Ideas For New Transportation Units

In this section you will find problem based learning outlines which could be adapted and completed for your community.  These ideas were originally generated in 1999 by the original Transportation, Distribution and Logistics Career Cluster pilot sites.  You will notice that the format is quite different from the template that we are using today, however, there may be ideas here which will be of values you develop your own materials.

Pathways:

Facility and Mobile Equipment Maintenance

Title: Airborne Express Maintenance

Problem Statement: You work for Airborne Express in maintenance operations. You are to review selected C-cards and analyze the non-routine tasks and determine what cards can be converted to the routine job cards.

  • The AMT mechanic uses C-cards to perform an inspection or task on the aircraft.
  • The AMT mechanic signs off on the card after the task has been completed.
  • The AMT mechanic will also make recommendations on a changing a non-routine to a routine card.

Airborne would like to see if the students can come up with the plan to convert routine

cards to non-routine cards. The plan is due in 4 weeks.

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Title:  Jake Sweeney Chrysler
Problem Statement: Most car dealerships need to create and adopt a schedule of maintenance for their fleet vehicles.  Jake Sweeney Chrysler needs you to create a schedule for them to adopt.

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Health, Safety and Environmental Management

Title: Detroit City Airport Staff Training

Problem Statement: The Detroit City Airport must determine how to train its staff to operate and understand the latest and most modern technological equipment as laid out by the Federal Aviation Association. The results upon completion will be presented to appropriate personnel in four weeks.

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Title:  Oil Spill Drill

Problem Statement: You are a member of a team involved in responding to an oil spill.  Depending on your team, you may be required to ensure equipment and personnel are routed to the scene, determine safety requirement, predict the path of the spill, or determine animal species affected by the spill.  You will be assessed during a “real-time” spill during which you will work with your team members to determine the most effective and efficient manner of containing the spill, cleaning up the spilled oil and disposing of the oil.

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Title:  Public Safety on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge

Problem Statement: You are a member of the traffic management operations team for the Federal Highway Administration.  Numerous complaints, as well as historical data, indicate patterns of traffic congestion on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge during peak and non peak \hours.  You are to determine the cause(s) for the congested traffic suggest and defend alternative solutions to alleviate the problem.

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Title: TRAFFIC SAFETY PROBLEMS AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

Problem Statement: You are Analyst and Project Manager for a Safe Communities Program and there are complaints of increased motor vehicle crashes on Kane Street. The severity of the crashes, who, what, how, and when are all causation factors you must determine. Apply the skills learned as a traffic safety risk manager; analyze problems, and develop a plan demonstrating effective use of resources that can be implemented. Your plan is due in four weeks.

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Logistics Planning and Management Services

Title: T-shirt American Store

Problem Statement: You are logistics and distribution consultants for T-shirts America, and authorize NBA vendor. You have been asked to develop a distribution plan to deliver bulk t-shirts with the Los Angeles Lakers’ logo on it for the NBA Championship parade. They are looking for the lowest cost plan that can get the t-shirts from Detroit to Los Angeles on time. Your plan is due in two weeks.

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Title:  Houghin / Mifflin Textbook Distribution

Problem Statement: The Houghin-Mifflin Logistics executive in the United States must determine how to best serve customers in Egypt and Enritrea. The objective is to recommend where to source and store textbooks, what quantities to store versus what stock to ship direct, how to consolidate and ship textbook orders, and the optimal mode of transportation. Students must provide recommendations that minimize inventory carrying cost and transportation to provide the desired order cycle time for customers in each country. Prepare a written/oral plan with cost justifications and present your findings to the appropriate personnel.

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Title:  Mansion Construction – Pier reconstruction in Seward, Alaska

Problem Statement: You are the Heavy Lift Supervisor for Manson Construction and Engineering, a Seattle Based construction company that specializes in marine construction.  Your company has been contracted to do a pier reconstruction job in the port of Seward, Alaska.  During construction, a machinery malfunction requires immediate shipment of a new generator from your home office on the Duwamish waterway.  Your assignment is to ship a generator from Seattle immediately to keep the job from shutting down and costing money in lost labor.

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Sales and Service

Title:  Improving Service Satisfaction Index

Problem Statement: You are the manager of an automobile dealership.  For the past 13 years the Sales Satisfaction Index has provided the automotive industry with a comprehensive analysis of new vehicle buyer evaluations of their purchase experience and has guided automotive manufactures in understanding the needs of customers and improving the sales process.  You would like to improve your SSI score to increase sales.

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Transportation Operations


Transportation Systems/Infrastructure Planning, Management and Regulation

Title:  Flight Mishap Investigation

Problem Statement

You are an aircraft mishap investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. A Cessna 152 has crashed with the lone soul on board a fatality. You are to determine the cause of the mishap and suggest corrective actions to prevent another occurrence.

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Title:  Madison County Transit

Problem Statement: You are a member of the transportation planning committee for the Madison County Transit.  You have been asked to design a MetroLink route into Madison County.  You should consider the location of the route, the ridership that will be expected and the feasibility of the route.  As a result of this student you should develop the best route and create a model of the area in which the line will run.  Your plan is due in two weeks.

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Title:  Feasibility of Mid America Airport

Problem Statement: You have been studying the Mississippi Flyway and have become familiar with that area’s geography and demographics.  Based on that knowledge you decide that an additional airport is required to serve the St. Louis region.  You know that Lambert International Airport is plagued with over 20,000 hours of delays.  They plan to add another runway, but that will not reduce the delay.  Your job is to determine what types of airport is required, plan for development, and what segment of the aviation field should be targeted.  After you have made this determination you should develop a marketing strategy to develop a tenant base within the appropriate segment(s).  You have 15 days to develop the proposal.

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Title:  NASA

Problem Statement: You are an aeronautical engineer.  You have been hired by NASA to research the need and feasibility of Space Planes”.  Your job is to look at the developments of space planes and decide how these plans will be used.  You have to decide what should be included on the planes (sleeping quarters, restrooms, cafes, etc) and determine the type of people most likely to use the planes.


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Title:  New Cruise Terminal

Problem Statement: You are the transportation manager for Port of Seattle.  In 1999 the port completed its new Cruise Terminal at pier 66 in downtown Seattle.  Already the terminal is at capacity and Seattle’s new role, as a cruise terminal hub, shows no sign of slowing.  To meet the demand of this new market, the port wants to convert one of the piers at the Pier 90 complex to accommodate modern cruise ships.  Your job is to create a plan for a new terminal at Pier 90, and determine how crew, supplies and customers will access the ships.

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    Warehousing and Distribution Center Operations

    Title: APL China

    Problem Statement: You are a member of the ILWU (International Longshore Workers Union) in Seattle. To your amazement, you see the APL China being towed into port with the containers that were so neatly stacked on top looking like dominoes about to fall. The ship encountered a storm so severe that some of the containers are crushed, and many more are twisted and out of place. You need to determine how the APL China will be unloaded, and who will need to help with the operation.

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    Title:  Family Dollar Stores, Inc

    Problem Statement: You are the manager of the Family dollars Stores, Inc. Mid South Distribution Center.  To be competitive you need to increase the flow through percentage as it relates to the total amount shipped per day from 29% to 35%. 

    You would like to increase the amount of merchandise that is considered flow through merchandise.  For this project, flow through merchandise is defined as merchandise that is shipping from bulk modules.  The goal will be to increase the flow through percentage as it relates to the total amount shipped per day.

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