By the Numbers

Staff -- Control Engineering, 6/1/2006

7 books are published by the B.F. Skinner Foundation; a famous Skinner quote is: "The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do." Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990) was a U.S. psychologist. www.bfskinner.org

2^nd look, is what you need to take, if you're thinking about moving your operation offshore, says the Save Your Factory initiative sponsored by Fanuc Robotics. The site encourages manufacturers to analyze technology advantages, lean manufacturing and quality-enhancing techniques, process improvements, robotic automation, and the total costs involved before off-shoring manufacturing. www.saveyourfactory.com

4 considerations in the OSHA Safety and Health Management eTool are: return on investment, integration of safety and health into everyday practices, safety check-up indicators, and ways to create change. www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/safetyhealth/index.html

25% more diesel fuel will be used in 2012 (more than 45 billion gal/yr), compared to today's levels, according to U.S. EPA estimates; just-in-time manufacturing, faster delivery services, and more Internet purchasing increase ground transport mileage. www.epa.gov/smartwaymanufacturers

5 new publications are expected from EEMUA in 2006, including a guide to the effective use of the risk-based inspection process, guidelines on the specification of pressure vessels, and an update of the design guide for electrical safety of instrument control panels. Training offered includes alarm management. Engineering Equipment & Material Users' Association www.eemua.co.uk

8 languages are offered on the new Tyco Electronics site; link in upper right leads to a page that summarizes changes, offers guided tours of changes, and gives a table of old and new names for various areas. www.tycoelectronics.com

9 other open architecture and standard integration specification efforts are mentioned at the home page for the OMAC API working group, part of the Open Modular Architecture Controls User's Group. OMAC API seeks to develop a specification that defines an intelligent, closed-loop controller environment, such as application portability at the source level, interoperability of modules, and extensibility of controller functionality. www.isd.mel.nist.gov/projects/omacapi/

57% of U.S. citizens say they would consider buying a hybrid vehicle when making their next car purchase, according to the Gallup polling organization www.poll.gallup.com 40mpg.org

30,000,000 lb/sq in. is a typical value of the elastic limit for steel. The Modulus of Elasticity E (static) is the initial slope of the stress versus strain curve, where Hooke's Law applies. Typical value is about 10,000,000 lb/sq in. for aluminum. www.vibrationandshock.com/glossary.htm

37% of respondents to a Control Engineering/Reed Corporate Research survey cited insufficient on-site staff as the reason they used less than 75% of their current process automation system capabilities. For other reasons, see Product Research this issue. www.controleng.com/archive