Building lean supply chain and manufacturing skills through an interactive case study

With the ongoing global pressure to cut costs and focus on quality, many companies have been implementing 'lean manufacturing' concepts to survive in the competitive marketplace. Thus it is imperative that engineering and business graduates are equipped with the lean principles, and are ready to take ownership of lean initiatives as they enter the industry. This paper presents a lean supply chain case study that was initiated and completed through university-industry collaboration in an effort to expose students and professionals to a real-life lean implementation experience. Implementation and feedback indicate that this case study can be an effective means of training engineering management professionals in lean systems/manufacturing concepts.