This project is addressing the inclusion of lean manufacturing and lean concepts into the undergraduate industrial engineering curriculum. The PIs, in collaboration with industry, are developing six (6) case studies drawn from real life examples of lean manufacturing applications. The topical areas of the study include value stream mapping, workplace organization, process flow enhancement, setup reduction/minimization, implementation of pull production through Kanban, and production smoothing in multiple product systems. Utilizing a role-playing discovery-based learning format, the case studies are allowing the students to be consultants or customers simulating the real world environment.
The PIs and students are collaborating with industrial partners to collect, analyze, and document data and develop the case study. Within the classroom setting, teams of 2-4 students are spending two weeks preparing a written case report prior to in class discussion. For the in class discussion, the PIs are emulating a business meeting format, where the students are the consultants and customers. Students are providing feedback on case content, preparation and delivery. The cases are also being distributed to a number of peer institutions for evaluation through utilization in existing undergraduate classes. Further evaluation is also being done through assessing student work and attitude surveys. Finally the cases are being submitted to the INFORMS case competition for both evaluation and dissemination.
