PlantSuccess
Newsletter
Volume
III, Issue 12
4 June
2003
There is
seldom a day that can’t be consumed by current pressures and tasks.
Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to reflect on many historical events, some of
which continue their impact for a long, long time.
The
Ford Motor
Company was established June 16, 1903 and became the model for an
industry that was comprised of hundreds of automobile manufacturers. Few
prospered, many were acquired and more failed. I heard stories that the first
thing my grandfather did with a new car was to have it painted because most cars
were delivered black. Henry Ford may not have been a leader in styling; instead,
he defined assembly line manufacturing for decades.
Another
legend was born at this time – Bob Hope, May
29, 1903, in Eltham, England; he came to the US as a child. Celebrating the
centennial birthday this year is an appropriate achievement to cap an already
star-studded career. History’s most honored entertainer, Bob Hope was a success
on vaudeville, radio, TV and movies and remembered by millions of servicemen and
women for the USO tours he began in 1942 and continued almost every year through
1990, including nine visits to Vietnam
-- I can vouch for the impact he had soldiers and sailors
alike.
On June
2, 1953, we cheered the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the first
ascent to the summit of Mt. Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary, one of
only two from the expedition to reach the world’s tallest mountain peak. It was
reported then as having an elevation of 29,029 ft and updated in 1999 to 29,035
ft. He reached the goal after failure by seven major exhibitions between 1920
and 1952. During the 50 years since this heroic feat, almost 1,000 people have
reached the summit at least once, 120 corpses remain on the mountain. The best
year on Everest was 1993 when the survivor ratio was 16:1; the worst was 1996
when the survivor ratio was 6 1/2:1. A normal expedition lasts 60 to 90 days and
costs $35,000 to $70,000.
After
all of this experience, Mt Everest remains a formidable challenge. Sir Edmund
Hillary, a world-class hero, commented thus about his many successes, "In some
ways I believe I epitomise the average New Zealander: I have modest abilities, I
combine these with a good deal of determination, and I rather like to
succeed." This attitude would likely improve job satisfaction for all of
us.
We’re
working on our own anniversary celebration in 2003 – the 5th annual
PlantSuccess in the Philadelphia area, 15–16 October at the PHL Airport
Marriott. Jim Porter, DuPont’s Chief Engineer and VP of engineering and
operations, keynote for the inaugural event, returns as keynote for the
anniversary event. Visit http://www.plantsuccess.com/ to learn
more about this unique conference and to download presentations by industry
leaders from previous conferences. Plan to attend and mark your
calendar.
Best
regards,
Carl
Howk, Chairman
*****************
Current Links
*****************
Technology
needs to change the process, not just automate it.
We’ve
heard this statement for years; it is still appropriate as a reminder. From a
recent AMR Research article with a title with the attention grabbing
title: Realize Benefits From Enterprise
Applications--Or Else! The
piece includes information from an interview with Eli Goldratt and Theory
of Constraint (TOC) consultants. READ
MORE.
BearingPoint’s managing
director of the industrial markets group, discusses why industrial manufacturing
executives need to increase their supply chain visibility, better
manage product variability and increase velocity to improve
market share. READ
MORE
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Newsletter generates a substantial number of visits to our website, we welcome
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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 III, Issue 12 Newsletter articles: