Those of us who live in the United States probably have or will soon receive a check from the U.S. Treasury, issued as part of the government's economic stimulus act. I expect mine any day now, but I haven't decided how to use it, so I ask you, our wise, worldly and experienced Plant Services readers – what do you think I should do with it?

How can we spend our stimulus checks in a way that will do the most for our economy?

What other ways to improve the economy would you recommend?

The idea here is to spend it in a way that grows the economy. Should I roll the dice with some stock in an es ...

As we move deeper into Web 2.0, we want to know what you want from this Web site. Do you like what we have? Do you have ideas for better content? Are we delivering useful content via videos, wikis and blogs, or are we not using these technologies properly. We want you to tell us how to do our job. And this space is exactly where you can do it. Just fill out the comment section below, and we'll gladly discuss your requests. ...

I'm going to share a secret with the blog readers. It's cheaper for our print publication to send you our magazine digitally than it is to use traditional mail. Shocking news, I know. In addition to postage savings, there's significant printing savings, etc. And if you're reading this web site, you probably have a pretty good handle on efficiency and cost savings. Of course, it's the American-trained mind to think that cheaper is automatically less quality. That's simply not true in this case. In addition to saving us a few bucks, you get the following by subscribing to the digital editi ...

When I go to the grocery store, or most stores, I head directly for what I want, grab it and buy it. My wife meanders the aisles and carefully contemplates everything on the aisle as if she might actually purchase it. Even though we both know that there is no way she's buying that weird apple/grape combo fruit called the Grapple.

Web sites aren't much different than grocery stores. They each have their own layout, and you feel more comfortable in some more than others. For the most part, though, you take the same approach every time ...

Ok, reliability has been present on PS.com since its inception, but now it's just easier to get the information. Sometimes, instituting reliability best practices can seem cumbersome, unweildly and unrealistic. And since it's an inexact science, case study scenarios don't always apply to the individual. With that in mind, PS.com has launched a new "Reliability Tips" e-newsletter (view an example, or better yet, subscribe). The e-newsletter, authored by ...

It's not related to overindulgence in powerful potables, but I do have an observation hanging over from Labor Day.

On Monday, I repeatedly heard and read about how U.S. workers are the most productive in the world -- generating about $64,000 apiece in goods and services, some 15% ahead of anyone else including Europe's best, according to an International Labor Organization report issued that day.

Working more hours explains part of the higher output, but not all of ...

If you have your doubts about the value of Web 2.0, the wisdom of the crowd as opposed to the expert, and, especially, "blogs," well, so do we. So when I heard about Andrew Keen's assertion that the Web is diluting and draining important traditional resources (The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture), I wanted to hear more. If you're interested, I urge you to give a listen to this NPR interview but before you go, let me assure you our intention is to leverage the technology to add a dimens ...

If you just arrived via our latest e-newsletter, let me thank you for subscribing, reading and clicking! Your satisfaction is very important to us, and here's a great way to tell us (in front of everybody) what you think of the e-newsletters and any topics or improvements you'd like to see. Go ahead, make our day -- we can take it! ...

Working on September’s cover story about how to foster a culture of safety, I tripped over a statistic that says more manufacturing workers are injured off the job than on it. Consider the fact that many of these folks work in environments where safety is truly a concern and a high priority. They are given safety training and are even taught about common off-the-job hazards and offered appropriate safety equipment to use at home.

I have to wonder and worry about the vast number of other people who never receive any formal hazard awareness instruction – people who spend their whole working ...

Being an editor these days, I no longer get to experience plant-floor frustrations in person. So I appreciate the insight we get when any of you write or call with your stories. An anecdote that seems everyday and even uninteresting to you can help us keep the right mindset and guide our coverage to your best advantage. Meanwhile, here's an editor's story:

Right now I have an old machine that corroded enough to spring a leak, which I was able to stop with a temporary repair before the leak did much damage, and put the machine immediately back in production. When it leaks again, it may d ...