Ten Guidelines For A Happy, Healthy and Productive IAC
Submitted by Ellie Najafi at Bradley University

Dr. Kelly Kissock and his students at the University of Dayton’s IAC Center recently spent some time brainstorming. After receiving the IAC Center of Excellence Award from DOE in 2003, they developed a list of ten guidelines they use for operating a successful IAC. Dr. Kissock believes the list is a start but cautions, “No one formula is appropriate for all IACs. In my view, there are 26 great IACs working hard with the resources available to them and within their individual constraints.” He also believes that the success of the program can be linked back to the relationship between DOE and the centers. “Much of the long-term success of program is due to the relatively few directives imposed by DOE and our field manager on individual centers”, Kelly says.

University of Dayton’s Top Ten Guidelines for a Successful IAC

1. Strive for continual learning and improvement.
2. Institutionalize knowledge so it doesn't walk out the door with your graduates.
3. Be innovative. Don't wait for direction.
4. Develop mutual win-win relationships with organizations that can feed you clients.
5. Enlist current IAC students to recruit the best and the brightest from their peers.
6. Enlist senior IAC students to train new students.
7. Sell your ideas to your clients before you walk out the door.
8. Acquire and use good instruments and data logging equipment.
9. Develop software tools, databases and/or methods to do simple recommendations quickly and accurately, so you have time to tackle new and more complex problems.
10. Be safe, have fun and create an environment where people feel like they are an important part of a winning team and are rewarded for their initiative and efforts.
11. Maintain a constructive follow-up with the client. Continuing to help them understand the technical points of AR recommendations will lead to a higher implementation rate as well as let the client know they are important to you.

After more brainstorming, we thought of one more important guideline that ought to be on the list. Since most audits take place over the course of one day, time is invaluable. The more time we spend on the plant floor, the more we learn and the better recommendations we can write. Dr. Kissock and the rest of our IAC team highly recommend ordering in lunch to the plant. That way, while we are eating lunch, we can talk over possible ARs instead of spending the hour looking for something to eat.