TMIs take pit crew challenge
Vincent Giovannetti, TMI MBA1
Issue date: 1/30/06 Section: Features
Life as an MBA student, particularly during interview season, can be tough. For a few hours on January 21, Tauber Manufacturing Institute (TMI) MBAs found themselves in the pits.
And thrilled to be there.
First-year TMIs headed to North Campus on that morning to learn how to change tires on a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series car in the most efficient manner possible. They were not preparing for alternate careers in case of a manufacturing sector meltdown, but rather were utilizing team-building and operations fundamentals to see how quickly a team of five students could remove and replace a front and back tire from the race car. Each team had a total of three runs to post the single best time and claim bragging rights as the 2006 Pit Crew Challenge Champions.
The Pit Crew Challenge, sponsored by Eaton Corporation, is one of many leadership and professional development modules TMI students partake in during their first year in the program. These modules aim to provide the students with valuable skills, knowledge, and practices that are necessary to become successful managers in today's global economy. The Pit Crew Challenge emphasized the importance of teamwork, process improvement, and resource identification. All of these skills will be put to use this summer, when TMI internship teams of two to four students work to solve operations and supply chain issues at some of the world's leading manufacturing companies, such as Dell, Boeing, and GE. The results of these efforts will be evaluated by industry experts next September, and the top three teams will take home more than $30,000 in scholarship awards.
Most Pit Crew Challenge teams saw marked improvement from each run to the next, mostly as a result of improved techniques and strategies. The most poignant moment may have come when the students were reminded by the staff from Track Time Driving Schools that they have worked professionally as pit crewmen, and therefore would serve as valuable resources for advice and demonstrations of the optimal processes. Following this lesson, it's unlikely that TMI students will fail to identify and network with anyone who can contribute towards a successful summer project.
And thrilled to be there.
First-year TMIs headed to North Campus on that morning to learn how to change tires on a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series car in the most efficient manner possible. They were not preparing for alternate careers in case of a manufacturing sector meltdown, but rather were utilizing team-building and operations fundamentals to see how quickly a team of five students could remove and replace a front and back tire from the race car. Each team had a total of three runs to post the single best time and claim bragging rights as the 2006 Pit Crew Challenge Champions.
The Pit Crew Challenge, sponsored by Eaton Corporation, is one of many leadership and professional development modules TMI students partake in during their first year in the program. These modules aim to provide the students with valuable skills, knowledge, and practices that are necessary to become successful managers in today's global economy. The Pit Crew Challenge emphasized the importance of teamwork, process improvement, and resource identification. All of these skills will be put to use this summer, when TMI internship teams of two to four students work to solve operations and supply chain issues at some of the world's leading manufacturing companies, such as Dell, Boeing, and GE. The results of these efforts will be evaluated by industry experts next September, and the top three teams will take home more than $30,000 in scholarship awards.
Most Pit Crew Challenge teams saw marked improvement from each run to the next, mostly as a result of improved techniques and strategies. The most poignant moment may have come when the students were reminded by the staff from Track Time Driving Schools that they have worked professionally as pit crewmen, and therefore would serve as valuable resources for advice and demonstrations of the optimal processes. Following this lesson, it's unlikely that TMI students will fail to identify and network with anyone who can contribute towards a successful summer project.
