My Industry Experience

I had a question about how my experience as a scheduling analyst might have led me to or prepared me for LGO.  To be honest, it didn't have that much to do with me coming to LGO, as I was placed in that position after I had already gone through the application process.  However, I think it really did help me once I got here to be able to look at more of the big picture.

As a Manufacturing Engineer, I was more concerned with the day-to-day operations of the engine facility that I worked at - in a nutshell finding problems and fixing them.  I really enjoyed this job, as I was able to see the tangible benefit of what I was doing, build relationships with a lot of different people on both the shop floor and in management, and really get my hands dirty working to find real solutions to problems - although my wife didn't always appreciate it when I would come home smelling like diesel fuel.  However, the problems I was able to solve were, for the most part, local to my specific part of the assembly line.  At times I would get frustrated because I wanted to have an impact on the "big picture" for the organization, but that was really outside of the scope of my position.  So while I liked what I was doing, I wanted to be able to do more, and LGO was the perfect program for me to prepare to do so.

When I became a scheduling analyst, my day-to-day drastically changed.  I no longer wore safety glasses and steel-toed shoes to work, I worked on my computer essentially all day long, and no longer came home smelling like a tractor.  This position posed a whole new set of challenges for me, and I think it really did help me to prepare for LGO.  I had to learn all of the different scheduling and database systems that we used in my department, monitor and report on inventory levels, work with forecasting, and find and fix any scheduling problems that I came across.  While I no longer worked with factory operations per se, my actions had direct and important impact on the operations of the facility.  If we messed up the schedule we would either have too much inventory or miss orders, both of which could cause major problems.  As well, I was able to see and understand the operations of the business from a different point in the supply-chain, one that gave me visibility to both our suppliers and our customers, as well as our own position.  It really helped me to get a grasp on the scope of what we were doing, and how seemingly small improvements in a supply chain can have dramatic effects to the bottom-line of an organization.  I've reflected on my experience in this position often in my coursework, and it has helped to solidify my understanding of operations and supply chains.

I hope I answered the question, but yes, working in scheduling for me was very relevant experience to operations and LGO.

Hello Everybody!

Well, seeing as this is my first post to this blog, I'll give some background information on myself - what I'm doing here at MIT, why I decided to come, and what I did before.  If you are interested in applying to LGO, I would encourage you to check out the other student blogs (see link in the side bar) to get a good feel of what the LGO experience might be like for you. As well, feel free to leave comments and ask questions about the experience or application process.

What I'm Doing
Pretty straightforward - working on an MBA from MIT Sloan and an SM (MIT refers to master's degrees as "SM" rather than "MS") in Engineering Systems from the MIT School of Engineering.  I'm in my second semester - unlike most straight MBA programs LGO starts the beginning of June so that we can complete both degrees and an internship in 24 months.  As a result, I am now officially acclimatized to being a student again.  Our LGO summer core was definitely a challenge, but it was an awesome experience that quickly brought our class of 48 together.  We all had the same schedule with courses in probability and statistics, systems optimization, operations management, high-velocity systems, and leadership.  Now we are in the heart of the MBA core at Sloan - we just finished midterms (sigh of relief) - and I am taking an extra business course in System Dynamics (an awesome course that I'll post about later) an engineering course in Logistics Systems, and a couple of seminars in leadership and global operations.

For those of you who have no idea what "Engineering Systems" is (which I didn't before I applied), it's basically a mixture between mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, and supply chain planning - at least the track that I am following.  There are a number of tracks that LGOs can follow for this degree, you can check out this link for more information.

Why I Decided to Come
For me, it came down to the objectives of the program and the people that are here (both students and faculty).  The name says it all "Leaders for Global Operations".  I really have a passion for operations and manufacturing, and the systems required to make our society possible - both big and small.  For example, have you ever thought about the system that's set up to make Q-tips?  Think about it - you can buy 800 of them for like $3, can you imagine how fast they have to make those to turn a profit? I really don't have any ambitions to change the world through Q-tips, but still, it's mind-boggling!

I really like that the program is designed to help students learn and become leaders that can help organizations become successful through efficient, value-added operations.  As well, the people here are awesome and it's a community that I'm glad I have become a part of.

What I Did Before
Before LGO I worked for Caterpillar as a manufacturing engineer and as a scheduling analyst.  It was a good experience working in a large organization with large, complex manufacturing systems.  Before then I did my undergraduate degree in Manufacturing Engineering Technology at Brigham Young University.