Project Overview
Project Description
Revolution Workshop (RW) seeks an Engineering for Change Fellow to support strategic improvements within its Social Enterprise woodshop. This project will strengthen RW’s ability to provide high-quality training, transitional employment, and revenue-generating products—directly advancing its mission to create pathways into the trades for individuals with barriers to employment.
The Fellow will focus on improving the efficiency, workflow, and product development systems within RW’s woodshop. The scope will be decided collaboratively with the Fellow, but will centre around some of the following objectives:
- Analyze and Improve Woodshop Production Efficiencies
- Conduct a workflow assessment of current shop operations, including equipment layout, production steps, and material handling.
- Propose practical design or process adjustments that increase production.
- Develop recommendations that align with safety, training needs, and capacity.
- Evaluate the Workflow of Common RW Products
- Map out step-by-step production processes for RW’s most frequently made items.
- Identify opportunities to streamline fabrication, reduce labor time, or better sequence tasks for trainees and transitional workers.
- Enhance Material Efficiency and Waste Reduction
- Assess how offcuts and scrap from one product can be repurposed into components for other shop items.
- Create a material-optimization strategy aimed at reducing waste while expanding product potential.
- Conduct Market Research for New, Feasible Product Ideas
- Identify product categories that align with RW’s existing woodworking capabilities and Social Enterprise goals.
- Provide recommendations for 2–3 new products that are: realistic for small-batch production; appropriate for apprentice-level labor and skill development; aligned with existing workflows; and marketable at a sustainable margin.
- Produce CAD Models for Existing and New Products
- Develop or refine CAD (and, if appropriate, Revit) models for current product lines.
- Create CAD prototypes for recommended new products, supporting future fabrication and pricing.
- Mentor Trainees and Alumni in Technical Design Skills
- Provide light mentorship and tutoring to RW Professional Pathways Program trainees and graduates on real-world CAD/Revit projects.
- Offer practical exposure to design tools used in the field, strengthening their job readiness.
This project directly supports RW’s mission by strengthening its Social Enterprise—an engine for transitional employment, hands-on skills development, and revenue generation that sustains its training programs. Improved workflows and new product pathways will create more consistent, predictable work opportunities for alumni while enhancing their exposure to technical design skills in CAD and Revit. The Fellow’s contributions will help RW expand production capacity, reduce waste, and introduce new revenue-generating product lines rooted in real-world design practices.
Impact
By improving workflow efficiency, expanding product offerings, and enhancing technical training through CAD and design mentorship, this project will increase the number and quality of transitional employment opportunities for RW alumni—most of whom face significant barriers to entering the trades. This leads to stronger long-term job placement outcomes, increased income stability, and expanded pathways to careers in construction and woodworking. The Fellow’s work will also broaden the real-world design and technical exposure offered to trainees, directly strengthening their employability and confidence.
RW’s Social Enterprise already provides transitional employment and technical training to dozens of alumni each year, and improvements in workflow, product development, and technical instruction reliably translate into higher training quality and more consistent work opportunities. Additionally, RW has already seen the benefits of integrating small waste-reduction strategies; a more structured, engineering-driven analysis will allow us to scale these efforts and embed sustainability into every stage of production.
Eligibility Criteria
Skills / Experience:
- Required:
- Manufacturing/Design for manufacturing
- CAD modeling and rendering
- Process design and workflow mapping
- Ability to translate production processes into digital models
- Desired:
- Experience mapping workflows
- Product development and knowledge of sustainable materials
- Understanding of manufacturing processes and production optimization
Software Proficiency:
- AutoCAD and Autodesk Fusion 360 or Revit
Discipline:
- Engineering, architecture, or related technical field
Preferred Fellow Local Experience (all projects can be completed remotely):
- N/A
Preferred Timezone (when the Fellow should be available for meetings):
- Compatibility with Central Standard Time (UTC-6)
