Real PBL Case: Saving a dairy processing plant

Real Problem Based Learning Case Study:
In September 2002, Bonnie Brady faced a serious problem at her work. The dairy processing plant lost several thousand dollars per month because products expired before they sold them to retailers. The parent company considered closing the unprofitable plant. Fortunately, Bonnie needed a course in Operations Management (Decision Sciences 340) to finish her undergraduate degree in business management thorough WSU’s Distance Degree Program. The course encouraged students to find and solve real problems using the concepts and methods of Operations Management. She collected historical data on the losses and convinced two classmates to help her analyze the data and propose a solution. By the middle of the semester, the group convinced the plant manager to implement their plan. By the end of the semester, they had reduced losses from 1.5 to 2% per month to 0.57%. And the situation improved during the following months. By the end of the year, the company promoted Bonnie, started using similar analyses in other plants, and encouraged additional employees to take courses through the Distance Degree Program. She estimated that the project saved the company $250,000.