Problem solved! NOVUS students learn from industry experts
Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:23:00 BST
Students on the industry sponsored NOVUS programme were delighted to attend a one day problem solving workshop kindly hosted by Arla at their Leeds dairy site.
Arla are the largest producer of dairy products in the UK (with well known brands such as Cravendale, Lurpak and Anchor). They are one of twenty six companies supporting the innovative NOVUS programme that uniquely guarantees students a graduate job on completion of their degree programmes.
Arla invited students on the scheme to the workshop to help develop their problem solving capabilities through the application of lean thinking.
Following an initial welcome from Arla director Richard Wilson, students were impressed to learn of the scale of Arla’s global operations and the values underpinning the company’s success. During the day, outbound logistics director Andrew Johnson also took time to meet with students.
‘Lean Facilitators’ Guy Morris and Ifraz Afzal then briefed the group on lean approaches to problem solving and they learnt how to properly define a problem before analysing problem causation and identifying appropriate solutions. They learnt to use many important ‘lean tools’ including process mapping, the ‘5 whys’ and fishbone (Ishikawa) diagrams to enhance their problem solving capabilities.
‘The day completely changed my perception of problem solving, by encouraging me to analyse and evaluate a problem, using a highly effective method.’ Year 1 student Rizwan Sakoor.
In the afternoon, the students were divided in to two groups to work on a practical project and were given a mission to improve the consistency of output of a machine that was producing erratic results. The machine turned out to be a catapault that was firing ammunition over a variable distance – the task was to re-engineer the process to significantly reduce variability of range when repeatedly firing.
Following an initial test firing exercise, the teams worked together to precisely define the problem and it’s impact, before mapping the existing process. The teams then brainstormed possible causation factors and documented these on an Ishikawa diagram. The most important causes and corresponding improvement measures were identified and incorporated in to a revised process map. Adjustments were then made to the machine and the operating process and the firing exercise was repeated.
The results of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ firing tests were analysed and both groups were able to demonstrate that the firing range had become considerably more consistent. A success!
‘It was an extremely engaging and stimulating day, perfectly organized and very inspiring, I would love to attend more meetings of this kind." JoJo Balwa, Year 1 student.
‘The students found the exercise incredibly valuable and really enjoyed working with the Arla facilitators’, commented David Leach, Senior Lecturer and NOVUS Programme Director, ‘events such as this are exactly what the NOVUS scheme is about – working with and learning from industry experts to develop industry ready skills’.
‘We have been shown what problem solving really means in a business environment’ added year 1 student Mirek Raba, ‘best of all is the fact that specialists from Arla treated us, students, like partners. I am proud of be part of the NOVUS team.’
