Alumni Profiles | Master of Management in Operations Research (MM in OR) | Sauder School of Business at UBC, Vancouver, Canada

What our alumni say about their experience in the UBC MM in OR program and their industry projects:

NAZANIN HABIBOLLAHI Graduate ’10 Senior Operation Engineer Fraser Health	STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WORKER INJURIES IN HEALTH AUTHORITIES FOR WORKSAFEBC "My project client WorkSafeBC asked us to provide a clear picture of incidents and claims in the healthcare sector. The goal was to find the safest healthcare workplace (i.e., with best practices) and one of the most concern (i.e., the worst incident rate). With the COE team, I aggregated two databases of health care work-related injuries and performed a cross-regional statistical analysis of incidents, which involved data-cleansing and developing regression models and other statistical tests. The analysis enabled WorkSafeBC to conduct a thorough comparison for finding “the best practice” and “the place of concerns” in the health care sector in BC.. "During the MM in OR program I was able to improve not only my hard skills in mathematics and analysis, but also my soft skills in project management, leadership and relationship-building. For me who came from an industrial engineering background and worked only in manufacturing, this program allowed me to be familiar with the service sector and to apply my knowledge and experience in this area. After I completed the program, I was hired by Fraser health as Senior Operation Engineer where I apply my OR knowledge in health care projects."
JOEY ULJEVIC Graduate ’09 Analytical Consultant AnalysisWorks	MODELING FOR A FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN AT A MAJOR BEVERAGE MANUFACTURER "In my industry project, I worked with a major beverage company and built a decision support system to assist with their strategic planning. The project was driven by the need for long term planning within the logistics department, particularly on how to optimize the future use of their warehouses. With the decision support model, the client can move from making judgment call to evidence based strategic decisions. This evidence was driven by historical inventory and sales data, as well as future forecast data. To turn this data into action, I used skills I learned in mathematical modeling and programming. "Working with the COE team in the MM in OR program empowered me to step into the consulting world with skills that would usually be obtained from years of prior work experience. I met with executives, gave presentations to clients, and analyzed real-life, large-scale processes, and these are things that I would not have done in a regular classroom. Even during a recession, I was hired before my graduation by AnalysisWorks as an Analytical Consultant."
MARIANELA PEREIRA Graduate ’08 Operations Analyst AMEC	EVALUATION OF OPERATIONAL CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AT A MINING AND METALS COMPANY "As part of my COE industry project, I led the development of a simulation model to evaluate different capital investment opportunities for a diversified mining and metals company. This methodology tracked the flow of material throughout the company’s complex process and captured the propagation of variability through the individual units of the system. The simulation model captured this methodology and was used to identify which existing capital investment initiatives helped one of the clients’ processing operations achieve a specific production goal. This framework and its application as an analytical tool were delivered to the client and enabled them to compare various alternative strategies and evaluate their impact upon final production. "The MM in OR program and especially the industry project allowed me to further develop my analytical and interpersonal skills. The program was the perfect complement to my industrial engineering background. Upon graduation, I accepted a position at AMEC, an international engineering and project management company, where I continuously apply my consulting and OR skills in mining and transportation projects."
JINJIN FU Graduate ’08 Patient Flow Analyst Vancouver Coastal Health	CUSTOMER INSIGHT STUDIES FOR A HEALTHCARE DIAGNOSTICS COMPANY "The client of my project, a health care diagnostics company, wanted to understand the changes and trends in customer demand, to examine customer demand and pattern of utilization, and highlight possible changes in the business landscape. My COE team performed in-depth data mining and analysis which included various perspectives on patients, doctors, tests and travel distances. We created a market segment model to further examine the relationship between patients, doctors and labs visited, allowing the client to better understand the customers and factors involved. We constructed a prototype location selection model to estimate operational volumes and to predict customer behavior in response to the relocation of labs. The results provided insights into the behavior of doctors and patients and also the operational environment, enabling the client to make more informed decisions in the future. "During my COE project I was able to work with the senior executives of my client’s organization. The project provided me not only an opportunity to apply knowledge I learned from school, but also the practical skills to succeed in the real business world. I was hired by Vancouver Coastal Health before my graduation."
STONEY CHEN Graduate ’08 Project Manager BC Children's Hospital	EVALUATION OF THE DUAL STREAM PROGRAM FOR WORKSAFEBC "My COE project was to help WorkSafeBC evaluate the effectiveness of their Dual Stream Program (DSP) designed to enable Nurse Advisors to get involved in injury claims as early as possible so that injured workers could return to work quickly and safely. Our COE team conducted in-depth data analysis and statistical testing to isolate the impact of the DSP so that an accurate assessment of the program could be made. The results showed that certain sectors and/or claim types showed a significant reduction in the period when the injured worker first returned to work part-time, though the period before the injured worker returned to work full-time often increased. We were also able to identify where the impact of the DSP was most and least significant. "In addition to the technical skills I developed from coursework in the MM in OR program, I also gained experience in areas like project management, business consulting and leadership. More importantly, the program opened doors to business and operations research opportunities. It allowed me to make close friends with competent and friendly individuals who shared similar interests with me. I was hired by BC Children’s Hospital before I graduated.”
AMANDA ARMSTRONG Graduate ’07 Senior Business Consultant VanCity	INTRODUCING LIFE CYCLE COST AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS FOR ASSET MANAGEMENT AT AN INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING COMPANY "My project involved assisting an international energy shipping company to design and implement a new process for the strategic management of their assets. The goal was to help the client make high-level decisions that would provide better outcomes over the lifecycle of their tankers in terms of performance, cost and risk. As part of the COE team, I led the development of a simulation model and turned it into a tool that the client could use to show estimated cost and performance as well as the risk involved when information about their decisions was uncertain. "In addition to data management, data analysis, and probabilistic modeling skills, the project allowed me to practice consulting and change management skills. The opportunity to practice the skills I had learned from the classroom was the pinnacle of the UBC MM in OR program. With the experience the project provided, I was hired immediately after graduation. This program was an excellent preparation for the work I’m now doing and the skills I learned have helped me stand out among other graduates."
ALEKSEY NOZDRYN-PLOTNICKI Graduate ’07 Consultant Capgemini Consulting	ANALYSIS OF OPERATIONS SUPPORT SERVICES VALUE MODELS FOR A COMMERCIAL AIRLINE SERVICES PROVIDER "In my industry project I worked with a major commercial airline services provider to add to their existing project. The client had a highly complex, fully extensible value model and wanted to leverage OR methods to extract further value. Working with the COE team, I guided the client from an unfocused research question to concrete results as supported by sound methodology and available data. The client sought to better understand how the modeled customer value of its services varied with input parameters. In addition to reporting on the results of our analysis, we delivered a prototype tool that enabled the client to perform sensitivity analysis going forward on a case-by-case basis, an approach aligned with their overall strategy. "The UBC MM in OR degree, with the industry project as its centerpiece, has allowed me to jump-start my career. Combining the knowledge and experiences I gained in the program with the strong quantitative skills I had developed during my undergraduate degree, I found myself highly employable and was able to find full-time work even before graduation.”
JING CHEN Graduate ’07 Security Operation Analyst	IMPROVING THE TRANSPORT OF CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS FOR BC "My project focused on improving the service provided by British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS) and bcbedline for inter-facility transfer of critical ill patients throughout BC. This is the first time where a patient transfer system was unified and explored as a single system from the global point of view. I with my COE team studied the variability, the causes and the controls in the system. Using various research methods, we provided recommendations targeting technology, personnel, system and policies, enabling our clients to achieve faster and smoother transfer of patients. We also recommended a way of measuring their performance and provided comparable future benchmarking. Our research has promoted cultural changes to these organizations and reinforced the merge of BCAS and bcbedline under one umbrella organization. "This project has not only enabled me to execute hands-on practices in real life situations using knowledge I learned from school, but has also greatly enhanced my leadership, communication and project management skills. This experience has allowed me to be competitive in the job market and brought a lot of excellent opportunities to me."
MARK FRASER Graduate ’04 Strategy & Operations/ Supply Chain Consultant Deloitte & Touche	RISK ANALYSIS OF MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN BC LEADING TO 2010 "My industry project involved identifying and quantifying the risks that existed for WorkSafeBC in the run-up of construction activities leading to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia. Working in collaboration with WorkSafeBC, our COE team conducted a study aimed at identifying and quantifying the risks that existed for WorkSafeBC by forecasting the injury rate of construction workers. This would better prepare them in the development of a strategy for dealing with the risks associated with high levels of construction and infrastructure upgrading, and allow them to take mitigation measures to help prevent injuries. "The project was an important component of my master's experience as it really bridged the gap between the conceptual theories and the practical application of operations research. This work experience allowed me to gain industry experience and opened the door to a variety of career opportunities. I was hired right after graduation by Deloitte and has since been working there since."
JEAN ZHENG Graduate ’04 Senior Business Analyst TELUS Corporation	CAPACITY PLANNING FOR TELECOMMUNICATION CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSURANCE "In my industry project, I worked with a large telecommunications provider on capacity planning for their customer service assurance division. The goal of the project was to monitor and control the various processes in their assurance system to provide consistent and improved services from end to end. Our team provided the company with a simulation model of their service breakdown response mechanism that allowed management to test various capacity plans under different forecast scenarios. This helped them to effectively and proactively manage capacity at all levels. "One thing that I really like about the UBC MM in OR program is that you get to use the skills you learn in the classroom. I gained not only skills in modeling and data analysis, but valuable people skills as well. Also, the consulting experience I received led to great career opportunities after graduation."
CRAIG O’NEILL Graduate ’04	REDUCING WAITING TIMES FOR SURGERY AT BC CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL "My industry project concerned finding ways to reduce the waiting lists for surgical services at BC Children’s Hospital by studying the flow and scheduling of patients. Working with a COE team, I built a complex simulation model of the hospital processes that allowed us to test out different scenarios on the computer before making actual procedural changes at the hospital. Based on this simulation, I made concrete recommendations regarding scheduling and hospital operating procedures directly to senior hospital staff that can substantially improve patient throughput at the hospital. "The project was definitely the highlight of my master’s experience because it gave me a chance to apply all the theories and concepts that I was learning at the time in a real-world setting. Best of all, the hospital hired me on to continue my work on modeling patient flows."
SHANSHAN WANG Graduate ’04 Consultant The Boston Consulting Group	CREDIT RISK ANALYSIS FOR A LARGE CREDIT UNION "My project was to advise a major credit union in Vancouver on how to extend their personal loan division to the high-risk market. The objective of the project was to consistently identify profitable loans and to grant credit at an interest rate that would appropriately reflect the risk of the loan. This could help the credit union enter the high-risk market and generate profits based on risk-based pricing. With the COE team, I used methods of data analysis such as regression and classification trees as well as decision analysis to examine the problems. We provided recommendations on credit-granting strategies and data collection that were highly valued by the client. "It was an incredible experience. I gained a lot of real-world experience and professional skills that will surely benefit me in my future career. It also developed my passion for research tremendously."
MEHMET BEGEN Graduate ’01 Assistant Professor Richard Ivey School of Business	OPTIMAL CATCH ALLOCATION FOR A COMMERCIAL FISHING COMPANY "I worked on an industry project with a large commercial fishing company. The company was trying to figure out how to process salmon to maximize profitability. With the COE team, I developed a decision support tool that combined two approaches - optimization and decision analysis - to solve this problem. The tool allowed planners to input the amounts of various qualities, sizes and species of salmon in the catch, and found the most profitable production plan to satisfy demand for different product varieties. "I feel fortunate to have worked on this COE project because the results I found were applicable in real life and had the potential for great benefits to the company. It was a very fun, rewarding, and meaningful experience. I would recommend the UBC MM in OR program to anyone who has a strong analytical background and wants to pursue a graduate management degree."