Operations Lab

Ops-Lab student and host working together in Wayfair warehouse.

Credit: Nicholas Briggs

Ops-Lab at a glance

  • Term

    Spring

  • Units

    9 + SIP if onsite

  • Eligible students

    All MIT Sloan and MIT graduate students, including LGO and CTL students 
     

  • Pre/corequisites

    15.761 or equivalent course or work experience, if approved by faculty

  • Bid/Application

    Application

  • Travel

    Domestic travel

  • Host organization profile

    Operations problems in companies ranging from small to multinationals; from Boston-based to overseas
     

  • Sample sectors

    Wide range of industry sectors including aerospace, food, healthcare, industrial, retail, transportation

  • Sample projects

    Cycle time analysis and improvement, inventory policy, long-range sourcing strategy, product design and deployment, supply chain network design

The class

Ops-Lab lectures focus on project management, methods, team report-outs and discussion.

Projects that are local to Boston involve regular (weekly) visits to the host company site. During these visits, students engage directly with the employees, observing and assessing the processes and operations associated with the project scope. Projects outside the Boston area involve weekly calls with the company and require travel to the host company site during spring SIP week, where students also work with employees and assess company processes. The projects are done in teams of three or four students. The assignment of projects may give preference to students who are involved in sourcing them.

Interested in applying?

Ops-Lab is an application only course, and is open to Sloan MBAs, LGOs, and other Sloan and MIT grad students.