Abigail Wooldridge

About Abigail Wooldridge

I am an engineer: I want to figure out how things work, and how to make them work better. More specifically, I am interested in the analysis, modeling and improvement of complex sociotechnical systems (e.g, systems which consist of people and technology in environments and an organization), particularly those found in health care. Due to this complexity, often teams or groups need to accomplish work instead of individuals. My research focuses on improving work systems and processes to support the work of multiple individuals and improve process outcomes. I believe the work system and process are inter-twined and govern how the team/group interacts and functions, which then impacts outcomes (e.g, worker stress and health, patient safety, etc.).Macroergonomics is an HFE sub-discipline that emphasizes interactions between work system elements, and provides theoretical and practical guidance to process analysis and design. I analyze care processes from a macroergonomic perspective and use theories and concepts from cognitive engineering and team science to better understand how groups of individuals with different training, background and perspectives (e.g, physicians and nurses) work together as a team.Due to my interest in work system and process analysis, modeling and improvement, I find that my research is primarily done in the field rather than a laboratory setting. I am also at heart a pragmatist; I use either quantitative or qualitative methods, or a combination of them in a mixed-methods approach, as dictated by the research problem or question.

Experience

1. Research Affiliate

   Mayo Clinic

   Jul 2024 — Present

Education

• University of Wisconsin-Madison

  Master of Science (MS), Industrial and Systems Engineering - Human Factors Engineering

  2012 — 2013

• University of Louisville

  Masters of Engineering, Industrial Engineering

  2011 — 2012

• University of Wisconsin-Madison

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Industrial Engineering

  2015 — 2018

• University of Louisville

  Bachelor of Science, Industrial Engineering

  2007 — 2011

Skills

• Training
• Microsoft Office
• Lean Manufacturing
• Value Stream Mapping
• Process Improvement
• Microsoft Excel
• Powerpoint
• Data Mining
• Industrial Engineering
• Project Management
• Matlab
• Discrete Event Simulation
• Arena Simulation Software
• Continuous Improvement
• Project Planning
• Engineering
• Healthcare
• Visio
• Ms Project
• Minitab
• R
• Design of Experiments
• Manufacturing
• Leadership
• Operations Research
• Statistics
• Analysis
• Data Analysis
• Six Sigma