"Critical Thinking"

Pella Externship Days 18-20 It seems like the big pieces are falling into place.  Jeff, Mike, and I sat down yesterday to look over what we had so far.  The simulations we ran "felt right" based on the expected yields they already recover.  The big issues left to tackle are putting some polish on the finish product and finding some reasonable restraints to limit the amounts and types of lumber fed into the plant.  The only real hurdle I see left to overcome is that the simulations are suggesting a mix of lumber that is significantly different than what is currently run through the factory. The lesson to take back to the classroom this week is the importance of interpreting and making decisions based on the information you receive.  If we just took the results of the optimization tool and implemented them tomorrow, there would be serious consequences in supply availability, purchase requirements, and labor force needed.  This really brings home the "more than one right answer" issue for students.  While the program gives us its version of a best answer, the real decisions for the factory are complicated and have many considerations.  It is rewarding to hear about ways they plan to use the optimization program and the new perspective it might give to the way things have been done in the past.