Len O'Neal

Trick and treat

Last month, we shared some of the results from our online reader survey of Plant Engineering Online (www.plantengineering. com).

The results are in, again

We'd like to say a big "thank you" to everyone who participated in the second annual reader survey of Plant Engineering Online (www.plantengineering.com) conducted this past November and December.

Situation “normal”

If you're reading this column, it's likely that nothing catastrophic occurred to you or your plant at 12:01 a.m. on January 1 of this new year.

Just the facts, sir

It would be all too fitting to follow the course of so many other publications' year-end issue and provide you with predictions about the Year 2000, whether it be the impact of the Y2K glitch to the internet or how the World Wide Web will evolve in the coming year. However, commenting on the former would just be overkill, and providing insight on the latter would be like trying to predict the weather in Chicago. So to close out the year, we'll instead focus on the facts -- recent additions and upgrades to Plant Engineering Online (www.plantengineering.com) that you may not be aware of and ones you can expect to see in the new millennium. Fact 1: PE channels evolve Within your favorite PE channel(s), you can now access topic-related articles and new product and literature information with a single click of your mouse. Perform targeted keyword searches within each PE channel for content related only to the topics covered in that channel or, if you're the browsing type, click through to the archives page for links to any articles published by Plant Engineering magazine or exclusively online in the last 5 yr. What can you expect to find in the Plant Engineering channels in the coming months? We'll be giving you a better look at what's available at our IndustryStore.com web site with featured titles in each channel.

Add these favorites to your list

It's time again for another installment of Web Update in which we highlight sites that should be a must in your list of bookmarks or favorites.

Welcome to the family

This month, we take some time to highlight the newest addition to the family of channels presented in Plant Engineering Online (www.plantengineering.com), as well as some news and notes about upcoming online developments.

Better searching: Technology and people

If you're like me and many others surfing the internet, you reluctantly rely on search engines to help you find information.

Plant engineering and beyond

Last month's Web Update ("Your resource for a better you") called attention to resources available on or through Plant Engineering Online (www.plantengineering.

Your resource for a better you

Over the last few years, the message from Plant Engineering magazine readers concerning skills development, training, and education has come through loud and clear: Year after year, this topic has always been at or near the top of the plant engineers' priority list. In a recent Plant Engineering magazine study, The Role of the Plant Engineer 2000 , over 80% of the respondents claimed that training, education, and skills development were a leading job function of the plant engineer. Furthermore, 75% of those surveyed said their involvement in this area would increase by the year 2000. (Complete results of this study can be accessed at www.plantengineering.

Multiple media: More is better

Back in September when we conducted a reader survey for our web site, www. plantengineering.com, one of the more anticipated results was the breakdown of preferred media for reading Plant Engineering magazine (print, web site, or both).