DTE Energy partners with OU for student internship

Alex Bodea, OU senior and DTE Intern

Oakland University has partnered with DTE Energy to provide a Lean internship for one student in the Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) program.

This semester, Alex Bodea is completing his senior design project at DTE, an internship set up by the ISE department.

The project is a time study on gas distribution work, which consists of various works performed on gas pipes, most of which require digging and exposing the pipes.

The time study seeks to identify opportunities for improvement, such as eliminating waste or non-value added activity, by recording the amount of time each element of the work takes and the conditions observed during the work.

After the time study, an analysis follows, which includes a statistical analysis of the data as well as recommendations for improvement projects.

Bodea said that some of the goals of the project were to compute a standard time for each job and compare this data with benchmarking standards, in order to create continuous improvement projects.

According to Bodea, the project was very helpful because it provided “experience on a real project with actual constraints and deadlines.” It also aided in closing the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge.

The internship provided many challenges that involved creative thinking and practical application of problem solving, forcing students to make on-the-spot decisions like what they’ll have to make in the field, Bodea said. It also presented students with the opportunity to practice teamwork and work with many different business units.

Bodea worked on a team with two engineers and two co-op students, one from Eastern Michigan University and the other from the University of Michigan.

The project was initiated by the Continuous Improvement Strategy Group (CISG) and overseen by the CISG manager.

For more information on Lean internships, visit oakland.edu/lean.