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Anna, Derek, Jeremy, Kevin, Michael, Mike, Neal, Pete, Ramy, Sandra, Ted, Jenny

Service Systems Engineering?

the focus is on people interacting with people and serving the

customer rather than transforming physical goods

Contact

• Began with general definition of SSE• Contacted iCOA’s for direction

– IBM teleconference– State Farm Research Park visit– Career Fairs

• Decided to pursue two separate projects with iCOA’s

More service in engineering than you think

IBM

Smarter Planet Campaign

• International Business Machines corporation• Mostly associated with computer and

information technologies• Provide wide range of services in various fields

(education, traffic, etc.)

Contact with IBM

• Held teleconference with IBM representative 9/18/09– Summary of IBM activities

• Email contact with representative for information

Problem Summary

• Long Queues at meal times• Congestion in university dining halls• Inability of students to gauge wait times• Lack of access to lunch room statistics

Possible solutions• RFID Tags

– On cell phones or id card– Then put scanner at entrance/exit

• Social networking– Based off student participation

• Pressure sensor– Put at exit to give estimate of # leaving

• Camera w/ image recognition– Basically similar to above idea

State Farm

Keeping the Engineering in Insurance

State Farm•Contacted via email•Expressed interest in project at iPicnic•Met at Research Park for tour and conference

•Gained deeper knowledge into the engineering side of State Farm•Observed internship work

•Most interns within Research Park

•Dynamic research within work environment

State Farm Project• Entered conference room with combining IBM

and State Farm into one project• Talked about different project ideas

– Proposed pre-established ideas• Lunch room trafficking system

– State Farm areas for improvement• Make customer service more like a ‘good neighbor’• Reform billing process• HR project

• Clarified State Farm’s relationship with iFoundry

The Final Decision

• Decided on HR project • Assessing the online job application process• Take surveys and transform data into

improvements• Each person willing to work 4 hours per week

• Cumulative 24 hours per week

– Meeting with State Farm at Research Park to further define expectations for project

Current Status

• Continuing/ Beginning the projects– IBM meal statistics gathering– State Farm HR improvement