Teamwork steers students to success

Henry Ford may have pioneered the automobile assembly line, but Lawton Public Schools students in John Cullison’s Construction Trades classes at Life Ready Center recently created their own version.

The students spent several days cutting out, sanding and assembling 20 cars that participants in the soap box derby race at Lawton’s Freedom Fest in June will drive. Cullison was approached by Comanche Home Center, which was tasked with building the cars, and asked if his students would like to tackle the project.

Because the cars are identical, students used the assembly line approach to make the process more efficient. Arvon Lewis, a student at Lawton High, said certain people had different tasks. Some used nail guns to assemble the pieces while others attached the backs. Cullison said one student excelled at cutting out steering wheels.

Others attached the steering column “to make the car a car,” Lewis said. “We figured out which part needed to go where. We tried to make sure it was efficient and of good quality. If you have a certain skill, it would be easier to put you at one job you are really good at.”

Lewis said the assembly line approach was definitely more efficient.

“Right now we are ahead of schedule,” he said just a few days into the project.

Lester Luciano, LHS, said students quickly saw the value of setting up an assembly line.

“We combined it all together just like in a real factory,” Luciano said. “You got time-saving instead of one person doing the straight part, if you aren’t good at it and they are. It teaches us teamwork. You can’t always choose who you get to work with.”

Estevan Zavala, Eisenhower High School, said it was his team’s job to put in the screws and nails and pass the car along the line.

While the assembly process seemed to make the task easier, students experienced some challenges due to the morning class and afternoon class working on the same cars.

Douglas Rogers, LHS, had to take the wheels off one car because they were not attached correctly; therefore, the steering mechanism did not fit properly.

“It’s hard to know where the person left off. It’s kind of hard to figure it out yourself,” Rogers said as he began removing the wheels.

He spun one of the wheels after he had reattached them.

“That is so cool,” he said of the smooth spin.

Lewis ran into the same issue with another car. The brakes were on wrong and he had to cut the PVC pipe that acts as the braking mechanism.

Lewis also discovered the value of working with teammates — some projects need four hands instead of two. He was trying to get a wheel on and needed to keep it steady and tighten the bolt at the same time; his teammates had left to go to another class. He finally used a socket wrench to steady the wheel while he tightened the bolt.

“It seems I have solved the issue,” he said. Lewis said he looked at it as a learning experience. “This is allowing me some freedom to learn from my mistakes. In life, I don’t have to make those mistakes.

“The instructions told you what to do but not how to do it. You have to figure it out yourself. Having that (the model) and having Mr. C. here makes it a whole lot easier. Mr. C. won’t give you the correct answer, but he will give you enough information so you can solve the problem on your own. Confidence is key to certain things.”

Once Lewis was done with his work, it was time to pass his car off to the next class.

“This is next hour’s problem,” Lewis said. “I did my job. I built most of it.”

Cullison said students learned more than just how to assemble a car.

“One thing they learned about, no one reads the instructions until they get into trouble,” Cullison said. “They had to go back and read the instructions on the steering mechanism.

“Three or four of them can look at it and say, ‘That’s correct or not correct’. Some have that kind of ability and some don’t. Some want to work independently and some don’t. Some want to finish the whole car themselves.”

Lewis said the project gave him a feeling of achievement.

“I feel accomplishment that we built something that will bring enjoyment to a lot of people,” Lewis said. “It’s exciting to see the cars that our class and the class after us built. I feel really good. It helps me get through the day that I’m helping others get enjoyment. These will help other families make a moment, and feeling I got to help is awesome.”

Would he like to take one of the cars for a spin?

“Yeah,” he said wistfully. “I will be a little disappointed that I didn’t get to use it, but it’s nothing to be sad about.”

Cullison said students would check each car again to make sure the steering mechanism works and there are no sharp edges before being delivered to Comanche Home Center.