ANN ARBOR, Mich. — U-M Tauber Institute for Global Operations is pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 Spotlight! Team Project Showcase Scholarship Competition! The 35 teams, composed of 89 students and supported by 54 faculty advisors at 23 sponsoring companies with locations around the world, worked in sectors including manufacturing and supply chain, health care, energy, retail, technology, and logistics to uncover solutions to operations-related challenges. First place, Whirlpool Corporation, second place, BorgWarner Turbo Systems, and third place, Ford Motor Company.

The 2015 Tauber Team Projects resulted in $500 million in savings according to sponsoring company calculations, an average of $14.3 million per project over 3 years.

In first place: Whirlpool team of John Klocke (MBA '16) and Nick Walker (EGL BSE/MSE-Chemical Engineering '16).

The challenge given the first place team: The Tauber Team for Whirlpool will recommend ways to improve the foam filling process for the refrigeration division. The team will create a discrete simulation model that will be used to optimize refrigeration plants. The opportunity to improve the bottom line through operational enhancements in an important business line will directly affect the company’s future success. The project’s high impact potential makes it a important priority for Whirlpool’s executive leadership team.

Second place: BorgWarner Turbo Systems team of Fan Fan (MSCM '15), Sarah Klemsz (MSCM '15) and Kendall Moyer (EGL BSE/MSE-Chemical Engineering).

The challenge given the second place team:  The BorgWarner Turbo Systems team will propose a global solution to control material flow of similar, small components to prevent quality defects. The team will create a cost-efficient implementation strategy to be deployed across Turbo System’s 10 production facilities.

Third place: Ford Motor Company team of Jingyang Du (MSCM '15) and Miguel Saez (EGP MEng in Global Automotive Manufacturing).

The challenge given the third place team:  The Ford team studied the material handling operation inside a final assembly shop of Ford Motor Company to identify block and starve conditions. The use of simulation would capture the stochastic nature of the manufacturing system supporting an accurate calculation and allocation of labor resources.

The Alumni Scholarship Award of $2500 was awarded to Melissa Sweeney (EGL BSE-Material Science/MSE-Industrial and Operations Engineering '16) and Allison Holmgren (MBA '16).

The winner of the student photo contest was the American Industrial Partners-Aquaflow team of Shrikant Chothave (MSCM '15), Ray Gonzalez (MBA '16), and Zach Mandell (EGL BSE/MSE-IOE '16).

Spotlight! Background

Each two- to three-person Tauber project team is made up of graduate engineering, MBA, and/or MSCM students. Along with receiving high-level corporate support from the company, each team is advised by a College of Engineering and a Ross School of Business faculty member and overseen by a Tauber Institute Co-Director. The projects begin on-site in May and continue for 14 weeks.

Convening back in Ann Arbor, students present the results of their projects and compete for over $40,000 in scholarship monies at the Tauber Institute's annual Spotlight! event, held each September in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

At Spotlight!, students showcase their project results and compete for academic scholarships. Spotlight! is a growing event that presents outstanding opportunities for students and corporate partners to establish relationships while expanding the university’s presence and uncovering new ideas and innovations in operations and manufacturing.

About Tauber Institute for Global Operations
The Tauber Institute for Global Operations is a joint venture between the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the College of Engineering, and 30 industry partners to facilitate cross-disciplinary education in global operations management. In addition to broad array of core and elective courses, the innovative LeadershipAdvantageSM Program provides students with the tools to ascend to major operations leadership roles. Well-designed and managed team projects form the cornerstone of the Tauber Institute experience and allow students to apply their knowledge to real world settings. http://www.tauber.umich.edu