highlights two articles that focus on tools to help decision makers design effective and efficient manufacturing and service businesses. The first article summarized below presents a comprehensive approach based on...

Ask the expert: answers to your technical questions.(time-based incentives and mangers role in a pharmaceutical company)
March 1, 2005... Leaving early as a bonus Q: Can you direct me to research on time-based incentives? In particular, what amount of "go home early" bonus should be expected in a time-based incentive system with fixed measured work loads where employees can...

Winner's circle: IIE welcomes newly elected officers.(KEEPING PACE WITH IIE)(Institute of Industrial Engineers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Board of Trustees 1: PRESIDENT-ELECT Susan Sinclair [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2: SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT-AT-LARGE--INDUSTRY Roman Hlutkowsky [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 3: SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT--CONTINUING EDUCATION ...

Charitable chapters: digging deep to fund worthwhile causes.(CHAPTER CHECK-IN)(Institute of Industrial Engineers and Milwaukee School of Engineering donations)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Three local IIE chapters demonstrated generosity recently by making unsolicited donations. The National Capital senior chapter raised $500 for the Marvin Mundel Memorial Scholarship. Chapter secretary Joseph Scheibeler raised most of the funds...

Timing is everything: programming notes for the 2005 Annual Conference.(focus)
March 1, 2005... After several years of experimenting with the schedule and format of the honors and awards ceremony held at the IIE Annual Conference, conference organizers have bowed to tradition and the requests of many conference-goers by maintaining an...

The rates of spring: dues changes mean now is the best time to renew membership.(focus)(Institute of Industrial Engineers hasintroduced a new rate structure)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Beginning April 1, IIE will introduce a new rate structure for student and international members. These changes come as a result of extensive research and benchmarking by IIE's Board of Trustees and senior management to compare IIE's benefits...

Kudos: celebrating member achievements.(focus)(appointments, promotions and awards)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Randy Kesterson became the first head of the Society for Leadership of Change, a newly formed nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting leaders and managers wishing to improve their organization's capacity for change. Kesterson is the...

Born to innovate: Khoshnevis uses IE to introduce new technologies.(PROFILE OF A WINNER)
March 1, 2005... Discussing industrial engineering with IIE fellow Behrokh Khoshnevis, Ph.D., it is easy to discern the attitude that helped earn him IIE's Technical Innovation in Industrial Engineering Award in 2004. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I have...

Ergo speak: keynote speakers announced for the Applied Ergonomics Conference.(focus)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Organizers of the Applied Ergonomics Conference have booked four engaging keynote speakers for this year's event, being held March 21-24 in New Orleans. Each is an expert in his or her field and will speak about issues integral to the...

Trivia for loot.(focus)(Institute of Industrial Engineers gives free e-newsletter)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Astute readers of IIE Connections, IIE's free e-newsletter, were recently given extra incentive to demonstrate their knowledge about the Institute. A 10-question online trivia contest gave members a chance to compete for a $50 American Express...

The boss is a nightmare: managers' bad moods caused by lack of sleep.(BEYOND THE NORM)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... If you find yourself called on the carpet by a loud-mouthed and cranky manager, it may have less to do with your performance than your manager's lack of sleep. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] People who don't get enough shuteye admit to...

Of two minds.(people saving fot their retirement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Like Aesop's ant that diligently stores food for the upcoming winter while the grasshopper lounges in the summer sun, people are torn between providing for the future and serving their immediate impulses. Research supported by the National...

Invariable Agenda.(Johns Hopkins University releases calendar)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Wouldn't it be convenient if your birthday--not to mention most major holidays--always fell on the same day of the week every year? So proposes Johns Hopkins University physics and astronomy professor Richard Conn Henry, Ph.D., who would...