Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing Operations Co-Op
January 2023 - August 2023, Wilson, North Carolina
During my time at Collins Aerospace in Wilson, NC, I worked alongside a Project Industrial Engineer to support a major Value Stream Transformation of the Fire Suppression (FireX) production line — one of the plant’s most critical and backlogged areas. This manufacturing plant provides essential fire detection and protection devices found throughout all facets of aviation. You can read my final report of the work completed during this internship below!
Production Layout
My role centered on creating accurate current-state layouts for over 150,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Using AutoCAD and reference-based field measurements, I mapped all 19 production cells from just two previously completed. I also redesigned the Final Assembly area and Machine Shop drawings, which are now used in live production planning.
In addition, I developed automated tools using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to organize and analyze over 2,800 part routers, identify process inefficiencies, and help define part families for one-piece flow optimization. This data laid the foundation for equipment capacity reviews and informed transformation strategies to reduce waste and improve throughput.
I concluded my internship by presenting recommendations to stakeholders and helping prepare for a multi-department kickoff to transform the cartridge facility. Through this experience, I gained hands-on insight into large-scale manufacturing systems, industrial engineering processes, and the real-world challenges of continuous improvement in aerospace production.
