The United States Military Academy Reception Day: A Process Improvement Study

• Published in: IISE Annual Conference. Proceedings p. 2800
• Main Authors: White, Phoebe, Goethals, Paul L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Norcross Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) 01.01.2014
• Subjects: Candidates; Efficiency; Engineering; Identification documents; Immunization; Military schools; Military training; Simulation; Tattoos; Traditions; United States > US

On Reception Day (R-Day), the United States Military Academy inducts more than 1,100 civilians into the Corps of Cadets so that they are prepared to start military training the following morning at 5:20 a.m.. The structure of the process has changed little during the past century, partly because of tradition, but also because R-Day has a no fail mission (all new cadets must complete the process) and it only occurs once a year. The successful progression of Reception-Day depends on a number of different sub-processes, many of which involve multiple components of variability and the proper sequencing of individuals. In our research, a discrete-event simulation is developed that examines the effects of altering the sequence and locations of in-processing stations, from the arrival to completion of all tasks. Then, upon a thorough analysis of various scenarios, several process improvement strategies are identified.