In conclusion, our final recommendations focus on and improve on the following industrial engineering issues.

Ergonomics:� Workers have been noted walking up to six miles in a shift. By implementing the recommended changes in inventory storage (locations and containers) workers will decrease the distance walked during a shift.

Additionally, the assembly line workers that we investigated were frequently reporting back pain. During our visits we consistently observed workers placing nut and bolt combinations on the floor, and then repeatedly bending over to pick them up and attach them to the chassis. Introducing the personal tote is a solution to this problem because it allows workers to store the parts within reaching distance; therefore, they will not need to bend over anymore.

Time Efficiency:� By decreasing walking time to the stored parts and fasteners, the worker will increase their amount of value-added work. Ultimately, as the workers value-added work increase, the number of chassis that will be assembled will also increase.

Waste:� Kenworth currently pays out $500,000 in waste removal. Therefore, if the current cardboard storage system is replaced by a rubberized storage system, the cost of waste removal can be decrease by at least thirty percent.

Cost:� A recommendation can have a negative effect if it requires laying off employees or shutting down the manufacturing facility. Our three recommendations cost cut while improving the work environment and company morale.

Safety:� OSHA has set nationwide worker standards to ensure employee safety. Even with these standards workers continue to reports injuries daily. By implementing a storage system, where frequently used parts are in the power zone, workers are less likely to injure themselves (for example dropping parts on their feet, or injuring themselves with a power tool).

We strongly believe the Kenworth needs to seriously reevaluate their current inventory storage methods. It appears that there is a significant amount of excess inventory. Data shows that Kenworth is up to two weeks worth of inventory in the plant. It should be noted that due to the time constraints of our project we were not able to study this problem in depth, but our recommendation provides a reasonable starting point and overall assessment.