Industrial Engineer articles from September 2006

Industrial Engineer archives from September 2006

Privileged to serve.(plans of Industrial Engineer)(Editorial)
September 1, 2006... Every eight weeks I get a call from the Red Cross: Time to give up another pint of blood. I guess I've given a few gallons by now, and I haven't missed any part of it. The only downside is that the sting of the needle doesn't get any easier...

Turnover too high.(Mail)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... A comment on Greg Hart's answer to the question "Takt Time Too Small?" (Ask the Expert, July). He writes, "I don't believe there is a minimum cycle time. In fact, I was told by engineers who worked in Mexico that they kept cycle times under 10...

Expect the unexpected.(Mail)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... I read with interest the "Takt Time Too Small?" question in Ask the Expert in the July issue. And in a way, I disagree with the answer. Using line balancing programs in the 1970s at General Electric manufacturing sites for small...

Precarious position.(Mail)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... I fully agree with the letter of Richard F. Hoelzel ("Promoting U.S. Automakers," Mail, July). It is amazing to hear, read, and see how the media, North American citizens of all segments, and even workers and engineers in North American...

Cost of greed.(Mail)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Regarding Paul Engle's July column, "Congress Takes Aim": Engle is taking aim at the "high cost of labor, health care, and retirement costs." He does not mention the faults that may be inherent with management. When I call a computer...

Shameful news.(Mail)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... "For the Record: It's a Shame" (Editor's Desk, June) seems to sum up the news that the University of Alabama is going to fold its 80-year-old industrial engineering department. As a member and customer of IIE, I agree that the University of...

Ford commits to Mexico: more investment to go south of the border.(Ford Motor Co.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Ford Motor Co. confirmed its intent to invest in and strengthen its 81-year-old manufacturing presence in Mexico as part of the company's North American Way Forward plan. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The plan includes upgrades to two Ford of...

One for the books.(achievements of Shaul Ladany)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... It took industrial engineering professor Shaul Ladany 21 hours, 45 minutes, and 34 seconds to complete a 100-mile walk in Ashtabula, Ohio, earlier this year. The 70-year-old Ladany, who teaches at Israel's Ben-Gurion University, is believed to...

Worker skills don't impress: corporations being hampered by performance shortcomings.(Front Line)
September 1, 2006... Corporate work forces lack the skills necessary for their organizations to be market leaders. Even critical functions are not performing as strongly as they should. So say most senior executives in results gleaned from the Accenture High...

Work shouldn't be a pain: studies look at preventing musculoskeletal disorders.(Front Line)(musculoskeletal disorders )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Two extensive studies aimed at helping prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders have been funded by the American Society of Safety Engineers Foundation Research committee and the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety. MSDs...

Unleashing expertise.(The Wisdom Network: An 8-Step Process for Identifying, Sharing, and Leveraging Individual Expertise)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 1, 2006... Within the walls of every organization, there are untapped resources of knowledge and expertise: people who consistently prove their worth by virtue of their ability to get things done when others are stumped, to navigate office politics, and...

Tune up your brain.(online games from GlobalSpec)(www.globalspec.com/brainstrainer)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Engineers, students, and would-be rocket scientists will find The Brain Strainer by GlobalSpec (www.globalspec.com/brainstrainer) a surprisingly addictive diversion. Sit before a blank grid that can be filled with all manner of ramps,...

Improved air passenger service with RFID: streamlining the management of ground staff tasks.(Front Line)
September 1, 2006... Finnair is improving the efficiency of its airport operations at Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport with radio frequency identification technology. In a three-year project, IBM is implementing and managing an innovative solution for the...

Fine woodworker.(works of Howard Cutter)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... THE TASK AT HAND: Seeing the horizon approaching on a 30-plus-year career at IBM, Howard Cutter decided to plan for a retirement beyond golf and neighborhood cocktail parties. The man who had put his Georgia Tech industrial engineering degree...

Taking it to the grown-ups: outreach to parents, teachers shows the impact of engineering.(Michigan Space Grant Consortium)(community outreach projects by Betsy M. Aller)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Betsy M. Aller, Ph.D., assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering at Western Michigan University, has received a grant from the Michigan Space Grant Consortium for a community outreach project. The project--Engineering...

Pitt prof plagiarized by Putin?(Pittsburgh professors)(Vladimir Putin )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Russian President Vladimir Putin is mum on the question, but researchers at the Brookings Institution have alleged that he plagiarized portions of his 1997 economics doctoral thesis from a management textbook written by two University of...

Healing itself.(management of health care system)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... "Although the U.S. health care system is now committed to quality measurement and the public reporting of such data, debates will continue about what to measure, who collects the data, and what to report publicly. More information is needed on...

The new look of American autos: green.(automotive industries plan for production of flex fuel vehicles)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors announced plans to double annual production of vehicles capable of running on renewable fuels to 2 million cars and trucks by 2010. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The pledge toward more flex fuel...

Dilbert.(Cartoon)
September 1, 2006... CAROL, SHRED THIS. THE SHREDDER IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU, NEXT TO THE FAX. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHAT IF I DO IT WRONG? ONLY A COMPLETE MORON COULD DO IT WRONG. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] UM... I THINK I MIGHT HAVE JUST...

Your call may be monitored.(performance)(call centers)
September 1, 2006... HAVING JUST SPENT 25 MINUTES on hold, being bounced between four different people, and having heard every 15 seconds that my call was "very important," I feel compelled to comment on customer service. In recent years, the use of automated...

Singling out the stars.(management)(employee performance)
September 1, 2006... DURING A RECENT VACATION WITH some friends, I had the opportunity to discuss a couple of approaches to managing performance. One of my travelmates works in the health care industry and the other is a college professor, a position he assumed...

Duh!(human factors)
September 1, 2006... I RECENTLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY to laugh along with one of my colleagues about her tardy appearance at work due to a fundamental human factors design problem. She had arranged to meet another person at our office at 7 a.m. to get a jump on some...

Managing the engineering curriculum.(member forum)
September 1, 2006... A SIZEABLE PROPORTION OF STUDENTS who join M.B.A. and other business programs in North American schools have science or engineering backgrounds along with some work experience in industry. If what these young professionals crave is business...

Engineers who make a difference: alumni return their thanks for education that drove their success.
September 1, 2006... Engineering doesn't come naturally. It takes proper training: an understanding of a broad range of subjects, devotion to accomplishing goals, and giving credit where credit is due. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many engineers moving into...

For each, their own: the strategic imperative of mass customization.
September 1, 2006... Many companies are flummoxed by an unprecedented trend toward individualization. While customization is a known strategy in many business-to-business markets, today's markets are also increasingly compelling consumer companies to offer...

RFID pays off: real benefits begin to accrue in several industries.(radio frequency identification)
September 1, 2006... Mandates from powerhouses such as Wal-Mart, Metro Group, Target Corp., and the U.S. Department of Defense have led RFID to take an increasingly high profile. While there are signs that the RFID initiative is beginning to pay off for companies...

Forecasting variation.(Case study)
September 1, 2006... Today's highly competitive markets demand a great reliability of production forecasts, and discrete event simulation is a beneficial tool to use during the forecasting process. It accounts for variation and dependencies within a system and...

Research: executive summaries.(natural disasters affecting raw materials)(television broadcasting)(green design is beneficial)
September 1, 2006... Summarized below are articles from the September issue of IIE Transactions, which focuses on operations engineering (Vol. 38, No. 9). The first article was motivated by a company's need to automate a process whose manual nature was partly...

Lean + quality = improvements: conference merges lean and quality for the first time.(FOCUS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Two annual conferences merging as one in Atlanta? Well, it's a big city. For the first time, the Institute of Industrial Engineers will unite its annual lean conference with the American Society for Quality's Southeastern quality...

Up to the challenge: in other publications.(FOCUS)
September 1, 2006... The July/August issue of Industrial Management examines the application of knowledge in achieving production goals and the challenges behind coordinating satellite operations under global management. Articles include: * Diverse leadership...

Grad students: gear up for Ergo: master's-level competition added to 2007 conference.(FOCUS)
September 1, 2006... It's still several months away, but the Applied Ergonomics Conference is already on the minds of practitioners as well as students. The 10th annual event, taking place March 12-15, 2007, at the Intercontinental Dallas in Addison, Texas, will...

Innovation is its own award: new prize to recognize unique engineering education.(FOCUS)(Institute of Industrial Engineers )
September 1, 2006... A little recognition can go a long way. And every year, the Institute of Industrial Engineers recognizes professionals, educators, and students through awards and scholarships. Among the achievements honored by IIE are educational programs...

About ABET.(ASK IIE)(Industrial Engineer)(Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Q: The university I attend is ABET-accredited. What does that mean and why is it important? A: In the United States, accreditation is a non-governmental, peerreview process that ensures educational quality. Certification by the...

Celebrating member achievements.(KUDOS)(Robert Barnes from University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Robert Barnes, associate dean at the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has been named the 2006 National Outstanding Advisor of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. The honor recognizes society members who make...

Celebrating member achievements.(KUDOS)(Nagabhushana Prabhu appointed as a professor by College of Engineering at Purdue University)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Nagabhushana Prabhu, was appointed a designated professor by the College of Engineering at Purdue University. The designated professorship honors individuals whose achievements have been internationally recognized or have made a unique...

Celebrating member achievements.(KUDOS)
September 1, 2006... Paul Torgersen, Ph.D., received the Marvin Agee Award from the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech for his service as head of the department from 1967 to 1970. The award is the department's highest honor...

Celebrating member achievements.(KUDOS)
September 1, 2006... Dick Ward, was recognized as a "rainmaker" by DC Velocity magazine for his work in the supply chain field. He is the executive vice president for professional development for the Material Handling Industry of America. Ward previously served the...

Alair.(Safety first)
September 1, 2006... With ideas so bright, engineers have got to wear shades... or at least some durable eyewear. Pyramex's Alair can provide the optical protection needed for working outside. A polycarbonate frame and lens combination is coated for superior...

TurtleSkin MultiGuard glove.(Safety first)
September 1, 2006... If the materials you're working with need special handling, then Warwick Mills has a solution. The company's TurtleSkin MultiGuard glove has four layers of high-strength aramid for maximum cut and puncture protection. High-risk areas in the...

6200 CXO Series chair.(Safety first)
September 1, 2006... Nightingale's 6200 CXO Series chair offers a refreshingly cool look that enhances the office environment while providing of the ergonomic design to ensure extreme comfort. The chair's adjustable features cater to small, medium and large body...

Maxisoft MaxiSigns V.2.(Safety first)(applications software from K-Sun Corp. )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Maxisoft MaxiSigns V.2 from K-Sun Corp. provides all the necessary computer application tools for making signs, labels, and tags that set the standard for safety, homeland security, and general information. Convenient "click-and-edit" and auto...

Industrial Ergonomics Safety Meeting Kit.(Safety first)(Marcom Group Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Some work zones are more hazardous than others, leaving engineers unsure how to operate around various situations. MARCOM's Industrial Ergonomics Safety Meeting Kit covers recognizing ergonomic problems, potential adverse effects, and pragmatic...

Work perfect: the day we strive for.(Emily Osier from Solectron )
September 1, 2006... Solectron is a contract manufacturer. The difference between us and an OEM is that instead of just serving our end customer, we're serving our end customer and their end customer. A lot of what I do is making sure that the Solectron system is...