PlantSuccess Newsletter
Volume
II, Issue 5
2/21/02
Dear Subscriber:
What good fortune: a great
Super Bowl followed almost immediately by the Winter Olympics in one of our own
mountain states. The Opening Ceremony was spectacular and figure skating judges,
responding to political pressures, are in Cold War form. We cannot escape
politics; it is a part of everything we do. The Canadian skaters stayed above
the fray; we should all handle it as well.
The perseverance of the
amateur athletes, particularly in the lesser-known sports, is incredible.
Thousands of hopefuls train and compete over many years for the opportunity of a
few minutes of TV time and fame. How about the US snowboarder who won a bronze
medal in the parallel giant slalom just 19 months after receiving a liver
transplant!
Perseverance is a necessary
personal trait no matter our goals. This time of year, it is natural to reflect
on one of my favorite examples of strength in this trait – Abraham Lincoln. I do
so by listening to Aaron Copeland’s “Portraits of Freedom;” my favorite is the
James Earl Jones version, and by seeking the remarks of some of the
pundits.
Implementing IT in a process
plant and achieving the result of increased ROI on invested capital and improved
production requires many traits -- perseverance is one of them. PlantSuccess
features innovative managers from leading companies who understand the business
drivers and work practices, change management and the implementation of
comprehensive technologies -- and have perseverance in abundance.
Because we want to make it
easier for you to participate in PlantSuccess, we are bringing a version to you.
A series of regional conferences with the theme Asst Productivity and
Protection opens at the PHL Airport Marriott on Wednesday, March
6, 2002.
·
Mike Emery, manager of Rhodia’s perfumery plant in New
Brunswick, NJ is keynoter and will share his experience managing people,
equipment, systems and change in the presentation: Managing Manufacturing --
New Ideas, Talents, Skills and Vision.
·
Dave Belonger, staff consultant to AIChE's Center for Chemical
Process Safety (CCPS) and its Process and Plant Design for Security Project,
will lead a discussion in an area that has become critical to all of us –
Managing Security.
·
Dwight
Stoffel, principal plant
electrical/instrumentation engineer for an Atofina plant in Calvert City, will
speak to all of us in a presentation: Learning from the Past, Operating in
the Present, Preparing for the Future.
·
Other speakers will be
announced.
We will begin at 7:00 with
registration and a Continental breakfast and conclude at 2:45. The intervening
hours will include moderated presentations with lively discussion, beverage
breaks and a buffet lunch. All food and beverage functions will be in the
Solutions Marketplace – home of our sponsors.
Sponsors for this series of conferences include: Bentley Systems, Inc., J. D. Edwards & Company, OSI Software, Inc., A/E/C SYSTEMS and FIATECH.
The dates and venues for the remainder of the
series of one-day conferences is:
April 11
-- Chicago – Sheraton Chicago Northwest
May 9 --
Houston -- Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake
June 5 --
Anaheim, Calif. -- Anaheim Convention Center
With Compliments from PlantSuccess: All
paid conference attendees and speakers will receive a subscription to Chemical
Engineering Magazine (Valid for new subscriptions only.)
Continue to look for
information at our new website, recently launched and still at http://www.plantsuccess.com/ For clarification, answers to questions and
registration, please call 770-565-3282.
Regards, Carl
Howk.
Chairman
***************************************************************
PlantSuccess Close-Up:
More Important Sponsors
***************************************************************
·
Bentley Systems, Inc. – A premier provider of technology for creating,
modifying, managing, visualizing and delivering architectural and engineering
information as it evolves through an asset’s life.
·
J. D Edwards & Company –
A leader in Enterprise
Asset Management (EAM) technology including integration with enterprise resource
planning (ERP) systems.
·
OSI Software, Inc. – A leading global supplier of software products for
managing information in the process manufacturing industries.
******************
Current Links
*******************
A view from the Cato
Institute: The Most Destructive High-Tech Legislative Measures of the
107th Congress.
From the Executive
Summary:
“The past year was a
difficult one for the high-technology and telecommunications sectors of the U.S.
economy. Massive layoffs, plunging stock prices, dismal earning reports,
bankruptcies, and a host of other problems plagued this market. Market mania and
the general economic downturn were primary causes of the tech sector's woes.
Once bad times hit, over-inflated tech stocks experienced a meteoric
fall.
“It is worth considering
whether some of the tech sector's troubles can be linked to the uncertainty
caused by the threat of increasing regulation. Whereas legislative attitudes in
previous sessions of Congress were hands-off in nature, the year 2001 saw
policymakers introduce hundreds of bills that deal with tech policy
matters.”
From a bill proposing
another "break-up" of America's telecommunications system (S. 1364) and bills
authorizing a multi-state tax cartel that would impose taxes on the Net (S. 512
and H.R. 1410) and much in between that are cited by the Cato Institute as being
the worst of the bills proposed -- generally not passed -- in the last session
of congress. READ FULL
REPORT.
·
Riding
the Corporate Knowledge Curve
“Many industries are
faced with a shrinking pool of knowledgeable workers at a time when the demand
for their expertise is increasing. For the chemical industry, this dilemma is
creating serious brain drain. Research by Accenture's Institute for Strategic Change
indicates that the chemical industry is suffering the effects of decades of
corporate staff reductions, retiring Baby Boomers and difficulty attracting new
talent to the industry.”
This is an important issue
for all companies, not just chemical companies. READ
FULL STORY.
The PlantSuccess Newsletter
generates a substantial number of visits to our website, we welcome the interest
and the access to previous issues of the Newsletter which are available there.
If you'd like to share this newsletter with a colleague, just forward a copy.
Subscribe or cancel by sending a request to Carl.Howk@PlantSuccess.com
Full
links to Volume II, Issue 5 Newsletter articles:
1. http://www.plantsuccess.com/
7.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-423es.html
8.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa423.pdf
9.
http://www.accenture.com/xd/xd.asp?it=enWeb&xd=industries/resources/chemical/chem_know.xml