Blogs - IISE Connect

The Hidden Applications of AI and Automation

By Tamara Wilhite posted 02-26-2020

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I attended a joint IISE student/professional chapter meeting at the University of Texas at Arlington last week. One of the presentations was about the evolving software and programming expectations on IE students. For example, they often learn Python but learn how to use it to process data as part of a core course. You can learn the programming language R in the DataCave, while SAS is still taught along with a variety of simulation software suites. They've improved the robotics lab since I was there, and knowing the basics of programming CNC machines is common. Yet it is the hidden applications of artificial intelligence and automation that are affecting the ...

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What is IE’s impact on the technology industry?

By David Harry posted 02-05-2020

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“Industrial Engineers focused on Operations Research were working on the early days of Machine Learning before the field was cool. The growth and advancement of artificial intelligence in our world today has come about by taking much of the analytical skills developed in an Operations Research curriculum and combining those skills with cheaper storage and faster processing. Today, industrial engineers are one of the best sources of talent for what has become the most important technology investment focus in our world today” - Barry Vandevier, Chief Operating Officer, Asurion About Asurion We help make your life easier by unlocking the potential ...

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TRIZ, the Russian Problem Solving Methodology

By Tamara Wilhite posted 01-13-2020

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I was asked by someone if TRIZ was the Russian equivalent to Six Sigma or Lean or some other continuous process improvement (CPI) methodology. My response was, “What is TRIZ?” And given all the various CPI acronyms out there, why hadn’t I heard of this one? What Is TRIZ? TRIZ is short for Theoria Resheneyva Isobretatelskehuh Zadach, Russian for Theory of Inventive Problem Solving. Translated to English, it is sometimes abbreviated to TIPS. The theory is credited to Genrich Altshuller and comrades; this is not a pun, since the man was working in the Soviet Union. And like many in the Soviet Union, he ended up in a labor camp, though since he ...

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An IE Christmas Tale by Tamara Wilhite

By Tamara Wilhite posted 12-25-2019

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Yes, Virginia, I’m an engineer. No, I don’t drive the trains near here I design all the toys you hold dear, Just like the computer sitting here I can make the digital camera go click And I know what makes it tick I design the little things that go inside Where all the data goes to hide I make the parts that make your toys beep Just as my friends designed your brother’s jeep Some special engineers know a bit more Both how to make it and to get it to the store Someone must piece each piece together Someone must tell them how to do it better That person, not average engineer, ...

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Learning from Tesla’s Mistakes

By Tamara Wilhite posted 12-03-2019

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This article isn’t about the cybertruck, the electric vehicle that looks like it wants to be a DeLorean and came out looking more like a set piece from “Bladerunner”. Instead, I’m going to analyze some of Tesla’s mistakes when it comes to manufacturing everything it tries to make. Automating Everything Elon Musk admitted in a 2018 interview that one of their mistakes was automating everything. In his interview with Gayle King, he described the complex network of conveyor belts they used. There were many other areas where they built machines that cost more to build and operate than it would cost to have a semi-skilled human do the job. Ironically, ...

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The Limitations of MRP and ERP Systems

By Tamara Wilhite posted 11-05-2019

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I originally published this article on Hubpages . Many people extol the benefits of MRP systems. Manufacturing requirements planning systems provide centralized inventory management and ties purchasing and inventory management with the production planning systems. However, we’re going to explore the limitations of MRP and ERP systems. The Limitations of MRP Systems You will either get reports out of the box that do what you want, you have to hire the software vendor to create a custom solution, you have to pay third party vendors to create something, or you become very good at manipulating the data outputs you receive. This is a factor behind the ...

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ON THE ROAD WITH IISE’s CEO: From CIEADH on the West Coast to CISE in the Southeast

By Don Greene posted 11-05-2019

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ON THE ROAD WITH IISE’s CEO – From CIEADH on the West Coast to CISE in the Southeast Late October was filled with travel as I joined our esteemed colleagues at the Council of Industrial Engineering Academic Department Heads (CIEADH) meeting Oct. 20 in Seattle, Washington. That event was followed by the fall meeting Oct. 22-25 of CISE – the Council on Industrial and Systems Engineering. The CISE meeting began in Atlanta, Georgia, at Emory Healthcare and the Chick-fil-A headquarters before moving to the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. Chaired by Linda Ng ...

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Look to the Past to See the Future of Tech Support

By Tamara Wilhite posted 10-04-2019

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This article originally appeared in my column with Liberty Island Magazine. I read a Cracked article on how surprisingly prescient the movie Demolition Man was down to the wussification of the world and social mandates enforced by automated systems. (Sesame Credit, anyone?) We could argue that Heinlein’s group marriages are on the cusp of being legal when same sex marriage was immediately followed by lesbian throuples and polygamous families suing for recognition. Yet the future of tech support is found in even older works of science fiction. I think the future of tech support will be robo-psychologists like Dr. Susan Calvin in Isaac Asimov’s short stories ...

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Socialization of Data - the Pros, the Cons and the Concerns

By Tamara Wilhite posted 09-12-2019

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This article was inspired by the IISE webinar “Supply Chain Data: Pains, Pitfalls & Some Rays of Hope” by Dr. Mamnoon Jamil and Dr. Cheranellore (Vasu) Vasudevan, Ph.D. It also draws upon my professional experience and personal observations of what can go wrong with socialization of data, product data management system migrations and general IT crowdsourcing. What Is the Socialization of Data? The socialization of data would involve the pooling of data into widely accessible repositories. This reduces the costs of administering and maintaining systems while allowing many people to leverage it. In theory, you could rely on volunteers, administrative ...

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Winning Season – Now is the Time to Nominate Fellow ISEs for Honors and Awards

By Don Greene posted 09-11-2019

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“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” Confucius Awards entry season for ISEs peaks as the baseball season slides into post season and the football season is hitting its stride. Yes, sports are top-of-mind as I watch my hometown teams – Braves, Falcons and alma mater Georgia Tech – fight for victory. Whatever your sport of choice, your team or individual out there on the field or in the gym is displaying extraordinary strength and commitment toward a goal. For ISEs, our sport is problem-solving with innovative solutions – a daily feat ...

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A framework for safeguarding artificial intelligence system within healthcare domain

By Avishek Choudhury posted 08-21-2019

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Click on the link below. I hope this article will help us. https://link.growkudos.com/1e5peqaw7i8 Abstract In healthcare, research on artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly dedicated to applying predictive analytic techniques to make clinical predictions. Even though artificial intelligence has shown promising results in cancer image recognition, triage service automation, and in disease prognosis, its clinical value has not been addressed. Currently, there is a lack of understanding around how some of these algorithms work. Despite knowing the potential risks associated with using artificial intelligence in healthcare, there is no clear framework ...

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Why Shop Floor Data Management Systems Don’t Replace Time Studies

By Tamara Wilhite posted 07-31-2019

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Shop floor data management systems will track employees’ time as they switch between tasks and the process time for machines. However, this automated data collection does not eliminate the need for traditional time studies. Here are a few reasons why time studies should at a minimum supplement automated data collection of business processes. Dealing with Questionable Data Quality Shop floor data management systems may collect data, but the data it collects may not be accurate. For example, when the data entry demands get in the way of doing the work, someone may not log in and log the work done until it is done. Then you get a sixty second cycle ...

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Poster Contest - IISE Engineering Lean & Six Sigma Conference 2019

By David Harry posted 07-27-2019

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Poster Session COMPETITION Description The 2019 ELSS Poster Session highlights best practices and tangible results achieved by applying Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology and tools across multiple industries and settings. This forum provides a visual presentation of storyboards of industry-based case studies, results of independent and sponsored research as well as best practices in academic innovations using LSS tools and techniques. The poster session is open to all conference attendees. Posters will be on display throughout the conference. There will be dedicated time during the conference where poster submitters will need to be available to be interviewed ...

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IISE leaps forward with new podcast series, partnership in education and a dynamic strategic plan

By Don Greene posted 06-04-2019

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“As an engineer I'm constantly spotting problems and plotting how to solve them.” – Sir James Dyson , British inventor, industrial designer and founder and chief executive of Dyson Ltd. (Source: BrainyQuotes) “Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems.” – Scott Raymond Adams , creator of the Dilbert comic strip, and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary and business (Source: BrainyQuotes) Whether industrial, mechanical, chemical or other engineering discipline, engineers have problem-solving as a common denominator. Where some ...

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New Podcast Just Launched!

By David Brandt posted 05-20-2019

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Last year, many of you asked IISE membership staff about the potential for launching a podcast. Well, “ask and you shall receive!” Yesterday at the IISE Annual Conference was the launch of “PROBLEM SOLVED: The IISE Podcast,” which will feature engineers from diverse backgrounds in both academia and industry discussing a wide range of topics about the work they do as industrial and systems engineers as well as some off-beat topics that will fascinate you, the audience. The first episode can be found on the new podcast player here on connect.iise.org, where you can also discuss each episode. You can view the full list of episodes on the new podcast ...

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A Look at ASME’s “By the Numbers”

By Tamara Wilhite posted 05-16-2019

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In the May, 2019 edition of ASME magazine, they offered an educated guess on the future of manufacturing and business. As an industrial engineer working in IT, I can see some of the trends they are discussing. They thought that digital platforms would increase global trade by 1.3 to 2.1 trillion dollars by trimming costs, increasing trade 6 to 10 percent by “reducing friction”. Having ordered parts off eBay from China for a client and responding to customer support requests from Canada and Pakistan, I can agree with that assessment. Platforms from Ali Express to eBay to Facebook classifieds make it easier for any business and individual to engage in international ...

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A Look at 5G and the Hype from Both Sides

By Tamara Wilhite posted 05-01-2019

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There was a group discussion on 5G, and a woman said her son had researched it in detail. She then started talking about the harm 5G was supposed to inflict. I mentioned that I was familiar with radio frequencies and wireless technology. I had a ham radio license, had worked with radar systems for years and now worked for an RF firm. I said it was not dangerous. I was promptly shot down. Someone brought up how 5G radiation is worse than prior forms of wireless radiation because it is so much more intense. Here came the rants on 5G will cause cancer and everything we have already heard attributed to living near power lines. I almost brought up the fact that ...

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ISE Magazine Editor's Desk

By Keith Albertson posted 04-15-2019

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Members of the Society for Health Systems know Aaron Kanne well as a board member and regular HSPI conference attendee. In the April issue, we profile him in the What's Your Story? feature discussing ISE principles, innovation in healthcare data systems and what's on the horizon

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Mr. Greene Goes to Washington ..... Our annual trek to Capitol Hill representing IISE members and customers

By Don Greene posted 04-10-2019

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In previous leadership blogs over the past several months we’ve mentioned the rollout of IISE’s new Strategic Plan at the global IISE Annual Conference & Expo May 18-21 in Orlando, Florida. That time is getting close and I can tell you that one of the four pillars of this dynamic plan emphasizes advocacy efforts on behalf of and by ISEs. Advocacy was front and center on a recent trip that your IISE President Jamie Rogers and I took to Washington, D.C., representing the Institute at the 2019 Convocation of Engineering Societies and Public Policy Symposium. IISE is one of 45 engineering associations that sponsors these important meetings in the ...

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Looking forward to seeing you at the Annual Conference in May!

By Jamie Rogers posted 04-04-2019

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Greetings fellow ISEs … Early bird registration rate extended - See below! This Monday marked my first day serving IISE and our ISE members as president. I am honored to lead such an influential, merry band of industrial and systems engineers worldwide. We have much to celebrate within our dynamic profession and are growing our many offerings available from IISE to support us along our ISE journey. Look for my future blog posts right here on Connect for insights and details beginning with the state of the institute and IISE’s new strategic plan, which IISE’s CEO Don Greene and I will unveil at the Annual Conference next month. Thank you for being an ...

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