SUNDAY, JULY 21, 1985

Business and finance

Farm and agribusiness
MOHET
Change
is normal
for museum
Iowa Arboretum
serves as educational
tool as well as
living exhibit
(Farm news, page 8E)
SECTION E
House hook
Premiums in realty market
(Your Money, page 2E)
Fiower expert
Art, philosophy important
(Farm, page 9E)
Thats no farm building at Fairfax
Norands
test building
includes no
metal parts
By George C. Ford
Gazette assistant financial editor
esidents of Fairfax
have been talking
about a new building
on the northwest edge of
town for the last couple of
months.
In outward appearance, it
looks like any other farm
building in the surrounding countryside. But the vinyl
sided, 30-foot-talI structure is by no means a new barn
or machinery storage building.
Custom built by Harvest Hill Construction Co. and
leased to Norand Corp., the structure soon will be a
sophisticated test site for electromagnetic interference.
What makes the building unusual is that it contains
no metal not one nail, bolt or plate.
SUCH A BUILDING is required, says Mike Howard, a
Norand engineer, to accurately measure
electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by
microprocessor chips found in many of todays
computerized toys, games, microwaves and other
devices.
"We live in an environment where our electronic
products have a certain degree of electronic noise or
electronic pollution, said Howard. "The
microprocessor used in many devices is like a radio
transmitter and receiver in that it transmits and
receives electromagnetic signals.
"The building will be used to test our products to
make sure we dont contribute to this electronic
pollution. It will also ensure were not susceptible to the
same interference from other devices.
Howard said such testing is required by a federal
agency and many foreign countries following the
explosion of microprocessor-controlled devices in the
early 70s.
"The Federal Communications Commission adopted a
regulation that manufacturers of electronic devices,
such as computerized equipment, must design their
equipment so as not to interfere with other forms of
radio communication, said Howard. "We have to test
to make sure we are not contributing external radio
emissions from our equipment that might cause such
interference.
"To do this, certain tests must be employed to make
sure our data agrees with that obtained by the FCC. The
FCC and American National Standards Institute have
set standards for the construction of the test site.
'"rhe building needs to be non-metallic to ensure that
we dont get reflections from metallic walls, metallic
fasteners or nearby metallic objects. 'These reflections
could either add to or cancel our test results, making
them vary from those that might be obtained by the
FCC or another test site.
WHAT CAN HAPPEN when electromagnetic signals
go astray? Howard cited several cases that led to FCC-
mandated testing and licensing of equipment containing
microprocessors.
"When personal computers were introduced in
Portland, Ore., in the early 70s, it was determined that
they were interfering with the towns police radio
system, said Howard.
"There was an electronic cash register at Dulles
International Airport that was interfering with ground
control communications located a mile away. Every
time someone would use the cash register, no one was
able to use the ground control communications system.
The problem took a more serious turn recently when
a plane attempting to land kept losing its glide slope
signal. The trouble was traced to a passenger using his
personal computer, prompting a call for a total ban on
personal computer use in commercial aircraft.
HOWARD SAID EMI has become a special concern
for automotive manufacturers, prompting companies to
build sophisticated, multimillion-dollar test facilities.
"Ford, Chrysler and General Motors have a much
more complex form of testing because their customers
are placing 100-watt radios in their autos, said
Howard. "The companies have to make sure those
Please turn to page 3E: Norand
Gazette photos by John Mclvor
Abovo: A new Norand Corp
testing facility resembles many of
the farm buildings surrounding
Fairfax, but with a distinctive
difference it contains no
metal. Nylon nails were used in
place of conventional nails and
wooden pegs were employed to
build the roof trusses.
Left: The large nail was used
to construct the exterior walls,
roofing shingles were attached
with the medium size nail and the
small fastener was employed to
attach vinyl siding.
Buck Hill likes a challenge
Many of the ideas
we used are fairly
conventional
By George C. Ford
C
onstruction of the new Nor
and Corp. non-metallic elec
tronic t e s t i n g facility
presented a special challenge for
Buck Hill, the contractor.
"You get into these things and
they say 'Can you build this for
us? said Hill, president of Harvest
Hill Construction Co. "Well, well
give it a try. Its something no one
else in this area has done. Theres
an element of pride involved, but
the challenge is there as well.
The building Hill agreed to con
struct and lease on a five-year basis
presented some special problems.
Unlike conventional structures, it
had to be held together without the
benefit of metal nails, bolts or
plates.
Hill researched various fasteners,
finally settling on nylon bolts nor
mally used to fasten materials to
concrete.
"We built a section of wall in our
shop, he said. "Normally, we can
take a section of plywood nailed to a
frame and take it off fairly easily.
"We glued the plywood to the
frame with adhesive and then used
the nylon bolts to strengthen the
bonding. I took a large framing
hammer and tried to knock the
plywood loose, but all I succeeded
in doing was delaminating the
plywood. It didnt budge the nylon
bolts.
THE FOUR WALLS of the build
ing were built at the plant and
hauled to the construction site, Hill
said.
A crane used to lift them into
position cracked some of the two-
by-sfxes under the shfeer weight of
the sections, but failed'lo break any
of the nylon bolts or fracture the
joints.
Building the wooden roof trusses
presented another problem.
"We wanted to find the strongest
wood possible to make wooden
dowels, said Hill. "After checking
at Lumberland, where we bought
most of our materials, we settled on
birch. We felt it was the strongest
American wood available locally.
"We probably put about 450 feet
of birch dowels in those trusses. . .
They were dipped in adhesive and
then driven into the holes in the
beams. You couldnt drive them out
now with a chisel.
NEXT CAME the problem of
what type of roofing to use. After
initially considering and rejecting
rolled roofing. Hill used convention
al shingles, but with one difference.
"We used the same kind of nylon
bolt that we used on the exterior
boards and walls, only slightly
shorter, he said. "We had to drill
each shingle and then drive in a
nylon bolt to secure the shingle,
"Actually many of the ideas we
used, including the wooden pegs,
are fairly conventional. The building
itself is conventional in design and
Please turn to 3E: Hill
TOM
PETERS
Tribune Media
Services
ON EXCELLENCE
Bias to yes
brings creativity
in organization
T
o a naive ob
server, the ex
ecutive vice
president of a $10
billion aerospace con-,
tractor appears to
have much more con
trol over his destiny
than does the teen-
aged captain (driver)
on a jungle boat ride
at Disneyworld in Or
lando, Fla,
Looks, however,
can be deceiving.
When I talk, in turn,
to the executive vice
president and to the jungle boat driver, I
find that the reverse is actually true.
The jungle boat driver is, of course,
terribly constrained. All one has to do is
glance at his script: His "spiel is laid out in
great detail, including some 30 or so
approved variations.
That doesnt leave him much room to
roam!
The executive vice president, on the other
hand, has line operational control over about
$5 billion of assets. The corporate policy
manual says he has millions of dollars of
personal sign-off authority. In addition, he
has a corporate jet at his disposal full time.
NEVERTHELESS, the executive vice
president sees himself as trapped in a tiny
box.
When I sat at dinner with him recently, he
lamented that, "I really agree with all that
youre saying but I just cant do it because of
the chairman of the company. (I had just
made a speech covering the five major
points in my new book A Passion for
Excellence.)
The opposite is true of the jungle boat
driver. He believes its his ride and his
responsibility to make that ride perfect for
his guests. (Guest is Disneys term for
customer.) He alone is responsible for
making Walts dream real to those guests.
How did this disparity in views emerge? A
recent PBS show based on In Search of
Excellence highlighted the Disneyworld
training process. Although the young jungle
boat driver is given a very detailed script
and many other limiting regulations, the vast
majority of his training focuses on the
opportunity and responsibility he has to
make the guest feel good, to get him or her
"into the ride. The driver is made aware
that he is the 1985 living embodiment of
Walt.
THE READY analogy is to a star like
Katharine Hepburn. She gets a script for a
Broadway drama. There are no permitted
variations. But that hardly limits the scope
of the world-class actress who is renowned
for her creative interpretations of roles.
Likewise, the stores in The Limited chain
have a very formulaic approach to in-store
Please turn to lOE: Peters
iHTHISmm.
WE mi REVIEW
Heard any good books lately?
Cedar Rapids
buyers prefer
self-help tapes
By George C. Ford
Gazette assistant financial editor
Americans have a fascination
with doing two things at one time.
For some, its riding an exercise
bike while watching a favorite
soap opera. Businessmen like
using a personal computer while
flying from one city to another.
Still others, faced with a scarci
ty of spare time, enjoy listening to
a favorite book on their personal
cassette player while jogging, driv
ing or biking.
James Henley, vice president of
Merchants National Bank, has
enjoyed particular success with
motivation tapes.
"I was reading a newspaper
article about it one day and I
decided to give it a try, said
Henley, "I got hooked on them and
I use them driving to and from
work.
Henley said motivational tapes
have proven especially useful
when he has made a long trip,
such as a drive to Des Moines for a
meeting.
"It kind of pumps you up when
youre going into a meeting to
have that positive reinforcement,
he said. "It makes you receptive to
other ideas because it makes you
think about other alternatives. Its
a good way to keep your mind
clean.
KAY DAVISSON, manager of B.
Dalton Bookseller, Lindale Mali,
says Cedar Rapids residents have
expressed a particular interest in
self-help tapes.
"A lot of people dont have the
time to read a book, so they use
the cassette as a substitute, she
said, "We are seeing the greatest
interest in the area of self-help
tapes, such as 'Stop Smoking or
'Personal Improvement,'
"All the management cassettes
are primarily tailored toward men,
while the self-help or personal
improvement tapes seem to be
tailored toward women. Tom Pe
ters' 'In Search of Excellence
would be a good example of a tape
appealing to businessmen,
Davisson said the books availa
ble on tape range from abridged
versions of classics to fairly recent
best-sellers, such as Ken Folletts
"On Wings of Eagles.
IN ADDITION to lack of time,
Davisson said eye strain and age
are other reasons the cassettes are
becoming popular.
"I have to do an awful lot of
reading in my occupation, she
said, "Sometimes my eyes just
give out. Its much easier to put a
cassette on and listen to a best
seller, rather than trying to read it.
"We have a lot of older people
who have poor eyesight and use a
magnifying glass, but are not
classified as legally blind. While
unable to use the 'Talking Book
program, they are able to buy the
cassettes and keep up on their
reading,
"We also carry a wide selection
of the old-time radio shows, such
as 'Amos and Andy, Jack Benny
and 'W.C. Fields. They are partic
ularly popular with older people
who enjoy returning to programs
heard years ago.
WHILE BOOKS on cassette are
becoming more popular, Davisson
does not see them replacing
books. She said Dayton-Hudson
Corp., the owner of B, Dalton
Bookseller stores, classifies them
as "accessories.
"If the community wants them,
were going to carry them as a
service or courtesy, she said,
"They wont be one of our primary
products. We consider them acces-
Please turn to JOE: Tapes
h t