Transcript SueMerchantx

Maximising the impact of
maths in practice
Sue Merchant
Past president OR Society
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Purpose of talk
• Highlight the practical impact of maths/OR in
the workplace
• Highlight the importance of a maths
education, particularly to OR analysts
• Point to features which might usefully be
stressed in Maths courses to help maximise
the impact of mathematical skills in the
workplace
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OR is:
“The application of
appropriate analytical
methods to help make
better decisions”
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OR is:
An analytical
toolkit
A way of thinking
& communicating
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What’s in the toolkit…?
Scenario
analysis
Cognitive and
causal mapping
Spreadsheet
analysis’what if’s
Scheduling
algorithms
CPA
Heuristic
methods
Multicriteria
decision Simulation
methods
Soft systems
modelling
Process
mapping
Statistics
Forecasting
Genetic
algorithms
Mathematical
programming
Data mining
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Typical types of problem tackled by OR
Measure/compare
performance
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Control
performance
Improve/optimise
performance
Choose between
options
Diagnose
management
problems
Envision the
future
Develop options for
action
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Comment from the first OR conference
“ OR in my experience is only too accustomed to
taking on the things that no one else is willing to
have a go at. That makes me think that OR
workers, on the whole, are rather rash.
That may be so, but it is great fun!”
Dr K.Pennycuick 1958
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Examples of problems tackled by OR people
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Reducing patient waiting times
Finding the best routes for van deliveries
Optimising mobile phone networks
Reducing waste in garment cutting factories
Making better use of office space/locations
Estimating best number of checkouts
Where to put goods on shelves to maximise sales
Increasing flexibility of car production
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Examples of problems which OR helped
tackle in the Met Police
• Dispatch van routes
• Choosing between options (eg equipment; strategies)
• Resource allocation between units (Manpower /
budget/vehicle allocation)
• Looking for good practice efficiencies across similar
units(DEA, and simple methods)
• Number of prisoner cells needed (stochastic models)
• Information strategies –process modelling
• Performance management: developing indicators
• Planning for big projects (CPA)
• Evaluation of police schemes
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Value of a maths education
Enables one to:
• think logically
• analyse a problem from first principles
•model the real world
•develop new types of models
•interpret statistics
•see the wood for the trees
•understand dimension and significance
•pick out important relationships from data
•Know the most effective way of displaying data
•appreciate the stochastic nature of some problems
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Desirable features of a maths educationNeed practice in:
•Communication –
Using language which managers will understand
Representing maths concepts simply and clearly
•Recognising when maths can help and then
presenting real world problems mathematically
•Modelling the problem as it is- not shoe-horning it into an
interesting maths technique
•Writing reports with diagrams which clearly show
the facts and summarise them
•Learning to find new ways of solving problems
•Thinking about data sources, likely flaws, managing missing data
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The ORS:
Helping to link academics and practitioners
• Website for members (www.theorsociety.com), another for
learning about OR (www.LearnAboutOR.co.uk) and a third for
potential users (www.scienceofbetter.co.uk)
• A range of international journals (the Journal of the OR Society; OR
Insight; Journal of Simulation etc)
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A range of training courses & conferences
A regular monthly newsletter for members
Special interest groups (eg criminal justice; health)
Regional groups
A professional accreditation system
Putting members in touch
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Thank you!
Are there any questions?
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