ROBOTS ARE HERE TO HELP By Kris Fitzgerald Modern business operations have fundamentally changed over the last 100—and even the last 20— years. Terms that were once buzzwords for a select few—like “automation,” “Internet of Things,” “machine learning” and “artificial intelligence” (AI)—have become cornerstones of the evolving business landscape. Today, executives must understand how to […]Read More
HOW TEXAS BECAME A RICE PRODUCING STATE By Robyn Metcalfe Shortly after returning from Madagasgar, I was eating drum fish with steamy white rice at Austin’s popular Fonda San Miguel, and I realized my trip had changed my perspective. Most diners would find the fresh fish the most tantalizing item on the plate, but I […]Read More
HOW 4D MODELING AND SENSING MAY ELIMINATE THE LEADING CAUSES OF INJURY By Fernanda Leite, PhD, PE Since the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 placed the responsibility of construction safety on the employer, newly developed injury prevention strategies have led to dramatically decreased fatality and disability rates in the construction industry. Despite these […]Read More
The Global Cities Initiative (GCI) Exchange, a joint project of Brookings and JP Morgan Chase, is a network of metro areas across the country developing strategies to boost global trade and investment. At the core are 28 U.S. metropolitan areas creating integrated plans for export and foreign direct investment. In Texas, Houston and San Antonio […]Read More
HOW TO INCREASE THE VALUE OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN A DIGITAL WORLD By Jonathan Crane Seven out of ten corporate executives say they are making significantly more investments in artificial intelligence (AI) than just two years ago, according to Accenture’s recent Technology Vision survey. And more than half say they plan to use machine learning […]Read More
FIVE COMPONENTS TO BECOMING A HIGH RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION By David “Scott” Hencshel What are the components of an HRO in health care? When we speak of High Reliability Organizations we think of organizations that are successful in highly complex environments that are prone to the kind of human and systemic errors that can lead to […]Read More
DESIGNING THE NEW MULTI-GENERATIONAL WORKPLACE By Dean Strombom This is the first time in history when five generations of employees may co-exist in the workplace: the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials or Gen Y, and Gen Z. At the same time, older employees are delaying retirement while Gen Z, the generation we know […]Read More
HOW TO CREATE, TEST & ADMINISTER A DRUG POLICY FOR A SAFER OPERATION By Clinton Burgess Unlike some states, Texas holds no laws governing drug testing for private employers. In a 2013 survey, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources discovered that out of all Americans 12-years-old and older, 9.4 percent used illicit drugs […]Read More
HOW LEAN PRINCIPLES IMPROVE THE MOVE By Rodney Reddic Whether a company is relocating to a new factory or retro-fitting an old one, decisions made during the planning and design stage have a major impact on the company’s ability to become a world class manufacturer. The greatest leverage in the war on waste elimination exists […]Read More
