We are not expecting 350,000+ people as at the parade, but we will be celebrating the six time Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl Champions!!!  We rescheduled this networking event due to the weather, and now it is a Super Bowl victory celebration.  (Btw, the current forecast on weather.com is for 43 degrees!) Get up and out to network with Pittsburgh's best engineerig community!  Given the current economic outlook, it is important to keep your network fresh and your contact list growing.  This event will give you the opportunity to do so.  In the spirit of continuous improvement, we will also be reviewing a few networking skills at the beginning of this year's first IIE event.

Feel free to invite co-workers, your boss, and anyone else interested in industrial engineering.  Not everyone who practices industrial engineering has an IE degree, and certainly not everyone with an IE degree has Industrial Engineer in their title!  What better way to introduce them to IIE than one of our always fun networking nights!  We will also be presenting special door prizes at this event - including membership rebates for non-members - so don't miss out on the fun, food, and prizes!

There is plenty of free parking in the double deck lot behind the buildings or the gravel lot across the street. Note – The brewing operation has been shut down, and the restaurant will onlly be at the current locatiion through the end of February. Come enjoy this historic locatiion before the restaurant relocates!

COST:  $10* per person for members & $5 for non-members; free for recently graduated students.
                         *$5 discount for members who bring a non-member to the event!

RSVP:  Deadline is Noon on Monday, February 23.

Contact Lisa Crognale via e-mail at crognale@ppg.com or call 412-434-2786 or reply to evite sent to you by e-mail to your address on record. 

REMEMBER:  AS ALWAYS, YOUR RESERVATION IS YOUR COMMITMENT!

What do you want to see in our chapter’s 2009 programs schedule?

Networking? Educational opportunities or on-site tour events? Community service? Come share your opinions with us at our Chapter Programming night! We want the IIE Pittsburgh Chapter to help you get what you need to keep your IE skills sharp and to make you valuable to your company. Feel free to invite anyone you know that has an interest in or practices Industrial Engineering. Our Chapter Programming Night will be a great chance for them to see what we will be up to for the rest of the year!

Directions can be found at the website - click on the hyperlink above. Parking garages/lots are conveniently located to the left and right of the Cafe.

COST:  $10* per person for members & $15 for non-members; free for students.

RSVP:  Deadline is Noon on Monday, March 23.

Contact Ron Coperich via e-mail at Ronald.coperich@us.hjheinz.com or call 412-237-5931 or reply to evite sent to you by e-mail to your address on record. 

REMEMBER:  AS ALWAYS, YOUR RESERVATION IS YOUR COMMITMENT!

For more than 40 years, MEDRAD, an affiliate of Bayer AG, has been committed to improving patient outcomes by developing innovative, cost-efficient products. MEDRAD was founded in 1964, when M. Stephen Heilman, M.D. created the first flow-controlled, angiographic power injector in the kitchen of his home near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An emergency room physician by day, “Doc” saw tremendous potential in angiography, a revolutionary X-ray technology that made it possible to visualize blood vessels inside the body. Power injecting a contrast agent into the vessels, he reasoned, would enhance the image and make it possible to diagnose the heart disease and stroke patients who regularly came through the emergency room. Doc's invention was the first in a long list of MEDRAD innovations. MEDRAD later introduced injector technology for computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and has become the leading provider of ancillary devices for the MR suite.” – MEDRAD History (www.medrad.com)
The MEDRAD plant tour will take place at their Electro Mechanical Plant. The plant manufactures vascular fluid delivery injection systems and accessories, including electronic injectors for MR, CT and CV environments. Over the past eight years, the plant has embarked on a lean journey that has gotten it national recognition. The plant won the Industry Weeks Best Plant Award and AME National Award in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The use of lean principle, human capital, and technology has propelled its manufacturing operations to excellence. In addition, the plant has augmented its resources to align with the contracting economy. A plant tour will provide insight into this low vol./high mix operation.

Contact Lisa Crognale via e-mail at crognale@ppg.com or call 412-434-2786 or reply to evite sent to you by e-mail to your address on record. 

REMEMBER:  AS ALWAYS, YOUR RESERVATION IS YOUR COMMITMENT!

The Elliott Company plant tour will take place at the US Headquarters in Jeannette, PA. The plant manufactures, assembles, and tests centrifugal and axial compressors and steam turbines.  Elliott Company  began the continuous improvement journey 6 years ago with a Six Sigma and Lean deployment into the organization.  The Jeannette facility was honored with the Pittsburgh Business Times Large Manufacturer of the Year award in 2008 and was recognized in 2009 for our team based project in ergonomics by The Center for Ergonomics and IIE.

Elliott Company continues to change its culture by moving forward with process innovation which aligns processes across business units versus the typical business unit approach.  A plant tour of the facility will highlight its evolution to process innovation.

WHEN:  Wednesday, August 27, 2009
                Registration and Introductions: 2:45-3:00 PM
                Process Innovation Presentation & Plant tour: 3:00-4:30 PM
                Dinner and Networking at Johnny's Restaurant: 5:00-7:00 PM

COST:  Program is free; pay for your own dinner. Dress is business casual.

RSVP:  Deadline is Wednesday, August 26.

Contact Lisa Crognale via e-mail at crognale@ppg.com or call 412-434-2786 or reply to evite sent to you by e-mail to your address on record. 

REMEMBER:  AS ALWAYS, YOUR RESERVATION IS YOUR COMMITMENT!

SPEAKER:   Roman Hlutkowsky
                        Senior Vice President, Human Resources, FedEx Ground
                        President-Elect and CFO, IIE

Roman Hlutkowsky has held a number of positions with FedEx and is
now the company's Senior Vice President, Human Resources. He is actively involved with IIE,
currently serving as President-elect, previously serving as Senior Vice President - Industry, from
2005-2007 and as founding chair of the Industry Advisory Board from 2005-2008. Hlutkowsky
has been a member of the Pittsburgh IIE chapter since 1989 and served as a member of our
chapter's Board of Directors from 1998 to 2005. He holds MSIE and BSIE degrees from the
University of Pittsburgh.

WHEN:  Thursday, October 15, 2009
                Registration and hors d’oeuvres: 6:00 PM
                Dinner: 7:00 PM
                Speaker: 8:00 PM

COST:  $35 for nonstudents; additional $30 to sponsor a student.  Free for student members.

              Menu (please select one at the time of reservation):

• Grilled Chicken with Balsamic dressing
• English Style Cod
• Stuffed Portobello Mushroom

RSVP:  Deadline is Friday, October 09.

Contact Karen Bursic via e-mail at kbursic@engr.pitt.edu or call 412-624-9837.  Be sure to indicate your menu selection when making your reservation. 

REMEMBER:  AS ALWAYS, YOUR RESERVATION IS YOUR COMMITMENT!

Located in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood, NREC is an operating unit within Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute (RI), the world's renowned and largest robotics research and development organization.

The NREC frequently adapts and refines technology developed at the Robotics Institute for industrial or government use.  A typical NREC project includes a rapid proof-of-concept demonstration followed by an in-depth development and testing phase that produces a robust prototype with intellectual property for licensing and commercialization. All through the process, the NREC applies best practices for software development, system integration, and field testing.

According to CMU, "Robotics is a multi-billion dollar emerging industry that is evolving rapidly and will have as much impact on our lives as the computer and internet...  CMU had a robot named "Boss" that drove 60 miles through a city obeying all of the laws of the road without an operator.  Predictions are that it will be routine for cars to drive people by 2025.  Robotics and intelligent systems are already ubiquitous in today's world."

Some of NREC's clients include Caterpillar, Inc., Consol Energy, Inc., Deere & Company, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Ecosphere Technologies, FedEx, Ford Motor Company, General Dynamics Corporation, NASA, US Army, US Marine Corps, and US Navy.  

As industrial engineers and professionals interested and involved in continuously improving productivity and quality and overall business performance outcomes, robotics is an interesting and intriguing topic that will be more and more a part of our lives and profession.  Come out and enjoy this rare tour and network with fellow members and invited CMU and NREC guests.  

CMU's National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC)
Ten 40th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201 US
Click for directions

COST:  The cost to attend this tour is $10.00, which includes food and soft drinks.

RSVP:  Deadline is Tuesday, November 03.

Contact Lisa Crognale via e-mail at crognale@ppg.com or call 412-434-2786 or reply to evite sent to you by e-mail to your address on record. 

REMEMBER:  AS ALWAYS, YOUR RESERVATION IS YOUR COMMITMENT!