Problem Solved: The IISE Podcast

In our launch episode, we feature a discussion between IISE CEO Don Greene and David Poirier, IISE’s president-elect and CEO of The Poirier Group. They will discuss several topics including the early learnings that lead David to a career in industrial engineering, the relevancy of ISEs at-large, IISE's international mission and the opportunities for ISEs in 2020 and beyond.

In this episode, IISE web editor David Brandt chats with IISE Fellow and ISE magazine columnist Kevin McManus about the discipline of Essentialism and what it has in common with industrial engineering. They also discuss the various ways ISEs apply best practices for continuous improvement in both career and personal life.

IISE's Michael Hughes sits down with the co-chairs of the Applied Ergonomics Conference 2020, Julia Abate and Monica V. Matlis. The trio discuss the understated cultural role of ergonomics in our society, the challenges for professional ergonomists and the honor of winning the coveted Ergo Cup at the annual Applied Ergonomics Conference.

Sneha Sinha, from Oregon State University, and Carlos Garza, from the University of Texas at Arlington, were two of four students leading a panel session on diversity at the IISE Annual Conference & Expo 2019 in May. A full room of attendees with passionate voices expressed their opinions and concerns about ongoing issues surrounding equity and inclusion. What challenges lie ahead for people of color beginning their ISE careers? What can IISE and its members do to push the discussion into action? Will industry do more to recognize the value of diversity in the future? Sneha and Carlos talk about these topics in this episode with IISE's David Brandt. You can also download IISE's Diversity + Inclusion mission statement at: https://link.iise.org/diversity-inclusion

IISE's Michael Hughes chats with Chick-fil-A Inc.'s manager of production design, David B. Reid, P.E., to learn more about how the popular American fast food company uses industrial engineering to keep the company's priority on the customer. Reid also explains the road that led him to Chick-fil-A and describes some of its future improvements. He will also be one of the keynote speakers at the Engineering Lean & Six Sigma Conference 2019 in Houston, Texas. Learn more and register for the event at: iise.org/leansixsigma

After Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, Washington, D.C., teacher Liz McCartney and lawyer Zack Rosenberg wanted to help. Their efforts took them to New Orleans where they founded the nonprofit St. Bernard’s Project to rebuild homes and help victims recover from natural disasters. As the nonprofit and the scope of its work grew, they sought help from lean experts at the Toyota Production System Support Center to improve their operation, which they chronicled in their book, “Getting Home.” McCartney discusses the project and its ongoing challenges in an interview with Brion Hurley of IISE’s Sustainable Development Division.

The September issue of ISE magazine includes a Case Study article by Breanne Alzate, an engineer whose firm is the lead contractor with NASA’s Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center. In this episode of "Problem Solved," Alzate talks to Managing Editor Keith Albertson about her team’s effort to retain and archive the institutional knowledge that can be lost when experts retire or move on. She also shares more details about her career.

This is a bonus short interview from ELSS 2019 in Houston, Texas.

Second short interview from ELSS 2019 in Houston, Texas.

Another short interview from ELSS 2019 in Houston, Texas

Another short interview with an attendee of ELSS 2019 in Houston, Texas

Another brief interview with an ELSS 2019 attendee.