ISSER

 

Our Vision

The International Service Systems Engineering Research, ISSER, pictures a future for Puerto Rico in which all its service delivery systems, public and private, would pair with the efficiency, effectiveness and quality required by their customers. Scientific system design will lead to optimal operations with multiple goals: to be efficient and effective while delighting all customers.

Our Mission

To support ongoing research and professional services that advance the understanding, design and evaluation of complex service-delivery systems, contributing to the development of Latin America in general and of Puerto Rico in particular.

The Problem

According to the 1997 US Census Bureau most recent published economic data (http://www.census.gov/csd/ia/pr.htm), Puerto Rico ’s service industry —excluding retail and wholesale establishments—grew by 87% between 1992 and 1997. In 1992, 6356 establishments accounted for US$3.2 Billion or roughly 10 % of the island’s economy, as opposed to 8048 firms generating US$5.8 billion in 1997. It is undeniable that while in this five year period there has been growth, the proportion of receipts has not paired the growth in number of establishments. One could conclude that the productivity of service firms has been reduced by 24% and the return on investments based on the payroll numbers has been reduced as well (by a number close to 40% in some sectors). It is likely that the trend continued over the period 1997 to 2002. Data will be available in 2006 regarding this time period.

Under these projections, at least three major Puerto Rican service providers (the government, health care system and the hospitality and tourism industry) are also at a historical point facing public criticism for their efficiency and effectiveness.  Research to find optimal service designs, which would allow companies to be efficient while being effective at the same time, is largely needed. A similar situation occurs in other Latin American countries as well.

 The Solution

While service delivery systems are dominating most first world economies, we also live in a time of unprecedented amounts of data and information. The internet and automated data collection systems make it possible to elicit customer likes and dislikes, as well as their reaction to changes in service characteristics. With so much potential information, the impact of any investment or service feature on the bottom line can be identified. Further, the long-term impact of those changes can be forecasted and the sustainability of the improvements evaluated. The difficultly is not in the quantity or availability of data, but in the appropriate choice of analytical tools for modeling and the interpretation of results needed to make management decisions.

Government taskforces have been formed in some cases to propose potential solutions to the problem. Solutions in the case of public service providers will most likely require major policy and process changes for which an integrated systems approach is the only possible way to evaluate policy consequences in the future. Customer service improvements, including the adoption of electronic government and other potential improvement policies need to be evaluated under this research umbrella. In addition, the voice of the taxpayer and customer need to be heard by serious customer research. An evaluation of the systemic causes of excessive government expenditure and the consequences of any policy in the Government-Country system need to be evaluated by scientific methods and industrial engineers are uniquely equipped with analytical tools to evaluate any type of system, including service systems.

In the case of the private service industry, an evaluation of both, government incentive policies and private investment outcomes is necessary. Most likely, improvement interventions to optimize service delivery systems are necessary, paired with new approaches to ensure service quality, customer satisfaction, and sustainable profits. Customer service research is necessary.

The Future

Once the experience with the Puerto Rican service sector is underway, similar approaches can be proposed to other Caribbean and Latin American governments as the region faces similar efficiency and effectiveness problems —recognizing cultural and economic differences. Collaboration with other research institutions in the US and Latin America will be sought to assure the integration of those differences and the continuous updating of approaches and techniques.

This vision will be achieved by collecting data at all levels to assure the integration of conflicting goals and the continuous evaluation of services for continuous improvement. This data can be combined with mathematical models to produce meaningful information for intelligent decisions. Successful systems design can only be achieved if design assumptions are based on valid and reliable information. In addition, these data would facilitate the development of analytic models that provide analysis, estimates, predictions and plans.