OMNI President Moderates Discussion on the Intersection of Technological Entrepreneurship, Engineering and Design
March 24, 2011 – OMNI Engineering & Technology, Inc.’s President, Neal Schmeidler, organized and presided over a discussion entitled “The Intersection of Technological Entrepreneurship, Engineering and Design.” The event, sponsored by the National Capital Chapter of Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), convened at the Grant Thornton LLP offices in Alexandria, Va. Dr. Tucker Marion of Northeastern University presented about the impact of technology, people and business issues on the development of viable and sustainable start-ups. The event drew about 35 attendees who learned how new technology venture development can be made more efficient in the areas of product teams, product development, design, innovation and creativity, and supply chain. Attendees also enjoyed the opportunity to share their experiences and broaden their professional networks.
Other professional organizations co-sponsoring the event were: the Harvard Business School Entrepreneur Round Table; Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), Potomac Chapter; Inventors Network of the Capital Area (INCA), Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME); and, the Technology Transfer Society, Washington Chapter (T2SDC) Information about the presenter follows below. Information about the presenter follows below.
Dr. Tucker Marion
Assistant Professor, College of Business Administration, School of Technological Entrepreneurship
Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
Dr. Marion’s research focuses on product development, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He has held product development and manufacturing positions at large firms and has also started or co-founded several start-ups. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Bucknell University, holds a Masters from the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton School in Technology Management, and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. His work has appeared in books and journals such as the Journal of Product Innovation Management, Research-Technology Management, Design Studies, International Journal of Production Research, and the Journal of Concurrent Engineering.
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OMNI President Moderates Panel Discussion at National Institutes of Health
October 25, 2010 — OMNI Engineering & Technology, Inc.’s President, Neal Schmeidler, organized and presided over a panel discussion entitled “Challenging and Rewarding Work in Health Care.” The event cosponsored by the National Capital Chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) and the Potomac Chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) convened at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. The panel of four presenters discussed three topics and earned high marks from attendees. Following are presentation abstracts.
IE’s Rising to the Challenge: Using Simulation for Evacuation Planning
Mr. Antonio Rodriguez and Mr. Joseph Wolski, National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the steward of medical and behavioral research for the Nation. The NIH main campus in Bethesda occupies 75 buildings on more than 300 acres. As part of its continuous improvement effort, the Security and Emergency Response Division is analyzing the process for evacuating the campus. The idea is to better understand how resources can be best utilized to evacuate the campus safely and expeditiously in case of an emergency. To be able to conduct the analysis efficiently and with minimum disruption, the Office of Research Services’ Quality Management Office developed a campus evacuation simulation using Arena software. This initial model is currently undergoing sensitivity analysis and will serve as the main building block for more complex analyses in the near future.
Ergonomics and Safe Patient Handling
Mr. Gary Orr, Orr Consulting
Moving a patient who has no ability to assist puts the care giver at high risk of a back injury. If the injury occurs during the move then the patient can also be injured from a fall. Many healthcare providers leave their profession due to chronic back or shoulder pain caused by patient handling. Good biomechanics is not the answer. We need to provide equipment to assist the care giver. There is equipment on the market today that is consistent with the ability of the patient, easy to use in small rooms and easy to recharge. Equipment alone is not the answer. A safe patient handling program is critical to ensure the care giver will use the proper techniques. An effective safe patient handling program results in fewer injuries to care givers, fewer skin tears and falls by patients, as well as increased mobility and care for the patient.
Lean and Six Sigma Techniques to Improve Healthcare Industry
Dr. Anand Subramanian, JFAssociates Inc.
Hospital administrators face a major challenge today. On the one hand, they need to demonstrate that the quality of care provided to patients is being improved continuously, while on the other hand the health insurance companies require that such care is provided at the lowest possible prices. Added to this are the ever-changing health care policies brought about by society and government. Such an environment necessitates the need to adopt a Lean-Six Sigma approach which helps achieve these conflicting goals. Lean techniques help identify wasted efforts/resources in the process and streamline the entire process all while maintaining a patient-centric approach. Six Sigma techniques help reduce variation in the process and improve the overall process. The application of such techniques help hospitals achieve multiple and measurable benefits which includes, but is not limited to, reduced cost, increased quality, improved resource utilization, and increased physician and patient satisfaction.
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OMNI President Receives IIE’s Prestigious Fellow Award
June 25, 2010—The Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) presented a Fellow Award to Neal Schmeidler during its Annual Conference in Cancun, Mexico earlier this month. The award is the highest classification of IIE membership. The IIE presents the award to members who demonstrate outstanding accomplishments in both professional career and service to industrial engineering. Mr. Schmeidler joins just 400 others who have been named IIE Fellows in the 60-year history of the award.
Of the award, Mr. Schmeidler says, "To be included in the ranks of this elite set of individuals, academicians and practitioners, is an honor and humbling experience."
With a career spanning nearly four decades, Mr. Schmeidler has successfully applied his skills to the study, analysis, and improvement of activities such as aircraft maintenance and overhaul, combat vehicle maintenance, air traffic control, air carrier passenger services and ramp functions, National Airspace System maintenance, civil aviation and facility security, oil spill response system testing, aviation safety inspection, preventive medicine, telecommunications services management, construction waste recycling, and space shuttle orbiter maintenance. In addition, he has been a dedicated promoter of the industrial engineering profession through his volunteer work in the community.
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OMNI President Recognized by the Society for Engineering and Management Systems
June 10, 2009—The Society for Engineering and Management Systems (SEMS) presented the SEMS Management Award to Neal Schmeidler during the Annual Conference of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) in Miami, Florida earlier this month. SEMS presents the award to IIE members who have distinguished themselves in the practice of management and industrial engineering. Of the award, Mr. Schmeidler said, “It is extremely humbling to be included in an extraordinarily elite set of IIE members.”
Founded in 1948, the IIE is the world’s largest professional society dedicated to the support of the industrial engineering profession and people involved with improving quality and productivity. SEMS, a society of the IIE, helps managers improve productivity and quality through effective and economical managerial techniques and philosophies.
OMNI, a premier supplier of industrial and systems engineering services, specializes in examining business and work processes, and recommending solutions to improve organizational performance and bottom-line results. Mr. Schmeidler is the firm’s Founder, Owner, and President.
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Work Measurement: A Method for Setting Equitable Wage for People with Disabilities
Generally, people with disabilities cannot produce at the same level as nondisabled people. Because of differences in productivity, employers may not be as eager to hire disabled people. In addition, one of the challenging tasks for employers of disabled individuals is to set an equitable wage for each disabled employee; however, keeping these people gainfully employed is a worthy national objective. To encourage employment of disabled persons, federal law permits employers to pay less than minimum wage, provided the wage is proportional to the production capacity of the disabled individual. According to provisions of this law, time study is an accepted work measurement technique that can be used to establish equitable pay for disabled employees. This presentation offered further analysis of the study methods and procedures used to measure production capacity of disabled individuals and insight into establishing equitable pay for disabled employees.
Presentation delivered at 8th Annual Applied Ergonomics Conference, Institute of Industrial Engineers.
Send your request for a copy of the paper at the Contact page.
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Work Measurement: Impacts in the Private Sector
Presenters, working with the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), conducted a Web-based survey about the uses of work measurement. More than 275 public and private sector participants provided input to the survey. Significant findings show that both public and private sector employers are using work measurement tools. In the private sector, executive leadership is revealed as the dominate force behind the use of work measurement, and that work measurement impacts direct and indirect labor in a broad range of industries, and more than 50% of employers report a benefit-to-cost-ratio of 2:1 or better.
Presentation delivered at the IIE Annual Conference 2004, Institute of Industrial Engineers.
Send your request for a copy of the paper at the Contact page.
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Developing Staffing Budgets for Large, Geographically Dispersed Workforces
Many functions of the federal government have geographically dispersed workforces throughout the United States and other foreign countries. Working environments such as weather conditions, facilities, available technology, and workload vary widely. However, customers expect the same level of service regardless of geographic location or environment. Management must do its best to make sure that staffing, especially a lack of, is never the reason for inconsistent service in any location or condition. This presentation describes an approach to define, measure, and model the amount of staffing required for current and future workload in a variety of situations, such as those described above. The presentation includes a brief discussion of work measurement associated with such efforts and the more complicated steps to develop statistical models suitable for forecasting future needs. Included, is instruction about an approach that yields mathematical models that can be used to quickly assess future staffing needs for thousands of employees working in hundreds of locations.
Presentation delivered at the 2002 Industrial Engineering Solutions Conference.
Send your request for a copy of the paper at the Contact page.
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