Industrial Engineer articles from October 2004

Industrial Engineer archives from October 2004

Counting on a vote.(American democratic process)(Editorial)
October 1, 2004... THERE WAS AN ARTICLE IN THE ATLANTA-JOURNAL CONSTITUTION IN September about how office harmony has taken a turn for the worse due to this year's hotly contested U.S. presidential race. The writer cited an office meeting where someone makes a...

Referencing the right cycle time.(Rants and Raves)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... While I enjoyed reading "Taking a Queue from Simulation" (August), I believe the conclusions may be misleading. Specifically, the authors state that "at least a 5 percent to 10 percent reduction in cycle time could be achieved by making simple...

A practical approach.(Rants and Raves)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... I greatly enjoyed Kevin McManus' column in the August issue of Industrial Engineer ("The Challenge of Our Choices"). In particular, his point about the potential value of IE skills as applied to education is something I've believed for many...

Nothing new under the sun.(Rants and Raves)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... I just read your Outliers article on the innovative course scheduler program, and I am sorry for Michael Smyers, but I truly believe his is not the first or the only program available ("Optimizing Sleep Time," August). [ILLUSTRATION...

Where is Mary Poppins when you need her?(Rants and Raves)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2004... Tamara Wilhite suggested reading technical articles instead of nursery rhymes to babies and giving them old control panels to play with ("How to Raise an Engineer," July). Speaking as an engineer who got nursery rhymes and calculators as...

Better productivity in a flash: light-activated adhesive provides an alternative to holding work pieces.(Front Line)
October 1, 2004... Glue that is activated by a flash of light will offer an alternative to traditional methods of holding work pieces for machining, grinding, and other manufacturing processes. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Developed by Penn State industrial...

Scout leader.(Uncommon IE)
October 1, 2004... In 2002, Sheila Ryan abandoned a successful career as a management consultant to be a role model. Granted, having just had a baby may have had something to do with her decision to slow down, but she was also swayed by the opportunity to become...

Revolutionary companies.(Book of the Month)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
October 1, 2004... Extending the Supply Chain by Kenneth Karel Boyer, Markham T. Frohlich, and G. Tomas M. Hult explores the inner workings of some of America's best-known companies and shows how they are revolutionizing the dynamics of the supply chain. ...

Another take on hospital efficiency: new kind of specialist could mean savings for facilities and patients.(Front Line)
October 1, 2004... Although they are not yet a commonly recognized breed, "hospitalists" may soon become fixtures in health care facilities across the United States. Hospitalists are physicians who devote all or most of their clinical time to the care of...

Survey: manufacturing investments up; U.S. company spending plans indicate an economic turnaround.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... A survey of U.S. companies shows that more than half will spend in excess of $1 million on new manufacturing technology in the next two years, and more than 25 percent will invest at least $5 million. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Bad air makes for bad productivity: workers are adversely affected by poor outdoor air quality.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Poor outdoor air quality lowers worker productivity, and most people do not change their behavior despite suffering from a host of symptoms, including breathing trouble. These are among the key findings of a survey conducted by researchers who...

Events.(Calendar)
October 1, 2004... * OCTOBER OCT. 4-8 * Six Sigma Black Belt three-week course (continues Nov. 8-12 and Dec. 13-17), Norcross, Ga. OCT. 11-15 * Certified Engineering Manager and Certified Enterprise Integrator Test Prep Course, Norcross, Ga....

Simulation collaboration for optimization: NASA facilities working to improve air travel.(Front Line)
October 1, 2004... NASA Ames Research Center recently completed a series of simulations for its Virtual Airspace Simulation Technology Real-Time capabilities, known as VAST-RT. This was the first of many tests planned to extend the scope and applicability of...

Shouldering a big burden.(Prime Number)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... About 70% of U.S. middle-school students lug backpacks so heavy that they are harmful to the children's growing bodies, according to Northeastern University professor Mary Hickey.

Shrinking the cycle time.(Front Line)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
October 1, 2004... HOW HAS MANUFACTURING CYCLE TIME CHANGED OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS? Decreased 11%-20% 21.8% Decreased 1%-10% 32.7% Stayed the same 20.1% Increased 1%-10% 4.7% Increased 11%-20% 1.7%...

IE takes on RFID.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The department of industrial and management systems engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has created an RFID and Supply Chain Logistics Research Facility to address issues of trust and economy in radio-frequency identification...

Universities get IE programs.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Texas State University-San Marcos began offering industrial engineering undergraduate programs this semester. Industrial engineering is the second engineering program offered at Texas State. The university entered the engineering field...

Student design flies high.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Centuria, a single-engine jet aircraft designed by undergraduate engineering students from Virginia Tech and their counterparts at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, won the Best Overall Award in NASA's 2004 Revolutionary Vehicles...

Good borders make good neighbors: locating travel violators without increasing border wait times.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... In June, the Department of Homeland Security selected the Smart Border Alliance, a group of companies led by Accenture, to design and implement the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program. The program...

Advancing workplace safety in Vietnam.(Front Line)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Reducing occupational accidents in Vietnam is the goal of a collaborative research agreement between the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, the Vietnam National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health, and the Vietnam...

A site you can trust.(Site to See)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Consumer WebWatch (www.webwatch.org) is a three-year project of Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. In a world of increasingly questionable Web offers, WebWatch provides news, ratings, and disclosures about...

Crazy about certifications.(Performance)
October 1, 2004... MORE THAN 25 YEARS AFTER EARNING my first certifications as a Boy Scout (in the form of merit badges), I still remember many of the skills I acquired through that process. I wish I could say the same about all the training I have received in my...

The productivity revolution.(Management)
October 1, 2004... PRODUCTIVITY IS THE NUMBER OF dollars of goods and services produced by a unit of labor. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, productivity in the United States is increasing by an average of about 4 percent to...

Avoid detours with deconsolidation.(Supply Chain)(taking advantage of logistics service known as deconsolidation)
October 1, 2004... IMAGINE THAT YOU MANUFACTURE rain gear in a plant in Vietnam. Your latest shipment left Asia in March and should reach Los Angeles in time to get goods to Seattle by April. The problem: Between the time your cargo was loaded and the time it...

The challenge of change.(Member Forum)
October 1, 2004... IN 1986, DISASTER ROCKED NASA and the entire country when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. Seventeen years later, in February 2003, NASA again dealt with disaster in the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its seven-person crew. The...

Touch sensitive: assessing the usability of electronic voting.
October 1, 2004... AS THE UNITED STATES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION barrels toward its conclusion, Americans are forced to reflect on the angst of four years ago, a contentious month of political tug-of-war, a steady barrage of esoteric election terminology, and...

Setting lean priorities: all downtime is not equal.(manufacturers have started using metric known as overall equipment effectiveness)
October 1, 2004... MANUFACTURERS HAVE STARTED USING an important metric known as overall equipment effectiveness for measuring and monitoring the performance improvements in their factories. OEE combines process availability, machine performance, and the output...

Where horizontal and vertical meet: examining the positive science of dependent quality systems.
October 1, 2004... CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE IS FULL OF TOOLS AND programs such as statistical process control, design of experiments, ISO 9000, Taguchi methods, and W. Edwards Deming's system of profound knowledge. With a deep desire to improve the quality of...

No risk, no reward: Michael Tennenbaum invests in good businesses, good ideas, and a good life.
October 1, 2004... "The day is not far distant when the man who dies leaving behind him millions of available wealth, which was free for him to administer during life, will pass away 'unwept, unhonored, and unsung,' no matter to what uses he leave the dross...

Research.
October 1, 2004... This month highlights three papers that will appear in a special issue of IIE Transactions (Vol. 36, No. 10) dealing with work force management. Problems of work force management are pervasive and affect every industry, service provider, and...

The write way.(Answers to Your Technical Questions)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Q: Is there a defined standard document format in the ISO standards? Let's say we want to create a health and safety manual for the company, for example. Is there a format we should follow for that or other documents? A: The quick answer...

Up-and-coming.(Answers to Your Technical Questions)
October 1, 2004... Q: I'm an industrial and systems engineering graduate student. I'd like to know about the different fields of industrial engineering that are in good demand. What is the up-and-coming field in industrial engineering? A: The likelihood of...

SimSol tell-all: an update on the 2005 Simulation Solutions Conference.(Keeping Pace with IIE)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Now in its seventh year, the Simulation Solutions Conference is undergoing some changes that organizers hope will benefit attendees and add value to an already invaluable educational and networking experience. SimSol 2005 will be held in...

Gimme shelter: Pat Kelly Lee brings IE acumen to those in need.(Volunteer Snapshot)(Industrial engineering)
October 1, 2004... In the quest for efficiency, it's easy to get caught up in the corporate motivation of improvements for the sake of profitability. But for nonprofits, running efficiently is often the deciding factor that enables organizations to serve another...

Dale Compton.(Kudos Celebrating Member Achievements)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Dale Compton, Ph.D., was named a member of NanoDynamics' newly formed Business and Scientific Advisory Board. The board will assist NanoDynamics in the commercialization of nanomaterials. Formerly vice president of research at Ford Motor Co.,...

Michael Steven Leonard.(Kudos Celebrating Member Achievements)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Mercer University named Michael Steven Leonard, Ph.D., senior associate dean of the School of Engineering. Previously, Leonard served as a professor of industrial engineering at Clemson University. He earned bachelor's, master's, and doctoral...

Heather Nachtmann, Ph.D., and Kim LaScola Needy, Ph.D.(Kudos Celebrating Member Achievements)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Heather Nachtmann, Ph.D., and Kim LaScola Needy, Ph.D., received the American Society for Engineering Education's Eugene L. Grant Award for their paper, "Methods for Handling Uncertainty in Activity Based Costing Systems," published in Volume...

K. (Hari) Srihari.(Kudos Celebrating Member Achievements)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The SUNY Board of Trustees appointed K. (Hari) Srihari, Ph.D., a distinguished professor at the State University of New York at Binghamton, where he is chair and professor of systems science and industrial engineering. Srihari is the founder...

A penny saved.(Chapter Check-In)(Chapter Development Fund)
October 1, 2004... When a new member joins IIE or an existing member renews, a portion of the member's dues is refunded to his or her local geographic chapter in the form of a rebate ($15 for senior chapters, $4 for student chapters). If the member belongs to a...

Student aid: new Benjamin Willard Niebel Scholarship.(Keeping Pace with IIE)(The Institute for International Education)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Using funds from a $5,000 bequest to the IIE Scholarship Fund included in the will of Doris M. Niebel, IIE has created the Benjamin Willard Niebel Scholarship in recognition of Niebel's contributions to the field. The $1,000 scholarship will be...

See Atlanta in 2005: top sites in Annual Conference host city.(Keeping Pace with IIE)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Atlanta Botanical Gardens -- One of the classiest places to take in the Atlanta skyline features a stunning array of rare trees, flowers, and other flora. www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org The King Center -- Founded in 1968 by Coretta Scott...

Change your mind.(In Other Publications)
October 1, 2004... The four features in the September/October issue of Industrial Management address new ways of thinking about managerial mainstays. First, Reginald Tomas Yu-Lee explains why "Inventory is Not Cash." By detailing the different theories...

A listserv primer.(Ask IIE)
October 1, 2004... Q: I recently began receiving e-mail from an IIE listserv. What is it? How was I subscribed? Can I limit the number of e-mails I get? Are e-mails archived? A: Listservs are a hybrid of newsletter and discussion group circulated via e-mail...

Drum transport.(What Engineers Want)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Du-SOM drum upending attachment from Liftomatic allows operators to pick drums from horizontal or vertical positions, remove them, and turn them around safely for transport or use. The mechanical attachment fits any forklift and handles up...

Jack knows ergonomics.(What Engineers Want)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Jack is human simulation and ergonomics analysis software that helps create animations in which digital humans perform tasks. With Jack, users can improve the ergonomics of product designs and workplace tasks. Biomechanically accurate digital...

RFID pilots.(What Engineers Want)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Radio Beacon has released two radio-frequency identification pilot kits for companies using Microsoft Great Plans and Solomon. The Wal-Mart RFID Compliance Pilot Kit allows companies to begin RFID labeling cartons and pallets to meet the needs...

Records management.(What Engineers Want)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The InfoRMS Records Management Solution allows users to handle, archive, and retrieve physical records, documents, journals, lab notebooks, and other information. Using the OmniRIM Solutions software package, the system provides systematic...

Software advisor.(What Engineers Want)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... "Selecting Warehouse Software from WMS & ERP Providers" is a publication that offers advice to those who are searching for warehousing software. The 168-page workbook covers base functionality that users should expect, common software...

Writing is on the wall.(What Engineers Want)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... As part of its customizing capabilities, EAO offers keypad and keyboard function keys labeled for practically any need. Laser engraving on stainless steel offers the ability to mark keypads and keyboards precisely with a wide range of changers....

Fast belt change.(What Engineers Want)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Change belts on conveyors fast with plastic and stainless steel clipper belt splicing from Dorner. Belts with plastic or stainless clippers can easily be replaced on tight-fitting conveyors or conveyors buried in machines by simply removing a...

Flexible warehousing.(What Engineers Want)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Universal carriers give Remstar Vertical Carousels flexibility of design that makes them adaptable to changing warehouse automation storage and retrieval requirements. Vertical carousel carriers are available in a range of heights, widths, and...

Swamp water fricassee: and that's not even the worst-case scenario.(Beyond the Norm)(dried food ration rehydration methods)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Scientists working for the U.S. military have developed a dried food ration that troops can hydrate by adding the filthiest of water... or even by urinating on it. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The ration comes in a pouch containing a filter...

Dilbert[R].(Beyond the Norm)
October 1, 2004... Dilbert reprinted by permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Men are clams.(Beyond the Norm)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... It will come as no surprise to the comedians who have traded successfully on the phenomenon for generations, but now there's scientific evidence. New research from the University of Alberta confirms that most men aren't very good at sharing...

Big bucks, big fun.(Beyond the Norm)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Top wage earners don't merely have the benefit of making the big bucks, they also are more likely to have the most fun at work. A new study found that highly paid workers reported more cohesion and solidarity among their colleagues and were...