Standardize Student Scheduling Project

The Standardize Student Scheduling project was created to increase employment opportunities for students with the Food & Beverage operations by redesigning the work schedule around the academic class schedule.  In fiscal year 2018, Food & Beverage saw a reduction in student employment:  average weekly hours per student fell below 5, total number of student employees decreased by 16%, and there was a 24% drop in student hours worked.  A Lean team was formed in February 2018 to evaluate these issues and to develop solutions to increase student interest.

Team members Travis McCoy, Brent Mason, Josh Havlin, April Turner, Grace Rucker, and Tori Adams (student manager) worked with resource team member Lori Cramer to review the needs of each operation, evaluate the variation present in the existing processes, and design new options for students. The team used a variety of Lean tools to break this large, complex process into simple, compact pieces.  One tool used was Critical to Quality Flowdown to translate the broader issues into specific, actionable pieces which led the team to determine that student scheduling was an area that could be improved.  Through CTQ, student surveys and the 5 Whys process, the team was able to identify three action items:  new standards for minimum work requirements for student employees; improved schedules that flowed better with the academic class schedule; and more leadership roles for “Student Success” managers in each operation.  One additional benefit the project team identified was the opportunity to eliminate shadow systems that were established to manage the previous more complex schedules.

Through these improvements, Food & Beverage saw a year over year increase in student employment in 10 operations, increased efficiency in the scheduling process, and improved standards and expectations for all of the Food & Beverage operations.

These new standards also will provide a more cohesive, consistent student employment experience across all locations that will eventually lead to improved quality of product and customer service.

Certification News

Kirk Hopkins (FBS IT), Denise Ison (OEEO), Alicia Rizzo (Campus Services) and Angeline Smith (FBS IT) recently completed the final steps in their Lean Certification journey.  Congratulations to our newest Senior Lean Leaders!