Tauber students create new training plan for Whirlpool

One of the most exciting parts of this project was learning about the new technology being used at the manufacturing sites and seeing people in the plant excited about the future of Whirlpool. We were able to connect with lots of different people and gain momentum and interest around training and upskilling to bring Whirlpool into the future of manufacturing.

Ann Arbor, MI - The Tauber business + engineering student team of Margaret Kirk (MBA) and Matthew Rodeman (EGL BSE/MSE-EE) developed a core training framework for the Whirlpool Corporation that has the potential to save Whirlpool millions.

Whirlpool Global Advanced Manufacturing Principal Engineer Michael Cukier remarked, "The real innovative strategy for this project was the identification of different training strata within the organization and a change in the timing requirements for that training. It resulted in a defined training plan that can be easily applied to any project, not just a technology application.”

2021 Tauber Whirlpool team project

A pilot program conducted by the Tauber team indicated a 30% decrease in time spent, a 30% increase in project effectiveness, plus an overall boost to employee morale. The team outlined a plan to implement the training framework globally to deliver savings to Whirlpool of between $9 and $11.5 million over the next three years.

Cukier says implementation of the team's plan to improve the speed and success of technical project launches is already underway. “The Tauber project has been converted to a web-based set of tools that any project engineer can access internally. A larger scale trial is in process at one of the manufacturing plants."

Read a more detailed report about the 2021 Whirlpool team project >

The 2021 Tauber team projects resulted in a record-setting $989 million in savings according to sponsoring company calculations, an average of $43 million per project over three years.

Each year, Tauber student teams uncover significant savings for sponsoring companies – and champion major improvements in project fields such as data analytics, sustainability in operations, supply chain, and strategy.

Team up with Tauber

The Tauber Institute for Global Operations is a joint venture between the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and Michigan Engineering, working together with industry partners to facilitate cross-disciplinary education in global operations management. The Tauber Institute is an inaugural recipient of the UPS George D. Smith Prize for effective and innovative preparation of students to be good practitioners of operations research, management science, or analytics. For more information visit tauber.umich.edu.