Project Training Alignment

Author

Sam LesterFollow

Date of Submission

Spring 4-30-2024

Project Type

Senior Design

Major

Industrial and Systems Engineering

Degree Name

Bachelor's of Science

Department

ISYE

Committee Chair/First Advisor

Dr. Adeel Khalid

Abstract

Project Training Alignment has been a collaboration between a global shipping and logistics company and a student-led senior project team from the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department of Kennesaw State University. The team was brought on as consultants to analyze the continuities and discontinuities of the training and JBA compared to the reality of the engineering positions within the company. The goal of the project was to develop metrics to assess and explain the findings. Additionally, there are recommendations made for improvements to the training program based on the findings. Since the timeline for this project was limited to one semester (Spring 2024), the scope was narrowed down to a single role, the Package Planning Engineer (PPE) position, and a repeatable process map was created to assist in future iterations of this project based on findings and recommendations to standardize and idealize the process.

To start, background research was conducted on some of the key elements of this project to guide the overall problem-solving approach. Interviews were then conducted with three PPEs and one IE manager to get a better understanding of the role, its associated training program, and the expectations that come with it. From there, a survey was systematically developed, which was broken down into three main sections: Background, Training, and Job Role. The questions included multiple choice and select all that apply at the beginning but were overall dominated by the Likert Scale and Free Response question formats. These findings would then be used to develop data driven results, recommendations, and conclusions.

Two-Proportion One-Tailed hypothesis tests were used in the analysis to investigate improvements in responses between employee feelings of preparedness for the role before and after training. These tests showed that the training did not have a statistically significant effect on the confidence of the PPEs in their ability to perform the role. A multi criteria decision analysis method, TOPSIS, was used to highlight the primary areas of deficiency and the most important elements to address through our recommendations. Pareto Charts were also used to show the differences between the skills and techniques the respondents had previously compared to those they use in the position. This all provided valuable insights that led to the fundamental issue for COMPANY X; the training does not adequately prepare the PPEs to be successful in the role because the training is based on the JBA, which does not reflect the reality of the role.

The biggest conclusion we came to is that the JBA needs to be reworked. Furthermore, it is recommended that a job shadow program be implemented to provide hands-on applications to the training. In addition, a post-module survey should be included after each module of the training to build in a system of continuous improvement to the program and elicit feedback. Lastly, we recommend a manual to serve as an information hub for the PPEs to refer to and Follow-Up Workshops to keep PPEs up to date in their information of the position and combat issues with the retention of training. It is important to note that the value of the recommendation's depends on whether the JBA is fixed.

https://youtu.be/O7zm8HM3I-c