Product and service design bundle: A curriculum for teaching manufacturing competitiveness

Abstract

It was recognized that an educational gap exists between traditional undergraduate engineering design education and the current market trends for employment growth. Manufacturing sector is experiencing a major shift from goods manufacturing to service industries in the USA. Therefore a new course curriculum was designed and developed to incorporate service design as a key component of the curriculum. The course contents were delivered via traditional text book and lecture method as well as case studies and discussions. Many real world applications were studied to identify service product opportunities for traditional; manufacturing corporations and the strategies needed to reorient the corporate culture towards service aspects of the business. The curriculum was initially delivered as a graduate course but can be delivered as an undergraduate three credit elective course in manufacturing and mechanical engineering. The student feedback was positive where it was recognized that the course content was appropriate in its depth and breadth to effectively address the urgent needs of the US manufacturing sector striving to remain competitive in a globalized economy. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.