Lessons for success in OR/MS practice gained from experiences in Indian and US steel plants

Abstract

I worked on modeling integrated steel plants in India (as an analyst) and in the USA (as a doctoral student). The following factors influence the successful OR/MS practice: positioning of OR/MS in Operations and not in Research and Development, selecting the right problem, emphasising on problem solving and not on model building, learning lessons from failure, right academic and practical training of OR teams, experiences of working in the shop-floor of a factory. Universities should give more emphasis in teaching OR as research in operations and to the process of implementation.