In his last State of the Union, President Bush urged Congress,
scientists, farmers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders to pursue the
goal of reducing gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next decade. A
projected 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels would
replace gasoline consumption.
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The European Commission also proposed actions leading to the use of
a single European energy grid instead of the old, fractured ones that
can't serve trans-continent supply chains. According to Gregor
Czisch, an energy systems expert at the University of Kassel in Berlin,
the goals are possible in just a few years with construction of a
direct-current super grid that would meet the demands of an area
spanning 50 countries. That's more than one billion people!
But how many companies? And what will be required of them to power
business from a green energy life force?
On the path of transforming their processes, products, facilities,
and modes of transportation, energy-intensive companies are undergoing
many and various changes. At the same time, mind-boggling technologies
are being developed to reserve and recycle power: sensors and automation
systems, recirculation burners, and advanced ceramics. Energy is the
latest big, meaningful word shaping industry.
Thomas Westerkamp writes in this issue that going green isn't
easy (page 37). A business consultant and contributing author to
Maynard's Industrial Engineering Handbook, Westerkamp introduces
techniques in energy management. From creating power monitoring programs
to identifying peak demands and cost savings opportunities with a Pareto
analysis, he shares how industry leaders can help meet these energy
demands.
As systems people, IEs know that measurement must come before
control. In this issue, you'll also read what type of built
environment measures the value of human factors (page 32), how the home
of 40 animal species measured lean success (page 42), and how your
inventory should be measured on the balance sheet (page 47).
I invite you to measure the merit of your publication. Please send
me your reactions, ideas, questions, and submissions. Many thanks!
Candi S. Cross
Managing Editor
COPYRIGHT 2008 Institute of Industrial Engineers,
Inc. (IIE) Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Copyright 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights
reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.