A group of students in the College of Engineering received first place in the capstone competition from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) during their annual conference in May. The team’s project was chosen from capstone team applications from universities all over the world to compete in two categories (product and service). Twenty teams were invited to present in person at the IISE annual conference. The Virginia Tech team received first place in the product category.

“It is remarkable to see the impact of our senior design program at such a high level,” said Eileen Van Aken, department head of the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE). “We continue to be impressed by our students and their commitment to delivering strategic, timely, and cost-effective solutions to their clients within our senior design program. We know this real-world experience will be applicable long after they graduate.” 

Reed Foote, Kaylee Keegan, Caitlyn Sanford, and Sarah Valley, all 2024 graduates from ISE, presented their capstone project during ISE’s senior design symposium in April and received the Integration and Implementation Award from the department. At the IISE annual conference, a yearly gathering of industrial and systems engineering scholars and professionals from across the globe, they were represented by Sanford and Valley.  

“It was amazing to connect with people from different colleges, companies, and even countries who share the same passion for industrial and systems engineering,” said Sanford. “We went into it excited to represent Virginia Tech and our client, Woodward, and couldn't have been more ecstatic with the outcome of winning first place.”

Practical impacts 

The project was sponsored by Woodward, a design and manufacturing company headquartered in Fort Collins, Co., and titled “Resource Allocation Playbook.” Chip Blankenship ‘88, Woodward’s CEO and a materials science and engineering graduate, connected with Van Aken with an interest in recruiting ISE graduates. She recommended he become involved in ISE’s senior design program. 

The team worked with Woodward beginning in fall of 2023 to understand their needs and develop solutions to issues such as staffing inconsistencies and manufacturing output. 

  • The challenge: Woodward faced inconsistent output from three assembly units due to unpredictable staffing and lack of standardized procedures, causing productivity and lead time issues.
  • The student-proposed solution: a responsive set of guidelines, procedures, and processes or “playbook” to optimize staffing, reduce bottlenecks, and standardize processes. 
  • The projected impact: reduced lead time variability by 45%,  immediate cost savings of $1 million+, and  potential for $3.3 million+ in further savings through scalability, improved productivity, and operational consistency.
  • Why it matters: the playbook empowers Woodward’s team leaders to maximize production throughput and can be replicated plant-wide for greater impact.

Over the course of the two-semester project throughout the 2023-24 academic year, students regularly met with representatives from Woodward to gauge their progress in the areas of concern. Both Woodward and the student team were eager to collaborate and find solutions for staffing inconsistencies and delays with manufacturing output. 

“The students’ passion and desire to provide a meaningful solution was apparent,” said Matt Wubben, an operations engineer at Woodward who worked closely with the team. “This year, Woodward is sponsoring three additional projects to build on last year’s success. The projects in progress will have a noticeable impact on our business going forward, and I’m excited to see the final product of everyone’s efforts. It is apparent that the entire ISE faculty and staff are doing a great job preparing students to be contributors in our industry from day one.”

Reed Foote, Caitlyn Sanford, Sarah Valley, Kaylee Keegan
(From left) Reed Foote, Caitlyn Sanford, Sarah Valley, and Kaylee Keegan present their poster during the ISE Senior Design Symposium in April 2024. The team went on to receive the integration and implementation award, given by the department. Photo by Jordi Shelton for Virginia Tech.

Alumni engagement for the win

ISE’s senior design program benefits heavily from alumni involvement as project sponsors, and in recent years, we have invited selected and highly-engaged alumni to serve as team advisors to complement the full-time  faculty in the department who also advise 1-2 teams each year. Alumni serving as team advisors provide valuable and practical perspective outside of the classroom and client site. 

The team’s advisor in the year leading up to the conference was Tom Winters ‘86, an ISE graduate and former member of the department’s advisory board. Winters communicated regularly with the students and Woodward and provided feedback on project progress.  

“From the very onset of this senior design project you could see that the scope of the project was well defined, the client was extremely engaged, and this senior team was motivated to do an outstanding job,” said Winters. “I’m very proud of the work the senior design team delivered and the impact they had for Woodward.” 

Contact:

Tags

Share this story