The Atlanta Chapter of INFORMS, the national society for Operations Research and Management Science professionals, will meet on Wednesday, May 16th, at 6:00 PM. Our meeting location is the Executive Classroom of Georgia Tech’s School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. A reception will precede the meeting at 5:30. Mr. Justin Eggart, General Manager, Monitoring & Diagnostics for GE Energy, will be our guest speaker. Mr. Eggart will discuss how GE Energy leverages analytics to monitor and manage the performance of nearly 1500 power generating units throughout the world and the challenges it presents. The presentation abstract and Mr. Eggart’s BIO is below for your review. The meeting is open to all interested parties, and is free of charge. Refreshments will be served, and there will also be time to network with fellow OR/MS and other professionals in the Atlanta community. Please pass this email along to any associates whom you think might be interested. Please let me know if you plan to attend the meeting and your number of invited guests. I want to try and make sure I have the proper amount of food and drinks. The meeting will be in the Executive Classroom (Room 228) of the ISyE main building located at 755 Ferst Drive. This is the same location as most of our previous meetings. Here’s a link to a map of the campus and the ISyE Visitor Parking Lot: http://www.isye.gatech.edu/visitors/maps/isye-map.php. There is plenty, but no longer free, parking. We look forward to seeing you there.

Presentation Abstract:   GE Energy Monitoring & Diagnostics, based in Atlanta, Georgia, monitors the operation of ~1500 Power Generation units located throughout the world. The M&D center is the “front line” for managing the health of and the information about the GE power generation fleet. To accomplish this task, the M&D team relies heavily on analytics. Today, GE Energy M&D runs over 150 “analytics” continuously on real-time data streaming from the power plant. These “analytics” range from simple rules to complex algorithms, but all are key to how we provide value to GE and our customers. This presentation explores the challenges in managing applied analytics methods in this environment and discusses the significant opportunity that lies ahead.

Mr. Justin Eggart’s BIO:   Justin Eggart is General Manager of Technology for the GE Energy Monitoring and Diagnostics Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Justin and his team are responsible for both operations and technology development for monitoring the health and operation of the GE Thermal power Generation fleet (~1500 units) around the world. The M&D team is the “front line” for operational and maintenance support of the fleet and provides data and analytics services across GE Energy. Justin has over 20 years of experience in developing hardware and software technology for data acquisition applications. Justin joined General Electric in 2002 and has held Engineering, Six Sigma, and Sourcing leadership roles within GE. Prior to joining GE, Justin held various engineering design and management positions at Bently Nevada Corporation including Systems Engineering Leader and Product Line Manager. Justin is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Justin holds a B.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Montana State University. Justin is active in the community, working with the United Way and GE Volunteers. Justin serves on the Executive Advisory Board for Georgia FIRST and the Industrial Advisory Board for Montana State University. Justin is also an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.