Fast Track Factory: Using the Engineering Design Process to Improve Efficiency in Mass Production
A quality test site.Copyright Original image captured by teacher developers before test run.
Students become “efficiency experts” who have been contracted by an auto manufacturer. They are presented with plans for three car models (made from plastic building bricks) the company currently makes. The current designs are selling well but are not as profitable as the company would like, because they require more building materials (plastic bricks) and take more time to build than would be ideal. After conducting a simulation of the company’s current mass production system, the “efficiency experts” are asked to propose modifications to the current system (e.g., vehicle design, assembly line layout, and labor allocation) that will allow the company to make more cars for a lower price, while remaining within specific safety and efficiency guidelines required by law. The “efficiency experts” then implement their redesigned system and compare building time and cost of the revised system to the original one. Finally, the experts prepare a presentation for the auto manufacturer’s executives during which they report their proposed modifications, citing specific examples of cost and time that was saved between the original production process and the revised one.
Industrial engineers focus on making systems, processes, and organizations more efficient. They study how people, machines, materials, and energy work together, then redesign processes to save time, cut costs, and improve safety and quality. Instead of just building things, industrial engineers look at the “big picture” of how products are made, or services are delivered, finding ways to do more with less while still meeting important standards.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Analyze a mass production system to identify inefficiencies related to cost and time, reflecting real world manufacturing challenges.
- Apply the engineering design process by planning, testing, and refining modifications to improve assembly line performance, supported by data and performance comparisons.
- Demonstrate collaboration, problem-solving, and communication skills by working in teams to develop a final presentation that outlines design decisions, test results, and a recommended implementation plan.