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March 31, 2008

Fewer Trucks on the Road Tomorrow?

The speculative chatter has been mounting over the Internet and at truck stops throughout the U.S. about an impending trucker shutdown on April 1, 2008 -- on April Fools' Day.

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Weekly Industry Crib Sheet: Privacy and Personal Health, Payback for Enron Victims...

... Ford Sells Rover and Jaguar, Spending Rises, Exports Increase, Goods Deficit Falls and Unemployment Mixed.

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March 28, 2008

Light Friday: 8 Things Not Taught at Engineering School...

...Bear Stearns on eBay and MORE.

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March 27, 2008

Revisiting Safety: Deadly Crane Collapses and Combustible Dust

Recent tragedies in Florida, New York and Georgia have once again led to national concern over industrial safety. In particular, accidents this month and last month show a need for more safety awareness among high-rise construction cranes and in refineries that involve combustible dust.

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March 26, 2008

Bold Moves

Besides Wal-Mart, is anyone faring well in today's increasingly challenging global economy? Automakers are pulling some pretty creative moves in an effort to stay afloat in the U.S. and abroad.

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March 25, 2008

Hiring Intentions Reflect Widespread Wait-and-See Approach

Today's gloomy economy offers little in terms of surprise when it comes to companies' 2008 hiring plans across industries, as IMT noted earlier this month. Here are the latest numbers -- plus why America's automakers are about to go on a hiring spree.

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March 24, 2008

Weekly Industry Crib Sheet: Production, Unemployment, Construction...

... Interest, Coal, Ford's New Slogan and the Ongoing Saga of One of the Swiftest Corporate Falls in History.

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March 21, 2008

Light Friday: 5 Tantalizing Designs of Awesome Architectural Insanity...

... Foldable Cars and More.

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March 20, 2008

A Proposed Standard for High-Performance Green Buildings

Green may be in, but decision makers in charge of facilities continue to grapple with basic problems in everyday energy performance. A recently proposed standard -- now open for its second public review -- addresses energy efficiency, a building's impact on the atmosphere, sustainable sites, water-use efficiency, materials and indoor environmental quality.

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March 19, 2008

The Next Wave of Biomaterials

While biomaterials are nothing new, a new wave of developments is progressing rapidly and very well could change the face of engineering and manufacturing as we know it.

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March 18, 2008

Realistic Steps to Robust Compliance

Those responsible for compliance may feel pulled in several different directions: by state and federal agencies, employees and the public at large. A practical approach should at least include these steps.

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(Mis)Managing the Patent System

The current patent system in the U.S. drains entrepreneurship and small-business growth, a new study shows. Problems include high litigation costs, a decline in patent quality and differences among nations in terms of patent law.

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NAFTA: Threat or Theater?

A 14-year-old trade agreement has re-emerged as a hot issue during the lead-up to this year's U.S. presidential election. Will the winning candidate result in big changes to NAFTA?

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5 Reasons to Automate Manufacturing Compliance

Managing compliance both for external groups and for internal purposes doesn't have to be a nightmare. In fact, doing it the right way, for the right reasons, can be a competitive strategy.

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Environmental Standard Essentials

It's important to remember that corporate governance doesn't begin and end with Sarbanes-Oxley. Here we highlight how ISO 14001:2004 affects business operations and performance.

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Is Goodwill Bad Business?

Today's increasingly conscience-focused marketplace demands more ethical business processes and performance than ever. But can strong corporate ethics and global competitiveness coexist?

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Succeed with Digital Simulation

Most products today still require some physical prototypes, but leading manufacturers are using them more efficiently through digital prototyping.

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Think Your Boss is Lousy? It Could be Worse

Those of us in the U.S. may think we're particularly worse off when it comes to bad bosses, but new findings show that things could be much, much worse.

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Recommended Reading

Outsmart! provides a concise, fast-paced look at how companies can achieve breakthrough growth by consistently outsmarting the competition.

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March 17, 2008

Weekly Industry Crib Sheet

Where’s St. Patrick when we need him? If he could drive the legendary snakes from Ireland, could he drive the crushing debt from the United States? Maybe not, but here’s some news you may need to help guide your company through the shoals.

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March 14, 2008

Light Friday: Saints and Sinners...

... and the Way the Cookie Crumbles (the Economy).

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March 13, 2008

Trends and Innovations in Product Development

Product-development planning remains crucial to organizations' survival and prosperity. Here we revisit some key trends in the process, based on a recent address from one of the world's leading experts in the field of engineered product development.

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March 12, 2008

Hiring to Hit Downturn in 2008

With debate raging over whether the U.S. economy will slide into a recession or has already reached one, it comes as little surprise that many companies across industries are planning to hire fewer employees in 2008 than they did last year. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

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March 11, 2008

Employers Adapt to Shifting Retirement Landscape

Companies are increasing their focus on reducing retirement-plan risk and ensuring that employees take appropriate advantage of their retirement plans, according to a new study.

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March 10, 2008

Weekly Industry Crib Sheet

Because paying for the longer daylight evenings came at the expense of up to an hour of lost sleep, we hope you'll find our latest weekly roundup especially valuable to catch up on the latest developments.

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March 7, 2008

Light Friday: Odd Jobs, Pity Tech Support, Fired for Surfing...

... Recycled Ads for Recycling Electronics, Introducing the Flying Car (Yet Again) and MORE.

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March 6, 2008

Wanted: High-Speed Internet for Industry

Replacing less efficient tools with more efficient tools has proven a boon to American manufacturers for more than a century. Yet when it comes to replacing slow telecommunications with faster data-transfer infrastructure, the U.S. still lags.

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March 5, 2008

How Are You Sleeping?

I don't mean to sound like an overly concerned mother, dear reader, but are you getting enough sleep? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reminding the public that this week is National Sleep Awareness Week.

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March 4, 2008

How to Choose the Best Location for Business

Today's uninspiring economic climate may have companies looking for better conditions to conduct business. Here is a shortlist of decisive factors and questions to answer during the site selection process.

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Tips for Outsourcing Success

Outsourcing programs are too often hampered by poor planning and a narrow, short-sighted view. Companies that implement outsourcing programs with proper methodologies and strategies can overcome many of these shortcomings.

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Reduce the Stress of Your Commute

Is commuting to and from work more stressful than the job itself? At best, this stress causes headaches; at worst, it results in serious health problems. It all depends on where and how you commute.

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Offshoring: Today and Tomorrow

Plenty has changed in the field of offshore outsourcing, and plenty of change lies ahead. The following are some of the more noticeable developments fueling the global practice's new phase.

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World Environmental Report Card

Which nation ranks best for environmental health? Which is the biggest polluter? Everyone expects companies to act responsibly when consuming resources and disposing waste. Environmental metrics can help businesses measure their progress.

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Information Overload Pushing Workers to the Brink

People and organizations cannot keep up with the volume of information produced by technological innovation, as information overload is pushing workers closer to their breaking point.

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Need-to-Know Legal Decisions

Companies hip to recent litigation can focus on innovation and products rather than endure distractions of costly lawsuits. Here's a look at three recent legal decisions and what they mean for manufacturers.

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Lunar Challenge Underway

The X PRIZE Foundation and Google, Inc. last month announced the first 10 teams in the race for the Google Lunar X PRIZE, a robotic race to the moon for $30 million in prizes.

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Recommended Reading

In Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich, Wall Street Journal columnist Robert Frank investigates the unprecedented rise of wealth in the U.S., which has essentially created a new country with a net worth of $100 million to $1 billion in thousands of households. Here dubbed Richistan, this new breed of wealth stems from the rise of financial markets, new technology and a freer flow of goods and information.

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March 3, 2008

Weekly Industry Crib Sheet

Ben Bernanke and team are using interest-rate cuts, investment incentives and rebates to combat the continued contraction of the U.S. housing market, rising energy costs and slowing job creation. And thanks to tighter credit conditions for some firms, business spending should be "subdued" for the next several months. Yes, the Ides of March has come, but it has not passed.

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