Industrial Engineer articles from October 2003

Industrial Engineer archives from October 2003

Keep it simple, smarty.(Editor's Desk)
October 1, 2003... I KNOW THAT'S NOT HOW THE EXPRESSION GOES, BUT EVEN SMART people need to know when to uncomplicate things and focus on the essentials. In fact, the intelligentsia is notorious for making processes and solutions more difficult than necessary....

Old wine in a new bottle?(Mail)
October 1, 2003... I am of the somewhat radical conviction that the term "industrial engineering" is totally outdated. Even though IE may be recognized as a very broad profession, this does not serve the interests of our discipline or our profession. ...

Beyond name recognition.(Mail)
October 1, 2003... Most of the students who come to industrial engineering at the University of Southern California do so out of dissatisfaction with traditional engineering disciplines and the desire to enter an interdisciplinary career. And, like me 25 years...

Australian model predicts spinal injury; mathematical simulation may be the best tool yet to calculate safe loads.(Front Line)
October 1, 2003... A3-D animated mathematical model of the human spine developed in Australia by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation promises to be the most accurate predictor yet of injury to the spine and associated neuromuscular tissues. ...

Casting engineers in a clever light: Parker Hannifin commercials celebrate oft-overlooked professionals.(Front Line)
October 1, 2003... "Engineers are the unsung heroes and heroines of society," declares Parker Hannifin on its Web site. But the 85-year-old industrial company is helping to change that by raising public awareness of engineers' accomplishments in clever television...

How'd they make that?(Site to See)
October 1, 2003... A Web site hosted by Stanford University explains how products ranging from candy to steel are manufactured, explores many process manufacturing industries, and offers advice about manufacturing careers. How Everyday Things are Made, found...

Electric twin-prop takes students to the top.(Front Line)
October 1, 2003... An electrically powered, hydrogen-fueled, twin-prop corporate air taxi designed by undergraduate industrial and aerospace engineering students from Virginia Tech and Loughborough University in the United Kingdom took first place in the NASA...

Avoid TMI on road signs.(Front Line)
October 1, 2003... TMI, popular shorthand for "too much information," could become the new battle cry of transportation specialists in Taiwan. In a July forum to debate which Romanization system the government should adopt for road and traffic signs,...

NCEES bans some calculators.(Front Line)
October 1, 2003... Beginning with the 2004 examinations, the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying will begin strictly enforcing the type of materials that are allowed in examination rooms. Calculators with communication or text editing...

Interactive real estate.(Uncommon IE)
October 1, 2003... Jamie Gallo is the COO of HPCinteractive, part of Primedia's Consumer Guides group that controls several real estate Web sites, including RealEstate.com. Gallo, who holds a B.S. in industrial engineering from Penn State and an M.B.A. from the...

Cultural ergonomics to the rescue; reading pesticide labels through human factors glasses.(Front Line)
October 1, 2003... When misused, pesticides can be a significant source of poison to the human nervous system. New research indicates that various cultures may misinterpret the directions provided by manufacturers, thereby increasing the chances for mishandling....

Design the future and win; engineers invited to participate in product design contest.(Front Line)
October 1, 2003... The second annual Create the Future design contest sponsored by Emhart Teknologies will recognize product design innovation. With entry categories in everyday products, safety, and transportation, the contest will reward the grand prize...

Those innovative Scandinavians.(Front Line)
October 1, 2003... Scandinavian companies have a leg up on their European counterparts in terms of innovation, launching new products much more quickly. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to an article in the operations research journal Marketing Science,...

Managing Process Plant Risk.(Book of the Month)
October 1, 2003... There are many books about industrial health and safety that deal with occupational safety and chemicals in the workplace. Managing Risk and Reliability of Process Plants focuses on major hazards to safety and interruption of production due to...

Be a sport.(Performance)
October 1, 2003... WE CAN LEARN BOTH GOOD AND BAD practices by comparing sports to business. And in many cases, we can reach an audience more effectively by using sports to illustrate business. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One thing I like about sports is that...

High-leverage management.(Management)
October 1, 2003... IN AN EARLIER COLUMN, we explored how a manager's policies can effectively reach the largest number of people by focusing on the 80 percent or so who are in the middle of the motivational bell curve. The premise is that people in the middle of...

China's logistical horizon.(Supply Chain)
October 1, 2003... EARLIER THIS YEAR, MANY PEOPLE were surprised when my employer co-published a white paper that gave China mixed reviews. Although the paper extols China's manufacturing virtues, it asserts that the country's interior has a long way to go in...

Social savings.(Member Forum)
October 1, 2003... INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERS ARE THE effectiveness and efficiency experts in an enterprise. But we have a world society to care about, too; we cannot be so limited as to worry about only one enterprise. Social efficiency theory is a concept that...

The race to Six Sigma; high quality standards take more than being in control.(Cover Story)
October 1, 2003... IT ALL BEGINS WITH A PASSION TO EXCEL, AN INSATIABLE thirst for knowledge, a basic belief in the value and capability of employees, and a full commitment to process discipline. Although Six Sigma may be one of the simplest of all management...

The ergonomic imperative: industrial engineering professor Carter Kerk spearheads a national focus on ergonomics.
October 1, 2003... CARTER KERK IS DISARMINGLY HUMBLE WHEN ASKED ABOUT BEING NAMED the leader of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration's new National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I've never been the chair of a...

Access denied: sometimes the best information is less of it.
October 1, 2003... THE DREAM OF READY INFORMATION IS ALMOST AS OLD AS THE COMPUTER. In this dream, managers delve into a wealth of organizational knowledge through their PCs and extract data to make the best decisions. Supervisors gather performance information...

Getting the good stuff on the net.(Access Denied)
October 1, 2003... The Internet is a great storehouse of information, but you have to learn how to find what you're looking for. Start your engines! Learn about the different types of search engines and technologies. Begin by using Google (www.google.com),...

Research: executive summaries.
October 1, 2003... This month offers insights into two problems. The first paper abstracted here summarizes a novel production scheduling model that accounts simultaneously for machines and people as well as transfer lot sizes. The second discusses whether a firm...

7th Annual Applied Ergonomics Conference: March 8-11, 2004 * Rosen Centre Hotel * Orlando, Florida.
October 1, 2003... Learning, sharing, networking That's what AEC is all about. The 7th Annual Applied Ergonomics Conference will be the best ever and promises even more real solutions to everyday ergonomics problems and challenges in the workplace. Discover...

Ask the expert: answers to your technical questions.
October 1, 2003... Sizing up text Q: I'm looking for a reference that offers guidelines for the text size on signs in industrial settings. Are you aware of a chart, table, or formula for calculating the appropriate height of text based on the distance from...

Better late than never: neither rain, nor sleet, nor temporal irrelevance shall keep the postman from his appointed rounds.(Focus)
October 1, 2003... The date is April 5, 1996. Bill Clinton is in the home stretch of his first term as U.S. president. The city of Atlanta is making final preparations to host the rapidly approaching Olympic Games. John Powers is president (rather than executive...

Presentation invitation: make your voice heard at the IIE Annual Conference.(Focus)
October 1, 2003... Though a few ticks remain on the launch clock, IIE's Annual Conference will be lifting off before you know it. Scheduled for May 15-19, 2004 in Houston, the conference promises to draw the best and the brightest from academia and industry. ...

A community of giving: members provide muscle in support of local charity.
October 1, 2003... Victor Lloyd of IIE's Detroit chapter and David Cottrill of the Wayne State University chapter joined several members of Detroit's Cass Corridor community to restore a dilapidated apartment building. Lloyd, who grew up in the area, is a member...

Teacher feature: Thom Hodgson helps students look beyond the classroom.(Profile of a Winner)
October 1, 2003... Thom Hodgson, Ph.D., is the James T. Ryan Professor of Industrial Engineering as well as a distinguished university professor and an alumni association distinguished graduate professor at North Carolina State University. He is also the director...

Kudos: celebrating member achievements.(Focus)
October 1, 2003... Georgia governor Sonny Perdue appointed Mario J. Martinez to the newly created Latino Commission for a New Georgia. Martinez is the managing partner of Tecnix, a human, financial, and intellectual capital firm. He served as Statewide Hispanic...

Changing chapters.(Ask IIE)
October 1, 2003... Q: I just joined IIE but was assigned to a different chapter than I expected. How are chapters designated and how do I change my local affiliation? A: IIE strives to place new members in active chapters that are closest to them based on...

Worldly congratulations.(Ask IIE)
October 1, 2003... Election results are in for international regional vice presidents. International RVPs, like their United States counterparts, serve a two-year term. In addition to managing the chapters in their respective regions, they serve on IIE's...

Space city, U.S.A.: NASA buffs have another reason to anticipate the annual conference.(Ask IIE)
October 1, 2003... The Houston Space Center is one of the biggest draws in the host city of the 2004 IIE Annual Conference. Designed by Disney, the 180,000-square-foot, $70 million facility is NASA's official visitor's center. The museum features everything from...

Save the date to simulate.(Focus)
October 1, 2003... The location is booked and the staff is preparing. All that's needed is you! Orlando, Fla., was named the site of IIE's sixth annual Simulation Solutions Conference. It will be held March 15-16, 2004 and will feature simulation's latest...

Ambient silencer.(Pick List)
October 1, 2003... Bose QuietComfort 2 noise canceling headphones allow wearers to turn down the volume on ambient noise, making even the roar of airplane engines or the rumble of lawnmowers barely audible. The headphones can be used alone simply to reduce...

Tough pallet racks.(Pick List)
October 1, 2003... Tuff-50 structural pallet racks are built to exceed Rack Manufacturers Institute standards. Easy to install and maintenance free, the racks find greatest relevance in high-volume warehouses and distribution centers. They are available for use...

Slim conveyor.(Pick List)
October 1, 2003... Prab's new standard-duty magnetic conveyors can fit where others won't. They are completely sealed and self-lubricating to provide maintenance-free performance. The low-profile conveyors are 3 1/8 inches high and can be used for scrap removal...

Polar attraction.(Pick List)
October 1, 2003... Strong magnets are the power behind SilverBack Magnetic Gloves. Workers can slip on a pair of the work gloves and keep small parts--even small tools--at the ready. Magnets on the back of each glove can hold metal parts, fasteners, screwdrivers,...

Electronic whiteboard.(Pick List)
October 1, 2003... An "electronic whiteboard" called DataJogger allows teams to create diagrams or chart process flows almost anywhere. Users enter data once and then apply it in any of 13 data analysis and problem-solving formats integrated in the software,...

Better packing solution.(Pick List)
October 1, 2003... ShipPack software promises to streamline warehouse operations and increase packing accuracy by automating the functions associated with closing orders. The software provides automatic palletization of orders as they are packed, automatic...

Say what?(Pick List)
October 1, 2003... Wouldn't it be nice to travel Europe without having to rely on remembering those hard-earned foreign language skills gained in high school? The Ectaco Universal Translator UT-103 is a voice translator with a unique speech recognition system. It...

SPC with security.(Pick List)
October 1, 2003... Zontec's Synergy 2000 SE statistical process control software creates a closed security system by which a system administrator grants user privileges, controls data access, applies password protection, and ensures that data cannot be...

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

Death-by-chocolate mousetrap: cheese is not on the menu.(Outliers)
October 1, 2003... Build a delicious-smelling mousetrap and rodents will beat a path to your door. That is the hope of scientists in the United Kingdom who have invented a trap that lures mice with the scent of chocolate--without the use of bait. A...

You've got spam.(Outliers)
October 1, 2003... If it seems like you have a lot of junk in your e-mail inbox, it's because you do. In fact, you have more than ever. Anti-spam software vendor Brightmail projects that as of September at least half of all e-mails being delivered to...

Six clicks.(Outliers)
October 1, 2003... How on earth would you get in touch with someone you don't know, have never met, and know very little about? If the theory popularly known as six degrees of separation proved to be more than urban myth, that stranger would be merely a few...