Daniel Bumblauskas, Ph.D.; ESP International Fellow of Supply Chain and Logistics Management at the University of Northern Iowa

Daniel has spent his entire professional and personal career in the field of Industrial Engineers.  In this episode, we explore the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a “Black Swan” event, on the way businesses might operate post-pandemic.  

We start by discussing how telephony in education and the corporate world will be embraced more readily to its becoming ubiquitous.  While both Dan and myself have been working virtually long before it was cool, institutions for learning, from grade-school through university, and a great many companies that are not tech-companies, are getting a crash-course.  Dan shares that the technology is not new – companies like Google, Facebook, and others have been using “vc” for “visual chat” a long time.  And the benefits for time, efficiency, and effectiveness which, while known by some, will be more readily embraced by all – mostly because they discover how it can be an accelerant for achieving objectives.

One of the biggest transformations will come in the field of education.  For decades, traditional institutes of higher learning have looked down upon those that delivered education telephonically – only to embrace it enthusiastically when faced with a crisis.  The challenge is to maintain quality, as if the quality of education delivered telephonically is inherently inferior.  But what if the quality of delivering education telephonically is actually superior – once its learned how to make it superior.   

This leads us to a discussion on the value of face-to-face.  Humans are social beings and we need that close interaction.  This is not only necessary to make the learning experience more enjoyable and “sticky”, but also the primary driver for why people go to conferences.  The sessions are (usually) very good, but it’s the interaction with peers in a casual setting where the real value of attending is gained.

The conversation continues with deep dives into the various ways companies are discovering there is a “silver lining” during this pandemic cloud; the various ways they are realizing how they can improve the performance in their operations, increase health and safety, accelerate the achievement of strategic initiatives, reduce operating costs (such as the overhead of real estate and travel) and so on.

Come take a listen, open your mind, and start using your imagination as to what can be, what good can come from all this bad.

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Host: Joseph Paris, Founder of the;  XONITEK Group of Companies,  Operational Excellence Society & Readiness Institute

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Guest: Daniel P. Bumblauskas, Ph.D.

Daniel P. Bumblauskas, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Management and the Hamilton / ESP International Fellow of Supply Chain and Logistics Management at the University of Northern Iowa; a visiting professor at the University of Washington; and holds a courtesy appointment at the University of Missouri where he previously held a faculty appointment.  Dan conducts research, teaches, and consults on various areas related to operational excellence and business development.  He has published over 45 peer reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings, including publications in journals such; as Expert Systems with Applications, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications and Business Process Management.  He earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Economics from Iowa State University, a master of liberal arts in general management from Harvard University, and received both his M.S. and Ph.D in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University.  Prior to his faculty appointments, he was employed in industry by ABB Incorporated and Sears Holding Corporation.  He currently serves as a Vice President of PFC Services, Inc., a consulting firm based in Marietta, Georgia.

• Family: wife, Kendra, and four children (Addilyn, Taryn, Grayson and Weston; ages 11, 10, 7, and 5 respectively)
• Hobbies: golfing, ice hockey (Waterloo Youth Hockey Association – WYHA, USA Hockey 6U/8U Level 1 coach)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-bumblauskas/

Company details:

• University of Northern Iowa https://uni.edu/  
  • Headquarters; Cedar Falls, Iowa
  • Founded in 1876
  • Company type; Higher Education
  • Company size; ~ 639 academic staff
• PFC Services https://pfcservicesinc.com/
  • Headquarters; Marietta, Georgia
  • Founded in 2000
  • Company type; Management Consulting
  • Specialties; Industrial Engineering, Operations & Supply Chain Management, General Management