Moving on

When I came to Plant Engineering as an associate editor in 1969, I didn't know what plant engineering was. I just had an idea that I wanted to be a writer or journalist in some technical area. Plant Engineering seemed a good place to start. Armed with a degree in technical journalism, a minor in chemistry, and two years' experience as a Navy engineering officer, I dove into my new occupation wi...

Excellence in common

This issue is devoted to the first plants to be recognized in our PLANT ENGINEERING Top Plants program — Hewlett Packard Caribe BV and S&C Electric John R. Conrad Industrial Complex. These two plants are very different. HP makes electronic products on the micro level. S&C makes high-voltage electrical equipment on the macro level.

A status report

Back in January of 1990, we had the audacity to declare the 90s as "the decade of plant engineering." Were we right? Well, yes and no. Much of what we predicted has come to pass — or at least we've made progress in those directions. Back then, we said that plant engineering is key to better quality, higher productivity, increased profits, a cleaner environment, a safer workplace, and more...

Are you better off…

One of the big questions of this political season has been, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" It's not a bad question to ask, even when it has nothing to do with politics. Each of us should periodically take stalk of where we are now versus some point in the past and ask, "Am I (or are we) better off?" Conducting such an exercise for your plant, for example, could be a quic...

Sweat the small stuff

Back in 1997 an inspirational book by Richard Carlson titled, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: And It's All Small Stuff, became a bestseller. It's still very popular. Based on the idea that we can reduce stress and anxiety in our lives "if we learn not to worry about little things," Carlson provided a plethora of tips on how we can learn to deal with life's annoyances and enjoy "the magic and beaut...

The change triumvirate

It was almost a throw-away line — one of those comments that isn't expected to get much reaction. We were just finishing a nice lunch, about to say our goodbyes, when he dropped it on me. "He" is Bill Maggard, one of the pioneers in bringing total productive maintenance (TPM) to the U.S., an author (TPM That Works: The Theory and Design of Total Productive Maintenance), and frequent conf...

Do you need permission?

Rummaging through some old files, I ran across a report on one of these high-level conferences where outstanding CEOs and others share the secrets of their success. You know the ones I mean — big-name motivational speakers and big-time fees to attend. This one was held in 2001. One of the topics discussed, according to this report, was the "permission statement" — some kind of guide...

Tribal behavior

The label tribal behavior usually conjures up some rather negative thoughts about how humans act, especially as it relates to groups of people. But in his book Great Boss Dead Boss, Ray Immelman uses the tribal metaphor to reveal a wealth of insights on how to get people working together successfully.

The quest

There's something in human nature that pushes us to always want to know about the best. From the "Car of the Year" to the Oscars, from Consumer Reports to the Fortune 500, we just keep feeding this insatiable appetite for rating things. The winners in our own version, the PLANT ENGINEERING Product of the Year Awards, are presented in this issue along with FAME Award and Shingo Prize winners.

Volunteer support

There seems to have been an increase in corporate support for volunteerism over the past several years. You know, the do-gooder, corporate-citizen face companies like to put on by encouraging their employees to go out in the world and volunteer their services to help others. Some companies even put their pocketbooks where their mouths are, although typically to a very limited extent.