Spring 2025 Senior Capstone Projects in Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering

Spring 2025 - Industrial Engineering Capstone Design

Siemens: Reducing Inventory At West Switchboard Complex

This project aims to reduce rack inventory by 15% and improve Kanban location accuracy to 100%. Using the DMAIC methodology, our team will identify excess inventory, reduce holding costs, and improve material flow. This project achieved the client’s goals by reducing excess inventory by 39% and improving Kanban accuracy to a projected 100% through redesigned layouts and clear part locations in SAP and on the floor. Additionally , we estimate $53,000 worth of inventory removed and $1653 saved per year per part by eliminating unnecessary travel through 100% Kanban accuracy. These changes support leaner operations and better material flow. We learned the importance of combining system data with worker input and using visual organization to reduce delays and clutter. We recommend full implementation of the new layouts and expanding this approach to other areas. Thank you to Siemens, our sponsors, and faculty advisors for their support.

Ariat: Storage Rack Optimization

Inventory boxes currently overhang from the CA racking system, posing potential safety and operational risks. Using DMAIC, our team will design improved rack configurations and process enhancements to support long-term efficiency and ensure 100% of cartons fit securely on racks. Changing to one location per shelf would maximize space utilization but would sacrifice some picking efficiency. The best alternative would be having 3 locations on the large side of the rack and 5 locations on the smaller side. In the current state 44% of on hand inventory is too large to fit on the shelf and would overhang, but after designing the 9-inch offset and an updated standard put-away procedure we would reduce that to under 1% overhanging for both the large and small side of the rack, for a total improvement of just over 98% thereby improving efficiency and ensuring safety and accessibility. This solution meets all key constraints without requiring any additional racks.

Eng Aviation Group: Crew Utilization 

ENG Aviation Group, a small on-demand medical charter service in Texas, has grown rapidly over two years, especially in organ transportation. With plans to acquire fifteen additional aircraft over the next three years, the company must determine optimal crew pairing for each plane. The goal is to develop a crew utilization matrix that helps ENG manage its growth effectively and efficiently. Our team has designed a crew utilization matrix tool which provides a list of constraints and mechanisms modeled by FAA regulations, ENG Group's operations, and real-world events. This forecasting model will help ENG Aviation Group make educated decisions for their future growth model. We believe this tool will help the company capture more market shares of the on-demand medical charter service industry and grow to become a leading company in the industry. 

Ariat: Ltl Ship Cycles

Ariat International, a global leader in riding footwear and apparel, operates a regional distribution network with its main hub in Haslet, TX. Currently, wholesale orders at this facility are processed in fragmented shipments throughout the day, leading to higher shipping costs and complex inventory management. Through our DMAIC-based analysis, we aim to identify the root causes of order fragmentation, assess consolidation opportunities, and develop an optimized shipping strategy. Our goal is to propose a streamlined fulfillment process that enhances shipping efficiency and reduces costs. We have designed an Iterative code that runs the shipment cycles for the entire month, and we have analyzed this data for each of the months we were provided. We anticipate reducing the total trucks and therefore reducing costs by 30% by using our model. The VBA code provides workers guidance when filling out LTL orders. Not only that, but it helps Ariat as a company by reducing waste and increasing cost saving. To help maintain this solution we implemented a work instruction along our program to ensure the solution is viable, and help employees understand how to use the program.