Management Systems Engineering Laboratory

Management Systems Engineering Laboratory

Definition: Management Systems Engineering (MSE) is the application of engineering principles to problems involving the design and operation of management systems throughout the enterprise.

Need: Public, private, and government organizations are being forced to operate in an environment that is characterized by intense competition, constant change, and a strong customer focus. In order to prosper, or even to survive, in this environment, organizations are undergoing a major shift in their thinking and practice – they are focusing on enterprise-wide, customer-driven processes in order to enhance their competitive position in terms of cost, quality, and schedule. In order to meet these challenges, new approaches and new tools are needed to transform these organizations. Davenport has termed the integration of two of these tools – information technology and business process redesign – as the "new industrial engineering." This is one example of the need to apply industrial engineering skills beyond manufacturing. Considering today’s business environment and the widespread process movement, there is a strong need in all sectors and at all levels of the economy to apply engineering principles throughout the enterprise.

Mission: The mission of the MSE focus area is to play a major role in meeting the local and national needs described above, i.e., assisting organizations in developing and implementing the management systems needed to provide for the timely delivery of high-quality, cost-effective products and services. This industrial engineering focus area, through the Management Systems Engineering Laboratory (MSEL) , applies engineering principles to identify, analyze, and solve management problems throughout the enterprise. Through research, education, and training, the MSEL provides and utilizes the appropriate tools and methods for management systems design, assessment, analysis, implementation, and improvement. The MSEL provides decision support to organizations through the development and application of approaches, methodologies, and systems in the areas related to process management, quality management, and cost management.

Capabilities: In order to fully meet the mission of this focus area, the MSEL provides the following capabilities:

Decision Support decision support and management information systems integrated product and process development project management modeling and simulation	Quality Management TQM implementation Baldrige criteria assessment ISO 9000 preparation supply chain management
Process Analysis, Design, and Management business process modeling and design organizational measurement systems statistical methods logistics analysis	Cost Management engineering economic analysis life-cycle costing activity-based costing parametric cost modeling

Sponsored Research: The following sponsored research projects are currently underway in the Management Systems Engineering area:

Integrated decision support environment for the development of SSC as a NASA lead center (NASA Stennis Space Center)

Providing technical advice to the Business Process Re-engineering effort that is associated with the NASA Rocket Propulsion Test Lead Center development at SSC. Modeling and analysis of enterprise processes in order to improve organizational planning and decision making. Developing techniques and approaches to integrate computer-based management/decision-support technologies -- such as database management systems, expert systems, operations research models, financial and budgetary models, etc. -- into the planning and decision-making processes at SSC.

Manufacturing-oriented, design-directed cost estimation (Air Force Office of Scientific Research)

Modeling and analysis of direct and indirect manufacturing cost and the linking of process models and cost estimation to product design in order to achieve "true" virtual manufacturing. Defining the progression of modeling, analysis and costing from the individual features of the product being designed to its impact on the enterprise. Developing cost estimating methodologies that adequately address affordability issues, effectively support the IPPD (integrated product and process development) process, relate product and process variables, operate in a virtual design environment, and model manufacturing and non-manufacturing indirect activities.

Increased efficiency of warehouse operations (Ruleville Manufacturing Company)

Analysis to determine what steps are needed to improve the operational and space efficiencies of the current warehouse facility and an anticipated new facility.

Teaching Activities: Course offerings should support research focus areas, just as research focus areas should support the curriculum. The department currently offers a concentration in Management Systems Engineering at the graduate level. The following defines the current course offerings that are directly related to the focus area, as well as those under consideration for development. Portions of these courses can be developed into short courses for industry.

The current industrial engineering courses that are directly related to MSE include:

Split-level courses that are under consideration for development in support of MSE’s mission:

Faculty: Dr. Allen G. Greenwood, P.E. and Dr. Stanley F. Bullington. P.E. are co-directors of the Department of Industrial Engineering’s Management Systems Engineering Laboratory.

Dr. Allen G. Greenwood is Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering. He holds a bachelors and masters degree in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University and the University of Tennessee, respectively, and a Ph.D. in management science with minors in industrial engineering and statistics from Virginia Tech. Dr. Greenwood’s research interests include enterprise systems engineering and applied management science -- the design and analysis of business and production processes in order to enhance and facilitate decision making. He has developed and applied quantitative techniques to a wide variety of business and engineering problems, including simulation and scheduling of manufacturing systems in the textile industry, life-cycle cost estimating models in the defense industry, decision support systems for financial analyses, etc. Dr. Greenwood was selected in 1996 and 1997 as an Air Force Summer Faculty Research Associate at the Manufacturing and Engineering Systems Division of Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH. His research area was cost modeling to support integrated product/process development. His research has appeared in, among other journals, Decision Sciences, European Journal of Operations Research, IIE Transactions, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Naval Research Logistics.

Dr. Stanley F. Bullington is Professor of Industrial Engineering. He received his bachelors and Ph.D. degrees in industrial engineering from Auburn University, and his masters in industrial engineering from Purdue University. Dr. Bullington's research interests include process improvement engineering, organizational change, applied operations research, and operations planning and control. He was a NASA Summer Faculty Fellow at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in 1991 and 1992, and has performed sponsored research for Marshall Space Flight Center in the area of mission planning. Dr. Bullington has served as an examiner for the Mississippi Quality Award (Malcom Baldrige National Quality Award criteria) since the award’s inception in 1995. He has completed ISO 9000 Lead Assessor training, and is an ASQC Certified Quality Engineer. His research has appeared in, among other journals, IIE Transactions, International Journal of Production Research, Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Production and Inventory Journal.

Dr. Allen Greenwood was selected as an Air Force Summer Faculty Research Associate at the Manufacturing and Engineering Systems Division of Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH. He performed research in the area of cost modeling to support integrated product/process development.

For information about this page, contact Dr. Allen Greenwood.

For information about Industrial and Systems Engineering, contact Dr. Royce Bowden.
For information about Mississippi State University, contact msuinfo@ur.msstate.edu.
URL: http://www.ise.msstate.edu/research/MSE/index.html
Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution.