PERSPECTIVES
A powerful question: What’s new?
As I pass the 40-year milestone as
an industrial engineer, and my son approaches
his 20-year marker,
one question relative to our
profession stands out: How
much has the industrial and
systems engineering profession
changed? The question amuses
me to no end and is always
good for a smile.
Applications of benchmarking for analysis projects
Benchmarking for analysis projects is very
tour- and interview-oriented, and is a
good way to get new ideas and identify best
practices. It’s usually part of a larger ISEtype
analysis project.
The 5 principles of responding to uncertainty
I assume you are reading this column in
ISE magazine because you, like me, are
a STEM (science, technology, engineering
and mathematics) professional. Here
are two general observations.
For job shops, Lean reduces flexibility
Every manufacturer aspires to become
Lean like Toyota. However, every highmix
low-volume (HMLV) manufacturer
that desires to be competitive and profitable
cannot sacrifice flexibility. Ensuring
that flexibility and Lean coexist and
complement each other is a headache for
any small, medium or large job shop.