"Problem Solved" is live at the Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, sponsored by the Society for Health Systems. We're talking to attendees, speakers and other participants about their conference experience using three simple questions: Who are you? Why are you attending this conference? And what will be the focus of healthcare in the future? Listen to this brief interview from Feb. 26 with Todd Banks from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

She had her eyes on a career as an industrial engineer ... until a human factors class at Clemson University opened her eyes to the world of ergonomics. Bobbie Watts, Ph.D., CPE, the director of ergonomics for Michelin Americas, has more than 20 years of experience in industrial engineering, ergonomics and human factors. In this episode of "Problem Solved," Michael Hughes talks to Watts about her eclectic resume, what she advises as a mentor to students of all ages, and how networking has aided her in finding career opportunities for herself and others.

"Take one breath." That's the advice from Ashley Benedict, Ph.D. for anyone who wants to take the first step toward change. In 2019, she got a chance to participate in an eight-week mind-body class through her work at the VISN 8: VA Sunshine Healthcare Network, and it changed her perspective on how taking time to focus inward can impact the outward work. In this episode of "Problem Solved," Benedict describes her self-discovery journey, strategies for incorporating mindfulness into your daily work and life, and the joy you can experience on a seemingly average walk in Florida.

IISE is marking its first 5,000 downloads with an episode that digs behind the scenes both "Problem Solved: The IISE Podcast" and ISE magazine. In this episode, David Brandt sits down with fellow IISE staff members Keith Albertson and Michael Hughes to discuss their shared professional backgrounds in journalism, their transition from newspapers to writing and reporting for IISE's communications department, the role members play in finding and developing news stories for ISE magazine, and their favorite episodes and highlights thus far from the podcast since its debut in May 2019.

Hailing from Brittany in France, Johanna Ficatier’s career has landed her in cultures as diverse as Japan and Rochester, Minnesota. In this episode of "Problem Solved," the Mayo Clinic Senior Health Systems Engineer describes how the joy she gets from engineering interventions that help patients and doctors has her aiming to stay in healthcare at Mayo – which has more than seven decades of using engineering to improve clinical outcomes. Ficatier, active every year in IISE’s Engineering Lean & Six Sigma Conference, notes that presenting at the conference led directly to her career at Mayo.

In this episode of "Problem Solved," Betsy Plattenburg, executive director of Curiosity Lab, discusses the smart city test environment created in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, near Atlanta. She describes the autonomous vehicle tests at Curiosity Lab plus other smart city technology and challenges in a conversation with Managing Editor Keith Albertson. Look for more on smart cities and Curiosity Lab in the January issue of ISE magazine, the first installment in our series, "2020 and Beyond: The Future of ISE."

In making a better world, Artificial Intelligence will be your cognitive partner, not your robot overlord, IBM’s Ben Amaba and Binghamton University’s Michael Testani tell us in this episode of “Problem Solved.” ISEs skilled in handling inventory and integrating systems can translate those talents and human factors knowledge to collecting, storing, analyzing and presenting data – all while skyrocketing your salary. Amaba and Testani encourage ISEs to take the lead in democratizing AI and Big Data, whether you’re a student or midcareer.

The fabled 20-8-2 rule for office workers (sit 20 minutes, stand 8 minutes, walk 2 minutes) has real-world validity, according to Mark Benden, director of Texas A&M’s Ergonomics Center, in this latest episode of "Problem Solved." But keeping your workforce – whether office-bound, at home or in a factory – healthy, happy and productive involves a systematic combination of human, equipment and training that will vary by employee. Benden also discusses how artificial intelligence and machine learning will help research move from active to passive sensors and build living systems that learn when, where and how to prompt your workforce to make the right adjustments and take the right breaks to achieve optimal productivity.

Caitlin Kenney and Amy Greer are professional engineers who volunteer with NCEES to promote licensure for industrial and systems engineering. In this episode of #ProblemSolved, this PE duo talks to IISE's David Brandt about the career advantages and realities that engineers can discover in the pursuit of earning their PE license. They also discuss their personal experiences in how earning the "PE" tag has changed their respective careers.

Everyone walks a different career path, but the road is full of opportunities that are yours for the taking. It's just a matter of taking one step at a time. That's the initial advice from Carl Kirpes, who works in Crude Oil Strategy & Analysis for Marathon Petroleum Corp. and also serves as senior vice president, industry, for the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. In this episode of "Problem Solved," Kirpes talks with IISE's David Brandt about how the Institute has played a role in his career from the beginning, the mentors who helped him find direction and the advice he gives to students and young professionals who aim high in their own careers.