Virginia Tech Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Senior Design Program

Many manufacturing companies are busy running their day to day operation and struggle to find the time, technical resources, and tools to address operational inefficiencies, solutions to unmet challenges, and facility design opportunities. GENEDGE offers practical, hands-on student team resources and solutions through the Center for High Performance Manufacturing’s (CHPM) Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Senior Design Program.

Participating manufacturers identify and provide projects that require the investment of 8-10 team hours per week, for the duration of the 9 month project. Senior Design Program services include, but are not limited to, a CoreValue Enterprise Value Assessment, project charter, and professional project management and coaching. Services result in a substantial business impact in one or more areas.

Project Types

Facility Planning and/or Design
Lean Manufacturing Process Improvements
Manufacturing Systems
Material Handling
Ergonomics or Human Factors
Production or Manufacturing Systems Design/Redesign
Robotics and/or Automation
Simulation
Systems Engineering

The Learning Factory and The Lean Manufacturing Cell

GENEDGE is a sponsor for the Learning Factory and the Lean Manufacturing Cell. Learn more about how a senior design project to create a lean cell environment can effectively teach anyone, students or laborers in the surrounding areas, on how to better apply lean thinking to any of their jobs.

GENEDGE – Virginia Tech Partnership and Affiliation

GENEDGE has partnered with the Center for High Performance Manufacturing (CHPM) at Virginia Tech to advise and project manage students in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. The program is designed to be the capstone, integrative experience that provides the basic skills needed to effectively plan, manage and implement technical projects. Specifically, students work in teams to apply learned skills to real-world manufacturing opportunities, improving processes and accelerating growth

During the first semester, students focus on developing a technical proposal as well as performing technical analysis related to their project. During the second semester, students focus on design and implementation as well as hone their technical writing and oral presentation skills. The yearlong capstone experience culminates with the Senior Symposium, a technical conference event at which company representatives, students, GENEDGE advisors, and faculty share and celebrate the project results.

Benefits to Participating Companies

Improve operational efficiencies to increase profits
Access Virginia Tech resources to address opportunities for improvement
Connect with Virginia Tech senior students for future employment
Develop a supply chain strategy to be more competitive and minimize risks in sourcing
Identify solutions to unmet technology needs and challenges
Develop a strategy to effectively and efficiently meeting future challenges and opportunities
Acquire professional project management and advising through GENEDGE to establish project definition, maintain project focus, and to meet project objectives
Gain access to CoreValue Unlock Enterprise Assessment to determine current enterprise value, potential enterprise value, and to identify internal/external value gaps. Companies move closer to potential enterprise value as they address value gaps.

Senior Design Symposium Class of 2020

2021 Senior Design Virtual Symposium > follow here for this year’s event!

Digital Transformation Award

This award recognizes a team whose proposed solutions related to digital transformations of processes. The winner has not only selected an innovative solution, but also produced a significant impact for their clients. The 2020 ISE Senior Design Digital Transformation Award went to Team 10 ITS. Pictured here – left to right is Pranay Shah, Deirdre Cahill, Olivia Reed, (Company Contact) Brad Curtis, and Matt Garlington. Photo courtesy of ISE VT website.

Project Abstract

The team worked with Integrated Textile Solutions (ITS), a textile manufacturing company in Salem, to determine sources of waste in their cutting department and provide recommendations to reduce production costs and increase process efficiencies. Previously, ITS did not collect and analyze waste data, preventing ITS from identifying causes of recuts, late orders, and lost material. To solve this problem, the team developed a waste measurement system that tracks data surrounding material as it flows through the shop floor. This system also provides a data analytics dashboard that helps identify root causes of unnecessary costs and material underutilization.

Follow here to view the > ITS Team Poster Follow here to view the entire > Symposium Presentation

Cost

The cost is $2,500 for companies with 49 employees or less, and $5,000 for companies with 50 employees or more. The cost covers GENEDGE project management and coaching only. There is no cost for student services.

How to participate

Despite the COVID-19 disruptions, the 47 teams from the Class of 2020 had a successful year providing average project impacts of $121K for the project sponsors. That’s an impressive effort giving the circumstances! GENEDGE is currently setting up projects for upcoming class of 2021 in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. Please let us know of your interest.