Guiding the Next Generation of IE’s

April 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I invite you to listen to this audiocast on Coaching and Advising the Next Generation of IE’s.  The two speakers are in the elite of IIE Professionals:  a past President of IIE and the incoming 2012 IIE President. Both speakers did an excellent job on discussing what they have learned in their careers as an engineer and as a leader of engineers.  I also found their very candid comments about themselves on what they term “rookie mistakes”, very informative (and a bit humorous).   Length ~ 1 hr.  Please share your comments.

Download the audio file here: http://www.iienet2.org/Details.aspx?id=29080 (WMV)

All the best,
Kazuo ‘Kaz’ Takeda
IIE Fellow, IAB Past-Chair; NLC ASRVP; LA Chapter Sr. Board, Sec/Treas

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iPhones and IE’s: Why China Over USA

January 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher shed light on some of the reasons behind the continued reliance on China for major manufacturing.  Note this quote:

Another critical advantage for Apple was that China provided engineers at a scale the United States could not match. Apple’s executives had estimated that about 8,700 industrial engineers were needed to oversee and guide the 200,000 assembly-line workers eventually involved in manufacturing iPhones. The company’s analysts had forecast it would take as long as nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States; In China took 15 days.

 

How U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work
New York Times 01/22/2012
Authors: Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher
c. 2010 New York Times Company

When Barack Obama joined Silicon Valley’s top luminaries for dinner in California last February, each guest was asked to come with a question for the president.

But as Steven P. Jobs of Apple spoke, President Obama interrupted with an inquiry of his own: what would it take to make iPhones in the United States?

Not long ago, Apple boasted that its products were made in America. Today, few are. Almost all of the 70 million iPhones, 30 million iPads and 59 million other products Apple sold last year were manufactured overseas.

Why can’t that work come home? Mr. Obama asked.

Mr. Jobs’s reply was unambiguous. “Those jobs aren’t coming back,” he said, according to another dinner guest.

Read more of this post

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Cal-Poly SLO Wins IIE YouTube Contest!

November 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment

As you well know, many of our universities are challenged with bringing in talented high school seniors into the industrial engineering programs as freshman. In interviews with hundreds of college industrial engineering students and young professional IE’s, few had any knowledge of what an industrial engineering program was while they were in high school and most discovered our profession after their freshman year and switched majors into the IE program.

A few years ago, the IIE Industry Advisory Board (IAB) had an initiative which developed and sponsored a YouTube video contest targeted at high school students which was created by our university IIE chapters like yours. The result was very successful on several fronts with enhanced university chapter involvement, a touch point with our professional members to the universities and a communications tool that focused on high school students which has received thousands of YouTube hits from the various universities which have posted their video’s. The winners from the IIE National Conference held in Reno last year were:

2011 IIE IAB You-Tube Contest Winners:

First place was earned by Cal Poly SLO


volume is very low on this YouTube upload
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVb3O05Yh_A

Second place earned by Wichita State – Dream Job

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D14B0oizvgg

 

Third Place was earned by University of Tennessee – Knoxville

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3xWAt_KO2w

 

In the region…University of San Diego on why you should consider becoming an Industrial Engineering

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB5mTKsqvMs

Along with knowing that this video maybe the reason why a new student selected Industrial Engineering as their major, our IAB Members have personally donated prize funds which will be presented at the upcoming IIE National Conference in Orlando, FL at the student mixer. First place winner with a monetary prize fund planned at $1000 with additional monetary prize awards for 2nd and 3rd place winners.

 

On behalf of our IIE IAB leadership team, we thank you in advance for considering to support this initiative for our future IE’s, along with having a great time creating the video with your chapter.

 

IAB_You-TubeVideo@iienet.org

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IIE L.A.: Improving Life for the Developmentally Disabled

August 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Members from Ventura, Claremont, Long Beach converge on AbilityFirst Los Angeles Work Center

IIE members met recently at the Los Angeles Work Center for AbilityFirst to begin a project to improve the efficiency of the Business Services Division.  This Division is where adults with physical and developmental disabilities are gainfully employed to solve corporate needs.  The income supplied by this Division helps support other programs and services, for adults and children, with physical and developmental disabilities, the core purpose of AbilityFirst.  This income is important as government support steadily dwindles.

Ms. Isis McDonald, the Director of the Business Services Division, stated that her Division is “in the black”.  She stressed the importance that with shrinking government funding for programs and services, internal funding sources be developed. Strategically, as a profit center, it is critical that growth be done in an “intelligent” manner.  The Secure Shredding Service has been identified as a growth service.  Because of “chain of custody” issues, growth must be closely tied to process control. A seeming perfect fit for the skills of industrial engineers.

The project calls on IIE as a partner to have members apply their professional skills to improve operational effectiveness within the Business Services Division.  Our first task is to help define “capacity” for their nascent Secure Shredding Service.  After an orientation by Ms. McDonald and a tour by Work Center Director, Fennie Washington, the 12 engineers went to the Gemba to fully understand the task at hand.  In 2-3 weeks, a VSM will be developed and available for the team to analyze.  Members of the team are assigned to take
video of the loading and unloading of the shredder.  Also, video of the unloading of the bins from the truck will also be completed for later analysis.  Finally, a strategy for pick up will be developed from members who have experience in developing these algorithms.

Using DMAIC methodology, we hope to demonstrate the value in using this problem-solving format.  We feel we have “D” identified (capacity), “M” will include the development of the VSM.  With an accurate picture of the operation, a current state capacity model may be built and presented.  From this, an “A” analysis of possible improvements can be forecast and recommendations for “I” improvement can be derived.

To view a recent report of Ability First’s activities, follow this link.

Stay tuned for further updates.

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What IS An Industrial Engineer?

January 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics comes this definition:

Industrial engineers determine the most effective ways to use the basic factors of production—people, machines, materials, information, and energy—to make a product or provide a service. They are concerned primarily with increasing productivity through the management of people, methods of business organization, and technology. To maximize efficiency, industrial engineers study product requirements carefully and then design manufacturing and information systems to meet those requirements with the help of mathematical methods and models. They develop management control systems to aid in financial planning and cost analysis, and they design production planning and control systems to coordinate activities and ensure product quality. They also design or improve systems for the physical distribution of goods and services and determine the most efficient plant locations. Industrial engineers develop wage and salary administration systems and job evaluation programs.

Many industrial engineers move into management positions because the work is closely related to the work of managers.

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