Past Senior Design Projects | 2014 | NC State ISE
Past Senior Design Projects | 2014
Each semester we have the pleasure of working with local companies on projects as part of our Senior Design Program. These projects are an opportunity for companies to use student resources to have new concepts and fresh ideas injected into their real-world projects. This sponsorship is rewarding for both the project sponsor and the student team. We would like to thank all our past sponsors for their participation in the program.
Fall 2014 | Photo Gallery
Caterpillar
Caterpillar is the leader in building the world’s infrastructure and in enabling progress for millions of people around the globe. To stay an industry leader, Caterpillar implements constant improvements to their production facilities. Currently, they are looking to reduce the cycle time and cut maintenance time of the first three cells of the lift arm assembly line. The ISE team’s project is to install a material handling system. The system must improve ergonomics, safety and cycle times while reducing maintenance downtime.
EMC2
EMC2 is a leading provider of IT storage hardware solutions. They promote data backup and recovery and speed up the journey to cloud computing. Currently, they store all materials in their warehouse’s “supermarket.” Workers deliver these materials to different cells throughout the warehouse. Some materials are delivered to many cells, while others are only delivered to one cell. The ISE team’s project is to compare this current delivery method with alternative method that improves material flow and decrease storage.
Flanders
Flanders is the largest manufacturer of air filters in the United States. Industries like HVAC, semiconductor manufacturing, ultra-pure materials, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals use their products. Flanders design, manufacture, market, and distribute air filters and related products. Currently, Flanders is automating their production lines and wants to install a Baxter robot. The ISE team’s project is to figure out the optimal placement for the robot to increase daily line capacity. They are also working to decrease the amount of defects produced and reduce labor costs.
Siemens
Siemens is a global powerhouse in the fields of electrification, automation and healthcare solutions. They have around 362,000 employees and business activities in almost all countries in the world. Currently, the repair process of their stationary gas turbine components is not operating at optimal levels. The ISE team’s project is to improve lead times and reduce costs in the repair process.
Sports Endeavors
Sports Endeavors is the leading expert in soccer, rugby and lacrosse equipment. The sports they represent are the sports for which they have a personal passion. It is this passion that gives them unique insight into the needs of their customers. The ISE team’s project is to improve the process by reducing the impact of bottle necks and system errors. The team will create time standards for each station, then work on optimal resource scheduling plans to facilitate on-time deliveries.
Tindall Corp.
Tindall is an industry leader in precast, prestressed concrete systems. They provide long-term performance and financial viability in all parts of the project. Currently, Tindall wants to streamline the process for maintaining their equipment. The ISE team’s project is to develop a system that would allow workers to add / view maintenance records. The system will also allow workers to print out the needed weekly maintenance requirements.
Urban Ministries
Urban Ministries of Wake County lessens the harmful effects of poverty by meeting basic needs for food, shelter and health care. Currently, they would like to create a better process to manage their pharmacy inventory. The ISE team’s project is to develop an electronic system for inputing and managing the drug inventory levels. They must also create ways to reduce the amount of money spent on inventory.
Spring 2014
Caterpillar
To maintain its position as an industry leader, Caterpillar implements constant improvements in their production facilities. Currently, limited floor space, long wait times from the bottleneck of the process and large, bulky pieces of work lead to inconsistent work in progress (WIP). The ISE team’s project is to optimize crane usage and product flow, have no parts stored on floor and have optimal WIP. All the while maintaining established safety guidelines.
EMC2
EMC2 is a leading provider of IT storage hardware solutions to promote data backup and recovery and accelerate the journey to cloud computing. Currently, the stockroom has been moved off-site which in turn has increased the potential of internal stock-outs, causing lost capacity or even missed shipments. The ISE team’s project is to analyze and optimize the new processes with a goal of reducing internal stock-outs by 10 percent.
John Deere
From tractors and engines to construction, forestry and turf care equipment, John Deere provides equipment, tools, technology and services that fit the needs of a changing world. Currently, the late configuration area of the warehouse has experienced significant growth in the last year and needs to have its processes optimized to increase effective production. The ISE team’s project is to identify and prioritize opportunities for improvement, develop the ideal future state process, create an implementation plan and begin the process improvement concepts.
Liquip International
Liquip International’s Aviation Division engineers and manufactures a wide range of aviation refueling products including refuelers, hydrant dispensers, stationary hydrant carts and filter vessels. Currently, the cellular vehicle assembly operations lack standard work and standard operating procedures. The ISE team’s project is to create standard work for all assembly functions to provide a predictable and consistent build cycle that reduces both product lead-time and overall cost.
Nomacorc
Last year, Nomacorc produced over two billion wine closures with the best possible wine preservation performance so that the consumer’s experience is exactly as the winemaker intended. Currently, Nomacorc has no means to model or analyze their extrusion area. The ISE team’s project is to create a simulation model of the extrusion area for the purpose of testing different equipment and personnel scenarios to determine the optimal production layout.
Novozymes
Novozymes’ core business is industrial enzymes, microorganisms, and biopolymers. They employ in-house projects, strategic alliances, and acquisitions to enter new business areas. Currently, the turnaround time of fermentation equipment is planned for 16 hours but that plan is not monitored. The ISE team’s project is to optimize the turnaround process by standardizing the process and create a visual tracking tool to monitor performance which, in turn, will reduce waste and improve efficiencies.
Revlon
Revlon’s manufacturing plant in Oxford, NC is the largest cosmetic plant in North America producing 400 million pieces per year ranging from nail enamels to shampoo and conditioners. Currently, the machine tooling changeover needs to be improved to limit the amount to downtime. The ISE team’s project is to optimize the machine tooling changeover of key manufacturing lines by addressing time changeovers, task lists for line changeover, sequences using SMED and 5S principles and shadow board changeover carts. Finally, the team will monitor the enhanced changeover.
Triumph Actuation Systems
Triumph Actuation Systems is an international supplier of aerospace components and systems. All of their assembled products are 100 percent inspected on test stands to verify functional abilities. Currently, the test stands are not universal, operators are not cross trained and there isn’t a testing schedule. The ISE team’s project is to create an interactive schedule to prioritize testing of these assemblies. This will involve; work studies of setup/cycle time/teardown, simulations of various scenarios, statistical likelihood of passing test and planned shutdowns for maintenance.
Urban Ministries
Urban Ministries of Wake County lessens the harmful effects of poverty by meeting basic needs for food, shelter and health care. Currently, the roads surrounding their open door clinic lacks control of speed limits, entry and exit to businesses and there are no pedestrian or bus easements. The ISE team’s project is to study access to the Urban Ministries location, current traffic patterns and make recommendations on how to improve safety.