for the greater good

Mechanical Engineering, Apr 2008 by Falcioni, John G

For several months, Gabriella, the 13-year-old daughter of a dear friend, complained frequently of headaches and blurred vision. After numerous visits to several doctors, she was diagnosed with optic disc swelling caused by a rare syndrome called pseudotumor cerebri-meaning that excessive intracranial pressure exists but without the presence of a brain tumor, which is often the root cause of such pressure.

After struggling emotionally with the diagnosis and debating the difficult options of how best to care for this ailment-which, if left untreated, could lead to blindness-my friend followed the advice of a neurosurgeon to treat the symptom with a shunt, which facilitates the drainage of cerebrospinal fluid and alleviates the pressure.

Gabriella had successful neurosurgery last month and doctors are optimistic that she will have a full recovery. The shunt typically used for such a procedure is a one-way valve-essentially a flow-control product.

Because we've become so used to it when designing and manufacturing products, or when writing about them, we tend to take for granted the direct link between engineering and its effect on our lives. Today, I need no reminder. Gabriella is slowly on her way to normalcy, thanks to the steady hand of an experienced neurosurgeon and to the engineers whose product the surgeon used.

The focus on manufacturing in this month's issue, and especially the article by Associate Editor Alan Brown, "Big Stage for a Small Idea," on miniature-size parts assembly, provides a thoughtful overview of the range of applications possible as mechanical parts continue to shrink. Brown tells us about parts for cameras, military systems, and medical devices. He also tells us that just as products are getting smaller, so are the factories that manufacture them.

When Gabriella awoke from surgery, her big brown eyes still groggy but with a smile forming on her lips as she saw her family surrounding her hospital bed, nobody gave much thought to any engineer. And that's just fine, since the reason most engineers choose their work is to help solve problems and not to receive praise.

One such engineer,Joseph M.Juran, who helped establish the field of quality management, passed away recently at the age of 103. Juran was a Fellow of ASME and an Honorary Member, ASME s highest award.

Juran is credited with being the agent of change who helped Japan implement "total quality" into its industry more than 50 years ago. This helped that country shake off a previously shoddy image as a maker of cheap and inferior products.

Juran's work in quality management also led to the development of the widely practiced business methodologies known as Six Sigma and lean manufacturing. He also was the first to apply the Pareto principle to quality issues. Known also as the 80-20 rule, the Pareto principle states that 80 percent of the consequences come from 20 percent of the causes.

When Juran was 75, he founded the Juran Institute, a business consulting and training firm. The purpose of the institute, he said, was to improve the quality of society, an attitude, he thought, that all businesses should adopt. "Whatever you do," he's been quoted as saying, "make sure it improves society. Don't just do it for the sake of profit."

Certainly, Juran was right. There is a greater good than profit in engineering. Gabriella and her family will attest to that.

JOHN G. FALCKMUI, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

John Falcioni can be reached by e-mail at falcionij@asme.org