INTERNSHIPS
Question: For Part 3 in IE399, do I have to provide a mathematical model for the problem I analyzed?
Answer: In Part 3, the model you develop does not have to be a mathematical programming model. A model is a physical, mathematical, or conceptual representation of a system or process which is developed to assist a decision maker. For example in IE303, IE324, IE325 and IE375, you have learnt about integer programming models, simulation models, stochastic models and forecasting models, respectively. Although these are some of the most commonly used model types in our field, modeling techniques are not limited to these. In order to provide a solution to the problem you define, you can also develope and use schematic models such as charts and diagrams, as long as they are legitimate IE/OR tools.
Question: Is there a specific format for the acceptance letter from the company?
Answer: There is no specific format however, make sure that it includes the start date and end date of the summer training. Moreover, it is essential that the letter provided by the company is an official acceptance letter with an official letterhead, signed and stamped by the legally authorized executive of the company.
Question: I will be doing more than one internship this summer, can their dates intersect? Can I start one without finishing the other?
Answer: No. Make sure that there’s no conflict in the dates, you cannot do two internships simultaneously.
Question: The company requested a mandatory internship statement that includes information about me and the internship, where can I get it from?
Answer: After making sure that the company is approved in the system, you will fill and print a “Mandatory Summer Training Application Form” in mfstaj. To fill the form, you need search your company, and when you find it, there will be a DirectApplication icon on the right side. You will click on it. Then fill the form, the information there should be sufficient.
Question: I will be doing more than one internship this summer, does Bilkent cover insurance for all of them?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Can I complete my internship and take courses in the Summer School at the same time?
Answer: No, you cannot take courses in the Summer School while doing an internship.
Question: Can I complete my internship after the summer school ends and before the fall semester starts?
Answer: Summer school ends in August 21, date conflicts with the fall semester is acceptable as long as you start your internship no late than August 24.
Question: Can I take IE 399 even if I didn’t pass IE 299?
Answer: No.
REPORTS
Question: Do we have to provide all the charts, diagrams, layouts, etc in the appendix? We are asked to “describe the manufacturing/production system by preparing a charts”. Is it sufficient just to provide the charts in the appendix or do we have to write more about those charts?
Answer: All charts, diagrams, etc. can go to Appendix. This is not a must but will save you space. For the description of the production and manufacturing system, the charts are not enough alone. You need to elaborate on them and give some explanations in the main text.
Question: The Company where I go for Summer Training has all the Organization Charts required in IE 299 Summer Training Report but they are all written in Turkish. Due to the fact that the number of chart is high it would be better to use them originally rather than rewriting them in English Form. Would it be a problem to include Turkish file in my report or not?
Answer: We definitely do not accept any form in Turkish. If there are too many forms then pick the ones that are the most relevant and necessary.
Question: The company I’m on summer training has some major units which are making different processes. Such as company is X and there are X1 X2 X3 X4 in different locations of the city. Do I have to give general information about X or is it enough giving information about X2 (the unit that I’m on summer training)?
Answer: Providing information about just X2 would be sufficient.
Question: According to the ie299 report content, we are asked to describe the production system and manufacturing system by showing the relations between the major components with the help of charts. What is the main difference between the production system and manufacturing system?
Answer: You learned the differences between Production and Manufacturing Systems in IE271 course. Please consult IE271 Lecture Notes for details.
Question: For the Company Identity Card, we are asked to write the Annual Production Capacity for major products/services. In this organization, there are approximately 40 different products. Should I write the capacity for all of these products? If not, how can I decide which products are major?
Answer: No, you should not write the capacity of all products but should classify them according to their importance. Pareto analysis could be an appropriate tool to determine the importance of products. Top three items would be enough.
Question: What is the measure that we need to use for describing the “level of mechanization and automation”? Would percentage be enough?
Answer: Actually, in this question we do not expect you to give exact numerical measures. You can elaborate on whether the factory has adopted automation or not, and to what extent. Any numerical measures like percentages will be welcome however you can just describe the environment in terms of the level of mechanization and automation adopted, verbally.
Question: Should we use the blank forms provided in the IE271 lecture notes and the text book while preparing any kind of process/operation charts, or can we use any other template that can be found in another source, e.g. internet.
Answer: You do not have to use the templates that we used in the IE271 course.
Question: In this summer training, we have to elaborate on the performance of the system. I have found some data, but due to privacy concerns of the company I cannot write the data explicitly. Will it be enough if I write the total result like “The assembly’s performance is x%” ?
Answer: Yes, but state what type of data you used in these calculations and state that you could not supply the data due to privacy issues.
Question: While “specifying productive or nonproductive elements of a process and elaborating on its performance”, should we need to include a work of time study or something similar in our reports?
Answer: No, not necessarily. You can perform a macro analysis of the process and determine the productive and non-productive elements of the system. In order to elaborate on the performance, you can rely on existing measures that have already been established. Nevertheless, you might need to conduct a time study in case no relevant data exist.
Question: The production capacity is calculated in terms of hours, not number of products. Can I write the capacity in terms of hours?
Answer: Yes you can. Production capacity can be calculated in many different ways.
Question: I cannot collect some of the required information due to privacy concerns of the company. What should I do?
Answer: Some companies may not be willing to provide some of the information you are required to collect for Parts I and II of your summer training report. In such cases, do your best to retrieve the data/information. If you cannot obtain the information albeit your all efforts, then state that you could not obtain the information by explaining the reasons. If this is the case, please note that we should be convinced from the reasons that you list that it was impossible to collect the required data and/or information.
Question: What is the difference between organization chart and organizational analysis?
Answer: Organization chart is a diagram that shows the hierarchies and ranking relations among the positions in the organization. Organizational analysis is a much more general concept that analyzes the organizational structure and behavior. In your reports, we want you to briefly analyze the organizational structure of the company in terms of delegation of responsibility and authority, the hierarchical structure in the organization, whether they have a “mechanistic work organization” or an “organic work organization”, etc. You can refer to Lecture Notes #2 and Chapter 27 of the text book (Work Systems by Groover) of IE271 course.
Question: I demanded the acceptance letter from the company, but I am asked if production planning department is suitable for my manufacturing internship. Since the contact person of the firm suggested that there are not industrial engineers working in their manufacturing department, they work in the production planning department.
Answer: As long as the department located close (in the same location) to the manufacturing unit we accept any department. Please look at the requirements in our IE299 course page. The department you assigned for should be suitable to fulfill all required fields in the summer training report.
For questions that are not answered on the web page, please e-mail: iestaj@bilkent.edu.tr