Zaria Lucas was already solving workforce challenges in healthcare when she began her online Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from LSU. What changed during the program was the way she approached those problems.
While balancing graduate school with a full-time career, Zaria worked on processes, analyzed data, mapped systems, and looked for opportunities to improve the associate experience at the large healthcare organization where she works. As she applied what she learned, she started looking beyond individual issues to consider how people, processes, technology, and data worked together within a larger system.
“Throughout the program, I found myself using industrial engineering concepts every day,” she recalled. “Whether I was building dashboards, conducting process improvement initiatives, evaluating variability within systems, or designing solutions to improve organizational performance.”
The experience gave Zaria a different way to understand familiar workplace challenges: rather than treating each issue in isolation, she could examine the connections within the system and use data and process improvement to identify opportunities for change.
Workforce Challenges as Connected Systems
One of Zaria’s biggest takeaways from the program was learning to look beyond an individual issue and consider the larger system surrounding it.
“The degree helped me move beyond solving individual problems and taught me how to view people, processes, technology, and data as parts of a larger interconnected system,” she said.
She applied that perspective to workforce initiatives at her healthcare job, including process improvement efforts focused on employee onboarding, retention, and organizational performance. When addressing each challenge, she could consider how different parts of the organization interacted and where changes to a process or system could improve the overall outcome.
“The combination of technical coursework and real-world application helped me develop a stronger ability to translate data into actionable business strategies,” she said.
This connection between analysis and action became an important part of Zaria’s approach to her work. Building dashboards, evaluating variability, mapping systems, and conducting process improvement initiatives gave her ways to examine how a process was working and identify opportunities to improve it.
Further, Zaria credits Dr. Hmida, her graduate advisor and professor, with having a significant impact on her experience. Dr. Hmida was an excellent communicator who consistently challenged her to think critically, push beyond her comfort zone, and continue growing both academically and professionally. His guidance reinforced the analytical and systems-oriented approach she developed throughout the program.
Industrial Engineering in Healthcare
Zaria’s experience illustrates why industrial engineering skills can be useful in industries that may not immediately come to mind when people hear about the field.
“Many people immediately think of manufacturing, but the principles of systems thinking, process improvement, data analysis, and optimization can be used in virtually any industry,” she said.
In healthcare, Zaria applied those ideas to workforce challenges involving employee onboarding, retention, and organizational performance. Her work required her to consider operational performance alongside the experiences of the people moving through those systems.
“For me, the greatest value came from learning how to think systematically, use data to drive decisions, and design solutions that improve both operational performance and human experiences,” she reflected.
That combination is central to how Zaria describes the value of industrial engineering. When solving a system’s problem, the goal is not simply to identify what is going wrong. It is to understand the system well enough to determine where improvement is possible and design a solution that accounts for the different factors involved.
Zaria’s Advice for Industrial Engineers
Zaria offers a few pieces of advice to learners, including the merit of pairing industrial engineering coursework with Lean Six Sigma, a process improvement methodology focused on reducing waste and minimizing process variability to achieve greater efficiency.
“Combining both disciplines has been incredibly valuable in my career because it provides a structured approach to identifying problems, reducing variability, improving processes, and designing more effective systems,” she noted.
She also encourages students to look for opportunities to apply those concepts beyond their coursework.
“My biggest piece of advice is to stay curious, embrace the analytical challenges, and look for ways to apply the concepts outside the classroom,” she said. “The more you connect the coursework to real situations, the more valuable the experience becomes.”
Become a Better Problem Solver With the Online MS in Industrial Engineering from LSU
The lasting usefulness of an industrial engineering education is visible in the way Zaria approaches problems at work. Concepts such as systems thinking, process improvement, data analysis, optimization, and variability analysis have become tools she can use to understand workforce processes and develop solutions that consider both organizational performance and employee experiences.
“This program challenged me to become a stronger problem solver and gave me tools that I continue to use every day in my career,” she said.
LSU’s online Master of Science in Industrial Engineering gives students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of industrial engineering while applying what they learn to professional challenges.
If you’re interested in process improvement, systems thinking, data analysis, and optimization, the program can help you develop skills that apply across industries, including healthcare, business, operations, and technology.
Learn more about the online MS in Industrial Engineering from LSU, and apply today.
Learn more about the online MS in Industrial Engineering
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