Industrial Engineering seniors showed off the culmination of their year's work May 2 at the second annual Industrial Engineering Capstone Symposium at the Fayetteville Town Center.

During the 2017-2018 academic year, 73 industrial engineering students participated in the industrial engineering senior capstone experience as part of 19 teams of three or four students. Every student pursuing the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering at the University of Arkansas is required to complete the two-semester experience by completing two courses. The Industrial Engineering Capstone Experience is coordinated by Richard Cassady, Professor of Industrial Engineering.

The teams are matched with an industrial partner, led by a student project manager and advised by a member of the industrial engineering faculty. In the fall semester, teams began by conducting background research on their industry partner and the issues that are of interest to that partner.

Students then develop a detailed understanding of the process or system of interest and obtain the data necessary to conduct preliminary analysis into the issues faced by the industry. Based on their preliminary analysis, they define objectives for their spring semester work, the performance measures they will use to measure their success in achieving the objectives, and the deliverables they will provide their partner at the end of the year.

In the spring semester, the teams apply their industrial engineering skills, including data analysis, mathematical and/or computer modeling, and cost and/or financial analysis, to achieve their project objectives. Through their defined performance measures, they assess their success in achieving their  objectives and create their project deliverables. They also document information necessary for their industry partner to properly utilize their deliverables.

The experience concludes with a symposium, during which teams communicate their research in an exhibit and poster session. Teams also delivered detailed, 35-minute presentations.

Faculty and graduate student judges evaluated the teams' technical reports, exhibits, and presentations, as well as the individual contributions of project managers, team members, industry partners, and faculty advisors.

Team Awards

Best Overall Project Award – Anna Hudgeons, Shay Brown, Austin Kuklenski and Cody Lawrence for their project, Instituting a Worker Scheduling Tool for the Pre-molding Process, for LM Wind Power. Faculty advisor: Haitao Liao.

Outstanding Achievement in Data Analysis – Trenton Cason, Monica Briselden, Andrew Doner and Brittany Miller for their project, Increasing Business Won and Reducing Turnaround Time by Modifying ArcBest's Bid and Proposal Processes, for ArcBest Corporation. Faculty advisor: Manuel Rossetti.

Outstanding Achievement in Modeling – Grace McGee, Danarrius Broadway, Anginay Jones and Garrett Tallman for their project, Increasing Tractor Utilization Using Scripted Integer and Linear Programming Outstanding Achievement in Cost/Financial Analysis, for J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. Faculty advisor: Xiao Liu.

Outstanding Achievement in Decision Support – Teresa Nguyen, Carson Alsup, Sarah Belcher and Ricky Ng for their project, Reducing Manual Decisions in the Trailer-to-Door Allocation Process, for Walmart Supply Chain. Faculty advisor: Sarah Nurre

Individual Awards

Outstanding Project Managers: Tony Woods, Allison Morast, Anna Hudgeons.

Outstanding Team Members: Grant Waller, Matt Turner, Savannah Kis.

Outstanding Faculty Advisors: Manuel Rossetti, John English, Haitao Liao.

Outstanding Industry Partners: Jaclyn Johnson – Walmart, Matt Yarbrough – Walmart, Adam Klausing and Alex Wong – J.B. Hunt.

Other Projects

The following additional projects were presented at the 2018 Capstone Experience Symposium:

Increasing Cross-Dock Efficiency by Improving Door Assignments: Industry Partner – ArcBest Technologies. Team Members: Project Manager, Aaron Bowden, Charles Elliott, Royal Hart, and Olivia Weekley. Faculty Advisor – Kelly Sullivan.

Calculating Forklift Replacement and Assessing Alternatives: Industry Partner – ArcBest Freight. Team Members: Project Manager, Brian Meyer, William Beckman, Nicolas Rork and Tyler Wiggins. Faculty Advisor – Tish Pohl.

Improved Food Production Operations:  Advancements in Facility Layout, Job Scheduling and Data Management: Industry Partner –Arkansas Food Innovation Center. Team Members: Project Manager – Justin Taylor, Brisa Bartczak, Karla Castro, Craig Gifford. Faculty Advisor – Chase Rainwater.

Improving Accuracy of Appointment Capacity Forecasting Utilizing Predictive Modeling: Industry Partner – J.B. Hunt. Team Members: Project Manager, Brittany Watts, Amanda Beard, Seth Briley and Matthew Turner. Faculty Advisor – Ashlea Milburn

Predicting the Cost of Driver Pay to Increase the Accuracy of Future Bids: Industry Partner – J.B. Hunt. Team Members: Project Manager, Caine McLeod, Jackson Goodman, Zachary Osiecki and Foster Pollock. Faculty Advisor – Art Chaovalitwongse.

Increase Productivity in the Molding Process Through a Blade Tracking Tool and Identification of Main Causes for Rework: Industry Partner – LM Wind Power. Team Members: Project Manager, Maria Camila Ruiz, Jose Bracamonte, Daniel Ostrand and Barbara Stanziola. Faculty Advisor – Haitao Liao.

Providing Insight on Automated Passenger Counting Data to Improve Bus Utilization: Industry Partner – University of Arkansas Transit and Parking. Team Members: Project Manager, Allison Morast, Blake Dougan, Victoria Goethel and Austin Talley. Faculty Advisor – John English.

Simplifying Campus Parking for Increased User Satisfaction and Improved Decision Making: Industry Partner – University of Arkansas Transit and Parking. Team Members: Project Manager, Ryan Sanders, Mireille Ineza, Christopher Manjarrez and Jacob Washkowiak. Faculty Advisor – Art Chaovalitwongse.

Improving Patient Flow by Reducing Emergency Department Length of Stay: Industry Partner – Veteran's Health Care System of the Ozarks. Team Members: Project Manager, Olivia Goss, Brooks Langdon, Ali Madere and Dominic Pacitti. Faculty Advisor – Ed Pohl.

Reducing Cardboard Contamination Throughout the VHSO by Redesigning the Facility Layout: Industry Partner – Veteran's Health Care System of the Ozarks. Team Members: Project Manager, Fallon Haaser, Aliyah Conley, Brian Sloan and Deondre Taylor. Faculty Advisor – Shengfan Zhang.

Tracking Goods Not for Resale in the Backroom of Walmart Stores: Industry Partner – Walmart Inc. Team Members: Project Manager, Peter Scheele, Nour Abu-Safe, Savanna Kis and Timothy O'Toole. Faculty Advisor – Justin Chimka.

Revamping Workforce Management Processes for Increased Associate Utilization: Industry Partner – Walmart Inc. Team Members: Project Manager, Anthony Woods, Spencer Kilgore, Hunter Pauling and Grant Waller. Faculty Advisor – Greg Parnell.

Redesigning Dry Grocery Category Adjacency: Industry Partner – Walmart Inc. Team Members: Project Manager, Jennifer Watson, Kelly Green and Bryce Rohr. Faculty Advisor – Joe Geunes.

Improved Decision Support in Walmart's Fresh Produce Modular Design: Industry Partner – Walmart Inc. Team Members: Project Manager, Chase Kilty, Cherzulyn Garcia and Elizabeth Laster. Faculty Advisor – Joe Geunes.

Allocating Products to Channels in the Item Discovery Funnel: Industry Partner – Walmart Stores Inc. Team Members: Project Manager, Rachel Holmer, Harrison Gilker and Juan Marino. Faculty Advisor – Ed Pohl.