Patients at Emory Winship have been experiencing long wait times resulting in low patient satisfaction scores. The team focused on improving process flow, communication, and visibility throughout the center. Deliverables consist of a simulation with a user interface, a real-time visibility tool, and a list of recommendations and policy changes, several of which were implemented. Patient wait times were reduced significantly, increasing patient satisfaction and allowing more patients to be treated, bringing in an additional $1.2 million annual profit.

Finalists in the competition were three senior design teams who worked with the CDC, Interface, and UPS.

The CDC Senior Design team placed as a finalist in the Fall 2014 Senior Design Competition for their project titled Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Identification and Allocation of Increased-Risk Encephalitis Organs. Students Nishi Anand, Dylan Buczek, Nicholas Buczek, Timothy Lin, Tanay Rajore, and Muriel Wacker were guided by their faculty advisor William W. George Chair Pinar Keskinocak. Since 2002, 13 clusters of infectious encephalitis have been transmitted through solid-state organ transplantation. Currently, there is no standardized screening procedure to differentiate between infectious and non-infectious encephalitis. In this project, they developed two decision-support tools: 

1. An infectious encephalitis risk calculator for physicians to estimate the probability that a donor has infectious encephalitis.

2. A liver transplant decision aid for transplant doctors and patients to evaluate the trade-offs between accepting/rejecting an increased-risk encephalitis liver.

The Interface Senior Design team placed as a finalist in the Fall 2014 Senior Design Competition. Students include Andrew Bedenk, Kaitlyn Castaneira, Margaret Massey, Jonathan Porter, James Tanzy, and Andrew Taylor. Their faculty advisor is Associate Professor Marc Goetschalckx. Their project focused on redesigning Interface's warehousing systems and strategies in order to reduce the excessive pick and stage cycle times, lost inventory, and high inventory levels. They developed a four-step solution to address all of these issues, including investments in more advanced Warehouse Management System software, reevaluation and reduction of inventory levels, racking and forklift upgrades, and internal process improvements. Their solution will save Interface an estimated $1.6 million annually, with an estimated 30% ten-year internal rate of return.

The UPS Senior Design team placed as a finalist in the Fall 2014 Senior Design Competition for their project. Team members are April Ahn, Jessica Dow, Lucas Onsgard, John Rice, Philip Tylman, Song Wang and Jongkwan Woo. Their advisor is Stewart Faculty Fellow and Professor Shabbir Ahmed. United Parcel Service (UPS) is the world’s largest package delivery company. The project focused on optimizing UPS’s hub-to-hub routes for the peak holiday season. The team developed a systematic route planning approach that explicitly addresses uncertainty of load and driver availability during the peak season. The new approach is able to realize a reduction in unnecessary miles by an average of 3.4% with a potential savings of $12.1 M.

All senior students in ISyE culminate their undergraduate educational experience with the Senior Design course in order to provide firsthand experience at solving real world problems in a team environment. Students typically work in teams of six to eight individuals with 15-25 Senior Design teams running each semester. Each group is advised by an ISyE faculty member, and the faculty coordinator manages the overall course. Companies interested in submitting a project for consideration can either contact Joel Sokol, at 404 894-6484 or can post a project through the ISyE webpage at http://www.isye.gatech.edu/seniordesign/. Senior design teams look for projects before the start of the fall and spring semesters.

The multidisciplinary report provides a glimpse of 10 years out, offering insight into the current and future challenges facing the industry and giving practitioners a plan to move forward. MS SCE Faculty Director Alan Erera and ISyE graduate and Auburn professor Kevin Gue are co-editors of the publication.

Read the article in its entirety within the Modern Materials Handling website.

***Please RSVP at http://bit.ly/gtscn-ko for either of the below events.***

OPEN HOUSE

Friday, October 31
1-5pm
ISYE Complex (http://www.scl.gatech.edu/visitors/)

GTSCN and the Supply Chain & Logistics Institute will host an Open House at SCL's suite in the ISyE complex (Groseclose Building, 2nd floor, Suite 228). All interested parties are invited to stop by, mix and mingle; hear the latest on what is going on in research, professional education, degree programs, forums, etc. in Supply Chain at Georgia Tech.

HOMECOMING MEET AND GREET RECEPTION TENT
Saturday, November 1
4 hours prior to game time
Tech Green Tailgating Area

The Georgia Tech Supply Chain Network will have a tent set up on the Tech Green Tailgating Area, just northeast of the Student Center. Snacks and drinks will be available. This activity will take place on November 1 and begin 4 hours prior to game time.

Stay tuned for other organizational and activity notices and if you haven’t done so already, please add your name to the mailing list at http://www.scl.gatech.edu/sclaffinity to be notified of future events.

Watch the the video via YouTube at http://bit.ly/logisticscertification.

Interroll, with its global presence and a successful history in the US since 1968, has recently opened a new regional Center of Excellence in Hiram, close to Atlanta, Georgia. It hires mechanical engineers, materials handling experts and project managers offering a modern working environment with a strong American legacy and the setup of a global leader. In supporting SCL, Interroll further demonstrates its local commitment for the booming region of Georgia.

Both organizations will exchange fundamental know-how related to intralogistics in order to further increase the leadership in their respective areas. Interroll already works closely with wellknown universities in China and Germany on research and educational programs. With Georgia Tech in the USA, Interroll now also supports a leading institute in this strategically important market. The movement of goods and services has been one of the educational cornerstones of Industrial and Systems Engineering education at Georgia Tech since the inception of the program.

Mr. Tim Brown, Director of Professional Education at SCL, appreciated the contribution of Interroll: &quoteWe will be able to enhance and sustain our professional educational offerings thanks to the generous donation from Interroll, a global leader in internal logistics. We look forward to a long collaboration with Interroll as we share best practices and information to improve work force skills and knowledge in the supply chain sector."

With a proven track record of delivering best-in-class Pallet-Flow solutions to high performing warehouse and distribution applications worldwide, customers like Coca Cola, First Quality Tissues, Walmart, UPS and Amazon use their intralogistics solutions on a daily basis.

In times where resources are scarce and competition is fierce, education and access to know-how is of the essence. This is especially the case as the globalization trend continues and companies seek for future proof strategies.

Ralf Garlichs, Executive Vice President Products & Technology, of Interroll said: "We are intrigued with the reputation of Georgia Tech and their international training programs and research projects. Our joint efforts shall be used for the creation of market relevant application know-how and inspiring research projects in the areas of business modeling. Interroll is looking forward to actively engage with Mr. Brown and his teams."

Many employees in the transport sector have medium or low qualification levels, according to the PwC report, and the sector's need for better-educated workers is increasing.

Read the article in its entirety within the Inbound Logistics website.

View the article(subscription required) within the Atlanta Business Chronicle website.