Students in Conestoga’s Business Administration - Materials and Operations Management program will have high-level professional skills when they participate in co-op terms and seek employment, thanks to a significant donation from Quality Integrators Corporation (QIC) of Newmarket.
The firm, along with manufacturer Hertzler Systems, has donated a GainSeeker software system to the program. This enterprise system will be used by all of the Materials and Operations Management program students and faculty, and is valued at $231,000, including software, the accompanying maintenance agreement, installation and faculty training services.
GainSeeker is a statistical process control (SPC) tool, the purpose of which is to reduce costs and improve quality in business enterprises, through a combination of capabilities: automatically acquiring and analyzing data from machines and devices; issuing alarms when process problems arise; charting processes and products; and generating custom reports.
Having GainSeeker at Conestoga provides much more, however, according to Brian Watson, Coordinator of the Business Administration - Materials and Operations Management program.
“This process-analyzing software takes theory into practice for our third-year students,” he says. “It’s the type of system every modern enterprise needs. While GainSeeker has been associated with the automotive sector, its capabilities make it applicable in other sectors and across all types and sizes of manufacturing firms, such as electronics, food services and aerospace. With knowledge of this software, our students can immediately add value in their co-op or career employment situations.”
Students can learn the practical tools associated with lean manufacturing and continuous improvement concepts. Continuous improvement is a central feature of the Conestoga program, and being well versed in the appropriate software has positive local, national and even international implications for program graduates, because a system such as GainSeeker is the language of quality management systems worldwide.
Geoffrey Dawe, President and CEO of QIC, is delighted to have arranged the donation.
“Quality Integrators Corporation is very pleased to be able to donate this state-of-the-art software,” he says. “It will help Conestoga’s Materials and Operations Management students achieve excellence in continuous improvement techniques, as a practical and valuable part of their world-class educational experience.”
The Materials and Operations Management program has a longstanding reputation for rigour, innovation, devotion to quality and adherence to accepted professional standards.
This career field is gaining increasing prominence and authority as an essential part of the supply chain sector. The Government of Canada is devoting increasing attention to developing a top-level, effective sector, because of the growing global marketplace, emerging technologies and the ever-increasing importance of governmental and environmental requirements from the local level to the international sphere.
The supply chain sector is critical to modern economies. It involves the planning, management and coordination of all activities and personnel involved in the manufacturing of a product or the provision of services, from customer inquiry to final delivery.
“We are proud of this outstanding Conestoga program and very happy about this donation from QIC and Hertzler Systems,” says Ingrid Town, Conestoga’s Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations.
“Because of generous donors and community partners, we can equip our students with skills that help them excel and that keep our economy strong and vibrant. This partnership benefits everyone; it ensures that our students graduate with the ability to add productive value to the businesses that hire them.”
CONTACT:
Geoffrey Dawe, QIC, 905-895-8767, ext. 222
Brian Watson, Conestoga College, 519-748-5220, ext. 3747
Ingrid Town, Conestoga College, 519-748-5220, ext. 3490