Blogs

What does it take to Win and Ergo Cup®? A village of Volunteers!  Yes, that's what it is.  Anyone who has participated in the competition has heard me say that,  " To be a finalist at the competition is an honor.  To win is an achievement of a lifetime! For these teams, it’s like winning an Oscar!" The internationally recognized Ergo Cup® competition, sponsored by the Ergonomics Center of North Carolina and Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at North Carolina State University and presented by IISE , provides an exciting opportunity for companies to highlight their successful ergonomic solutions. The general theme across all Ergo ...

Recently, I had the privilege of representing members of the Institute and the ISE profession at the Engineering Public Policy Symposium in Washington, D.C., alongside IISE Immediate Past President Joe Hartman and IISE CEO Don Greene. It’s so important to be visible, make connections, and stay involved and informed with key players when and wherever possible throughout the year. And, we successfully achieved these objectives in D.C. It was a memorable trip and we made our mark as the public face of our association and profession.   It’s just as important that all of us make our mark and aim for visibility, knowledge-sharing and connections in our own lives ...

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” – Henry Ford Whether you are an ISE novice or a seasoned professional, ongoing learning is essential and a key ingredient to fulfillment in all aspects of our lives and livelihoods. A steady diet of learning is our very own continuous improvement regimen that will help us excel personally and professionally all the while making a difference in bottom lines.   So, where do you stand on your learning spectrum? Like anything else we pursue, we need a plan to go after our goals and achieve them. ...

It hasn’t happened in 30 years. During the recent 2018 Applied Ergonomics Conference (AEC) in Atlanta, the attendees heard a rare and important announcement. A new IISE society was launched and its proud name is – drum roll, please – the Applied Ergonomics Society (AES).   Here is the emblem that our in-house designer Kelli Huffman created for the new society to give it distinction and pizazz; its brand. On March 27, hundreds of participants attending the keynote presentation by David Cochran, professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, saw the society become a reality. It truly is a testament to ergonomists worldwide, many of whom have ...

Hands-on Learning isn't just for sewing, cooking or painting; A common name for Experiential Learning, this idea of immersing oneself in a subject in order to learn, has been around since 350 BCE. Aristotle wrote, "for the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them".  Two thousand years later, this idea became popular due to the backing of famous psychologists such as Jean Piaget, Kurt Lewin and John Dewey. Experiential Learning quickly became a staple in American education beginning in the 1950s. Reference   http://info.thinkfun.com/stem-education/the-importance-of-hands-on-learning What does this have to do with your company? A ...

February 5, 2018 | Advanced Manufacturing , Manufacturing USA , National Network for Manufacturing Innovation The National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Technology, Subcommittee on Advanced Manufacturing published a Request for Information – National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing. This RFI solicits input from the public on ways to improve government coordination and on long-term guidance for federal programs and activities in support of United States manufacturing competitiveness, including advanced manufacturing research and development that will create jobs, grow the economy across multiple industrial sectors, strengthen national ...

Hello IISE Connect- My name is Karl Kraebber.  I am a member of the Society for Health Systems Board of Directors within IISE.  I am the board liaison for the experience professionals committee that is chaired by John Elliott.  We are looking to engage the experienced professionals within the society by using the new IISE Connect platform.  We are going to be pushing out routine blog posts on a wide variety of topics but most focused on sharing our experience regarding such topics as the application of process improvement tools/methodologies in healthcare; transitioning from practitioner to manager to leader; development of skills necessary to advance; and ...

Digital technology adds improvement to century-old measurement tool By Adrienne J. Dickerson and Larry Aft Although time studies have been used for more than 100 years, the advances in digital recording technology offer some opportunities to improve upon the accuracy of this valuable measurement system. Work measurement is performed to develop the standard time to perform operations. Time standards traditionally have been defined as the time required by a typical operator, working at a normal pace, to perform a specified task using a prescribed method, with time for personal, fatigue and delay allowed. Time standards, work standards – or just standards ...

Critical care unit improves throughput, works-in progress – and saves lives By Satya S. Chakravorty Mindfulness is defined as the "enhanced attention to, and awareness of, current reality or the task on hand." Mindfulness promotes an understanding among individuals of how their actions contribute to improving process performance. It is the ability to hang on to current ideas or concepts, remember them and not allow distractions to obscure them. Mindfulness keeps the mind "steady as a rock" instead of bobbing about like a pumpkin in water. Steadfastness is a principal characteristic of mindfulness, and combined with a razor-sharp focus on an objective ...