Who? Prof Gwilym Meirion Jenkins 1932 - 1982 Pontlliw Primary School Gowerton Grammar School
In a nutshell Statistician Gwilym Meirion Jenkins was a great innovator in systems engineering. This is the study of systems, a study which can improve performance of a company or a school - for example.
Track record He worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough before moving to Imperial College London, later becoming Professor of Systems Engineering at Lancaster University. He set then up his own consulting company involved with government, industrial and business organisation. This gave him a chance to tackle the practical challenges of statistics, applied to real situations:
chemical engineering
pollution of the river Rhine
hospital services
bus companies.
The Science A system is a complex grouping of men and machines.
It can be broken down into sub-systems which interact with each other.
The system being studied will usually form part of a hierarchy of such systems.
To function at all, a system must have an objective.
To function efficiently, it must be designed in such a way that it is capable of achieving its overall objective.
A systems engineering approach makes you focus on the broad, important issues, taking in the big picture. You can then tackle the work in the right order of importance in the planning and development of the work in hand. Simple tweaks to devices and techniques can result in big improvements.
