College of Engineering News

On March 20, 2009, The International Society of Agile Manufacturing (ISAM) presented a daylong seminar entitled “Inter-Disciplinary Seminar Series on Application of Lean Six-Sigma in Product Development, Industries and Healthcare” at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The free seminar, focusing on research and implementation of Lean and Six-Sigma concepts in industry and healthcare delivery, was attended by approximately 75 students, faculty and staff of the College of Engineering and other colleges within the university, representatives of local industry, healthcare professionals, and members of the general public.

Dr. S. N. Dwivedi, P.E., Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UL Lafayette convened the seminar series. Dr. Terrence Chambers, P.E., Associate Dean of the College of Engineering at UL Lafayette, welcomed the attendees, and Ms Susan Richard, P.E., 2 nd Vice President the Louisiana Engineering Society gave a brief introduction to LES and encouraged membership in the professional society. Key speakers were Dr. James Bowie, P.E., President of WaterKing, Inc. of Duson, Louisiana, Dr. Indira Gautam, family practitioner at the Chitimacha Health Clinic in Charenton, La. and Dr. Kai Yang, author and professor in the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department at Wayne State University.

Dr. Dwivedi introduced and briefly explained the seminar topics to be covered. Special invited speaker Dr. James Bowie opened the seminar with a presentation on the implementation of the Lean concept to the wastewater industry. Dr. Kai Yang, presented a lecture on “Implementation of Six-Sigma in Product Development, Healthcare industries,” focusing on Axiomatic Design and Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (better known by the Russian acronym “TRIZ”). Dr. Indira Gautam, who has delivered lectures on effective clinic operation at various clinics throughout the United States and is the recipient of a national award for operating an ideal clinic, spoke on “Quality Improvement and Cost Reduction for Healthcare Organizations Using Lean / Six-Sigma.” A concluding presentation by Dr. Yang addressed various problems facing today’s hospitals and discussed recommendations for improvements.

The seminar ended with concluding remarks by Dr. Dwivedi and presentation of plaques to the speakers. Each attendee received a certificate of participation. Future seminars on Lean/Six Sigma topics are planned. For further information, contact Dr. S.N. Dwivedi by telephone at 337-482-5361 or via e-mail at dwivedi@louisiana.edu.

Dr. Indira Gautam, M.D	Prof. Kai Yang
Dr. S Dwivedi & Dr. T. Chambers	Dr. J. Bowie & Ms S. Richard