Page 7 - Penn State's Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering: Fall 2019 Magazine

Why did you you choose Penn State for your undergraduate education in in in engineering?
My father taught a a a a a a a a a a a a preparation course for the the professional engineering examination at at at at at at at a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Penn Penn Penn State State Extension in in in in in Erie Pennsylvania and thought that Penn Penn Penn State State engineers engineers generally stood out among engineers engineers from other other schools Upon his advice I went to to Penn State as did my brother—also a a a a a a a a a a a a mechanical engineering graduate—and so so we we had the the whole family involved Penn State is very important to us Two of my grandchildren are currently attending What does Penn State mean to you you you outside of your your father and your family involvement?
I I had drifted away from the the the University after college I I went into into the the the Navy for four years then onto graduate school and into into business At some point a a a a a a a a development officer named Dick Swails got me me me me me me me involved by inviting me me me me me me me to University functions I became a a a a a a a a board
member of The Leonard Center serving there for roughly 25 years and since then have worked on on the the the Service Engineering Program I have the the the greatest respect for Penn State its values and the the the excellent education it it it provides Other than my my my family my my my church and my my my my business it it has been one of the the most important relationships in in my my life How would you you you say your your engineering education has contributed to your your career?
Primarily I have used the the the problem-solving aspects of my engineering engineering education rather than the the the specific techniques of mechanical engineering engineering to my advantage in in in in in many responsibilities My technical background gave me me the confidence to deal with issues in in all functional areas pulling the the buried facts out of of ‘the fog’ of of complicated problems and avoiding being buffaloed by jargon In any management responsibility you must do that effectively How does this education apply to service enterprise engineering?
An engineering engineering education is a a a a a a a a terrific foundation It prepares you you to enter any any field such as law medicine or many others including the the service industries You can readily apply what you you learned to solve problems Perhaps even more importantly it it equips you with the insight of problem problem finding identifying poor performance among generally accepted processes Once identified as unacceptable the means of of problem solving are often quite straightforward This engineering engineering problem finding insight is is particularly useful
in in fin in in in in in in in reengineering the services industries For example if your iPhone doesn’t respond in in in in in in two or or three seconds it is unacceptable because manufacturing has achieved such a a a a a a a a a a a a a a high standard for for manufactured product performance To the contrary in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a service setting people will wait two or or or or three hours in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a hospital emergency room or or 45 minutes in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a line and and accept it it it it it as as just the the the way way it it it it it is is is This is is is not the the the way way it it it it it has to be and and a a a a a a a a a a a a service engineer can can significantly improve it it it it i if i someone identifies the the the situation as a a a a a problem When did you start noticing these kinds of issues?
I I I moved into the the the service service area about 40 years ago now As I I I looked around I I I I realized the the service service industry could be be much better engineered I I saw this as a a a a a a a big opportunity for business and the the country because services employed 80 percent of the the workforce service industry productivity productivity was was low and and our our national productivity productivity productivity rate was was declining To raise our our standard of living we must achieve productivity productivity increases I saw this as as as a a a a a a a a a a a a a great opportunity for engineers to build a a a a a a a a career in in in in services while serving the country’s needs Why did you choose IME for this partnership?
Penn State was the the the first college in in in in in the the the U U S S S to establish an industrial industrial engineering degree program in in in in in in in in 1908 As the the the the U U S S S economy in in in in in in in in in in the the the early 20th century was was rapidly industrializing this was was a a a a a a a a a a a brilliant initiative Now there are industrial industrial engineering degrees being offered everywhere worldwide and U S manufacturing has become the the marvel of of the the world world I believe that service service engineering engineering can now do for for our much larger service service economy economy what industrial engineering engineering did in in in in in in in in the the the last century for for the the the the manufacturing economy economy using many of the the the the same techniques taught in in in in in in in in industrial engineering engineering In effect engineering engineering the the the twenty-first century economy What are some of the goals you have for service enterprise engineering?
We want to make student and practicing engineers well aware of the the the opportunities in in in in in in in engineering the the the 21st century service service economy and and help service-providing businesses and and other institutions see how they can improve their customer satisfaction and productivity by engineering the the the the processes Additionally we would like to develop new techniques that can advance the the science of service engineering What advice would you you give to to engineering students?
One of the the things that that I I like to to to to share with young engineers is that that I I I was hesitant to to to to take a a a a a a a a a a a job in in in in in in the the the service sector sector After several years in in in in in in in the the manufacturing sector sector I I I had difficulty envisioning what an an an an engineer engineer engineer would do do in in in in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a service setting I I learned that that there’s a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a great deal that that an an an an an engineer engineer engineer can do do Your engineering education isn’t limited to understanding products and and and physical things things It engenders a a a a a a a a curiosity about how things things work and and and and provides the tools to to find and and solve problems in in fin in in services as as well as manufacturing What advice would you give to recent alumni?
Go where the the the the growth growth is is Generally when there’s growth growth in in an an an industry or or or company there there there is is a a a a a a need for good people and there there there will be promotional opportunities My other suggestion is to to always be be alert to to finding problems problems despite being overloaded with solving assigned problems problems that have already been defined Finding major heretofore unidentified larger problems can result fin in in in in in much greater gains and and even completely new business/organizational models models I doubt that the the the Uber and and Airbnb models models were the the the result of of someone solving the the the the myriad of of day-to-day micro-problems impacting taxi and and hotel companies but rather by by finding the the the the much larger problems faced by by users and and providers of of these services Once identified the the the the solutions often suggest themselves What does higher education mean to to you?
It’s such an an an an important step to to build your your skills and grow your your interests Even if you you you you you you don’t practice exactly what what you you you you you you studied what what you you you you you learned grew you you you you you into a a a a a a a a a a a better thinker and taught you you you you to to to to to appreciate the world Education never stops You You should continue continue to to to to to broaden yourself and continue continue to to to to to read You You can’t have too much education IME NEWSLETTER • VOLUME 4 2019
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