Blog Post 5: A New Problem Facing Industrial Engineers

This is my fifth and final blog post. In this blog post, I am going to discuss one of the major issues that Industrial Engineers will face in the near future. This problem is the expansion of the Panama Canal. The canal is set to be completed by 2014 and will present many new challenges for anyone involved.

The Panama Canal is facing a major expansion that is doubling its overall capacity by allowing much larger vessels to transit. This means that there will be a significant increase in container shipping on both the East and Gulf coasts. The problem is finding out which third party logistics providers are ready for the sudden increase in twenty foot equivalent units.

Industrial Engineers can gather different organizations’ maximum capacities and current running capacities of warehouses to analyze. Once the data has been analyzed, the projected increase in containers can be added in. Then, data analysis can be done again using the projected numbers. At this point, recommendations can be made to the respective companies. According to the utilization percent, different measures will need to be taken.

For example, if a warehouse has a maximum capacity of 200,000 square feet and a running capacity of 180,000 square feet, the utilization percent is 0.90. Then, if you add in a 20% increase in shipping from the expansion, this warehouse will not be big enough. This could make the company much less successful than if it would have been properly prepared.

In conclusion, it is highly unlikely that all organizations will see the same increase in shipping. Therefore, each individual organization needs to do preliminary data analysis and make projections. The recommendations made to the company would be purely from the data analysis. However,  a company’s success in the future could be determined by the Panama Canal expansion and its possible impacts.  

Blog Post 4: New Innovations in Industrial Engineering

This will be my fourth blog post and it will be to discuss some of the new innovations in the field of Industrial Engineering. As things constantly change and organizations strive for higher efficiency, companies cannot afford to be complacent. Industrial Engineers always need to look for new ways to improve the process.

One concept that could be considered a minor innovation in Industrial Engineering is continuous improvement or kaizen. Kaizen is when the process is constantly evaluated to ensure that a manufacturing process or any other process is always optimized. This method is generally considered as one of the best methods to see improvement over a span of time. Continuous improvement is also thought of as being fairly simple and cost efficient for the business.

Another very important innovation in the Industrial Engineering field is the six sigma strategy. A six sigma strategy is when a company becomes much more efficient through quality improvement. Six sigma literally means that a process has 3.4 defects or less per million opportunities. This is extremely hard for a company to achieve, but is well worth the time and effort if finished. There are two main methods to begin a six sigma strategy. The first is called DMAIC and is a 5 step method. This method takes the current process and improves upon it. The second method is called DMADV. This is also a 5 step method, but it creates an entirely new process.

There are many steps that an organization can take to improve efficiency. However, these two methods can greatly reduce costs and improve profits. When using continuous improvement or a six sigma strategy, an organization can truly optimize its processes and be successful in its endeavors.

Blog Post 3: Famous Industrial Engineers

In my third blog post, I am going to discuss some of the most famous and also most successful Industrial Engineers. These three men used their backgrounds in Industrial Engineering to help them to be leaders in their respective industries. I will discuss Henry Ford, Michael Duke, and Tim Cook.

The first Industrial Engineer that I will discuss is Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company. One could argue that Henry Ford is the most famous Industrial Engineer of all time. One could also make a case that he was also one of the most successful. Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, but did forever change the industry. He took the design of a hand built, heavy, and expensive vehicle and transformed it into an affordable vehicle that could be mass produced. Ford also gets credit for the invention of the assembly line.

The next Industrial Engineer that has made great use of his knowledge is Michael Duke. Duke is the President and CEO of Wal-Mart. He received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering in 1971 and has since been in many powerful positions. Duke has also served on many boards and is considered by all to be a very successful man.

The last Industrial Engineer I will talk about is Tim Cook. Cook was named Apple’s CEO on August 24, 2011 after the tragic passing of Steve Jobs. He used his background in Industrial Engineering to save Apple millions by closing unnecessary warehouses and factories. This move made Apple much more efficient and got him promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

In conclusion, I have a lot of admiration for all of these men for their accomplishments. All three of them used lean knowledge and skills to become some of the most famous Industrial Engineers to date.      

Blog Post 2: An Introduction to Industrial Engineering

In this particular blog post, I would like to give a basic introduction of Industrial Engineering and talk briefly about why I chose it over many different options when I chose to return to school in 2010.

Industrial Engineering is a type of engineering that tries to take a process and make it more efficient. The goal of an Industrial Engineer is to increase efficiency and therefore make an organization more profitable. There are many methods and strategies that can be used to make an organization leaner. Some of these include having a six sigma strategy, motion study principle, or simple data analysis. It is good to have any methodology or quantitative approach to achieving the goals of the organization. If the company can optimize the process or production, they will have a much higher rate of success and see much higher profits.

I chose the Industrial Engineering Technology program at Southern Miss over many other fields of study for various reasons. One of the immediate reasons is the economy. With the economy in the shape that it is in, I wanted to choose something that is in high demand right now. Industrial Engineering makes up 13.3% of the total number of engineers in the United States. This number is also increasing because of the high demand. Another reason I chose this field was to challenge myself mentally. I have always been very good in mathematics and wanted to see how difficult the advanced classes were. Overall, I am glad that I chose this major, but I am looking forward to completing the program.  

Blog Post 1: An Introduction to James McMullan

In my first blog post, I would like to basically introduce myself and tell readers a little bit about who I am. I also want to discuss my personal life as well as my professional one.

My name is James McMullan and I am 26 years old. I have a beautiful fiancé named Le Ann Stevens whom I will marry at some point in the future. We have two amazing pitbulls and a crazy cat that attacks both of them. I currently work in my father’s landscaping business when school allows. Some of my day to day activities include going to work, doing schoolwork, eating fast food way more than I should, playing sports, and working out at the gym. However, my friends and I are very spontaneous so anything is possible.

Now, I want to discuss my professional life up to this point. I am currently a senior, majoring in Industrial Engineering Technology at the University of Southern Mississippi. My college experience has been an adventure to say the least. I graduated from Northeast Jones High School in 2003 and began Jones County Junior College the following Fall. In September of 2003, a great friend and I joined the Mississippi Army National Guard. Overall, the military caused me to miss many semesters of school, but I would not trade that time for anything. I learned many valuable lessons in those eight years and those lessons will no doubt help me as my career moves forward. I hope to be finished with my Bachelor’s Degree in December of this year and join the workforce. I am also going to continue my education and pursue a Master’s Degree in Logistics, Trade, and Transportation from the University of Southern Mississippi.

I hope this blog post has given readers some insight on who I am and some of the things that I have going on at this time.