MERC Online Member Profile

Carl Williams

Carl:  I am an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator with the University of Memphis.  I have been there for eight years.  I came upon MERC ONLINE through SME and also through a special interest group with SME on continuing education.  They were talking about MERC ONLINE being a repository of information as well as course modules.  So, I became quite interested in the functions of MERC ONLINE and what was being developed.  I am also trying to complete my Ph.D. dissertation.  My primary areas of research and interest are in Lean and implementation of continuous improvement in the broad field of the supply chain which includes the critical link of manufacturing.

MERC ONLINE:  Are you using the educational materials in the MERC ONLINE database in your classes and programs?

Carl:  I teach both undergraduate and master’s classes and it was actually the students who first utilized MERC ONLINE.  Initially, MERC ONLINE’s primary value to us was their comprehensive collection of links that help us to locate informational sites relevant to our Manufacturing Engineering Technology course materials.  A lot of our coursework is project based.  I am also looking for ways to implement Lean, supply chain, and Six Sigma into our current courses beyond the material provided in any text.  Currently it is the students that are providing links and resources.  We send them out to MERC ONLINE to see what they can find.

MERC ONLINE:  What other ways are the materials in the database helping you improve or enhance the way you educate students? 

Carl:  I often help our part-time and adjuncts find material for their delivery of courses.  The NCME modules seem to provide considerable value with pre-developed course modules and case studies.  Units such as those for world class manufacturing can be used as the basic content or as supplemental content for a seminar type class.

MERC ONLINE:  In what ways can the database and materials be more useful to you?

Carl:  I think the key word feature being used to sort and index is extremely helpful to expedite and narrow searches.  I am often looking for case studies and problems I can present although I might be teaching a module I have already developed.  Well developed modules and case studies can be quite valuable even as supplemental materials.  I am considering purchase of modules that are complete teaching modules, even if all I need is a portion of it.  The National Center for Manufacturing Education (NCME) modules are very well developed.

MERC ONLINE:  What kind of indexing would help you?

Carl:  Maybe just a conceptual indexing.  A lot of modules seem to have content that overlaps a number of topic areas.  Indexing should be done both at the basic knowledge level as well as more conceptual, and even helpful to index the context for case studies.  While I am allowed the option to preview modules the collection is getting quite extensive.  If I can get a bit of a content list or a cross listing aligned with known bodies of knowledge, my work is more productive.

It seems every time I go out to MERC ONLINE I have a different line of thought.  I guess reading my mind would be useful, or more practically, helping me organize my thoughts and approaches to allow better utilization of what you already have would ensure great experiences that lead to repeated and more regular usage.

MERC ONLINE:  Are there any other services of MERC ONLINE that have changed the way you educate students other than what we have talked about?

Carl:  I like the way one can progress through materials from fundamental, through intermediate to advanced levels.  Not only can you quickly identify sets of appropriate modules, if one seems too advanced, students can be directed to review the more basic modules on an as needed basis. 

MERC ONLINE:  In what other ways could MERC ONLINE be a service to disseminate manufacturing education?

CARL:  I have been involved in several conference calls and the education community of SME and there seems to be a lot of buy-in to using the expertise of MERC ONLINE for cataloging and being the repository.  Having a nominal fee for access is great.  We would put our support into that rather than try to create some other database.  These are well developed NCME modules covering a broad range of material useful for advancement of manufacturing knowledge for both individuals and groups.  The organization of materials is logical, but the user effectiveness is better for routine rather than intermittent users.

MERC ONLINE:  Would you recommend MERC ONLINE to your colleagues?

CARL:  Indeed, both faculty and students.  MERC ONLINE is a valuable resource for teaching and learning, the modules can be used to deliver full courses, but I tend to deploy information gained through these as supplemental to the course text that we continue to specify.  I believe the modules, links and information accumulated at MERC ONLINE may soon replace textbooks for classes.