1. ISE 288 INTERVIEW Interviewee: John Bowen BS Industrial Management Mercer University Interviewer : Thomas Knerr Editor : Dr. Joan Burtner ISE 288 INTERVIEW Interviewee: John Bowen BS Industrial Management Mercer University Interviewer : Thomas Knerr Editor : Dr. Joan Burtner

2. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 20082 Introduction  Armstrong World Industries  John Bowen’s Background  A Typical Day  The Job Experience  Mercer Highlights

3. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 20083 Armstrong World Industries  Global Manufacturing Company  Headquartered in Pennsylvania  Product Line  Flooring  Ceiling Tile  Cabinets  Middle Georgia Production Facility located in Macon

4. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 20084 Interviewee: John Bowen  Graduate of Mercer University  Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Management  Current position, Production Supervisor at the Macon facility  Previous position, Industrial Engineer at the Macon facility

5. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 20085 What can you tell us about your current position?  Supervises 13 people  Responsible for receiving and mixing raw materials and operating board formation to the dried board  Uses skills acquired during internship with packaging company  Learned how to ask others about problems he could not solve alone

6. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 20086 What is your typical day like?  There are no typical days  Ranges from getting a pair of gloves for a worker to fighting a small fire  Responsibilities  Eliminating the barriers that hinder the people on his crew from doing their jobs  Fixing problems  Making sure everything is running smoothly

7. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 20087 The Job Experience at Armstrong 1  Ups and Downs of the job  The best part of his job is handling the unexpected  The worst part of his job is sharing the responsibility of scheduling the crews and covering jobs vacancies  He enjoys the manufacturing setting because there is always something happening and something else to learned

8. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 20088 The Job Experience at Armstrong 2  Mainly uses Lean Manufacturing  Great Benefits  Friendly Co-workers

9. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 20089 Mercer Highlights 1 How did your classes at Mercer prepare you for this job?  Built a strong foundation for the technical detail of Armstrong  No class that can truly prepare you for manufacturing ceiling tile but having a solid knowledge so that when someone asks you to perform a task or lead a project you have the skill to perform the job

10. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 200810 Mercer Highlights 2 What classes were most helpful?  Overall, the most helpful classes have been Dr. Burtner’s data analysis class, managerial accounting, cost accounting, statistics, and human resource management

11. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 200811 Mercer Highlights 3 What classes were most helpful? (cont.)  As an Industrial Management major and he found that the business classes have been a real asset in understanding the workings of a manufacturing facility  Sometimes he uses text books from college to research ISE ideas and principles

12. Thomas Knerr ISE 288 Interview Spring 200812 Questions?  John Bowen  John Bowen at Armstrong World Industries  Thomas Knerr  thomas.john.knerr@student.mercer.edu thomas.john.knerr@student.mercer.edu  Dr. Joan Burtner  Burtner_J@Mercer.edu Burtner_J@Mercer.edu