Focus

Keeping pace with IIE in the October 2011 issue of Industrial Engineer

Winning with association

CEO, president-elect honored with award named for former IIE executive 

IIE Chief Executive Officer Don Greene and President-elect Doug Rabeneck have earned the 2011 David and Lois Belden Leadership Award.

The award from the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) provides a scholarship each year to the chief staff officer and the chief elected officer of an engineering or scientific association to attend a leadership forum or symposium. Greene and Rabeneck will attend the Symposium for Chief Staff and Elected Officers, sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), in November. This is the inaugural year for the award, named after noted association executive Dave Belden and his wife, Lois.

The honor is especially rewarding for Greene, whose first association job as staff engineer for IIE had him reporting to then-IIE Executive Director Dave Belden. Later, Belden and Greene worked for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

“Although Dave retired as ASME’s executive director just months before I was hired, I was in frequent contact with him during my time with ASME,” Greene recalled. “Dave has been a true mentor to me during my association management career.”

Belden, an industrial engineer by training, is a fellow and 46-year member of IIE, a member and former board member of ASAE and a member and former president of CESSE.

The award was endowed by a gift from ASME.

Modeling destiny

Future City teams get extra help from a revamped website

Teams competing in the 2012 Engineers Week Future City competition can get a bit of extra help this year from the revamped website at www.futurecity.org.

The National Engineers Week Foundation has expanded its offerings to help sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders create their visions of tomorrow’s cities. The site now provides a downloadable version of the SimCity 4 Deluxe software that students use to design their virtual future city. Other downloadable items include the competition forms, instructional guides, tips and additional resources.

The 2011-2012 Future City teams will build virtual cities that address the topic “Fuel your future: Imagine new ways to meet our energy needs and maintain a healthy planet.”

The website provides customizable tools that help students, educators, mentors and parents get organized in their specific region of the country. For the first time users can view a customizable calendar with dates for their respective regional competitions, including up-to-date news and information and step-by-step directions about each of the competition components. Additional features include the following:

• Future city showcase: See examples of winning entries and get inspired.
• Competition forms: Download writeable PDF versions of all competition forms.
• National standards: Learn how Future City aligns with national educational standards.
• Frequently asked questions: Get answers from experienced educators, mentors and regional coordinators.
• Competition checklist: Track your team’s progress and what’s coming up next.

The competition is a program of the National Engineers Week Foundation, which is a consortium of professional and technical societies, including IIE, and major U.S. corporations.

The deadline for schools to enter the competition is Oct. 31. Regional finals are held in January. One winning team from each region will travel to Crystal City, Va., to compete in the Future City National Finals, which will be part of National Engineers Week events held Feb. 17-22, 2012.

IN OTHER PUBLICATIONS: Managers take heed

Latest IM reveals “dirty dozen” characteristics of bad bosses

Maybe we all have done it at times: Snapped at a co-worker, set less-than-clear expectations, given minimal feedback or inconsistent discipline.

But continuing such behavior and adding arrogance, a few lies and a dash of incompetence to the mix can turn a factory or office into a toxic brew full of unproductive employees and processes.

Business consultant and University of Toledo professor Clinton O. Longenecker tackles this issue with “Characteristics of really bad bosses” in the September/October edition of Industrial Management, available now. His research reveals behaviors that may have your charges viewing you somewhat like the “pointy-haired boss” in the Dilbert cartoons.

Other features in IM tackle strategic planning for sustainability, how organizations can get workers to share knowledge efficiently and tips on upgrading facility management information technology.

Worthy recognition

New SHS blog can benefit IEs in healthcare

The Society for Health Systems recently launched a new blog designed to expose SHS content to a broader audience, including clinicians, and provide information for industrial engineers who are working in healthcare.

Alina Hsu, president of Lean Health Systems Inc. and chairman of SHS’s communications committee, said the site has multiple authors, including one from South Africa, and welcomes more. Plans include a young professional series and ongoing content about managing a process improvement department.

Blogs hook into social media and are a good mechanism for people to understand what SHS is about, Hsu said. She added that the blog is the core of the society’s social media strategy, and officials want a dynamic, interactive site.

“At the same time we want the content to be of high quality because it’s a showcase for the kind of thinking and perspective that are unique to SHS.”

If readers want to see particular content or become a guest blogger, send an email to the blog at SHSSocMed@gmail.com.

“SHS, I think, has a very unique perspective in that it combines a strong systems element with the traditional lean or Six Sigma,” Hsu said. “So we include things like simulation, systems engineering and management engineering. And, from a systems perspective, the system of healthcare is actually very broad, including things like ergonomics and human factors, health policy, population health and a large range of settings. The bulk of the cost in healthcare is associated with hospital care, so most of our process improvement materials are about improving hospital processes. But as we look more to health outcomes, a broader perspective is necessary.”

The blog is available at www.shsblog.org.

Youthful motivation

Young professionals group dedicated to retaining new talent

A challenge plaguing many professional organizations today is that of keeping recent college graduates involved.

IIE is no different, recognizing that it must have members of all ages and from all areas of industry to maintain a diverse, relevant and dynamic organization. IIE Young Professionals is a new group focusing on efforts to appeal to young people and to
help IIE remain a lifelong engagement for engineers.

The YP group has identified three key areas to target with suggestions for how new graduates can get the most out of their membership.

• Discuss: This is the easiest and often most effective method of success. As a student or professional of any age, simply share your experiences and insight into the value of IIE with young people. YP is working on leveraging social networking, blogs and other tools to discuss IIE’s value.
• Engage: Part of the organization’s charge is communicating with young members. Many new graduates do not understand the value of remaining involved with IIE after graduating. YP members are dedicated to connecting with student chapters and working with professional chapters to develop ideas that keep young professionals involved.
• Grow: Most large industrial engineering programs at colleges nationwide, along with some worldwide, have a chapter or affiliation with IIE. YP wants to find ways to grow IIE’s sphere of influence into new areas, whether internationally or by developing U.S. schools that have not been involved much. In addition, YP is investigating a means of connecting young professionals with industry veterans and more experienced IEs.

Want to learn more or get involved? YP is planning a kickoff webinar for November. More information will be announced on the website at www.iienet.org/youngprofessionals.

Update ways to save

It’s time to review the various affinity programs that IIE has developed to offer members reduced rates and other benefits.

“The IIE Affinity Programs are in place to offer our members some unique volume buying power, plus the royalties earned are invested directly into the IIE Foundation,” said Chief Operating Officer Donna Calvert. “The foundation is a highly restricted fund that is used solely for programs that benefit the image of the profession and for scholarships and fellowships that are given to bright and deserving IE students. The affinity programs offer a great opportunity for members to take advantage of IIE’s community buying power and give back to their profession at the same time.”

Take your pick from the services below:

• IIE’s Group Insurance Program: This program, through Seabury & Smith, helps members and their families build a solid foundation of life, health and accident insurance.
• Auto, home, renters’ insurance: Member benefits include a special discounted rate on auto insurance and home insurance from Liberty Mutual, a Fortune 100 company. Discounts and savings are available only where allowed by state law.
• UPS overnight shipping service: IIE members can save up to 26 percent off express shipping, along with 10 percent savings on business services like copying, binding, laminating, packaging and mailbox services at The UPS Store.
• IIE CDs and money markets: Diversity, security and performance is the basis for a solid savings and investment plan. IIE provides GoldPortfolio deposit accounts through MBNA America Bank N.A. The IIE GoldCertificate CD consistently has ranked among the best nationwide.
• IIE Platinum Plus MasterCard: This card offers WorldPoints rewards for cash, travel, merchandise and gift certificates, with easy online redemption. The card helps support IIE programs and initiatives at no additional cost to you.
• Hertz: Members get special discounts. Reference Hertz CDP#1641833 on all of your reservations and be sure to present your membership card or Hertz discount card for identification at the time of rental.
• Allied Moving Benefits: The Allied Moving Benefits program can save members thousands of dollars on professional moving, real estate and mortgage services while guaranteeing world-class service from the industry’s top providers.

For additional details, go to www.iienet.org, click on the Membership tab and scroll down to “Service Partners.”

Learning with agility

One-day conferences help attendees get in, learn and get going

Corporations have responded to recent economic woes by slashing training budgets. In some cases, overnight travel is verboten. And, even in IE-heavy workplaces that know the importance of continual learning, getting away from work for three or four days is more difficult as people struggle to keep the economic jackals away.

IIE is coming to the rescue with a series of “agile” one-day conferences planned over the next six months. Each conference is scheduled close to an airport to make flying in and flying out as hassle-free as possible.

All programs are presented by industry and business leaders, so each conference is heavy on practicality. They are small enough to facilitate better networking with industrial engineers and IE types who have similar interests.

The agile conferences can be planned quicker than multiday events so that material can be relevant to what’s happening in the business world and focus on the current issues important to IEs and process improvers working in the various fields.

Four agile conferences currently are on tap:

• Best Practices in Lean & Six Sigma Applied to Healthcare, Oct. 24, Children’s Medical Center at Legacy-Plano, Dallas, www.iienet.org/lsshealthcare 
• Best Practices in Managing Industrial Engineering, Nov. 7, Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel, Chicago, www.iienet.org/managingie
• Best Practices in Supply Chain Management, Feb. 7, 2012, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, www.iienet.org/supplychain
• Best Practices in Managing Work Standards, March 12, 2012, Doubletree Hotel Chicago O’Hare Airport-Rosemont, Chicago

Kudos

Celebrating member achievements

	Janis Terpenny has been selected to chair the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Iowa State University. She also will be the inaugural holder of the Joseph Walkup Professorship in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering.
	Ricardo Valerdi has been named an associate professor in the Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering at the University of Arizona. Valerdi is co-editor-in-chief of IIE’s Journal of Enterprise Transformation.
	Nadia Bhuiyan, a professor in Concordia University’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, has received a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Accelerator Supplement award for 2011-2012.
	Julie Swann of Georgia Tech’s Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering has been named the Harold R. and Mary Anne Nash Professor for her pioneering work in humanitarian logistics.
	F. Frank Chen has been elected to the 2011 Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ College of Fellows. Chen is the Luther Brown Distinguished Chair Professor of Advanced Manufacturing at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
	Maury Nussbaum, professor of industrial and systems engineering at Virginia Tech, has been reappointed as the Hal G. Prillaman Professor in Industrial and Systems Engineering. Nussbaum is managing editor of IIE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors.
	SHARE YOUR ACHIEVEMENT: Let your peers know about hirings, promotions, awards, appointments and other notable accomplishments. Send Kudos items to Michael Hughes at mhughes@iienet.org.