Montana State engineering class explores operational improvement strategies used in industry

BOZEMAN - Engineering students at Montana State University can now explore the fundamentals of modern manufacturing management in depth through a new graduate-level course, Manufacturing Management Systems. The class introduces operational improvement strategies widely used in industry and examines how they are applied in real-world manufacturing environments.

The course, now in its first semester, was developed through a collaboration of MSU's Montana Manufacturing Extension Centerand the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering. The first group of students for this class consists of undergraduate students majoring in mechanical engineering and mechanical engineering technology who are expected to graduate in May.

According to course instructor Alistair Stewart, the curriculum aims to give future engineers practical tools they can apply immediately as they begin their manufacturing careers. While many of these topics are introduced and covered in current required undergraduate coursework in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, the new class explores them more comprehensively.

The course was adapted from MMEC's professional development program, which helps students gain vital practical skills needed in today's manufacturing environment. The curriculum focuses on three approaches to operational excellence: Lean Manufacturing, Theory of Constraints and Six Sigma, which aim to increase efficiency and quality by reducing waste, identifying bottlenecks and minimizing variability. The course equips engineering students with practical business systems knowledge before they enter the workforce. Stewart said the course was created in response to feedback from engineering college alumni about market demands for engineers with this type of training.

"We've had many early- to mid-career graduates of the college of engineering come through this program as employees of manufacturers that we work with directly," said Stewart, whose full-time position is senior business adviser in MSU's MMEC. "And it is very common that when they go through these programs as employees, they will say to me, 'Boy, I wished I'd learned this as an undergrad or in graduate studies.' I've been doing this work here at MMEC for 11 years and I heard it on day one and I continue to hear it."

Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma and Theory of Constraints are all about delivering value to customers, developing people, and continuous process improvement, he said.

"The goal is to set up engineers with not just education, but tools and practical hands-on experience so that when they enter the workforce, or as early career professionals, they progress more quickly," Stewart said. "They're not just thinking about engineering, they're thinking about business systems. The goal of the firm is to make money."

He said a mindset sometimes exists in the field that engineering and economics are not natural bedfellows.

"They should be," Stewart said. "But they sometimes - or even often, perhaps - are not."

Another goal of the class is to prepare students for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Lean Bronze Certification exam. Requirements to pass include amassing real-world experience, which typically doesn't happen in earnest until graduates have spent time in the profession. The Lean Bronze Certification program is an industry-recognized micro-credential that validates a practitioner's understanding of Lean Manufacturing principles and tools.

"On the first day of class we did an exercise using Legos to simulate a production line," said Kendahl Hinthorne, a senior who will begin a manufacturing-related career in Bozeman upon her graduation in May.

In the first part of the exercise, the students were given little instruction other than to build their portion of the Lego assembly in batches of five and pass them along to the next person. In the second round, they implemented simple Lean Manufacturing principles.

"The first round we didn't complete a single assembly in the given time limit, whereas in the second round we were able to complete 30 with time to spare," said Hinthorne, who is from Billings. "Exercises like this show how simple changes to a process can have an extreme impact."

Many employers actively seek candidates with the credential in addition to traditional engineering licenses, said Kevin Amende, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering.

"There are a lot of employers out there who actually look for other credentials from prospective employees, whether that is SME's Lean Bronze credential, whether it is Six Sigma or whether it's Theory of Constraints," said Amende, who last year was named the inaugural Norm Asbjornson Chair of Manufacturing. "This will give students a significant competitive edge in the job market."