The existing multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi) is beginning their second 5-year cycle. The mission of the center is to solve integrated design and analysis problems in logistics and distribution via simulation and mathematical modeling, analysis, and the development and application of powerful, intelligent, real-time algorithms. By integrating resources at the multiple campuses, CELDi has promoted a fundamental paradigm shift from the traditional compartmentalized logistics and distribution research approach to an examination of the problem as a whole.
The I/UCRC expects to grow in regard to partner universities and member companies during this second phase of funding. Several member organizations are actively involved with the partner universities to provide real-life logistics and distribution problems to graduate and undergraduate classes. The center's research holds the promise of creating new practice based education models that can be used to augment this undergraduate and graduate instruction.
Summary The 2013-14 RET project was to develop a simulation, game-based competition intended to develop interest among middle school and high school students in the field of industrial engineering, with the goal of recruiting future students. The competition was to have sound industrial engineering content, involve a team of students who would collaborate to achieve their goals, and be inexpensive for the competitors. The platform chosen for this year’s competition is the online game "Theme Hospital" from the website "Best Old Games". A web-based competition was created called The IE Challenge at the following web address: https://sites.google.com/site/iechallengethemehospital/ The IE Challenge challenged teams of students to design an efficient hospital which would be profitable, have high customer satisfaction ratings and high overall ratings. Teams were to address the industrial engineering concepts of facilities layout, hospital management, customer queuing, personnel management, and overall customer satisfaction. Research Project research consisted of INEG 1103 curriculum review and reading of material related to basic industrial engineering and engineering logistics. The textbooks included: Introduction to Industrial and Systems Engineering, Designing and Managing the Supply Chain Time was devoted to researching industrial engineering processes and engineering competitions. We used Roller Coaster Tycoon games for several years, but this year we will use Theme Hospital. We felt that continuing to use the same game was not challenging to returning competitors. This year’s focus for EAST (Environmental and Spatial Technology) classes is health and wellness. We have had entrants from EAST classes in the past and this change will encourage increased participation. Finally, Roller Coaster Tycoon was a software based game that had to be purchased and Theme Hospital is a free download. The IE Challenge website was created to provide information about the competition to teachers, parents, and students. It included the directions for downloading Theme Hospital and DOSBox, a download required to run Theme Hospital on most computers. It also included lesson plans correlated to common core state standards in literacy and math, as well as to science and technology standards.. Project Description The IE Challenge promotes interest in industrial engineering as a career option. Most areas of engineering focus on designing/creating a physical product that can be tested. Industrial engineering typically focuses on creating and managing a system to optimize parameters such as productivity in a manufacturing facility. In order to promote interest in middle/high school students, a "hands on" approach for a competition was chosen, with an emphasis on facility layout. Teams of students were challenged to design a hospital using "Theme Hospital". They were asked to submit an entry paper which addressed: Problem studied Performance rating Analysis of the layout design Quality control Procedures used to determine optimum queue structure. Patient population The rules for The IE Challenge competition were: Each team must consist of 2 students and a faculty sponsor. Junior Division – grades 6-8, Senior Division – grades 9-12. All team members must be in the same division. 1st – 3rd place will be awarded in each division. Entry papers must be written by students only. Teams are responsible for transportation. Only entries adhering to competition guidelines will receive scores. Judging panels are appointed by the University of Arkansas’ Department of Industrial Engineering. Decisions of the judges are final. Final judging takes place at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Team members must share equally in the presentation. This year we added a virtual competition. The entries in the virtual competition were limited, but we are hopeful that this will grow in the future. Observations/Conclusions The 2014 IE Challenge was held at Bell Engineering Center at the University of Arkansas in April, 2014. 35 teams attempted the competition. Of these, 3 were virtual entries and 32 paper entries. Ten teams were invited to the University for the final competition, demonstrating their knowledge of industrial engineering concepts. We spoke with sponsors about the IE Challenge and asked how to increase involvement. The most common answer was additional exposure. Most teams this year received information from sponsoring teachers through messages sent to the science and EAST listservs. Sponsors requested additional time between notification of finalist status and the live competition. This year we provided a four week notice. This was well received by teachers. Additional promotion is being planned, with an emphasis directed toward the technology departments of schools, meeting with EAST facilitators at their annual training, and utilizing as many listserv avenues as possible. We followed up on previous competitors who graduated high school. So far, of the 14 graduating students that we know of, 8 are enrolled in engineering programs. We expanded statewide, with entrants from Little Rock, Pottsville, Farmington, Gravette, Benton County School of the Arts, County Line, Sheridan, North Pulaski, West Fork, Greenbrier, Cutter-Morning Star, Harrison, Malvern, Mansfield, Paragould, Woodlawn, and SEABEC. We hope to include neighboring states in future competitions.
