Friendly s brought on Cher Nicholas, then a UMass graduate student, to make some suggestions. Nicholas had entered the UMass graduate program in mechanical and industrial engineering after seven years in industry. She took on the overfilling question as the basis for her master's project, working with Friendly s senior industrial engineer Ron Gathro - himself a UMass grad. Nicholas s professor, quality engineering professor Lawrence Seiford, says that such projects provide an opportunity for the University to reach out to nearby industries - and for industries to tap into the University s resources. It's a form of outreach.
Industry gets the task done, and the students get exposed to real life situations in industry.
Ice cream-making at Friendly s is still very much a craft, so Nicholas began by talking with plant operators at every step along the line at Friendly's production facility, asking how the manufacturing equipment worked, and how the process varied from day to day. Nicholas credits Friendly's employees with being willing to help, from documenting daily occurrences to brainstorming on where exactly the problem might lie. Nicholas worked on the puzzle using a series of sophisticated mathematical techniques taught by Seiford. While Nicholas gained valuable professional experience in this area, Friendly s saw the project as an opportunity to invest time and energy in creating an even better product for its customers. AIt really involved an attitude and willingness to see things differently.