UAH Students have the opportunity to work directly with customers in providing support and solutions to real-world problems by applying the capabilities and concepts they are learning in the classroom.
The experience of being an intern cannot be matched, as it has provided me with real world work experience while still allowing me to learn and become a better engineer.
Office for Operational Excellence Student Specialists
Anna Ayers (Huntsville Hospital)
Anna Ayers began working as a Management Engineering Intern at Huntsville Hospital in the Spring of 2016. As a Student Specialist in the UAH Office for Operational Excellence, Anna provides data analysis and process improvement support to multiple service lines in Huntsville Hospital. Anna also supports UAH Lean Healthcare Academy, a week-long certification series at Huntsville Hospital provided by the UAH Office for Operational Excellence.
“I really enjoy seeing the use of tools and concepts I've learned in Industrial Engineering truly make a difference by improving healthcare processes,” said Anna, who is pursuing a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering.
Projects that Anna supports include reducing time and labor to verify patient charts, reducing time to locate medical equipment and improving the “door-to-doc” time for patients in the pediatric emergency room. As an Industrial Engineering Student at UAH, Anna has completed both the UAH Lean Certificate Series and UAH Huntsville Hospital Lean Healthcare Academy. Anna is also a recipient of the SCI Systems, Inc. Olin B. King Scholarship for Engineering and the UAH Super Scholar Transfer Scholarship and plans to graduate in December of 2016.
Kory Kasey (Marshall Medical Center)
Kory Kasey is a Student Specialist in the UAH Office for Operational Excellence. Kory began working as a Quality Department Intern at Marshall Medical Center in the Fall of 2015. As an intern, Kory supports the Vice President of Quality and Clinical Information at Marshall Medical Center by providing data analysis and facilitating process improvement events. Projects that Kory supported include improving medication reconciliation process, improving emergency management services and overall improvements to the hiring and retention process at Marshal Medical North and Marshall Medical South.
“I’ve enjoyed spending time with different people thinking critically about the processes and systems that they work on. Working as an intern has exposed me to the unique interactions between the medical field and the field of industrial engineering. I have been able to use some of the tools such as value stream mapping, plan do check act thinking, as well as standardization tools and many others. The experience of being an intern cannot be matched, as it has provided me with real world work experience while still allowing me to learn and become a better engineer.”
Kory, a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, has received several honors and awards including Charger Distinction Award and UAH Dean’s List and plans to graduate in December of 2016 with a major in Industrial and Systems Engineering and a minor in Mathematics.
Marketing and Supply Chain Practicum
The Office for Operational Excellence sponsors a Marketing and Supply Chain Practicum, where students are involved in developing real-world marketing and supply chain solutions. The semester long course is offered as part of the Marketing Program in The College of Business Administration. As part of the practicum students have developed marketing strategies, conducted marketing research and enhanced marketing materials including brochures, websites and social media.
Todd Owen
As an MS-IS student enrolled in the Marketing and Supply Chain Practicum (MIS 490), Todd Owen was able to work with a team of students and utilize his marketing and web programming skills to support the Office for Operational Excellence. As part of the practicum, Todd initially supported the team by providing a cost benefit analysis of utilizing social media in conjunction with OOE’s web presence in Lean Healthcare. Todd introduced the benefits of social media and recommended the type that would best appeal to our customers. He was also able to work with the UAH Web Communications team in planning the UAH Lean Healthcare website and received training in the Joomla web publishing system. During the Summer 2014 semester, Todd worked with the team to develop and completely publish the UAH Lean Healthcare website (uah.edu/leanhealthcare).
Derrick Pelt
Derrick Pelt was enrolled in the Marketing and Supply Chain Practicum (MIS 490) in the Summer of 2014 in supporting the Office for Operational Excellence. Derrick provided the team and OOE with a detailed analysis of the current website, and offered advice on how to improve the website functionality and appearance. As part of this analysis, Derrick evaluated several alternatives evaluating cost, ease of implementation and ongoing supportability. As a MIS-IS student, Derrick utilized his skills in creating website templates for the team to review. He also worked with the UAH Web Communications in discussion of website development options and attended Joomla web publishing system training. Derrick also developed social media capabilities and content to complement the UAH Lean Healthcare website (uah.edu/leanhealthcare) and support the overall UAH Lean Healthcare marketing strategy.
Alyssa Newby
Alyssa Newby enrolled in the Marketing and Supply Chain Practicum (MKT 490) for the Summer 2014 semester. Her role on the team was to conduct market research for the UAH Lean Healthcare product line. Specifically, she researched and compiled information on hospitals in the southeastern U.S., including location, patient volume and key performance indicators. This information will be critical in marketing efforts for OOE and complemented Alyssa’s current employment at Huntsville Hospital. Midway through the semester, an opportunity opened up for Alyssa to directly support a project at Huntsville Hospital for OOE. She worked with hospital staff and OOE personnel to help create an inventory replenishment system for the anesthesia department. Alyssa has been very active during her participation in the Practicum and a true asset to OOE.
ISE Graduate Assistance Research and Support
Industrial and Systems Engineering graduate student supported Office of Operational Excellence by providing research in supply chain risks and supporting the development of NASA hardware flow map and supply chain scorecard. In the project the student was able to work along side OEE research scientists, supporting contractors and NASA personnel.
Contact us for questions about student involvement in OOE.
