OR Society – 28th Annual Careers Open Day

Experiences in OR

Dougal Beard

Presentation Overview

• My Route into Operational Research

• My View of OR

• OR experiences

• Current position – Lanner Group

• Conclusion

My Route into Operational Research

• University of Aberdeen– BSc (Hons) Mathematics with French

• 3rd Year - “Techniques of Operational Research” class– Optimisation

• How many blue gnomes…

• 4th Year – what now?!– Careers fairs, company websites…

• University of Strathclyde– MSc Operational Research

My View of OR (1)

• Problem understanding

• Problem solving

• Decision making

In a business context, OR can be used as an aid to:

My View of OR (2)

Two sides:• Soft

– Ill-defined, unstructured problems– Qualitative, intangible aspects– Strategic Level

• Hard– Well-defined, structured problems– Quantitative, tangible aspects– Operational Level

• Need both techniques to fully understand the problem

MSc Placement - Dstl

• The Project– 2 weeks

– Bradford race riots

• Determine key issues

• Study causes & effects

• E.g. lack of communication ignorance of other cultures

segregation in schools feelings of racial tension

• Presentation of findings

– ‘Soft’ OR

• The Outcomes– Greater understanding of situation

– Appreciation of difficulties involved

– No immediate answer

– Difficult to measure progress - can’t measure feelings!

MSc Dissertation – Ayrshire & Arran Health Board simulation study

• The Project– 3 months– Merging of two orthopaedic A&E departments – what are the

effects?• bed occupancy, theatre times, admission rates

– Microsoft Excel based simulation– Written client report– ‘Hard’ OR

• The Outcomes– 15% potential saving on theatre times– Potential of reduced waiting lists– Scientific proof isn’t enough!

Current Position (1)

• CV to Prospect recruitment agency

• Lanner Group– Simulation specialists

– Based in Redditch

– Offices worldwide

– Variety of industries

Current Position (2)

• What is simulation?– Dynamic representation of real-life system

• How do we use it?– WITNESS software

– Computer model of business process

– What-if scenarios

– Better understanding of process

– Reduced risk in decision making

– Increase profitability

Current Position (3)

Clients include:

• Oil & Gas – BP, Shell– Deliverability, feasibility

• Automotive – Ford– Production line issues

• Leisure - Madame Tussauds– Customer flow

• Public Sector – Police, NHS– Resource utilisation, bed occupancy

• Food & Drink – Guinness, Golden Wonder– Increased capacity

Current Position (4)

My contribution:

• Oil & Gas industry– Feasibility of LNG shipping terminal

• Can they meet demand?

– Petrol station forecourt layout• Maximise customer throughput

Next:• Pharmaceutical Industry

Conclusion

Operational Research• General

– Very powerful discipline– Wide variety of applications

• Personal– Increased knowledge of different industry sectors– Prefer technical side of things - need both! – Presentation & report writing skills are important– Need to understand problem before a solution can be reached

– I can make a difference!

Thank you