PERSPECTIVES
Forced to choose – ISEs in 'adjustment mode'
As the months of 2020 passed by, we have been forced to make choices we didn’t expect when we started the new year. In many cases, we weren’t given a lot of time to make a choice, or the data we would have liked to help make an informed decision. Plus, we had little information to tell us what the potential effects of changing versus staying the same might be. We were forced to choose and then adapt somehow, both in the workplace and away from work.
Business plan fundamentals
Many colleagues re-evaluate their careers during economic distress. We are frequently asked to assist with business plans for new enterprises. The COVID- 19 pandemic and current economic slowdown have accelerated that pace.
Human resiliency during tough times
The idea of resiliency is often attributed to hardware and software. Simply stated, a system is resilient if it continues to carry out its mission in the face of adversity. Such adversity may come from disruptions that impact the system’s ability to meet its requirements. An external environmental condition, such as an earthquake, power failure or cyberattack, may cause the system to temporarily fail. The question then becomes: How quickly can it recover, if at all?
Body of Knowledge progress and applications
We are living in an ever-changing COVID- 19 world and change is imperative for everyone, including industrial and systems engineers. How do ISEs help solve the complex problems the world is facing? What tools do we have to explore our different areas of knowledge?
A giant leap forward – eventually
I recently came across an article from the BBC titled “Why didn’t electricity immediately change manufacturing?” The parallels to modern day healthcare and the “electrification” of medical records via the implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) are worth discussing.