IME offers new specialty in plant supervision

When engineering students imagine life after school, more likely they dream of designing Mars land rovers than working plant floors overseeing a couple dozen tradesmen and assemblers churning out parts for new pickup trucks.

Yet that's exactly what Gary Altman, a senior in Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, wants to do. Altman, 24, is enrolled in a new program this fall called Production Management Leadership Program (PMLP) at the College of Engineering. He and a dozen or so classmates hope to be the first students at Wayne State to earn an undergraduate degree with specialization in production management.

Altman, 24, with experience as a floor supervisor at the Visteon Assembly Plant in Rawsonville, Mich., started out as a Chemical Engineering major, but switched because he likes the idea of a career in manufacturing supervision, which draws heavily on people skills. He also likes the fast pace and tension inherent in keeping a production line up and running.

Manufacturers experiencing high turnovers in plant supervisors welcome the new specialty program, which was developed after WSU alum Don Wine, plant manager of the General Motors Assembly Plant in Pontiac, Mich., challenged the College to address the shortage.

"There aren't a lot of people who want to go out and be first line supervisors," says Jerry Leman, executive coordinator of the new program. "It's a tough, tough job. And some of the people on the plant floor aren't always happy to be there everyday." Leman, 62, is a former GM plant manager who came out of retirement to become PMLP's first executive coordinator. He remembers well the 10 to 12 hour days and six-day workweeks demanded when he was a first line supervisor for GM.

"The technology in the plants today is computer-driven and with the electronics and sophistication, it just takes technologically capable people to be first line supervisors," adds Leman, who was hired by IME Department Chair Ken Chelst to run the new program as well as add corporate sponsors to the ones Chelst has secured.

For the right person, it can be most rewarding, he says. On the product design side, it may take a whole year for an engineer to see his or her design incorporated. "In production, you see the product going out the door everyday," he says. "There's satisfaction everyday."

A career path for a first line supervisor would include a line of promotion all the way up to plant manager. Typically, in large plants of 2,800 to 3,000 employees, a first line supervisor has between 30 and 40 employees under him or her. A plant superintendent may oversee from 8 to 10 first line supervisors. And 8 to 10 plant superintendents may report to an assistant plant manager.

General Motors Corp. is the main sponsor of the program, providing $85,000 for program development and student scholarships. Ford Motor Company and Visteon Corporation are also donating $20,000 each for program enhancement and additional student scholarships.

The most talented students out of this year's class are being awarded scholarships. "We hope to enroll 15 more by next fall, and stabilize at about 20 new students per year by the fall of 2006," Chelst says.

Students in the program will not only benefit from the current core course offerings in industrial and manufacturing engineering, but also from two additional courses in labor relations designed to develop people and leadership skills. These practical training courses will be taught by Harold Stack, director of the Wayne State Center for Labor Studies, and an expert in labor relations. How to work and resolve grievances using a cooperative approach will be covered, as well as units in positive leadership, how to be a leader, leadership styles and problem solving, and how to simply listen.

After GM, the initial sponsor, agreed to his proposal, Chelst set about to build an advisory panel of experienced manufacturing managers that now meets regularly to guide curriculum development and serve as mentors to students.

Students in the program are guaranteed well-paid internships with the sponsoring companies next summer after their junior year. During the summer they will attend bi-monthly meetings on campus to share their experiences and trouble shoot. "They will have a mentor to turn to on a regular basis, even after they get that first job," says Chelst.