Two student teams from the Business Analytics Consulting Practicum made the trek to the South Harbor Milwaukee campus of Komatsu to gain a deeper understanding of how mining machines are built that collect the insightful data they are working on this semester.
The Komatsu site visit began with a tour of their state-of-the-art Automation Lab and Customer Experience Center, where they learned about mining sites and how Komatsu’s largest mining machines are used, including a behind the wheel simulation experience. Students also toured the 430,000 square-foot manufacturing facility where the major components of the large mining machines are produced.
Practicum instructor, Peter Commons, had this to say about the impact this trip had on his students: “Taking the theory and practice you learn in the classroom always becomes super real when you get to see how your work applies to physically manufactured items — in this case, extremely large open pit mining equipment that often operate in super remote areas. Suddenly the ideas around a product’s lifecycle become very tangible.”
There were two projects that UW teams consulted on. Komatsu Data Science & Analytics leaders David Parks and Brian White hosted a student team that was tasked with a project to better understand the product lifecycle of machines and components by analyzing surfacing mining data in various environments. Also, Bryce Leszczynski and Bobby Hoffman led a student team in the area of Technology Transformation where analytics students analyzed data to improve the efficiency of Remanufacturing sales and forecasting.
Students completed their engagement with Komatsu by presenting their final work to company leaders on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison on May 2, 2024.
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