Ralph Gunn, a specialist consultant at The IQ Business Group, has been appointed president of the Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering (SAIIE), the same body that spearheads the industrial engineering industry.
Gunn was elected president after being nominated onto the council through recommendations and having served as a vice-president for several years. An astounding achievement, considering this is the ultimate recognition from peers within the industrial engineering fraternity.
Having studied industrial engineering at the University of Pretoria, Gunn joined ICL as part of a graduate training programme. He then went on to study his MBA in the States at Purdue University (one of the leading institutions for industrial engineering worldwide). He joined IQ in October 2002 working on projects for a leading financial institution.
As the name implies, the field of Industrial Engineering deals with the engineering of industrial undertakings. Modern Industrial Engineering is concerned with the integration of resources and processes into cohesive strategies, structures and systems for the effective and efficient production of quality goods and services.
"Often people do not understand the full breadth of industrial engineering as a discipline. Simply put, it incorporates holistic business system thinking, restructuring of operations through process reengineering to improve operational efficiency," says Gunn. "The majority of research is done on productivity, reduction of variability and quality improvement within operations, while research in supply chain management looks to address the variability and quality into and out of the operation."
IQ consults to companies addressing their operational efficiency by aligning strategic intent with actual delivery through structural and process (re)engineering.
IQ is proud to have an individual of this calibre contribute to growing the organisation. "IQ prides itself on attracting and retaining some of the best people within our industry," says Dirk Ackerman, CEO of The IQ Business Group.
Gunn will be officially inaugurated as president on 19 August at the SAIIE AGM. The SAIIE 2004 Annual conference runs from16-17 September at The Indaba Hotel in Fourways. Visit http://www.saiie.co.za.
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The IQ Business Group is a specialist services provider, offering clients expertise, knowledge and skill in re-engineering business processes and the technologies that enable them. IQ plans the strategic and tactical steps required to drive and leverage change in multiple industries.
IQ has a proud history of attracting talented individuals. Established in 1998, the company has grown its business by partnering with leading players in niche sectors that see information technology as strategic to their growth objectives.
The IQ Group has operations in the Australia, SA and the US.
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