By the Numbers

Staff -- Control Engineering, 8/1/2006

3 ways not to become extinct in manufacturing are to develop a clear vision that focuses on your customers' success; drive the waste out of all of your processes; and grow your people. So says David Hogg of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, in "Manufacturus Extinctus: Can North American Manufacturers Thrive in the Challenge of Change?" at www.controleng.com/article/CA6343154.html

36-block flowchart describes the procedures for harmonizing Association of Standardization and Certification (ANCE), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), and Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) standards. http://ulstandardsinfonet.ul.com

15 or more years ago is when patents expired on most products that Russian pharmaceutical manufacturers produce. The products are usually called "generics." www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c38338

910 worldwide, 411 U.S., and 16 Illinois suppliers of pressure transmitters are listed in the Control Engineering Buyer's Guide, online at www.cesuppliersearch.com

29 Technical Harmonization Committees are part of CANENA Council for Harmonization of Electrotechnical Standardization of North America, covering connectors, enclosures, industrial control equipment, rotating machines, and terminal blocks. www.canena.org

10 reasons why an electronics engineer has the blues are cited in a song by Test & Measurement World senior technical editor Martin Rowe. To read the lyrics or listen in, search on "The Measurement Blues" at www.tmworld.com

30 end-users were among 75 persons participating in the FDT Group's first international Roadshow, June 16 in Paris. Aim was to demonstrate benefits of using the open, interoperable FDT/DTM (field device tool/device type manager) technology in process automation, factory automation, and hybrid applications. Next roadshow is scheduled for Antwerp on Sept. 21, 2006. www.fdtgroup.org

8.7 million individuals have net financial assets of at least $1 million (excluding primary residence and consumables) in 2005, say Merrill Lynch and Capgemini in the recent "10th Anniversary Edition of the World Wealth Report." That's not to be confused with the "World Health Report 2006," by World Health Organization, estimates a "shortage of almost 4.3 million doctors, midwives, nurses, and support workers worldwide." www.capgemini.com. www.ml.com, www.who.int/whr/en

$100 is the target price for Nicholas Negroponte's "One Laptop Per Child Initiative," discussed at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) July 5-7, in San Diego. Negroponte, co-founder and chairman emeritus of MIT's Media Lab, was the July 6 keynote speaker at NECC, presented by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). http://laptop.org, www.iste.org

225,000 calls daily, approximately, are placed to 911 from wireless phones. Calls report car accidents, health emergencies, street crimes, drunk driving, domestic violence, and other dangerous situations that threaten human life or safety, says CTIA - The Wireless Association, an international organization representing wireless communications. www.ctia.org