Case studies in operations management are better in person. For the fifth year, Roger Woods has taken his students to Northern Hardwoods in nearby Atlantic Mine as a way to bring what they’re learning into real-world application.
Woods, a teaching professor in operations management, makes the opportunity available to his Fundamentals of Six Sigma course. He said the tour was particularly helpful for the fall 2024 class.
“Their final case study was based on a lumber mill, so having some firsthand knowledge could be helpful as they worked through it and analyzed the data,” he said.
Seven students took him up on the offer, including Krian Sapali, Rohit Bhilave, and Stevans Ackon, all working toward their master’s degrees in Engineering Management; Dalin Adler, Patrick Moeller, and Hunter Bilgreen, going for their bachelor’s degrees in Engineering Management; and Logan Laughrey, an undergraduate majoring in Systems Engineering with a minor in Business.
Northern Hardwoods Operations Manager Ryan LaPorte led the tour. “Ryan does a great job of explaining the hardwood lumber process and noting some of the challenges,” Woods said.
Woods said that understanding the Six Sigma continuous improvement model is important for professional development, helping students prepare for their careers.
“It’s a structured problem-solving process that uses a wide variety of statistical tools and is used widely in industry,” he said, explaining that the process is designed to locate and eliminate defects and errors, as well as reduce cycle times and costs, among other benefits. “Six Sigma focuses on outputs that are critical to customers and justifies improvements by demonstrating a clear financial return for the organization.”
Woods, selected by College of Business students as Teacher of the Year in spring 2024, has extensive industry experience. His teaching approach, based on helping students understand business decisions in a real-world context, is aligned with the College’s overall focus on educational experiences that take students out of the classroom and into environments where they can apply concepts learned in the classroom.
About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business prepares tomorrow’s business professionals through STEM-infused, AACSB-accredited degree programs and minors. The college offers nine bachelor of science programs in accounting, business analytics, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing; and four master of science programs in accounting and analytics, applied natural resource economics, engineering management, and the TechMBA®.Questions? Contact us at business@mtu.edu.
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