Industrial Engineering Seniors Recognized With Awards for Two-Semester Capstone Projects

Ashley Reeves

Industrial engineering seniors were honored this spring for two semesters of work solving real-world problems alongside industry partners.

During the 2022-23 academic year, 54 industrial engineering seniors participated in the Industrial Engineering Capstone Experience as part of 11 teams of four to five students. The teams begin by getting to know their industry partner and the issues motivating the project. Students perform preliminary analysis and define objectives for their spring semester work. They assess the potential impact of their work and create the deliverables that their industry partner needs to implement their work. Every student pursuing the Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering at the U of A is required to complete the two-semester course sequence. Richard Cassady, University Professor of industrial engineering, coordinates the Industrial Engineering Capstone Experience courses.

The experience concludes with the Industrial Engineering Capstone Symposium, which was held in the Arkansas Union Verizon Ballroom on May 3.

The awards presented included:

Team Awards

• Project of the Year: Paris Joslin, team leader; Nathan Skinner; Will Cunningham; Conner Oxford; and Zach Leondike.
  Project Title: A Decision Support Tool to Automate and Optimize Contract Staffing Using Linear Programming
  Supported by: Infinity Labs LLC
• Outstanding Achievement in Data Analysis: Abby Harris, team leader; Zachary Oldham; Wesley Tate; Ernesto Serna; and Jacob Boshears.
  Project Title: Improving Starting Price Point for Customer Re-Negotiations Using XGBoost.
  Supported by: ArcBest
• Outstanding Achievement in Modeling: Jessica Creech, team leader; Joshua Manson-Endeboh; Kaylee Harrison; Ronan McDonnell; and Jacqueline Saldivar.
  Project Title: Using Simulation Analysis to Reduce Customer Sojourn Time in Tire and Battery Centers. Supported by: Sam's Club Tire & Battery Centers
• Outstanding Achievement in Decision Support: Ross Harper, team leader; Halle Schneidewind; Griffin Langford; Danny Puente; and Willow Franks.
  Project Title: Minimizing Changeover Time in Pet Food Production Using Integer Programming.
  Supported by: Simmons Pet Food
• Impact Award: Ashley Stanek, team leader; Ben Mitchell; Cody Bonds; Hudson McDiarmid; and Rhett Caldwell.
  Project Title: Increasing Production Capacity and Efficiency Through Technology Upgrades and Labor Allocation.
  Supported by: National Safety Apparel - Arkansas

Individual Awards

• Outstanding Team Leaders: Bill Byers, Abby Harris, Paris Joslin.
• Outstanding Team Members: Halle Schneidewind, Nathan Skinner, Wesley Tate.
• Outstanding Faculty Advisers: Professors Chase Rainwater, Manuel Rossetti and Karl Schubert.
• Outstanding Industry Partners: Infinity Labs, National Safety Apparel, Simmons Pet Food.

Other Projects

Additional projects the Capstone Experience Teams completed were:

• Project Title: Reducing Stock-Outs in a Hospital Medication Dispensing System Using Simulation Analysis
  Team: Carson Doss, team leader; Armon Afrasiabi; Gabe Ellis; Will Plunkett; and Dylan Deramus.
  Supported by: Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation
• Project Title: Developing a Priority Assignment Policy for the Empty Planner Application
  Team: Bill Byers, team leader; Jackson Barclay; Carter Christian; and Joshua Walters.
  Supported by: J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.
• Project Title: Linear Optimization for Driver-Route Assignment With Fatigue and Balanced Workload Considerations
  Team: Andrew Freeman, team leader; Katy Emerson; Nicolas Alcoreza; Sarah Wilson; and Emmanuel Jean Paul De La Gala Gomez.
  Supported by: LATROBE LLC
• Project Title: Analyzing and Predicting Marketing Campaign Performance Using Regression and Time Series Analysis
  Team: Agustin German Reichhardt, team leader; Luke Tyler; Sam Nelson; Sebastian Alborta; and Skyler Mantooth.
  Supported by: Nestlé
• Project Title: Reducing the Cost of Inventory Counting With Improved Raw Material Storage
  Team: Whitney Hines, team leader; Christopher Haywood; Jade Easter; Preston Boscamp; and Rodolfo Bissot Stargardter.
  Supported by: Steco Corporation
• Project Title: Developing a Monitoring Tool and Management Policy for University Research, Office and Conference Room Space
  Team: Tate Hasenclever, team leader; Valerie Jackson; Foster Thompson; Kristoffer Olsen; and Bowen Zhao.
  Supported by: U of A, College of Engineering

About the Department of Industrial Engineering: The Department of Industrial Engineering was founded in 1950, led by department head John L. Imhoff, who believed deeply in the global impact of industrial engineering. Today, the department averages over 200 undergraduate students (sophomore through senior) and over 40 doctoral and master's students. In addition, the department has three online master's degrees: the Master of Science in Operations Management, Master of Science in Engineering Management and Master of Science in Operations Analytics. These three programs alone enroll over 2,000 students each academic year. A wide range of practical research is conducted in the department in the areas of reliability, maintainability and quality engineering; transportation, logistics and distribution; health care systems engineering; manufacturing and automation; engineering management and big data; and data analytics in each of the five research centers housed in the department. To learn more about the Department of Industrial Engineering please visit our website.