Note from the editor

• Corne Schutte Editor: SAJIE Department of Industrial Engineering, Stellenbosch University http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0119-720X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7166/28-2-1827

Abstract

"Success breeds success" - Mia Hamm

The Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering (SAIIE) had its second annual SAIIE Awards and Gala Dinner on 21 July 2017. The three winners in the award categories were as follows: 

• Kris Adendorff Award for the Most Prominent IE Professional: Mr Arno van der Merwe,President & CEO, Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBAC)
• SAIIE Award for Most Outstanding IE Researcher: Prof Jan van Vuuren, University ofStellenbosch
• SAIIE Award for Most Outstanding IE Lecturer: Prof James Bekker, University of Stellenbosch
• SAIIE Award for Outstanding Young IE Researcher: Dr Jacomine Grobler, University of Pretoria

 These four individuals have made a significant impact in the field Industrial Engineering in Southern Africa. The footprints of the academic winners are visible throughout the archives of this journal, and I am sure will continue to do so. It is an honour to have these dedicated individuals as a part of our IE community!

The Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering (SAIIE) is in the process of organising its annual conference. Last year was the first year where we published a selection of papers of the conference in a special edition of SAJIE. We have decided to continue with this, creating a new tradition: papers are shortlisted in the conference review process based on the feedback of two reviewers using the same criteria as this journal, these shortlisted papers are then reviewed by a 3rd experienced reviewer, and lastly the SAJIE editorial panel will inspect for suitability. As before, the articles will not only be selected from the SAIIE, but also from the annual RAPDASA and ORSSA conferences. We are hoping to publish the special edition late October.

Back to this edition; this edition has a total of 13 articles, with a feature article which investigates Benford’s Law, by Prof Paul Kruger. The previous article he wrote as a feature article received excellent feedback, and we were excited that he was willing to continue with a similar thought provoking topic. From the 18 articles, 12 are authored by persons with South African connections and the balance from international authors.

If you have suggestions on how we can take this journal forward, please let me know.

C.S.L. Schutte: Editor