COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & SCIENCE

CHRISTUS Health in Shreveport is facing multiple problems causing inefficiencies related to how crash carts are resupplied, distributed, and tracked throughout the hospital. The current method of tracking carts’ locations and supplies expiration dates is relatively primitive and leaves much room for human error. Additionally, restocking the carts is deemed too time consuming. To approach these problems, our team has elected to utilize the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) problem-solving approach. Employees have been interviewed to help us identify problems, and the team has begun to brainstorm and start developing solutions to these problems as we move into the improvement phase. Our goal is to make a positive, lasting, and measurable improvement to crash cart related operations at CHRISTUS Health.

Libbey Glass has asked us to look into some ergonomic concerns within the corrugated department. They specifically wanted us to reduce the strains on the consaw off-bearer and the consaw sheet-feeder. They also were interested in us looking into noise reduction within the department. There were reports of injuries in both of those positions as well as a low ergonomic score. The primary goal of our project is to reduce the number of injuries reported from the corrugated departments and to improve the working environment for the operators thus increasing their working lifespan. The main priority is to lessen the strain for the sheet feeder and offbearer. Secondary goals are to improve consaw turnover time and reduce sound level. We began our evaluations by reviewing the ergonomic evaluations that had already been completed. Then, we spoke with the operators and management within the corrugated department about what they believed caused them the most strain and difficulty. Also, we took some measurements of the noise levels throughout the department. Then, we began researching tools and methods to lessen the strain caused by repetitive motions workers typically experience.

At the Alliance Compressors production plant in Natchitoches, Louisiana, the single pack line is unable to meet customer demand without a large amount of unplanned employee overtime causing excess labor cost. Research shows that this has been a recurring problem, especially during peak demand. The goal of our team is to reduce this labor cost by eliminating the need for unplanned overtime by implementing the DMAIC process. Working with the existing layout we plan to shorten the cycle time of the process to reduce overall worker overtime. First, our team observed the process and conducted time studies to understand the process steps and establish a baseline for production. After analyzing the data, we believe that the single pack line process could be greatly improved by implementing a forklift notification light, assigning specific roles to workers on the line, and improving the parts tray.