Upcoming Events

APICS Vancouver Chapter Plant Tour

Date: May 26

Time: 5pm-7:30pm Tours are in 20 minutes interval and one hour in length.

Location: Clark Freightways, 25 Burbidge Street, Coquitlam, BC V3K 6A3

Price: Free Groups are limited to 15 persons.

ASQ Vancouver 2010-2011 Season End Dinner Meeting

Date: June 9

Time: 6:30pm

Location: TBA

PMI BC Mainland Annual Conference

Date: June 15

Time: 7am-7pm

Location: Four Seasons Hotel, 791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver V6C 2T4

APICS BCIT Newsletter - May 2011

To Scan 2D

barcode,

download the

free ScanLife

app on your

phone at

2dscan.com

About APICS BCIT

Newsletter

APICS BCIT Newsletter is

written and produced for

APICS BCIT members

and others in the field of

operations management .

View points and opinions

expressed do not

necessarily reflect the

view of APICS BCIT.

Publication in APICS BCIT

Newsletter does not

constitute an

endorsement of any

product, services,

material, or philosophy

mentioned.

Feedback

To comment on

newsletter, email

bcitapics@gmail.com

Newsletter Editorial Staff

Editor in Chief

Ken Chen

Board of Directors Set Goals for 2011-2012 by Rafael Zveibil

The 2010-2011 Board of Directors took over a student club that had little activity and completely

overhauled it. They organized plant tours, created a fantastic website and published newsletters. More

than that, they engaged Operations Management students and were a constant source of motivation to

make us go further in our understanding of Operations Management and see what is beyond BCIT.

We went to Professional Development Meetings together, participated in Board of Director meetings,

and helped with projects.

As the new board members we all feel the responsibility to use the solid base created by the previous

board to achieve even greater results. So how did we deal with the anxiety? Why, we got into the

OpMan set of knowledge and tools we have been developing since we started our program at BCIT,

of course! After all, as big as an undertaking as this is, it still can be planned, implemented, controlled

and improved. And so we started, between classes and study sections for the final exams.

First, we created a team charter to complement the chapter‟s bylaws. The team charter defines the

vision and mission of our board and sets expected behaviours from the Board of Directors.

With the direction we wanted to take clear to everyone, we were able to discuss and set goals for next

year. The goals set were many and they are challenging, but we have a great board and many

members willing to be active and help.

And the 2011-2012 APICS BCIT Student Chapter goals are:

Memberships: To have 50% of first year Business Operations Management student as APICS

BCIT member by December 2011 and increase total membership to at least 77 by April 2012.

Plant Tours: To organize 8 plant tours where the students to see the concepts and tools they are

learning being applied in practice by real companies.

Newsletters: To publish 6 newsletter over the course of the academic year that will inform the

students, faculty, and those interested in the status of the Student Chapter, achievements of its

members, and upcoming events.

Seminars and others: To have 4 guest speakers, 4

seminars, 4 fund raising activities and 3 student lead

projects for charity over the course of the academic year.

Social Activities: To organize 6 social events for the

Business Operations Management students.

this issue New Chapter Goals for 2011/2012 P.1

The Making of BCIT’s Operations Management Showcase Event P.2

The Showcase’s Panel Discussion P.3

April 22 Virginia Mason Medical Center Plant Tour Write Up P.4

May 7 Boeing Commercial Jet Assembly Plant Tour Write Up P.5

April 27 APICS Fraser Valley PDM Write Up P.6

ANNA P.7

Upcoming Events P.8

APICS BCIT Student Chapter Newsletter-May Issue

The Making of

BCIT’s

Operations

Management Showcase

Event

By Niko Condon

APICS BCIT

Networking Seminar

By Chris Craxton

I attended the APICS

BCIT Student Chapter

Networking Seminar on

April 4th, 2011 given by

Sean Hepple. Sean is the

out-going APICS BCIT

Student Chapter president

and a member of the

Leaders of Tomorrow

program and as such has

great experience

networking in a variety of

environments. He

discussed a variety of

topics, including positive

networking, listening,

networking etiquette,

follow-ups and more.

Sean also discussed how

people who are new to

networking can network

in teams and how this can

be done effectively to

break the ice and leave

lasting impressions. The

information was

extremely useful and

practical. It was a great

experience and I learned a

lot about how to

positively network and

improve relationships

with those I meet.

Networking is one of the

most difficult yet

important aspects of being

successful, and I am glad

Sean took the time out of

his busy schedule to share

some of his valuable

knowledge with us.

Featured Member of

the Month

Last month‟s BCIT Operations Management

Showcase Event, in Richmond was, by all accounts,

a great success. The success of the event was due to

the hard work of the student teams that planned and

executed the project. Dating as far back as October

2010, a student planning team began to plot the

course of the event. By the late winter of 2011, the

initial planning team of 6 students had grown to 4

sub-teams with over 30 students involved in the

areas of content, promotions, registration and venue.

The Content team was responsible for organizing

and presenting the industry project storyboards, IT

solutions presentations, industry project

presentations, the informational booths on

Operations Management and Sustainability, liaised

with the professional industry associations present,

and the Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) chip

reading technology at each booth.

The Promotions team sent three different styles of

invitations (rotating week by week for 6 weeks prior

to the event) to well over 1000 local businesses,

designed a database of the invitees and registrants

for our records, designed and distributed

informational business cards and event brochures,

coordinated the door prize giveaway and designed

and operated the event website.

The Registration team compiled a list of attendees

through the website‟s RSVP function, designed and

printed nametags for over 180 guests, deployed

RFID chips into each guest‟s nametag, designed and

distributed the event program, handled all cash

during the evening and greeted each guest as they

arrived at the function.

Finally, the Venue team sourced a hotel for the event

that was within the event budget, planned the

evening‟s itinerary with the hotel Banquet planning

staff, and designed a floorplan for the event.

By working together, delegating tasks,

communicating effectively through email and

weekly team, sub-team, and other stakeholder

meetings, and under the helpful guidance of our

advisor Richard Ranftl, we were able to produce an

event that promoted BCIT‟s Business Operations

Management Program(OpMan) and its‟ exceptional

array of students to potential and current BCIT

industry partners. Furthermore, through our small

entrance fee, we raised over $560 for the United

Way, highlighting our commitment to social

responsibility.

This event reinforced everything we learn in our

program about effective goal setting, planning,

communicating, budgeting, sourcing, purchasing,

negotiating, marketing, production, plan-execution

and the management/logistics behind everything

from the most minute of details to the largest aspects

of the event itself. I couldn‟t be more proud of our

school, our program and every student who helped

make the event a success. My sincere hope is that we

can make the event an annual occurrence and that, in

the interest of applying our learning, we can

continuously improve its‟ message and content. I am

already looking forward to next year‟s event!

P2 P7

March 30 APICS

Fraser Valley PDM Write Up

by Andrew Stasiewski

Why can it be easy and fun

to work with some people,

while working with others

is stressful? It comes down

to differences in individual

personality styles. Susan

Jackson had the audience

fill out an MBTI (Myers

Briggs Type Indicator)

assessment, which

determines how people

perceive the world, gather

information, and make

decisions through a series

of questions. The audience

were asked to answer

which category they fell

into for the following

questions:

1. Extroversion or

Introversion – Do you

prefer to get energy from

the people around you or

your inner self?

2. Sensing or Intuition –

Do you prefer to take in

information through what

is real or patterns in data?

3. Thinking or Feeling –

Do you prefer to make

decisions based on logic or

by the impact it will have

on others?

4. Judging or Perceiving

– Do you prefer to deal

with the outer world in a

planned or spontaneous

way?

Susan described the

common traits of the

different personality types

and discussed how they

interact with others. To

work effectively and

produce the best results, it

helps to take your own as

well as others personality

styles into account. By

understanding how your

personality type operates

best, you can adjust your

behaviour to produce the

best results.

2011 APICS

Scholar

Education

Program

Aside from the

opportunity to

experience the

conference and

network with active,

operations

management

professionals,

scholars receive

complimentary

conference

registration, $200

stipend, hotel

accommodations

fully paid up to four

nights. In addition,

scholars also receive

reserved seating at

general session

presentations,

opportunities to

meet general

session speakers,

professional APICS

member as your

mentor, networking

opportunities with

industry

professionals and

conference-geared

student program.

The application

deadline for 2011

APICS Scholars

Education Program

is May 31.

Please visit

www.apics.org for

more information.

A highlight of the Business Operations

Management Program‟s Showcase event was the

Panel Discussion. Aside from having industry

project presentations and informational booths,

the Showcase also provided a session which

aimed to profile the success OpMan students can

bring to companies both during their time at BCIT

and after they graduate.

The panel guests were David Muncaster, a

Manager at Staples Advantage and long-time

partner of the Business Operations Management

program; Nathan Wu, a recent graduate and

Project Manager at ICBC; and Chuck Spong, the

program‟s longest teaching faculty member.

David has had several OpMan students working

on projects with him at Staples Advantage. He

said that he keeps taking on directed studies

projects because OpMan students integrate very

well into their environment, not to mention how

much these students help their company. David

emphasized that being creative or thinking

“outside the box” is essential to be a

successful OpMan graduate.

Nathan also told stories about how his

experience at the BCIT Business Operations

Management program allowed him to excel

in any workplace. He mentioned that the

most important skill that has benefited him

the most is time management, and advised

future OpMan graduates

Chuck believes that the OpMan program is

the most difficult in the BCIT School of Business.

He even candidly shared how some of his

previous students felt that their job after

graduation was easier or more manageable than

their schedule as OpMan students. This just

proves how the Business Operations Management

program greatly develops students‟ analytical and

team skills to make them become valuable

members of any management team.

It was definitely an enjoyable experience for me

facilitating the panel discussion and listening to

what the guests had to say. They strengthened

everyone‟s beliefs and perceptions on how great

the Business Operations Management program is.

I consider it an honor to have been given the

chance to be the panel moderator. I am thankful to

Richard Ranftl for his encouragement. After all, it

is because of the instructors and people supporting

the students that make the program a huge

success.

P6 P3

The Showcase’s Panel Discussion by Lance Pangan April 27 APICS Fraser Valley PDM Write Up by Dalton Burgess

As a member of the BCIT student chapter of APICS,

I was very excited to attend an event where the

speaker was our very own Process Improvement/

Production and Inventory Management instructor,

Richard Ranftl. I knew that regardless of the topic, I

would leave the event with something from listening

to him speak.

So what would Richard Ranftl feel that fellow

APICS members with successful careers and

seemingly (to me) infinite industry knowledge/

experience want to speak about? What exactly

would Richard feel that would fulfill the

“WIIFThem” part? The first answer that would

come to mind for me if I were asked these questions

would be something along the lines of “How to

effectively use a derivative of the safety stock

formula to establish a time fence that complies with

the conflicting wants and needs of management,

production, and sales‟.

To my surprise, Richard actually gave an in depth

talk about effective TEAMS! Every class that we

take at BCIT either teaches us specifically about

teams, has us work in teams, or we end up learning

from one another because of team work. I must

admit that we have had our fair share of course

material based explicitly on how to establish and

maintain effective teams. I really believed that we

had learned more than we need to know about teams

from our COMM class combined with our Process

Improvement material. What really hit home for me

was that ALL of the material that Richard composed

to present to these industry professionals was based

exactly on what we have learned this year about

teams. The fact that everyone in the room listened

intently and participated in all of the audience

feedback parts of the talk made me completely

change my views on what I feel is relevant to our

future careers and what isn‟t.

Although Richard manages to successfully animate

and make any topic as interesting as possible, I

found that he doesn‟t just do that to make an

irrelevant topic seem interesting… He does that to

make a relevant but seemingly dull topic interesting

and as memorable to us as possible. We are so lucky

to have instructors like Richard that make our

lectures and labs as good as they can be!

On another note, the Fraser Valley chapter of

APICS held their annual board member elections

before the speaker of the night did his presentation.

Our very own set representative, Anna Le Good,

was voted on to the board of directors! All of the

students from our program were extremely happy to

see Anna become a board member as she will be an

excellent example of what an Operations

Management student has to offer.

Good food, great people, superb guest speaker, and

an excellent choice for a new board member for

APICS Fraser Valley. If you have not made it out to

a PDM as of yet, I encourage you to “get your

networking on” and attend one soon!

2011 APICS

International

Conference & Expo

October 23-25, 2011

Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania, USA

APICS 2011 will take

place at David L.

Lawrence Convention

Center-the largest Gold

LEED certified green

convention center in the

world. The convention

center is designed to be

sustainable, energy

efficient, and waste

minimal.

This year, the theme for

the APICS International

Conference & Expo is

Achieving Sustainable

Productivity: Meeting

Customer Demand in an

Unpredictable World.

We will focus on the

skills that enable

sustainable productivity.

Attendees will learn how

to meet customer

demand in an

unpredictable

marketplace, bring

significant financial

rewards to their

companies, and ensure

long-term industry

progress and viability-

all while learning to

advance in their own

careers.

You can register for the

conference at

www.apics.org

Did You Know?

Our students have

organized and

attended 7 plant

tours through out

this academic year.

We got to visit great

companies like

Molson’s, Coast Coal

Harbor Hotel, OCE

Display Graphics,

London Drugs,

Grand & Toy,

Virginia Mason

Medical Center and

Boeing Commercial

Jet Assembly Plant.

Our students also

wrote great articles

about the plant

tours. The recent

ones are done by

Chen Chen “Irene”

Liang, Sean Hepple

and Rafael Zveibil.

You can check out

the plant tour write

ups on our website

at www.apics-

bcict.ca

On the morning of Friday April 22nd, 2011 four Business Operations Management students from the

British Columbia Institute of Technology had a unique opportunity to visit the Virginia Mason

Medical Centre. This center was named a “Leapfrog Top Hospital of the Decade” in 2010 and is truly

a world leader for safety and quality in patient care.

Chris Backous delivered a two hour presentation about Virginia Mason's adaptation of the Toyota

Production System (TPS) in a healthcare setting, the adapted system now called the Virginia Mason

Production System (VMPS). It might sound quite controversial as healthcare is definitely not a

manufacturing environment but a service one, with healthy patients as the products. However, in 2002

VMMC‟s leaders became convinced that TPS and lean manufacturing principles were the best choice

in making quality and safety a top priority using the principles of waste reduction and the

involvement of employees in continuous improvement initiatives. Once committed, the project was

not done by halves and since then many VM professionals have been sent on trips to Japan to learn

the best practices from the source.

Chris made it very clear from the start of the presentation that just using process improvement and

lean tools is not enough for successful transformation. Tools are only tools, easy to pick up and set

down. True Lean is embodied in the culture and commitment of leadership in all layers of an

organization.

He also pointed out that as the four of us were directors of a student club, we already have that kind

of opportunity and influence. We all could transform the learning culture of our program by leading

the way towards the best learning opportunities.

Leadership is encouraged in all levels of organizations. Staff must be certified at certain levels of the

VMPS and must maintain that certification through the arrangement of yearly (at least) Rapid Process

Improvement Workshops (RPIWs) for their area of employment.

I was amazed by VMMC‟s “Everyday Lean” idea system which allows every employee to submit

their ideas for lean improvements including sharing their issues and successes in addressing the

identified problem. All of the ideas submitted are saved into a searchable database, which is

extremely helpful to staff in other areas who are dealing with similar issues. The department that

submits the most ideas in a month gets recognition from their leadership.

It was a great learning opportunity for us. I definitely want to learn more about lean initiatives in

health care and the leadership it takes to transform the whole organization. We would like to thank

Chris Backous and Virginia Mason for the great opportunity given to students to learn about their

operations. I would also like to thank Nadia Graham for organizing such a wonderful tour for all of

us.

You can read the full article on our website at www.apics-bcit.ca

April 22 Virginia Mason Medical Center Plant Tour Write Up by Nadia Graham and Elena Kunetzsova

P4 P5

May 7 Boeing Commercial Jet Assembly Plant Tour Write Up by Adrienne Shamku

Having taken the Boeing Tour previously when I was very young, I was excited to have the opportunity

to visit the site once again. Though I didn‟t remember much from my previous tour, I do recall that I was

incredibly fascinated with the experience and had always hoped to return.

The Boeing Tour and Future of Flight Aviation Center is located in Everett Washington. The Boeing

operations in Everett produce the 747, 767, 777 and 787 aircrafts. The facility is immense; the factory

itself is nearly a mile long, the largest building in the world in terms of volume. The Everett factory has

its own rail system, fire department, security force, water-treatment plant, electrical sub-stations and of

course, runway. The facility retains 30,000 employees in total, 15,000 employees in the one

manufacturing plant.

The factory is divided into several sections, each of which produces one model of Boeing‟s aircraft line

up. Our tour began with a look at the production of the 747. Our guide Richard was extremely

knowledgeable and provided us with a wealth of information throughout our tour. We were taken into the

basement of the massive factory which is composed of many different tunnels. The tunnels run below the

building and lead to elevators that took us to a floor above the production facility. Here we were able to

view the entire operations. The 747 is produced in stages, with selected large parts of the aircraft brought

into the factory by train before it is assembled in Everett. We were able to see several different completed

stages of passenger 747 aircrafts as well as those used for transporting freight. Each stage is completed in

3 days, meaning that Boeing produces one complete 747 every 3 days! Each Boeing 747, the priciest of

the Boeing line-up, runs in excess of $300 million dollars depending on the interior furnishings selected.

The following sections were the home of the 777 and the new 787 „Dreamliner‟. The 777 is one of

Boeing‟s top selling aircraft and is manufactured using a moving assembly line. During the final

assembly stage, a tug is used to pull the airplane forward using an optical sensor. This production system

has help Boeing improve efficiency and eliminate waste in its production line.

The 787 is Boeing‟s newest aircraft and labelled as the airplane of the future. The 787 production system

was designed using Lean manufacturing techniques in a simplified final assembly process. The sub

assembled parts are brought in on a modified 747 called the „Dreamlifter‟ and is large enough to hold the

fuselage of the 787. The 787 aircraft is made up of composite materials for most of its construction,

providing a dramatic savings in fuel usage and operations costs. This aircraft is the most advanced and

efficient in its class, also setting new standards for environmental performance and comfort. The

popularity of the new airplane is so extensive that if you have $200 million lying around and want to

order one today, your 787 would not be delivered until 2018.

The tour ended with the opportunity to visit the Future of Flight Aviation Center. This exhibit provides

visitors with an opportunity to gain more knowledge about Boeing aircrafts and view different sections of

the airplanes up close through interactive displays.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour to the Boeing factory and would highly recommend anyone visiting the

Seattle area to make a stop and take the tour. Seeing the production of such a complex moving structure

firsthand and how Boeing has implemented Lean manufacturing techniques in production on such a large

scale was one word, amazing.

Picture was taken from the Boeing Company website Picture was taken from the Boeing Company website

2011 APICS

International

Conference & Expo

October 23-25, 2011

Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania, USA

APICS 2011 will take

place at David L.

Lawrence Convention

Center-the largest Gold

LEED certified green

convention center in the

world. The convention

center is designed to be

sustainable, energy

efficient, and waste

minimal.

This year, the theme for

the APICS International

Conference & Expo is

Achieving Sustainable

Productivity: Meeting

Customer Demand in an

Unpredictable World.

We will focus on the

skills that enable

sustainable productivity.

Attendees will learn how

to meet customer

demand in an

unpredictable

marketplace, bring

significant financial

rewards to their

companies, and ensure

long-term industry

progress and viability-

all while learning to

advance in their own

careers.

You can register for the

conference at

www.apics.org

Did You Know?

Our students have

organized and

attended 7 plant

tours through out

this academic year.

We got to visit great

companies like

Molson’s, Coast Coal

Harbor Hotel, OCE

Display Graphics,

London Drugs,

Grand & Toy,

Virginia Mason

Medical Center and

Boeing Commercial

Jet Assembly Plant.

Our students also

wrote great articles

about the plant

tours. The recent

ones are done by

Chen Chen “Irene”

Liang, Sean Hepple

and Rafael Zveibil.

You can check out

the plant tour write

ups on our website

at www.apics-

bcict.ca

On the morning of Friday April 22nd, 2011 four Business Operations Management students from the

British Columbia Institute of Technology had a unique opportunity to visit the Virginia Mason

Medical Centre. This center was named a “Leapfrog Top Hospital of the Decade” in 2010 and is truly

a world leader for safety and quality in patient care.

Chris Backous delivered a two hour presentation about Virginia Mason's adaptation of the Toyota

Production System (TPS) in a healthcare setting, the adapted system now called the Virginia Mason

Production System (VMPS). It might sound quite controversial as healthcare is definitely not a

manufacturing environment but a service one, with healthy patients as the products. However, in 2002

VMMC‟s leaders became convinced that TPS and lean manufacturing principles were the best choice

in making quality and safety a top priority using the principles of waste reduction and the

involvement of employees in continuous improvement initiatives. Once committed, the project was

not done by halves and since then many VM professionals have been sent on trips to Japan to learn

the best practices from the source.

Chris made it very clear from the start of the presentation that just using process improvement and

lean tools is not enough for successful transformation. Tools are only tools, easy to pick up and set

down. True Lean is embodied in the culture and commitment of leadership in all layers of an

organization.

He also pointed out that as the four of us were directors of a student club, we already have that kind

of opportunity and influence. We all could transform the learning culture of our program by leading

the way towards the best learning opportunities.

Leadership is encouraged in all levels of organizations. Staff must be certified at certain levels of the

VMPS and must maintain that certification through the arrangement of yearly (at least) Rapid Process

Improvement Workshops (RPIWs) for their area of employment.

I was amazed by VMMC‟s “Everyday Lean” idea system which allows every employee to submit

their ideas for lean improvements including sharing their issues and successes in addressing the

identified problem. All of the ideas submitted are saved into a searchable database, which is

extremely helpful to staff in other areas who are dealing with similar issues. The department that

submits the most ideas in a month gets recognition from their leadership.

It was a great learning opportunity for us. I definitely want to learn more about lean initiatives in

health care and the leadership it takes to transform the whole organization. We would like to thank

Chris Backous and Virginia Mason for the great opportunity given to students to learn about their

operations. I would also like to thank Nadia Graham for organizing such a wonderful tour for all of

us.

You can read the full article on our website at www.apics-bcit.ca

April 22 Virginia Mason Medical Center Plant Tour Write Up by Nadia Graham and Elena Kunetzsova

P4 P5

May 7 Boeing Commercial Jet Assembly Plant Tour Write Up by Adrienne Shamku

Having taken the Boeing Tour previously when I was very young, I was excited to have the opportunity

to visit the site once again. Though I didn‟t remember much from my previous tour, I do recall that I was

incredibly fascinated with the experience and had always hoped to return.

The Boeing Tour and Future of Flight Aviation Center is located in Everett Washington. The Boeing

operations in Everett produce the 747, 767, 777 and 787 aircrafts. The facility is immense; the factory

itself is nearly a mile long, the largest building in the world in terms of volume. The Everett factory has

its own rail system, fire department, security force, water-treatment plant, electrical sub-stations and of

course, runway. The facility retains 30,000 employees in total, 15,000 employees in the one

manufacturing plant.

The factory is divided into several sections, each of which produces one model of Boeing‟s aircraft line

up. Our tour began with a look at the production of the 747. Our guide Richard was extremely

knowledgeable and provided us with a wealth of information throughout our tour. We were taken into the

basement of the massive factory which is composed of many different tunnels. The tunnels run below the

building and lead to elevators that took us to a floor above the production facility. Here we were able to

view the entire operations. The 747 is produced in stages, with selected large parts of the aircraft brought

into the factory by train before it is assembled in Everett. We were able to see several different completed

stages of passenger 747 aircrafts as well as those used for transporting freight. Each stage is completed in

3 days, meaning that Boeing produces one complete 747 every 3 days! Each Boeing 747, the priciest of

the Boeing line-up, runs in excess of $300 million dollars depending on the interior furnishings selected.

The following sections were the home of the 777 and the new 787 „Dreamliner‟. The 777 is one of

Boeing‟s top selling aircraft and is manufactured using a moving assembly line. During the final

assembly stage, a tug is used to pull the airplane forward using an optical sensor. This production system

has help Boeing improve efficiency and eliminate waste in its production line.

The 787 is Boeing‟s newest aircraft and labelled as the airplane of the future. The 787 production system

was designed using Lean manufacturing techniques in a simplified final assembly process. The sub

assembled parts are brought in on a modified 747 called the „Dreamlifter‟ and is large enough to hold the

fuselage of the 787. The 787 aircraft is made up of composite materials for most of its construction,

providing a dramatic savings in fuel usage and operations costs. This aircraft is the most advanced and

efficient in its class, also setting new standards for environmental performance and comfort. The

popularity of the new airplane is so extensive that if you have $200 million lying around and want to

order one today, your 787 would not be delivered until 2018.

The tour ended with the opportunity to visit the Future of Flight Aviation Center. This exhibit provides

visitors with an opportunity to gain more knowledge about Boeing aircrafts and view different sections of

the airplanes up close through interactive displays.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour to the Boeing factory and would highly recommend anyone visiting the

Seattle area to make a stop and take the tour. Seeing the production of such a complex moving structure

firsthand and how Boeing has implemented Lean manufacturing techniques in production on such a large

scale was one word, amazing.

Picture was taken from the Boeing Company website Picture was taken from the Boeing Company website

March 30 APICS

Fraser Valley PDM Write Up

by Andrew Stasiewski

Why can it be easy and fun

to work with some people,

while working with others

is stressful? It comes down

to differences in individual

personality styles. Susan

Jackson had the audience

fill out an MBTI (Myers

Briggs Type Indicator)

assessment, which

determines how people

perceive the world, gather

information, and make

decisions through a series

of questions. The audience

were asked to answer

which category they fell

into for the following

questions:

1. Extroversion or

Introversion – Do you

prefer to get energy from

the people around you or

your inner self?

2. Sensing or Intuition –

Do you prefer to take in

information through what

is real or patterns in data?

3. Thinking or Feeling –

Do you prefer to make

decisions based on logic or

by the impact it will have

on others?

4. Judging or Perceiving

– Do you prefer to deal

with the outer world in a

planned or spontaneous

way?

Susan described the

common traits of the

different personality types

and discussed how they

interact with others. To

work effectively and

produce the best results, it

helps to take your own as

well as others personality

styles into account. By

understanding how your

personality type operates

best, you can adjust your

behaviour to produce the

best results.

2011 APICS

Scholar

Education

Program

Aside from the

opportunity to

experience the

conference and

network with active,

operations

management

professionals,

scholars receive

complimentary

conference

registration, $200

stipend, hotel

accommodations

fully paid up to four

nights. In addition,

scholars also receive

reserved seating at

general session

presentations,

opportunities to

meet general

session speakers,

professional APICS

member as your

mentor, networking

opportunities with

industry

professionals and

conference-geared

student program.

The application

deadline for 2011

APICS Scholars

Education Program

is May 31.

Please visit

www.apics.org for

more information.

A highlight of the Business Operations

Management Program‟s Showcase event was the

Panel Discussion. Aside from having industry

project presentations and informational booths,

the Showcase also provided a session which

aimed to profile the success OpMan students can

bring to companies both during their time at BCIT

and after they graduate.

The panel guests were David Muncaster, a

Manager at Staples Advantage and long-time

partner of the Business Operations Management

program; Nathan Wu, a recent graduate and

Project Manager at ICBC; and Chuck Spong, the

program‟s longest teaching faculty member.

David has had several OpMan students working

on projects with him at Staples Advantage. He

said that he keeps taking on directed studies

projects because OpMan students integrate very

well into their environment, not to mention how

much these students help their company. David

emphasized that being creative or thinking

“outside the box” is essential to be a

successful OpMan graduate.

Nathan also told stories about how his

experience at the BCIT Business Operations

Management program allowed him to excel

in any workplace. He mentioned that the

most important skill that has benefited him

the most is time management, and advised

future OpMan graduates

Chuck believes that the OpMan program is

the most difficult in the BCIT School of Business.

He even candidly shared how some of his

previous students felt that their job after

graduation was easier or more manageable than

their schedule as OpMan students. This just

proves how the Business Operations Management

program greatly develops students‟ analytical and

team skills to make them become valuable

members of any management team.

It was definitely an enjoyable experience for me

facilitating the panel discussion and listening to

what the guests had to say. They strengthened

everyone‟s beliefs and perceptions on how great

the Business Operations Management program is.

I consider it an honor to have been given the

chance to be the panel moderator. I am thankful to

Richard Ranftl for his encouragement. After all, it

is because of the instructors and people supporting

the students that make the program a huge

success.

P6 P3

The Showcase’s Panel Discussion by Lance Pangan April 27 APICS Fraser Valley PDM Write Up by Dalton Burgess

As a member of the BCIT student chapter of APICS,

I was very excited to attend an event where the

speaker was our very own Process Improvement/

Production and Inventory Management instructor,

Richard Ranftl. I knew that regardless of the topic, I

would leave the event with something from listening

to him speak.

So what would Richard Ranftl feel that fellow

APICS members with successful careers and

seemingly (to me) infinite industry knowledge/

experience want to speak about? What exactly

would Richard feel that would fulfill the

“WIIFThem” part? The first answer that would

come to mind for me if I were asked these questions

would be something along the lines of “How to

effectively use a derivative of the safety stock

formula to establish a time fence that complies with

the conflicting wants and needs of management,

production, and sales‟.

To my surprise, Richard actually gave an in depth

talk about effective TEAMS! Every class that we

take at BCIT either teaches us specifically about

teams, has us work in teams, or we end up learning

from one another because of team work. I must

admit that we have had our fair share of course

material based explicitly on how to establish and

maintain effective teams. I really believed that we

had learned more than we need to know about teams

from our COMM class combined with our Process

Improvement material. What really hit home for me

was that ALL of the material that Richard composed

to present to these industry professionals was based

exactly on what we have learned this year about

teams. The fact that everyone in the room listened

intently and participated in all of the audience

feedback parts of the talk made me completely

change my views on what I feel is relevant to our

future careers and what isn‟t.

Although Richard manages to successfully animate

and make any topic as interesting as possible, I

found that he doesn‟t just do that to make an

irrelevant topic seem interesting… He does that to

make a relevant but seemingly dull topic interesting

and as memorable to us as possible. We are so lucky

to have instructors like Richard that make our

lectures and labs as good as they can be!

On another note, the Fraser Valley chapter of

APICS held their annual board member elections

before the speaker of the night did his presentation.

Our very own set representative, Anna Le Good,

was voted on to the board of directors! All of the

students from our program were extremely happy to

see Anna become a board member as she will be an

excellent example of what an Operations

Management student has to offer.

Good food, great people, superb guest speaker, and

an excellent choice for a new board member for

APICS Fraser Valley. If you have not made it out to

a PDM as of yet, I encourage you to “get your

networking on” and attend one soon!

Upcoming Events

APICS Vancouver Chapter Plant Tour

Date: May 26

Time: 5pm-7:30pm Tours are in 20 minutes interval and one hour in length.

Location: Clark Freightways, 25 Burbidge Street, Coquitlam, BC V3K 6A3

Price: Free Groups are limited to 15 persons.

ASQ Vancouver 2010-2011 Season End Dinner Meeting

Date: June 9

Time: 6:30pm

Location: TBA

PMI BC Mainland Annual Conference

Date: June 15

Time: 7am-7pm

Location: Four Seasons Hotel, 791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver V6C 2T4

APICS BCIT Newsletter - May 2011

To Scan 2D

barcode,

download the

free ScanLife

app on your

phone at

2dscan.com

About APICS BCIT

Newsletter

APICS BCIT Newsletter is

written and produced for

APICS BCIT members

and others in the field of

operations management .

View points and opinions

expressed do not

necessarily reflect the

view of APICS BCIT.

Publication in APICS BCIT

Newsletter does not

constitute an

endorsement of any

product, services,

material, or philosophy

mentioned.

Feedback

To comment on

newsletter, email

bcitapics@gmail.com

Newsletter Editorial Staff

Editor in Chief

Ken Chen

Board of Directors Set Goals for 2011-2012 by Rafael Zveibil

The 2010-2011 Board of Directors took over a student club that had little activity and completely

overhauled it. They organized plant tours, created a fantastic website and published newsletters. More

than that, they engaged Operations Management students and were a constant source of motivation to

make us go further in our understanding of Operations Management and see what is beyond BCIT.

We went to Professional Development Meetings together, participated in Board of Director meetings,

and helped with projects.

As the new board members we all feel the responsibility to use the solid base created by the previous

board to achieve even greater results. So how did we deal with the anxiety? Why, we got into the

OpMan set of knowledge and tools we have been developing since we started our program at BCIT,

of course! After all, as big as an undertaking as this is, it still can be planned, implemented, controlled

and improved. And so we started, between classes and study sections for the final exams.

First, we created a team charter to complement the chapter‟s bylaws. The team charter defines the

vision and mission of our board and sets expected behaviours from the Board of Directors.

With the direction we wanted to take clear to everyone, we were able to discuss and set goals for next

year. The goals set were many and they are challenging, but we have a great board and many

members willing to be active and help.

And the 2011-2012 APICS BCIT Student Chapter goals are:

Memberships: To have 50% of first year Business Operations Management student as APICS

BCIT member by December 2011 and increase total membership to at least 77 by April 2012.

Plant Tours: To organize 8 plant tours where the students to see the concepts and tools they are

learning being applied in practice by real companies.

Newsletters: To publish 6 newsletter over the course of the academic year that will inform the

students, faculty, and those interested in the status of the Student Chapter, achievements of its

members, and upcoming events.

Seminars and others: To have 4 guest speakers, 4

seminars, 4 fund raising activities and 3 student lead

projects for charity over the course of the academic year.

Social Activities: To organize 6 social events for the

Business Operations Management students.

this issue New Chapter Goals for 2011/2012 P.1

The Making of BCIT’s Operations Management Showcase Event P.2

The Showcase’s Panel Discussion P.3

April 22 Virginia Mason Medical Center Plant Tour Write Up P.4

May 7 Boeing Commercial Jet Assembly Plant Tour Write Up P.5

April 27 APICS Fraser Valley PDM Write Up P.6

ANNA P.7

Upcoming Events P.8

APICS BCIT Student Chapter Newsletter-May Issue