Medical Device Courses | hmara | Activity

hmara replied to the topic "Skills Learned in this Class" -

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 00:27:15 -0400

I feel that this course & Dr. Simon’s other course should be taught in undergraduate BME curricula. A lot of this information would be gold to those looking to enter industry. The most important item I’d take away from this… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Job Satisfaction" -

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 00:23:00 -0400

As much as we value the salaries that our higher education affords us; it does come with the caveat mentioned in this week’s lecture. Money is a short-term goal. Once the pay check hits, what else is there to strive… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Discussion Topic: Outsource vs. Insource the clinical trial" -

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 00:17:47 -0400

Depending on the motivations & SOP of the company; yes and no. Obviously all companies should strive to keep as much of their testing & research in house as its the “home turf”. A company needs to decide what works… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Discussion Topic: Scope creep....when your project changes" -

Sun, 16 Apr 2023 18:42:54 -0400

HAHA! Every day at my workplace. As I work at a small company, we are often at the whims of the CEO when it comes to new projects. Scopes can change depending on their desire or vision for the company’s… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Procurement Management" -

Sun, 16 Apr 2023 18:34:31 -0400

I see how it may be tempting for companies to implement cost saving policies in favor of creating a diverse vendor base. However important they may deem the bottom line, in the long run, more supplier diversity can save the… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Communications Management" -

Sun, 16 Apr 2023 18:30:39 -0400

This is a complex ethics question that doesn’t have a simple answer. On one hand, transparency is important for building trust with stakeholders and ensuring accountability; on the other, there may be situations where disclosing certain information could harm the… Read more»

hmara posted a new topic "Verification & Validation NDAs" -

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 01:08:24 -0400

In your opinion, should there be a gag order on all people who know about a project before it is released to the public? This would be done in order to reduce the possibility of something like this week’s simulation… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Power of Stakeholders" -

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 01:05:41 -0400

Stakeholders have significantly big impacts in the opening and closing phases of the project. They set the product goals, definitions, and product inputs. During the closing phase of the project, they ensure that project deliverables are met. During the project… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Project manager responsibilities" -

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 01:01:30 -0400

In my opinion, a project manager should be well versed enough to move in and out of conversations between all project members. That way, they can provide advice and direction without taking away time from project members in order to… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Project managment: Monitoring & Controlling Phase" -

Sun, 26 Mar 2023 20:26:31 -0400

There is a benefit to both methods of project management; I have dealt with both of these in my short career. The freeform change control methodology at my current workplace is conducive to creativity & allows for quick lead times… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "monitoring phase of a project" -

Sun, 26 Mar 2023 20:18:12 -0400

I agree with the other posters here about the dangers of micromanagement when it comes to ensuring the quality of a product/project. Oftentimes well-meaning PMs cause more harm than good in their attempts to verify & validate that deadlines are… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Project managers' previous experiences" -

Sun, 26 Mar 2023 20:10:27 -0400

A project manager should be someone who has a broad variety of experience to bring to the table. The job of the PM is to interface with all the aspects of the project; having the background knowledge to speak to… Read more»

hmara posted a new topic "Managing a Hectic Workplace" -

Sat, 11 Mar 2023 14:36:21 -0500

A project manager is often faced with making quick decisions with not much contextual information. Day to day they must juggle project members, management, and stakeholders. Being that such important decisions are made with little to no time to gather… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Project manager priority" -

Sat, 11 Mar 2023 14:32:14 -0500

While I agree with the posters here that striking a balance between making project members happy and stakeholders happy is important. I do think that the happiness of the project members, at least outside of day to day working conditions,… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Penalization for Going Over Budget and Time?" -

Sat, 11 Mar 2023 14:28:24 -0500

As others have said, it depends on the severity of the “transgression”. As it stands, handing out punishments for bad behavior is a bit unprofessional. The goal of employee discipline should be to increase productivity and decrease the factors that… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Project manager flexibility" -

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 19:54:31 -0500

When managing a project, as important as it is to know the theory and science behind the enterprise; it is much more important to know the strengths and weaknesses of your team. As a PM, the goal is to leverage… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Risk Responses" -

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 19:49:46 -0500

Risk management does not need to be a complicated process. Depending on the application, over engineering something may be the best way to mitigate risk. A certain factor of safety is always included when creating any medical device, especially one… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Mapping- Gantt Chart" -

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 19:44:53 -0500

While everyone here has mentioned the main positives of a Gantt chart; I’d like to point out another important aspect of the chart that is supremely useful. The breakdown of a gantt chart is created as such as to show… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Team members personal issues with eachother" -

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 21:33:43 -0500

This is unfortunately something I’ve had to deal with at all my workplaces since I was 16. :(. Anyways, the point is people are fickle and oftentimes have hard times dealing with one another. There can be issues that shouldn’t be… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Probability of failure" -

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 21:27:08 -0500

I have to do this often in my day to day at work. It is a difficult issue to handle, especially when I first started. Often, I’ve had my boss temper my wild ideas, but as time goes on and… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Time vs. Money" -

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 21:20:58 -0500

@31466637 I Agree fully with this commenter. It is impossible to definitely say which is more important to the planning phase of a project. Time & money are the ultimate factors that determine the fate of a project. This is… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Are Missed Milestones really Bad?" -

Sun, 19 Feb 2023 21:38:16 -0500

[quote data-userid=”21027″ data-postid=”16971″] I think that missing milestones is not inherently a bad thing. While the loss in the company’s funds will not be favored, the potential money that the company will lose can compare to the millions. If the… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "How poor planning affects a project" -

Sun, 19 Feb 2023 21:34:09 -0500

[quote data-userid=”17980″ data-postid=”14770″] I’ve definitely faced projects in the past where I’ve felt the initiation could’ve been better. Like anything, if a strong foundation isn’t set to build upon, then the more you stack up the more likely it’ll topple… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Making connections between people and schools" -

Sun, 19 Feb 2023 20:56:30 -0500

Hello All!
My name’s Haadi Marashi.
Here’s my linked-in profile, don’t hesitate to link lol.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/haadimarashi/
Best

hmara replied to the topic "Vendor choice." -

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 22:16:33 -0500

This is an interesting question that I’ve had some personal experience with. As you said, backup vendors are the best solution for having a redundant system with minimal downtime. However, not all vendors provide an SDS or some other sort… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Experiments" -

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 22:12:59 -0500

[quote data-userid=”21159″ data-postid=”16903″] The most important part of dealing with experiment failure and coming up with a resolution is to be able to go through the experimental process thoroughly to understand why the experiment was performed, how it was performed,… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Determining project priority" -

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 22:08:09 -0500

This issue of resource management is prevalent in all industries of engineering. In my currenyt position as the engineer at a manufacturing facility; it’s quite difficult for me to “pump the brakes” per se. The volume of projects coming through… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Organizational Behavior" -

Sat, 04 Feb 2023 21:21:22 -0500

[quote data-userid=”17167″ data-postid=”11242″] I believe matrix organizations are the most efficient in regard to project outcomes and team communication. Based on the descriptions given, it is the only organization that manages resources well, has great communication across departments, and transferrable… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Understanding your role..." -

Sat, 04 Feb 2023 21:12:45 -0500

I agree fully with the previous posters. Roles should be well established & assigned before a project is started. These roles should be outlined in the PMP & shall be given out to all employees before anything gets rolling. The… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "FDA Responsibilities" -

Sat, 04 Feb 2023 20:51:35 -0500

The most important responsibility of the FDA, besides the obvious regulatory responsibilities, is to be as transparent & clear cut as possible. For the benefit of not only the consumer, but of the product developer as well. As Dr. Simon… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Project Management Skills for Engineers" -

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 21:30:16 -0500

All the above make good points about the soft & hard skills a PM will need to effectively manage a group of people, as well as keep them on track for deadlines. A PM needs to be an effective communicator,… Read more»

hmara posted a new topic "More Influence or Less?" -

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 21:25:38 -0500

We’ve all been in teams in which we’ve wished for a larger (or smaller) say in the direction of the project. Depending on the project size, importance, & scope; an individual’s contribution will change from project to project. As a… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Project Manager Skills" -

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 21:12:56 -0500

I wholeheartedly agree with this comment. Consistency above all… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "How to manage priorities in Project Management?" -

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 17:40:28 -0500

At my new job, I’ve had to adopt the pseudo-job of managing the machinists in the shop while our CEO is gone. Delegation is the most effective tool for keeping your mental map of the day clear. As we are… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Project Deadlines" -

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 17:35:08 -0500

[quote data-userid=”18933″ data-postid=”13782″] Every project has a set of deadlines, some with more urgent ones and some with more leniency. When working in a group, what is an effective manner for holding individuals responsible for reaching deadlines and making sure… Read more»

hmara replied to the topic "Should Interpersonal skills be more valuable than technical skills?" -

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 17:26:36 -0500

I think that the bias towards raw technical knowledge that is described here is a damaging trend. Nobody wants to work with an asshole; excuse my language. Systemically, a lot of the toxicity in engineering is due to the acceptance… Read more»