Industry Week articles from December 2004

Industry Week archives from December 2004

Online poll.(classroom training-workplace skills)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... OnLine Poll Since the start of 2004, have you taken any formal classroom training to improve your workplace skills? IndustryWeek.com readers respond: No: 51% Yes 49% Note: Table made from pie chart.

Bush wins. Does manufacturing? No longer hot-button issues, the unique concerns of manufacturers will receive less attention.(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... WITH U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. Bush reelected for another four years, and unworried about campaigning, don't expect much attention to be given to manufacturing. You need look no further than the last few months of the election to see how quickly...

Cleaning house.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... I think you may be on to something here ["Suffocating Under That Golden Parachute?" October 2004, Page 25]. Given the pressure that boards of directors are tinder, it will only be a matter of time before some board sees the brilliance of your...

No money, no influence.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... With all due respect to your comments ["Putting Manufacturing Back On The National Agenda," November 2004, Page 9], we did not fail to make our case to this administration or Congress. The fact of the matter is we just didn't send a big enough...

Building for biofuels: uncertainty in oil prices is just one reason ethanol producers are building more plants in the U.S.
December 1, 2004... ONE MIGHT ASSUME that the recent surges in oil prices would prompt fuel consumers to beat a path to U.S. ethanol producer--but where in the heck are they? The answer is that indeed producers are building ethanol plants here. albeit their plans...

Succeeding amid savage competition: medical-device making is one of the most competitive industries in manufacturing. For Timothy Ring, CEO of C.R. Bard Inc., a $1.43 billion, Murray Hill, N.J.-based manufacturer, beating competitors requires three key weapons.(Interview)
December 1, 2004... C.R. Bard makes devices for the urology, surgery, oncology and vascular markets. Since 1999, Bard has had quarterly revenue growth between 7% and 10% until the past two fiscal quarters, when it shot up to 15%. This report is based on an 1W...

A change in fortunes.(Craig Conway-PeopleSoft Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Is the intense, driven Craig Conway the man to propel growth at PeopleSoft Inc., questioned INDUSTRYWEEK in a 2001 profile of the Pleasanton. Calif.-based technology firm and its then-president and CEO ("PeopleSoft's Turnaround,' November 2001...

Fewer would-be CEOs: study shows more executives than ever lack desire to be top dog.(leadership)
December 1, 2004... CONVENTIONAL WISDOM suggests that business executives are always looking to climb the corporate ladder, with an eventual eye on the top position if they have the right combination of stuff. However, a new survey suggests that that supposition...

Before offshoring, try this: a product redesign to lower cost. A study shows this practice is rarely considered.(emerging technologies)
December 1, 2004... THE TRADITIONAL arguments against offshoring the manufacturing of a product tend to be incomplete, unconvincing proposals. Two examples: First, if the logistics problems aren't enough to discourage offshoring, nix the idea by updating...

Manufacturing process optimization.(emerging technologies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... When Richard J. Sherman speaks of growing factory floor opportunities, he's referring to the need for manufacturing process optimization (MPO). "It's all about liberating capital and growing profit via software designed to facilitate...

Heroes Schmeroes: in business it's still better to be lucky than good.(brandt on leadership)
December 1, 2004... BOY, IT JUST GETS HARDER AND HARDER to be a hero-worshipper. In the 1970s, Watergate revealed that--Shock!--politicians were sometimes liars more interested in money and power than good government. In the 1980s, free agency came to pro sports...

Big changes in benefits: as the skilled workforce becomes more diverse, manufacturers are adding more training, flexibility and advancement opportunities to their benefit plans.
December 1, 2004... KEVIN CALLIHAM WORKS FULL TIME AS A MACHINE maintenance technician at an Eaton Corp. hydraulics parts plant in Greenwood, S.C. But he doesn't work for a manufacturer. Jim Fornango retired from Monsanto Corp. in 1996, but recently he's been...

P&G's secret: innovating innovation.(technology leader of the year)(Procter & Gamble Co.)
December 1, 2004... G. Gil Cloyd, chief technology officer of America's biggest consumer packaged goods company, is acknowledged by CEO A.G. Lafley as "the technical innovation leader" of Procter & Gamble. A 34-year veteran of the company, Cloyd became CTO in 2000...

IBM Corp.'s nanotechnology for semiconductor processing: polymer molecules that self-assemble will enable smaller, more powerful semiconductor devices for the future.
December 1, 2004... WHILE THE FIRST COMPUTERS occupied the space of a large room, today, computing capability thousands of times greater can be held in the palm of your hand. One reason for this compacting of power is the ability to form smaller and smaller...

SAS 9 intelligence platform: this solution facilitates decisions that are best for the entire enterprise and opens the power of business analytics to a broader employee audience.(strategic planning)
December 1, 2004... THE IT WORLD AT ANY LARGE COMPANY is a complex, heterogeneous collection of hardware and software obtained from a variety of vendors as a result of years of technology Investment. Creating actionable intelligence from myriad information sources...

Machine tools re-discover gravity: Mori Seiki's driven-at-the-center-of-gravity technology improves accuracy and lengthens machine-tool life.
December 1, 2004... DRIVEN AT THE CENTER OF GRAVITY (DCG). The phrase conjures up various images--one being an apple falling dead center on Sir Isaac Newton's head. The other image is that of Moil Seiki Co. Ltd., a Japanese CNC machine-tool manufacturer with U.S....

Proficiency Inc.'s collaboration gateway: latest version attacks the collaboration challenge--data exchange among CAD systems.(computer aided design)
December 1, 2004... QUESTION: DO YOU KNOW THE EXPENSE related to CAD conversion and interoperability? In a recent study, the words "don't know" were uttered by 64% of respondents--manufacturers, OEMs, suppliers and service providers, says Proficiency Inc.'s...

SeeChain consignment inventory: SeeCommerce Inc.'s Web-based offering helps manufacturers keep their off-site inventory under control.(integration/collaboration)
December 1, 2004... MAINTAINING APPROPRIATE INVENTORY levels has always given manufacturers fits. They wage war against carrying too much costly product with tools such as lean manufacturing, which aspires to keep inventory at minimal levels, while at the same...

Dr. Goodnights's good days: for the CEO of SAS, success is partly a product of "management by loitering.".(technology & innovation executives)(SAS Institute Inc)
December 1, 2004... ALONG THE ONE-MILE drive between the main gate and James Goodnight's two offices are signs warning that the speed limit is 23 miles per hour. The signs say 23 miles per hour, not 25, and they definitely catch the eye. The signs are, however,...

Educating for the future: Cary Academy focuses on computer learning.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... JAMES GOODNIGHT, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CARY, N.C.-BASED SAG INSTITUTE INC., A MAJOR computer software producer, has a personal stake in American education. He and his wife along with SAS co-founder John Sail and his wife have provided financial...

Lean accounting: novel number crunching: a few brave finance and accounting managers are changing how they track costs to support lean manufacturing and improve decision making.(management strategies)
December 1, 2004... AS WARY AS EXECUTIVES ARE THESE days of anything that smacks of "creative" accounting, there's a quiet revolution unfolding among Jean manufacturers. The idea creeping into the heads of a few radical thinkers is that the financial numbers...

Swan song: as this column ends, remember, you got zero stock tips here.(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... UH OH. I ALWAYS KNEW IT WOULD come to this someday. After eight years, its the end of the road, Jack. This is the final installment of this column. Before you all cheer and stamp your feet simultaneously and cause a rupture between the...

The buddy system: lean manufacturing network unites Toronto companies in their pursuit of enterprise excellence.(Networking)
December 1, 2004... THE QUEST FOR WORLD-class performance does not have to be a solitary journey. Manufacturers in some regions have been reaping the benefits of local networks and consortiums for years. Such groups provide large and small companies with a...

Using less to create more: Hydro Aluminum North America puts upgraded St. Augustine facility to work.
December 1, 2004... FOR HYDRO ALUMINUM North America, a unit of Oslo-based Norsk Hydro, the $8.3 million upgrade to its St. Augustine, Fla., casthouse is the latest evidence of a continuing commitment to customers, the environment and process efficiency. The...

A year of growing more slowly: fiscal drag is seen tempering 2005 GDP.(economic outlook)(gross domestic product)
December 1, 2004... A MIDST ALL THE speculation about what newly reelected U.S. President George W. Bush will do is something that is not changing. At least for the moment, Merrill Lynch & Co. is not changing its subdued U.S. economic forecast for 2005. The New...

Bust down the walls: you know the factory floor is where the action is. Why aren't you there now?(continuous improvement)
December 1, 2004... When hourly people and managers see one another every day, and learn the names of each other's children, the "us versus them" attitude that arises with physical barriers falls away. THE OTHER DAY I WAS TOLD A STORY--it wasn't too far from...

Pain but no gain: squeezed profits and big benefit costs keep companies from adding jobs.(payroll employment growth)
December 1, 2004... EVEN THOUGH THE U.S. ECONOMY CAME roaring back during the third quarter of this year, with a real growth rate of almost 4%, payroll employment posted another puny gain, with an increase of only 300,000 workers, or less than 1%. Just what is...