Internships

During the summer between their first and second years, PEMM students are required to complete a manufacturing internship that gives them an opportunity to apply their technical and business expertise to real-world problems. In the past, students have spent their summers at such global manufacturing firms as Boeing, Eldec, K2 Skis, Microsoft, Ford (Portugal), SATECH, Mosaix, Intel, Precision Castparts and Quebecor Integrated Media. Typically, students are assigned those high-payoff projects that never quite make it to the top of a manager's "to do" list. PEMM students have built a factory database, modeled a manufacturing process, created a product cost model, and reengineered factory workloads. Whatever the company or the project, PEMM students apply their cross-disciplinary skills to gain valuable, practical experience while working to solve some of the industry's supply of problems.

Student Articles:
Interning at K2
Life After PEMM

Interning at K2 By Tom Monahan When I first learned that I'd be interning with K2, the ski manufacturer, I knew it would be a very educational experience. I did not have much experience with actual manufacturing environments, and being a skier, I was especially interested in K2, a well-known name in the ski industry. Right from the start, the people at K2 were straightforward and helpful. The internship started late. In addition, I was taking three other classes during the summer, leaving only two days a week for working. Due to these factors, the K2 people made it clear that the project that I would be working on would not be as long or detailed as they would have liked. This news was somewhat disappointing, but it made sense. The project on which I would be working dealt with their ordering procedures for the "tops" which are the pieces of plastic with colorful designs that make up the top of the ski. Since appearance is a major reason for buying skis, the tops are extremely important. The life cycle of a ski design is only one season; therefore, any surplus tops would have to be discarded. Surplus tops represent wasted resources and time, and K2 wanted to reduce the amount of excess tops. At the end of the 1994 season, K2 had over 30,000 excess tops that had to be scrapped. Considering the raw materials and labor invested in each top, the obsolescence costs were rather high. K2 provided all the resources and information that I would need to perform my analysis. Before I began my analysis, they showed me the entire ski manufacturing process which was extremely interesting and useful. From initial silk-screening of the designs to the finished product, the people at K2 explained every stage of the process in great detail. It was interesting to see how the raw materials (plastic, steel, wood, etc.) were transformed into actual skis. Many of the concepts that I had learned in the classroom, such as statistical process control charts and Deming's quality cycle were being used. It was very educational to see these tools being used and how they improved the quality of the components and of the final product. These tools also seemed to positively affect the morale of the workers because they could take pride in their work. During my analysis, the people in every division were very helpful. Because of the amount and type of information that I needed, I talked to people in engineering, purchasing, accounting, design, and other divisions. I spoke with engineers, quality technicians, and people on the shop floor who were all very cooperative. With their assistance, I was able to find all of the data that I needed to perform a detailed analysis. My primary task was to assess the defect rate for manufacture of tops. K2 had assumed a certain defect rate on their tops production. This assumed defect rate was based on anecdotal experience instead of statistical data. In order to determine their actual defect rate, I gathered quality control data for the 1994 models and the 1995 models up to August 1995. I wanted to see if certain factors, such as complexity of design and type of machinery used had an effect on the defect rate. Obtaining this information required speaking to people who did the design and silk-screening. The results of the analysis were clear: The overall defect rate was actually about 1/3 lower than the assumed rate. Because of investment in new machinery, the defect rate for 1995 models was even less. Using an Excel spreadsheet and setup costs and obsolescence costs, the optimal defect rate to be assumed on their tops was found to be only about 1/2 the initial assumption. This analysis will lead to a considerable savings at K2. A surprising finding of my study was that the more complex designs had a lower defect rate than the simpler designs. After talking with people on the shop floor, a logical explanation was found. The more complex designs are usually handled by experienced workers who are less likely to make errors. In addition to over-ordering, another cause for surplus tops was not producing the correct number of bases to go with the tops. As a result, a additional, short study was made of the cycle times for the tops and the bases. The cycle time for the bases was shorter than the tops and the defect rate for the bases was extremely low. Therefore, a recommendation was made to produce bases that would correspond to the number of good tops in inventory. K2's current ordering procedures actually penalized K2's tops division for its high quality because of the resulting obsolescence costs. Because of time constraints, a more detailed analysis of the cycle times could not be performed. Overall, my experience at K2 was very rewarding and enriching. The people at K2 did everything they could to make me feel at home. I learned a tremendous amount about manufacturing tools and the general manufacturing environment. However, the internship could have been even more valuable if I had more time to commit to the project. Because of my busy summer class schedule, I could not devote as much time as I wanted to K2. Becoming involved with a more complex problem would have allowed me to learn even more about manufacturing. To Top

Life After PEMM by Steve Forman "Take all the data elements concerning a Yellow #2 pencil and trace them through the entire manufacturing process." What a silly, useless assignment. I'm a busy man making important, big decisions. In fact, ten minutes ago I finished restructuring the auto industry in one 50 minute session, and now the Professor wants me to work with pencils. This is below me, I'm being groomed to be a CEO, I do not need that level of detail. As for jobs, I was glad to receive multiple offers, but the decision was not easy. The engineer side of my personality likes to grasp the tactical specifics, while the business side is more concerned with strategy. Consulting held some initial glamour, especially with the salaries offered. However, I felt that I wanted more depth of experience rather than breadth. Conversely, some of the heavy-duty manufacturing jobs would not allow me to use my business skills. I was interested in rotational training programs, but they seemed more geared for undergraduates. Personally, they would have taken me too far from my Northwest roots. I feel fortunate that I did find an opportunity to exercise both sides of my education, fairly close to home. Six months after leaving PEMM, I find myself in the middle of Silicon Valley. The company with which I chose to work, Solectron, is a global supplier of pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, and post-manufacturing services to electronics original equipment manufacturers. The company received the 1991 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award and has received more than 80 other quality and service awards from its customers. These customers include Apple Computer, Applied Materials, Exabyte, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Sun Microsystems. I chose Solectron because it gives me an opportunity to be involved in the core business of what may be the future of manufacturing. Because Solectron does not have its own product, our success and profit are dependent upon our ability to mitigate our customers' manufacturing risk and leverage materials management. Solectron has grown significantly through acquisition: seven of its nine sites worldwide have been purchased in the last three years. Historically these sites have been left to operate in relative autonomy, as long as the relevant margins are maintained. I am part of the worldwide materials group, which was formed to identify areas where Solectron's size and worldwide presence can be leveraged as well as to disseminate best practice processes across these sites. My particular role is in identifying business processes, transferring this knowledge to individual sites and helping them implement the necessary support systems and processes. I have been called an internal consultant. The Yellow #2 pencil exercise prepared me well for this task. The complexities of information required in contract manufacturing make standard solutions unworkable. The industry is young, Solectron is arguably the world leader, therefore what is being developed here in terms of materials systems and processes is truly cutting edge. Yes, I do have a voice in strategic direction (although not in the auto industry), but I make my impact by managing the details. Interestingly enough, even the most senior management is tuned into this detail: they have made this apparent at midnight meetings as they scratch through the veneer of a colorful presentation. It is the Yellow #2 pencil exercises that make life interesting. Life after school is good. I do miss the constant challenge of short-term goals, but I now have the opportunity to pursue something at length and in depth. The PEMM education gave me an excellent base to pursue the specifics of any field in manufacturing. In fact, I do not feel I would have been qualified for this position without PEMM. Most importantly PEMM taught me to think from many perspectives, every day I draw upon the skill of shifting mental gears between Yellow pencils and the auto industry. To Top