PlantSuccess Newsletter
Volume III, Issue 19
10 September 2003
Dear
Subscriber:
Recently,
I commented to a friend about a license plate frame on his car with the phrase
“9-11-01 — We’ll Never Forget.” He told me it is important to him because he
sees it often and thinks of the most devastating attack on our soil that launched
a war on terrorism that will continue to be unlike any war we have ever known
-- including our multiple tours in Vietnam so many years ago. He reminded
me how fortunate we are that we lost neither family nor close friends on that
horrible day and that our sons and daughters are not in harms’ way in Afghanistan
or Iraq. Of course, he’s right; we must not forget.
I have
reviewed what I wrote in the PlantSuccess Newsletter the day after 9-11-01 and
at the time of the first-year anniversary. I still believe that event has changed
our lives and how most of us view the world around us – forever. It is critical
that we win this war, which will be long, drawn-out and costly. “Failure is
not an option,” the famous line by Gene Kranz, Director of Mission
Operations at Johnson Space Center, in charge of getting the damaged Apollo
13 spacecraft and its three-man crew safely back to earth, is apropos.
This year,
we are again completing plans for another unique PlantSuccess conference, at
the PHL Airport Marriott, as we did last year and just three weeks after the
terrorist attacks. PlantSuccess Northeast 2003 is our 5th
anniversary event in the Philadelphia area; we are very pleased and grateful
for the strong support from so many decision makers with the area’s leading
process manufacturers.
In
September ’99, as keynote, Jim Porter, DuPont’s VP of engineering and
operations, set the stage for the inaugural conference, made unique by its
focus on engineering IT and the owner-operator. Innovative managers with Air
Products, Bayer, Chevron, Duke Energy, Elf Atochem, Rohm and Haas, Solutia and
Unilever followed his lead. PlantSuccess ’99 was the venue chosen to
launch the Owner-Operator Forum, later merged with FIATECH.
In a short
period of time, PlantSuccess has built an enviable reputation for outstanding
content: actively moderated sessions and industry leaders addressing business
drivers, impact on work processes and integration requirements. Follow-on
keynoters also have had responsibility for engineering, operations or manufacturing
with major chemicals companies: Tom Archibald (Rohm and Haas), Kurt Wilson
(Bayer) and Hermann Ortega (Air Products and Chemicals). Year after year,
these executives have set the conference table for outstanding speaker rosters
with a broad range of industry leaders. Agendas from previous conferences and
most presentations are available for review and download at www.PlantSuccess.com.
PlantSuccess
Northeast 2003, with its theme “Best Practices Driving Plant Performance”
will be another outstanding event. Jim Porter returns as keynote with
the address “Six Sigma and Best Manufacturing Practices: Delivering
Powerhouse Performance.” Porter will provide the framework for several
outstanding speakers, including: Karan Sorensen of Johnson & Johnson,
Bob Fraga with the US Postal Service and Sue Jones of Merck. This
year’s conference also features several panel discussions, including:
We welcome
new sponsors, Chicago-based Mill
Creek Systems, with new software that provides complete raster/hybrid
editing capabilities inside MicroStation, one of the industry’s commonly used
CAD systems. And, BDMetrics (Baltimore)
a pioneer in a new industry -- Business Development Automation software.
BDMetrics offers its analytic capabilities via a web portal and utilizes
sophisticated data mining and value analysis algorithms to identify and assess
the value of potential deals. Company executives claim an 80 percent reduction
in deal cycle times and a successful track record helping organizations achieve
unconventional alliances that add value through differentiation and new revenue
streams.
A complete
agenda, additional information for PlantSuccess Northeast 2003, online
conference registration and registration information for the PHL Airport
Marriott will be available at www.PlantSuccess
by the end of this week. Join us.
Best
regards,
Carl. Howk,
Chairman
*****************
Current
Links
*****************
Change
Management: A New Model for Success
Harvard
Business Review editor-at-large, Nicholas G. Carr, author of the opinion
piece "Why IT Doesn't Matter" published in the May 2003
issue of HBR has spawned many articles; here’s one from AMR Research analyst
Bob Parker with the claim: “… the valuable distinguishing element is not
the technology but the organizations that manage it” -- the same conclusion reached at every PlantSuccess and why we
focus on the owner-operator with presentations addressing business drivers,
impact on work processes and integration requirements. READ MORE
and join us at PlantSuccess Northeast 2003 for a session on Change Management
August Manufacturing ISM Report
On Business®
The
respected National Association of Purchasing Management has become the
Institute for Supply Management™ <ISM.ws>. Their national report always provides sound
information
The
headline: "The manufacturing sector showed improvement for the second
month as the PMI is at its highest level since December of last year. Though
two months of growth do not establish a trend, there is strength in the various
segments of this report that we have not seen for some time. New Orders and
Production have both been above 50 percent for four consecutive months; the
continuation of a second half recovery appears on track." READ
MORE.
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 III, Issue 19 Newsletter articles: