Shaping Communities through Service Outreach

The Pawley Lean Institute at Oakland University has long been committed to fostering community engagement and service. Renowned for its expertise in Lean thinking and continuous improvement, the institute, which represents OU’s School of Education and Human Services, has designed a series of innovative outreach programs, creating a collaborative platform for learning, growth and meaningful impact within the community.

Not only have these programs successfully engaged local high school students, but they have also reached into the broader community to support community service (non-profit) organizations. 

High school workshops are a staple of the Pawley Lean Institute. “We bring high school students into our Lean Lab in the Engineering Center and provide an overview of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE),” said Dennis Wade, Director of the Pawley Lean Institute. “We also complete a hands-on Lean activity, visit the Augmented Reality Center and participate in a student-led campus tour.”

A student from Detroit Public Schools taking part in an exercise within the augmented reality center.

Participants receive complimentary lunch, and transportation expenses are reimbursed, ensuring no financial burden on the participating schools. This approach allows schools with limited budgets to join field trips without any financial constraints. 

“Here is an opportunity for a high school student to sit in a campus building, interact with professors and college students, evaluate a potential career path, and actually walk our campus,” said Dennis Pawley, Founder of the Pawley Lean Institute. “This program has been visited by over 700 students since its inception. It has also been funded by business partners including AT&T, The Bosch Foundation, Comerica Bank, and The Lean Enterprise Institute.” 

The institute also runs paid community service Lean internships for students at OU, which have received funding from various organizations including AIC Equipment, AT&T, The Bosch Foundation, Jabil, The Lean Enterprise Institute, and the Mark and Paula Doman Foundation.

“This program is fairly unique where we place two students into a community service organization to complete a Lean project for the organization,” said Wade. “We assign a mentor from industry as well as a professor from OU to serve as a mentor for the students. The students work the project over a 10-week period and earn $2,500 for the semester.” 

To date, the program has completed 19 projects and paid out $95,000 to OU students.

“This is a win/win for everyone,” said Pawley. “Our students get practical Lean experience, a paid internship, as well as a significant update to their resumes. The community service organization gets a completed project that makes them more efficient and our funders are connecting with the community in an extremely positive way.”

Two of these projects were in collaboration with Forgotten Harvest, a non-profit organization that distributes food to local charities in Metro-Detroit, ensuring that families in need have access to fresh and nutritious food. 

The initial project involved assisting Forgotten Harvest in establishing a client choice market, enabling families to directly shop for their groceries—a goal that was widely successful. Leveraging Lean principles, students played a vital role in the design of the market as well as solving logistical challenges. 

“The students really were a great asset to us in starting this project,” said Kelli Kaschimer, Director of Volunteer and Client Service at Forgotten Harvest. “I think it’s a great opportunity for them to understand what happens in the real world and some of the real challenges that are faced when you’re in a business or a non-profit.”

The second project was intended to design a process for a smaller food agency, enabling them to collect food from the Forgotten Harvest facility despite their size constraints. Once again, students utilized Lean tools to create standardized processes for both the food agency (front end) and Forgotten Harvest (back end), enhancing operational efficiency. Currently, discussions are underway between OU personnel and Forgotten Harvest regarding the potential use of Oakland University Pantry as a pilot site for the program. 

Wade further explained that in addition to the benefits reiterated by Dennis Pawley, students see the value of the contributions made by community service organizations. This emphasizes the Pawley Lean Institute's commitment to its student mission of promoting Lean education alongside meaningful engagement in community service endeavors.

To learn more about the Pawley Lean Institute at Oakland University, visit oakland.edu/lean.