Nothing Short
of Excellence
STORY
Courtney Cerere
PHOTOGRAPHY
Liz Palmer
The best is yet to come,” say those who see the future as an opportunity for tomorrow. However, on the first floor of Aurelius Hall, there is growing attention on the future happening today, bringing new and improved excellence into today’s classrooms. The Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics, and Government is at the forefront of the future, training and educating students on current trends in various fields, including operations. The School’s most recent addition, the Gary M. Quinlivan Operational Excellence Lab, brings a promise for the future to educate students in a practical sense, providing a new and improved learning environment.
The Operational Excellence Lab, or OE Lab for short, is a multidisciplinary simulation lab that offers students real-world experience in preparation for their futures. It is designed to challenge students to develop efficient manufacturing facilities based on key business and management concepts learned within the classrooms. “It provides a hands-on, experiential learning component to our students that you can’t get in many other places,” said Dr. Michael Urick, Dean of the McKenna School. “We’re a leader in operational excellence education, which is a key reason why we wanted the Lab to come together.”
One of the most unique aspects of the OE Lab is the program from which it stems: the Master of Science in Management: Operational Excellence, or MSMOE program. “Many programs in operational excellence emanate from engineering. At Saint Vincent, we’re one of the few that stem from business,” said Dr. Urick.
Taking a more cultural approach to operations, as opposed to a strictly process-based approach, the OE Lab places greater emphasis on the people part of the process. “[During their first simulation], students will create an efficient, lean notebook manufacturing facility based on the lean pillars of continuous improvement and respect for people,” said Mr. Matthew Miller, adjunct professor in the MSMOE program.
In addition to focusing on the people aspect of management, waste reduction, time management, and process efficiency, among many others, are primary focuses within the OE Lab and its simulations.
“It provides a hands-on, experiential learning component to our students that you can’t get in many other places.”
– Michael Urick
Geared towards efficiency in the workplace, the OE Lab provides the same opportunity to faculty members. “[The OE Lab] will help us teach the business processes better and more efficiently to our students,” said Mr. Robert Markley, Director of the SAP Business One program.
The OE Lab and simulations will be incorporated into various undergraduate and graduate programs, providing students and faculty with many opportunities for further research into Operational Excellence. “Using the OE Lab simulations, we may be able to find a way for OE to complement aspects of SAP Business One compared to working against one another, which they typically do,” said Markley.
Looking ahead, there are many plans to welcome local companies and community members into Aurelius Hall to become trained in lean processes through the OE Lab simulations. “Saint Vincent will be able to offer both its students and the business community the opportunity to learn with an actual hands-on process improvement simulation,” said Miller.
And further developments involving the OE Lab are on the agenda for the future, too. “Right now, we are starting small, but we’re planning on growing this to offer a variety of different programs I think will aid external businesses,” said Urick. “It will be about what they want to customize within the topic of operational excellence.”
The hope of the future brings great anticipation for tomorrow. But in the McKenna School, that future is happening today, propelling the students and Saint Vincent forward, always forward. ♦