President's Message: Expense Now, Savings Tomorrow

Rodney Simmons

doi:10.56094/jss.v52i1.130

Authors

Dr. Rodney Simmons Khalifa University of Science and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6132-1463

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56094/jss.v52i1.130

Keywords:

inflection point, organizational action

Abstract

In my last message to the Society, I cited Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel, who — in his 1998 book Only the Paranoid Survive — advanced the concept of the “strategic inflection point” (see figure). I discussed the implications of this concept for our Society. Since I wrote that column, a couple of salient developments have transpired: Andy Grove has passed on to the next life and BP has reached an historic $20 billion settlement with the U.S. government regarding its responsibility for the major spill at the Macondo drilling site in the Gulf of Mexico (you may better know the event by the name of the rig, Deepwater Horizon). Some readers might wonder why I’d mention an IT pioneer and an oil industry event when addressing a Society whose members are predominantly from the defense/aerospace sector. I believe that there are lessons to be learned from both, but I’ll first address the oil sector, asking, “How is the practice of process safety and asset integrity engineering different in the current climate of cheap(er) oil, versus the business environment that existed when oil prices were above $100 per barrel?”

Author Biography

Dr. Rodney Simmons, Khalifa University of Science and Technology

Rodney J. Simmons, Ph.D., CSP earned his Ph.D. in industrial engineering (with a specialization in safety and industrial hygiene engineering) at Texas A&M University, and also holds a S.M. in industrial hygiene from Harvard University School of Public Health and a M.S. in environmental chemistry from California State University, Northridge, where he also earned a B.S. in environmental health science.

Since Fall of 2010, he’s served on the engineering faculty of The Petroleum Institute, which is now a part of Khalifa University of Science and Technology. He’s also a Visiting Professor at Huddersfield University in the UK. Prior to 2010, he held faculty posts at University of Cincinnati, Texas A&M University, Illinois State University, Tunghai University, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.