Students help company track inventory

Lafayette company with global reach hired a dozen UL Lafayette student interns this summer for a major undertaking: revamping how it keeps track of its inventory and fabrication process for tools used in the oil and gas industry.

Rick Bellomy, materials manager for McCoy Global’s Drilling and Completions division, said the students’ performance exceeded expectations.

“We asked them to do a really big job. Turns out, even we underestimated its scope,” he said. The student team was asked to merge multiple software programs into a centralized system to track fabrication and purchases of parts, including purchases from vendors and sales between divisions of the international company.

“They helped us get a more realistic picture of what will be needed to fully implement the new system,” Bellomy added. Two other employees also supervised the students: Harold Ducote, enterprise resource planning specialist, and Vickie Kolder, controller.

The company tracks about 10,000 parts, including about 2,000 that it manufactures. Over 10 weeks, working 40 hours a week, students collected and organized information for about half of those. They created spreadsheets that provide detailed information about each part, for example, such as a description, the vendor, cost and where the part is manufactured. For parts that are fabricated by McCoy Global, the data collection was even more detailed because it included information about how these parts are manufactured. The information was then incorporated into the new, comprehensive software system.

The students set up an infrastructure to follow the supply chain, including the amount of time required to get parts where they are needed. Bellamy said the students’ efforts resulted in “a lot of great work. We couldn’t have made this much progress without them.”

Twelve students from a variety of disciplines completed the internship. The students who participated were:
•  Mayur Sushajith Sampath, who is pursuing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering;
•  Kabir O. Sanni, who is working toward pursuing a master’s degree in petroleum engineering;
•  Drew Landry and Lecretia Toussaint, seniors majoring in accounting;
•  Mitchell Hutchison, a senior majoring in chemical engineering and chemistry;
•   Cassi Drexel and Casie Gaskin, seniors majoring in chemical engineering;
•   Tyler Bergeron, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering;
•  Stephen Coats, Riantae' Freeman and Eric Phillips, seniors majoring in industrial technology; and
•  MeSha Prejean, a junior majoring in informatics

Informatics is a broad academic field that combines areas of study such as computer science, human-computer interaction, information technology and information science. Students learn about information collection, storage and retrieval. They also learn how to bring people, information and technology together in ways that are effective and useful for individuals and organizations.

UL Lafayette’s Informatics Program teaches students to apply information technologies and to design, maintain, and adapt information systems that solve problems with an understanding of human needs and context.

Prejean, who previously worked as a recreational aquatic therapist, said the internship convinced her that informatics is the right choice for her second career. She’s pursuing a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in media technology.

During the Fall 2012 semester, Prejean completed an informatics course, Human Computer Interaction, taught by Dr. Sonya Hsu.

“It focused on enterprise resource planning, which is exactly what the internship required. Because of that course, I was fully prepared and it helped me get this internship opportunity.”

Toussaint said the experience helped her appreciate the importance of working as a team.

“In school, I’m only responsible for me. If I don’t perform well and I get a grade I don’t like, it only affects me. That’s not the case here. In this situation, I rely on the next person doing it right, and they rely on me in the same way. If one of us doesn't do well, it affects all of us,” he said.

Bergeron said classroom experience with computer-aided drafting was helpful and the internship has given him insight into how a business runs. “No project is ever complete,” he said.

Phillips toured the company’s manufacturing facility in Broussard, La., where it produces oilfield tongs. “We documented how a tong is built, step by step, so that information could be included in the software package.” He said the internship has given him exposure to multiple facets of the industry, including manufacturing.

McCoy Global, which began in 1914, operates internationally through direct sales and distributors. It provides drilling equipment line for oilfield service contractors, drilling contractors, and rig manufacturers. The company’s operations are based out of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the U.S. Gulf Coast. McCoy’s corporate office is located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and branch offices are in Alberta, British Columbia, Louisiana and Texas.