SHS Bylaws

Society for Health Systems of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Bylaws

ARTICLE 1. NAME

The official name of this technical community of IISE is Society for Health Systems.

ARTICLE 2. PURPOSES

The Society for Health Systems will:

  1. Promote the art and science of industrial/management engineering, quality, and process improvement as it concerns the planning, design, improvement, installation, and evaluation of health-care services delivery- systems.
  2. Encourage and foster research, development, and publication of papers on health systems.
  3. Develop, maintain, and disseminate a body of technical knowledge,
  4. Provide forums for technical networking.
  5. Provide leadership in the application of quality and process improvement methodologies in healthcare.
  6. Provide member value, and promote the disciplines of industrial/management engineering, quality and process improvement.
  7. Recognize professionals for their achievements in advancing the application of industrial/management engineering, quality and process improvement in health systems.
  8. Identify and collaborate with other professional and technical organizations in the area of healthcare systems, and
  9. Support IISE’s mission, provide member value, and promote the industrial and systems engineering discipline.

ARTICLE 3. POWERS

  1. The Society will have the power to recommend policies within its area of interest to the Board of Trustees of the Institute. Recommendations will be forwarded to the Board of Trustees of the Institute upon a majority vote of the Society Board (henceforth referred to as the Board), or by a two-thirds vote of the Society members.
  2. The Society will have the power to review and comment on policies that are proposed by other entities within the Institute structure.
  3. The Society will have the power to issue statements through the regular channels of the Institute, subject to the policies of the Institute.
  4. The Society will have the power to conduct educational and informational programs for its members, subject to the policies of the Institute.
  5. The Society will have the power to publish educational and informational material in print or electronic media, subject to the policies of the Institute.
  6. The Society will have the power to recommend contracts, but only the Institute will have the power to sign contracts.

    7. ARTICLE 4. MEMBERSHIP

    Any member of the Institute may become a Society for Health Systems Member. All members of the Society will have equal rights and privileges, except for student members. Student members do not have voting rights. Currency of membership in the Society is concurrent with IISE membership.

    The Society of Health Systems has an additional class of membership: SHS-Only for individuals who are interested in industrial/management engineering, quality and process improvement in health systems but who are not IISE members. SHS-only members are not members of the Institute. SHS-only membership shall become effective upon receipt of the completed application and designated dues payment.

    ARTICLE 5. DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION COMMITTMENT

    The Institute and the Society values and celebrates the diversity of participants in the ISE profession worldwide and the stakeholders who benefit from the contributions of these professionals. Accordingly, we uphold these values for all, regardless of origins, circumstances, or socio-historical contexts, through active engagement with diversity and active commitments to inclusion. IISE views membership as a privilege and has expectations of its members to uphold the values associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion when engaged with the profession, with the public, and in research and practice. Together we can and will make a difference.

    ARTICLE 6. BOARD

    1. The Board will be the governing body of the Society responsible for administration of their business.
    2. The Board will be comprised of three officers (President, President-Elect, Past-President) and six Directors at large.

      3. a. The President, as the chief administrative officer of the Society, will:

      i. Develop and execute the Society’s strategic plan with inputs from the Board.
      ii. Maintain regular contact with the Institute as the official representative of the Society.
      iii. Represent the Society in official business with other entities of the Institute.
      iv. Organize and preside over Board and membership meetings.
      v. Oversee appointment of Board members, if required, as specified in Articles 7 and 8.
      vi. Appoint standing and ad hoc committees and non-voting board member positions, as required.
      vii. Assign a Board member to liaise with the ISE Body of Knowledge (BoK) Governing Board.
      viii. Review reports of activities from ad hoc/standing committees and other liaisons.
      ix. Ensure orderly transfer of all the Society’s records to the succeeding President.
      x. Perform other duties consistent with the office of an organization's chief administrative officer.

      b. The President-Elect will:

      i. Discharge Presidential duties in the absence of the President.
      ii. Perform other duties assigned by the President or the Board.

      c. The Past-President will:

      i. Oversee the Board election process as specified in Article 7
      ii. Provide historical records and context for the Society’s activities and performance, guidance on new strategies being developed by the Board

    3. In addition to the aforementioned professional Board members, the Society Board will appoint two student leaders to the Board. Their responsibilities include:

      4. a. Liaise with the Society's Student Community

    4. The President and President-Elect must maintain active membership of the Institute and the Society for the entirety of their term. All other Board members must, at a minimum, maintain membership in the Society for the entirety of their term.
    5. Board members will be elected by the Society membership or appointed by the Board as specified in Articles 7 and 8. No member can serve on more than one IISE Society or Division Board simultaneously.
    6. All Board members, except for any student members, will have equal voting rights during administration of the Society’s business. Student Board members will not have voting rights.
    7. A majority of the Board members will constitute a quorum. A motion made by any Board member must receive a majority vote of the Board to pass.
    8. Board meetings will be held at least once a quarter, and preferably, once a month. At least one of the meetings will be conducted in person, typically at the Annual HSPI Conference. Special meetings of the Board can be called by the President or a majority of the Board.

    ARTICLE 7. ELECTION, APPOINTMENT, SUCCESSION, AND TENURE OF BOARD MEMBERS

    1. Each officer position on the Board will have a term of 1 year.
    2. The President-Elect will succeed to the office of President at the completion of their term.
    3. The President will succeed to the office of the Past-President at the completion of their term.
    4. A Board member who has served a full or non-interim term is ineligible to serve a consecutive term in the same office unless appointed by IISE’s Senior Vice-President of Technical Operations and Director of Membership.
    5. The Past-President will oversee the election process. They will work with IISE’s Membership Coordinator to solicit nominations for all eligible offices (i.e., except Past-President and President) from Society membership.
    6. Nominations must meet the following criteria:

      7. a. Nominees for the position President-Elect must be current IISE members of IISE and the Society. Nominees for other Board positions (Director at Large, ex officio members), must be members of the Society.
      b. Nominees for the position of President-Elect should be current Society Board members or must have served in an IISE leadership position(s) (e.g., Director of this or another Society or Division, Conference leadership, Committee Leadership) in the past five years, unless no such members are available, in which case the Past-President will identify other qualified candidates for consideration.
      c. Each nominee is understood to have agreed to perform the duties of that office, if elected.
      d. Nominations must be submitted using IISE’s official nomination form.

    7. At least three weeks prior to the scheduled election, the President-elect will present all nominations to the Board. The Board will approve at least 2 candidates per position to be put on the membership election ballot based on the nominees’ professional accomplishments, prior service to IISE and the Society, and potential for future contributions. The Past-President will inform the approved candidates as well as nominees that were not shortlisted. Board members with a conflict of interest will not participate in this process.
    8. The IISE Membership Coordinator will administer the election, which will be conducted by electronic ballot. Nominees for each office must be listed alphabetically on the ballot. The election must be open for at least two weeks.

      9. a. In the event that the number of approved candidates equals the number of open positions for a given office, only a Board vote will be required in lieu of a membership election.
      b. In the event that no nomination is received or approved by the Board for an open position, there will be no membership election for that position. Instead, the President will appoint a qualified Society member by a majority vote of the Board.

    9. The IISE Membership Coordinator will tally the results after the membership election closes. For each position, the candidate receiving the majority vote will be the winner. In the event of a tie, the winner will be decided by a majority vote of the Board.
    10. The Past-President will notify all elected and non-elected individuals. The President will make the official announcement to the membership. Elected members will assume office at the conclusion of the HSPI Annual Conference.

    ARTICLE 8. VACANCIES

    1. Board vacancies may occur through a voluntary written resignation or by a majority Board vote to remove a board member.

      2. a. A Board member who may be temporarily unable to carry out the responsibilities of their office will inform the President and work with them to make other arrangements for the discharge of their duties.
      b. A Board member who intends to resign will submit a resignation letter to the President. The President will discuss with the Board, Technical Vice-President, and IISE Membership Director to determine whether to reassign the responsibilities to other Board members or appoint an interim Board member to serve remainder of the term.
      c. Any Board member that fails to participate regularly in Board meetings or does not satisfactorily discharge their duties can be removed from office by two-thirds majority vote of the Board.

    2. Any vacancy that may occur on the Board will be addressed following these procedures:

      3. a. If the vacancy occurs in the office of President, the President-Elect will complete the remainder of the President’s term as an interim, and then serve their own full term as the President. The Board will appoint an interim President-Elect for the remainder of the current term from the Society membership by majority vote of the Board, preference being given to the candidate that received the second highest number of votes for this position in the most recent election. The interim President-Elect will succeed to the office of the President upon completion of their interim term.
      b. If the vacancy occurs in the office of President-Elect, the President will appoint an interim President- Elect from the Society membership by a majority vote of the Board, preference being given to the candidate that received the second highest number of votes for this position in the most recent election. This interim President-Elect will succeed to the office of the President upon completion of their interim term.
      c. If the vacancy occurs in the office of Past-President, it will be filled by the next most recent Past- President.
      d. If the vacancy occurs in any other Board position, the President will appoint an interim board member from the Society membership by a majority vote of the Board to serve remainder of the term. Preference will be given to the candidate that received the second highest number of votes for this position in the most recent election.
      e. Should problems arise in respect to the succession procedures outlined above, the Board will determine the appropriate succession plan for that cycle in consultation with the Technical Vice- President and IISE Membership Director. Under special circumstances (e.g., remainder of the vacancy term is very short), the Board may decide not to fill the vacancy until the next election cycle, subject to approval of IISE Technical Vice-President and Membership Director.

    ARTICLE 9. FORFEITURE OF OR REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

    Any Board member shall automatically forfeit their Board membership if they lose eligibility for, or are expelled from, membership in IISE or the Society.

    ARTICLE 10. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

    Each Board Member must make a written disclosure of any interest that might result in a conflict of interest upon election or appointment to office and annually during the term of office. During the term of office, a Board member must promptly make full disclosure to the Board and IISE of any new employment, activity, investment or other interest that might involve obligations that may adversely compete with, or be in conflict with, the interest of IISE or the Society.

    ARTICLE 11. RESPONSIBILITY TO THE INSTITUTE

    The Society must operate in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Institute.

    ARTICLE 12. AMENDMENTS

    1. Proposed amendment(s) to these Bylaws may be initiated either by the Board or by a petition to the President signed by 5% of the membership or 15 members of the Society, whichever is smaller.
    2. The IISE Membership Coordinator will distribute to all members copies of the proposed amendment along with ballot forms by email. Ballots will be submitted electronically not later than two weeks after distribution to the membership.
    3. The adoption of the proposed amendment requires an affirmative vote by at least two-thirds of the members voting, as tallied by the IISE Membership Coordinator who must report the tally to the President within one week of ballot receipt end date. The President must announce the result to the membership within two weeks.
    4. If approved by the Society membership, the proposed amendment to the Bylaws will become effective upon approval by the Institute.

    ARTICLE 13. USE OF THE SOCIETY OR INSTITUTE NAME

    1. The Society logo approved by the Institute may be used by Board members for authorized Society business activities exclusively. Use of this logo to endorse, foster, or criticize any commercial product, vendors, services, or to express personal views about legislative or political issues is strictly prohibited and can result in removal from office.
    2. Upon completion of terms of office, Board members must discontinue the use of the Society for Health Systems and logo immediately.

    ARTICLE 14. LEGAL ACTIONS

    If the Society or any of its subsidiary organizations becomes involved in, or is about to be involved in, legal action before any court of law, the President must consult with the IISE Board of Trustees through the Chief Executive Officer immediately.

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