IIE Chapter 247

Kathleen Payne, CFPIM is a Partner at Synesis International, Inc, a manufacturing, distribution, and systems consulting company. She has experience in planning, facility layout, business process reengineering, manufacturing operations improvement, simulation, MRPII/ERP, MES, and Systems Analysis/ Planning. Her formal education includes an MS in Industrial Engineering and CIM Certificate from Georgia Institute of Technology and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University. She has achieved a CFPIM (certification in production and inventory management from the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS). She has provided consulting and training in Inventory Management, MRP/CRP, Production Activity Control, Just-in-Time and Lean Manufacturing for industrial clients. She has also provided consulting and implementation assistance for several companies applying new ERP and manufacturing systems. Kathleen is also a "Past President of IIE"

Kevin M. Taaffe, Ph.D., is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Clemson University. Dr. Taaffe has 20 years of industry and academic experience in operations research using simulation and other planning tools. After receiving a B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Taaffe worked at American Airlines and Sabre.  He managed many airport-related transportation projects, including terminal-area flow studies of passengers, baggage, and vehicular traffic, as well as airspace and master plan studies. After a decade in industry, Dr. Taaffe returned to academia, obtaining his Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Florida in 2004. His teaching responsibilities include courses in transportation and logistics, simulation, and production and inventory control. Dr. Taaffe has been conducting research in emergency preparedness and response, logistics systems analysis, and inventory management, and his research has been funded by various private and federal entities. He is also a major proponent of CELDi, the Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution, where he works on industry-sponsored projects that bridge the gap between theoretical research and application. He is a member of IIE, INFORMS and Transportation Research Board, and he serves on the Editorial Board for the International Journal of Operational Research. 

Mike McGee is Director of Operations at Fluor (a major provider of Engineering, Construction and Maintenance Services globally) in Greenville, S.C., and has been a member of IIE since 1975. Mike recieved his degree in Engineering Operations from Iowa State University in 1976 with graduate work in Operations Research. Mike has experience in project and account management, facilitating performance improvement initiatives, material management, systems development and implementation, and industrial engineering across a wide range of industries including steel making, facilities management, electronics, plastics, chemicals, fossil power, discreet manufacturing, and hydrocarbon. Assignments as director of operations, account manager, project manager, procurement director, industrial engineering supervisor, estimator, systems analyst and graduate research assistant have provided a broad exposure to all areas of project execution. Graduate research work extends experience into hospital layout, management and staffing.

Andy Gower works at Tech-Source in Simpsonville. Headquartered in Anderson, SC, Tech-Source, Inc. is a leading provider of engineered solutions and products through strategic partnerships with world class manufacturers. Andy is a founding member for IIE Upstate SC Chapter 247 and received a BIE from The Georgia Institute of Technology in 1991.