Application Of Service Experiential Learning Opportunities With Deployment Of Six Sigma Problem Solving Teams

The Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Department at the University of Central Florida has incorporated service experiential learning opportunities into the curriculum within a Total Quality Improvement course. This graduate level course teaches the Six Sigma body of knowledge, including quality management principles and problem solving tools. It provides justin-time experiential learning opportunities to reinforce the in-class instruction. This paper will provide examples of Six Sigma tools applied in the project case studies including Voice of the Customer, Design of Experiments, and Benchmarking. Introduction: The Industrial Engineering and Management Systems (IEMS) department in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Central Florida has incorporated community-based service experiential learning into their curriculum. The Total Quality Improvement course, ESI 5227, is a graduate level course that focuses on the development of tools for the management and improvement of quality in different organizations. [1] Essential concepts, practices, and methods of modern quality improvement tools are discussed, along with the Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) problem solving approach, and critical success factors to team building and teamwork. Six Sigma team projects are performed that apply the class lecture material to “real world” organizations. There is a requirement that each organization be a community-based organization, or have some component of providing a benefit to a community organization. A description of the Total Quality Improvement graduate course objectives, components, and structure of the course will be discussed in this paper, as well as three examples of how Six Sigma tools were applied in just-in-