Industrial Engineer articles from November 2003

Industrial Engineer archives from November 2003

They had me at Prada.(Editor's Desk)
November 1, 2003... FAST COMPANY MAGAZINE PROCLAIMED IT ONE OF THE FIVE TECHNOLOGIES that will change the world. It can be small enough to fit on a dime. It's able to track a product or pallet in a single reading. It's not a bird or a plane, but it flies through...

Engineering health care.(Mail)
November 1, 2003... I greatly enjoyed "St. Michael Rising" in the August issue of IE magazine. I once worked for a hospital CEO who also was an IE back in the early 1970s. I was employed as an industrial engineer at the Graduate Hospital and Hahnemann University...

Praise for Lean.(Mail)
November 1, 2003... I liked Charles Parks' article very much in the August issue on "The Bare Necessities of Lean." Thank you. JACKIE BAILEY Marietta, Ohio

An IE's editor.(Mail)
November 1, 2003... I have been very pleased with Monica Elliott's performance as editor. I believe she has really taken this publication to a new level. I love having a practicing industrial engineer as editor of our magazine. She has brought an amazing balance...

Russian connection.(Mail)
November 1, 2003... I am in complete agreement with the ideas brought forth in "The Niche of Industrial Engineering" by Adedeji B. Badiru (July). Industrial engineers are the problem with the world's image and understanding of industrial engineers. We are...

The sky is not falling.(Mail)
November 1, 2003... Industrial engineering is far from dead. I agree with Adedeji Badiru ("The Niche of Industrial Engineering," July): Industrial engineering is still very relevant to our society and we must solve the problem as opposed to being the problem. ...

Chapter recognition.(Mail)
November 1, 2003... Thank you and your staff for the fantastic article, "Rebuilding a Chapter by the Book," appearing in the July issue of Industrial Engineer. Several chapter members commented that they had seen it and thought it was great. Hopefully, the article...

Found in space.(Mail)
November 1, 2003... I recently read "Across the Universe" (June) concerning the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. It was particularly interesting given the [Aug.25] news regarding the SIRTF being launched. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I enjoyed the article and,...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
November 1, 2003... In the September Focus article "The Power of Two," the Society of Manufacturing Engineers was incorrectly referred to as the Society of Management Engineers. Our apologies for the error.

Lack of vision imperils U.S. aviation: better coordination is needed, says report.(Front Line)
November 1, 2003... The United States' air transportation system is "in peril," as is the country's dominance in world aviation. These are conclusions of a report released in September by the National Research Council. "In the past, we have been the world...

Tackling terror with stats: grad student will use stochastic processes to prevent bioterrorism.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A Cornell graduate student will research bioterrorism for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Serena Suewei Chan, who is in Cornell's statistical science program, was chosen from among 2,500 applicants to...

Fatal work injuries decline.(Front Line)
November 1, 2003... A total of 5,524 work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2002, a decline of 6.6 percent from 2001. The data comes from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor...

Quality improvement tool.(Book of the Month)
November 1, 2003... DOE Simplified is a comprehensive introduction to design of experiments. The book covers the bases for readers who have a limited statistical background. All the essentials are here: basic statistics for DOE, simple methods for collecting and...

Unhappy shift workers: hormonal differences may telegraph susceptibility to health problems.
November 1, 2003... There is ample evidence that shift work, including night work, increases the danger of developing psychological and physiological health problems. The risk for cardiovascular heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, and sleep disorders...

Say goodbye to lost manufacturing jobs: current economic uptick won't make up for all losses.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Despite initiatives to address the job declines in U.S. manufacturing, the outlook for American factory jobs remains bleak, says a University of Michigan economist. If output and productivity growth in the next five years matches the...

Eliminating criminals with a shift-delete: better community coverage at a cost savings.
November 1, 2003... In Buffalo, N.Y., police protection has improved dramatically with the introduction of single-officer patrols and work shifts designed to match the true pattern of daily calls to police. The changes, which started July 16 with Buffalo's...

Scouting for adventure.(Uncommon IE)
November 1, 2003... Mario Martinez is co-founder and managing partner of Tecnix and TechGeorgia Nexus, providers of technology sourcing and executive recruiting services. He holds a B.S. in industrial engineering from Florida International University. In his spare...

Perchance to dream.(Site to See)
November 1, 2003... Sleep well on your next business trip or vacation knowing that you got the best hotel room rate. Travelaxe (www.travelaxe.net/Home.html) helps you do that by searching a few dozen travel and hotel Web sites for the cheapest deals. You'll have...

UPS invests for speedier delivery.(Front Line)
November 1, 2003... UPS unveiled a new $30 million technology system in September that will improve customer service and provide greater internal efficiency, including simplification of work and training. The suite of package flow technologies includes software,...

How deep is your talent pool?(Performance)
November 1, 2003... THE GROWTH RATE IN THE COMPANY I work for is outpacing our productivity improvements, and so about 30 percent of the time we need to work two shifts a day instead of one. To do this, we split the crew in half and use temporary labor to fill in...

Starting at the bottom.(Management)
November 1, 2003... ALTHOUGH THE MILITARY MODEL of top-down management lingers, most effective managers have adopted a management style that is characterized as bottom-up problem solving. In this approach, members of an organization are invited to contribute their...

Trading places.(Manufacturing)
November 1, 2003... A COMBINATION OF EVENTS HAS reminded me how much manufacturing in the United States has improved and of some challenges that must be faced in the future. Post-1995 productivity has accelerated steadily in the United States, and in the...

Don't sing for me, Kenny Rogers.(Member Forum)
November 1, 2003... I'M NOT A GAMBLER. I BUY THE occasional Lotto ticket, but I know that my chances of winning are one in a million (p = 0.0001 percent) and the expected value is negative (EV This rational thinking is the result of spending my undergraduate...

The Wal-Mart factor.(Cover Story)
November 1, 2003... THE TWO BIGGEST QUESTIONS REVOLVING AROUND radio frequency identification (also known as auto-ID) for industries today focus on if and when. But the interest in RFID technology is particularly acute for retail, consumer packaged goods, and...

The risks of RFID.(The Wal-Mart Factor)
November 1, 2003... RFID, LIKE OTHER TECHNOLOGIES, HAS THE POTENTIAL to affect business process efficiency and effectiveness as well as product and service value. But depending on what part of an organization or supply chain leads the effort and the operating...

Security friend and foe.(The Wal-Mart Factor)
November 1, 2003... MOST BUSINESS PEOPLE AND INDUSTRY INSIDERS LAUD RFID technology as an important advancement for supply chain management and logistics. But outside of business circles, the publicity surrounding RFID has been largely negative due to concerns...

From batch to flow in six moves: using work measurement tools to get to smoother plant manufacturing.
November 1, 2003... FLOW PRODUCTION is a form of lean manufacturing in which machines and operators handle an uninterrupted flow of material at a given rate. Converting an assembly line from batch production to flow production is no easy task. But the rewards can...

A careful examination: applying human-machine systems engineering for safer, more efficient operations rooms.
November 1, 2003... HOSPITAL OPERATING ROOMS ARE COMPLEX, fast-paced, and intense environments where humans and machines interact closely to improve and often save lives. But ORs are vulnerable to errors by fallible human beings. For example, what if an important...

Executive summaries.(Research)
November 1, 2003... This edition of Research highlights five papers found in the November issue of IIE Transactions (Vol. 35, No. 11). Management outlet inventory The proliferation of outlet stores provides a secondary market for consumer goods that have...

Ask the expert: answers to your technical questions.
November 1, 2003... Scanner training Q: We are in the process of installing a radio-frequency warehouse management system in our parts distribution center. Our product is seasonal and we hire temporary help. A question came up regarding the amount of time...

On the scene at lean: recapping the Lean Management Solutions Conference.(Focus)
November 1, 2003... The third annual Lean Management Solutions Conference was a deemed a smashing success by organizers and attendees. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The five-day conference in Atlanta hosted 250 attendees for a range of workshops and educational...

Stellar scholar: Christina Lupher wins Student Award for Excellence.(Profile of a Winner)
November 1, 2003... Christina Lupher says that she discovered and pursued industrial engineering thanks to engineering outreach and mentoring programs that gave her the tools to succeed. Four years later, IIE recognized her efforts with the 2003 Student Award for...

University regional conferences.(Focus)
November 1, 2003... Region 1 Host: Rochester Institute of Technology Date: April 2-4, 2004 Contact: Emma Fulton, esf8361@rit.edu or Matthew M. Marshall, Ph.D., mmmeie@rit.edu, (585) 475-7260 Region 2 Host: North Carolina State University ...

Fetching bridegroom.
November 1, 2003... Industrial Engineer Staff Writer Steven Averett was the subject of mutiny when, days before his Sept. 27 wedding, a gang of docile pirates stormed IIE headquarters, blindfolded him, dressed him as a wench, and dragged him off to celebrate his...

Kudos: celebrating member achievements.(Focus)
November 1, 2003... IIE student member Andrew J. Fisher was named a Tau Beta Pi Scholar for the 2003-2004 school year. Fisher is pursuing an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Tau Beta Pi is the...

Retirement benefits.(Ask IIE)
November 1, 2003... Q: A colleague of mine recently retired after 40 years of work as an industrial engineer. She's a longtime IIE member but sees no benefit in continuing her membership. Surely IIE cannot afford to lose her knowledge. How can I convince her to...

IE PR: cieadh video promotes careers in Industrial Engineering.(Ask IIE)
November 1, 2003... The Council of Industrial Engineering Academic Department Heads has produced a 10-minute promotional video in a bid to illustrate the career avenues available to industrial engineers. Titled "Industrial Engineering: Careers for the Real World,"...

Bench lighting.(Pick List)
November 1, 2003... Ideal for inspection and workbench applications, Waldmann's STE-155 luminaire is suited for use in areas where bright light and a wide area of light output are needed. The unit is constructed entirely from metal, including the aluminum...

Comfy touch.(Pick List)
November 1, 2003... The Goldtouch Adjustable Ergonomic Keyboard promises users increased comfort through its tented and splayed design. The alphanumeric section of the keyboard can be adjusted both horizontally and vertically to suit individual body requirements....

Fast cell call forwards.(Pick List)
November 1, 2003... FastForward marries the convenience of wireless service with the value of a wireless phone. The device, which works exclusively with Cingular Wireless cell phone service, is designed as a cradle to hold a wireless phone. Customers simply plug...

Retail supply chain help.(Pick List)
November 1, 2003... As retailers and manufacturers look for ways to improve supply chain efficiency, ensuring optimal performance becomes increasingly important. Designed specifically for retail environments, GNX Performance Management is a software solution that...

Terminal value.(Pick List)
November 1, 2003... Cernotec boasts that its ThinStation is the first flexible and maintenance-free solution designed to meet the needs of Web-enabled manufacturers, distributors, and customers. ThinStation terminals combine the high-end functionality of a Windows...

Heavy-duty communicator.(Pick List)
November 1, 2003... The XTN series of professional two-way radios from Motorola allows one-to-one or group communication. Designed for heavy-duty industrial use, the radios operate on FCC frequencies reserved exclusively for business use. They come equipped with...

Tight turns.(Pick List)
November 1, 2003... Crown's WS 2000 Series Walkie Stackers offer a tight turning radius, making them ideal for use in cramped storage areas, retail aisles, and warehouses, as well as for handling manufacturing work-in-process. Their lifting capacity of 4,000...

Modular auto part containers.(Pick List)
November 1, 2003... Reusable corrugated plastic containers from UFP are ideal for intra- and inter-plant handling of automotive parts. A modular design optimizes cubic density, allowing more parts to be stored per container. The containers can accommodate car...

Products & Services.(Resources)
November 1, 2003... work measurement MTM Association * Work Measurement Systems * Work Measurement Software * Industrial Engineering Training and Support * Ergonomics Training * Productivity Improvement Analysis * Profitability...

Long live middle managers: taking charismatic leaders down a notch.(Outliers)
November 1, 2003... Pay attention to middle managers, their stock is about to rise. That's the advice and prediction of one management professor who counsels businesses on re-establishing public trust and becoming successful market forces. [ILLUSTRATION...

Hale engineers.(Outliers)
November 1, 2003... Engineering may be good for your health. Researchers from universities in the United Kingdom found that students in science, engineering, medicine, veterinary medicine, and dentistry were significantly healthier than those who were studying...

Toast appliance?(Outliers)
November 1, 2003... The Outliers editors were a bit flummoxed by a press release recently delivered to IIE headquarters: "Klein Tools has introduced a unique beverage tool that quickly and easily opens bottles. The new beverage tool features the same...