January 05, 2026
Industrial engineering students helped Burrell Behavioral Health ensure quality care for their clients, highlighting the value engineering can add to health care settings.
Mizzou Engineering invests in hands-on learning experiences. Senior capstone projects are just one way we prepare students for their future careers and advance solutions to real-world issues. These group projects encourage innovation, creative problem solving and collaboration.
Here’s how a team of industrial engineering students helped Burrell Behavioral Health ensure quality care for their clients.
Team
Isabelle Fallert, Mariam Morafa and Courtney Thake
Challenge
We wanted to help Burrell Behavioral Health raise their metabolic screening completion rate, which was stuck around 65-74%. The state requires 80% to keep funding and ensure quality care for their clients.
Process
We mapped the current workflow, interviewed nurses and case managers, analyzed electronic medical record data and used tools like value stream mapping, fishbone diagrams and failure mode and effects analysis to pinpoint where screenings were being lost in the process.
Results
We identified the major barriers like no-shows, inconsistent processes and data errors. We then developed recommendations focused on standardizing workflows, improving communication and strengthening technology and accountability to help Burrell move closer to the 80% target.
Lessons learned
Our industrial engineering coursework gave us the tools to break down complex systems, analyze data, find root cause and design practical solutions so everything from process mapping to change management felt like a natural extension of what we learned in class.
We learned how messy real-world processes can be, especially in health care, and how much impact clear communication, standardized workflows and data accuracy have on both efficiency and patient outcomes.
Conclusion
This project showed us how valuable industrial engineering is in a health care setting, and we are grateful that Burrell trusted us to work on something that directly affects patient health and organizational sustainability.