science

Operations Research Society of South Africa

Operations Research Society of South Africa is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Operations Research Society of South Africa rather than just read about it. In short: The Operations Research Society of South Africa (ORSSA) (Afrikaans: Die Operasionele Navorsingsvereniging van Suid-Afrika (ONSA)) is the national, professional body tasked with furthering the interests of those engaged in, or interested in, operations research (OR) activities in South Africa. The society is affiliated to the International Federation of Operational Research Societies and its subgrouping, the Associat…

Key takeaways

Operations Research Society of South Africa belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Operations Research Society of South Africa to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Operations Research Society of South Africa from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Operations Research Society of South Africa (ORSSA) (Afrikaans: Die Operasionele Navorsingsvereniging van Suid-Afrika (ONSA)) is the national, professional body tasked with furthering the interests of those engaged in, or interested in, operations research (OR) activities in South Africa. The society is affiliated to the International Federation of Operational Research Societies and its subgrouping, the Association of European Operational Research Societies, and is the main national society for Operations Research in the country. ORSSA is a nonprofit organization. The society is continually involved in matters which concern operations researchers, such as organising conferences at which papers on OR-related topics are delivered, drawing up guidelines for OR education, presenting short courses on specialist topics in OR, marketing OR at secondary school level, providing information to the public on the nature of OR, and providing information to students at tertiary level on career opportunities in OR.

History On 18 April 1968 a meeting of individuals interested in OR was held at the Gatehouse at the Sunnyside Hotel in Johannesburg, as a result of initiatives taken by Dave Masterson, Jonathan Miller, Alan H. Munro and John C. Joslin with the support of Dr. H.S. Sichel. The attendance at this multi-disciplinary meeting was in excess of 180. The guest speaker was Prof. B.H. Patrick Rivett of England, an excellent speaker and at that time one of the best known operations researchers in the world. Out of this meeting a National Steering Committee was formed which would be responsible for the organisation of the possible establishment of an Operations Research Society in South Africa. The committee consisted of Dr. H.S. Sichel (Chairman), Profs. G.J. Rudolph of Rhodes University, H.J. Venter of the University of Potchefstroom and C. Jacobs of the CSIR, and Messrs. H.I.D. du Plessis and J.W. Grobbelaar of Unisa, and Peter C. Pirow, R.T. Rozwadowski and J.C. Joslin of Johannesburg. ORSSA was then founded in Johannesburg on Thursday, 20 November 1969. About 150 individuals were present, coming from all parts of South Africa and the Rhodesia of that time (Zimbabwe). The following office bearers were elected in terms of the newly adopted constitution: Dr. H.S. Sichel (President), Mr. J.W. Grobbelaar (Vice-President), Mr. J.C. Joslin (Secretary), Mr. D.D. Masterson (Treasurer), Mr. M.C.F. (Mike) King (Editor), and Profs. G.J. Rudolph and C.G. Troskie (Additional Members). The new society was privileged to get an excellent management team under the leadership of Dr. Sichel, who was known internationally for his work in mining statistics. Tom Rozwadowski was one of the main driving forces behind the founding meeting of ORSSA, and he also made major contributions at the founding meeting itself. He worked for Control Data Corporation (CDC). In 1970 CDC transferred him to their head office in Minneapolis to enable him to work towards a Ph.D. in Computer Science. He and his wife and children went on a weekend outing to Annandale, near Minneapolis, where he was to address a meeting of the Roman Catholic Church on South Africa. Due to a tragic gas leak, the entire family died at their stopover place. At the Annual General Meeting of ORSSA in 1970 it was announced that in memory of him an annual Tom Rozwadowski Medal would be made available for a paper of outstanding merit delivered by a member of ORSSA [8]. This coveted and prestigious medal of ORSSA was first awarded in 1971, to Dr. Gerhard Rudolph. The Johannesburg Branch was the first chapter of ORSSA. A new Pretoria Chapter was founded on 19 March 1970. The Western Cape Branch was founded on 14 August 1972. Branch chairmen also served on the national Executive Committee of ORSSA. One of the main tasks of the Executive Committee in its first year was to decide on membership issues. By 16 June 1970 membership had been granted to 75 individuals, of which 47 were for full membership and 28 for associate membership. The second annual congress of ORSSA was held in November 1970 at Iscor in Pretoria, where Jos Grobbelaar was elected as the new President. The other members of the new Executive Committee were D.D. Masterson (Vice-President), Dr. H.S. Sichel (Past President), Dr. J.D. Roode (Secretary), Dr. G.J. Rudolph (Treasurer), M.C.F. King (Editor), and J. Buttery and J.C. Joslin (Additional Members). In the new term of office two new branch chairmen also served in the Executive Committee, namely Dr. D.M. Hawkins (Johannesburg) and Dr. R.J. van den Heever (Pretoria). Since 1969 the society has had the following presidents: Dr H Sichel (1970), Mr JW Grobbelaar (1971), Mr D Masterson (1972), Dr GJ Rudolph (1973), Mr J Miller (1974), Mr K Sandrock (1975), Mr HID du Plessis (1976), Mr R Eales (1977), Prof TJ Stewart (1978), Prof JS Wolvaardt (1979), Dr MJ Venter (1980), Dr AH Money (1981), Mr M Splaine (1982), Mr D Masterson (1983), Dr LP Fatti (1984), Mr DW Evans (1985), Mr MA de Vries (1986), Mr HW Ittmann (1987), Prof G Erens (1988-1989), Ms A Pachyannis (1990-1991), Mr LA Visagie (1992-1993), Ms E Ferreira (1994-1995), Dr E Dixon (1996-1997), Prof JW Hearne (1998-1999), Dr PduT Fourie (2000-2001), Mr HW Ittmann (2002-2003), Prof WR Gevers (2004-2005), Ms KM Harmse (2006-2007), Prof VSS Yadavalli (2008-2009), Mr DW Evans (2010-2011), Prof JH van Vuuren (2012-2013), Prof HA Kruger (2014-2015), Mrs WC Pelser (2016-2017), Dr D Lötter (2018-2019), Ms Gemma Dawson (2020), Mr DW Evans (2021) and Mr D Clarke (2022-2023).

Governance At a national level the Society is managed by an Executive Committee (EC), which is elected annually at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society. The various members of the EC each have a specific portfolio for which they are responsible. The portfolios entail, inter alia, membership aspects, finances, the publications of the society, interaction with international societies, the different chapters of ORSSA, the website, etc. The EC consists of the following office bearers: (i) President, (ii) Vice-President (either elected to become the next President or The Past President who last held office), (iii) Secretary, (iv) Treasurer, (v) Head of Digital, (vi) Head of News, (vii) Head of Marketing, (viii) Head of Events (viii) Head of External Liaison (ix) ORiON Journal Editor-in-Chief, and (x) ORiON Journal Manager. EC members manage a number of subcommittees related to their specific portfolio.

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Operations Research Society of South Africa

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Operations Research Society of South Africa claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Operations Research Society of South Africa before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Operations Research Society of South Africa ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Operations Research Society of South Africa

In research: Operations Research Society of South Africa appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Operations Research Society of South Africa in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Operations Research Society of South Africa is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1969 establishments in South Africa, Operations research societies, Organizations established in 1969, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Operations Research Society of South Africa outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Operations Research Society of South Africa in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Operations Research Society of South Africa means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Operations Research Society of South Africa out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Operations Research Society of South Africa in simple terms?

Why does Operations Research Society of South Africa matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Operations Research Society of South Africa?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Operations Research Society of South Africa.