COPLEY, Ohio — A group of Copley High School students, who are also budding engineers, could win a national award for their invention which is helping disabled workers at a Cuyahoga Falls business.
The Lady Engineers Plus Two team, which is made up of four female students and two male students, spent several months designing a device called Sort-A-Screw.
The multi-part system allows Weaver ProPack workers to package kits of nuts, bolts, screws and washers. It's designed for workers to fit an exact number of parts into slots before dropping them into bags. Each kit is weighed for accuracy to eliminate the need for a second quality check.
"It's unique because it allows anyone with any disability to perform the task, and there's no other technology like it that we found," said Justin Bartlett, a senior on the team.
Prior to SAS, most of of the disabled workers couldn't do the kitting work due to trouble with counting the parts.
"Seeing how these devices change their lives, they're more happy with their work ethic and it's really nice to see that," said Nina White, another senior on the team.
The system is color-coated and made of wood, plexiglass, springs and interchangeable plates and bins.
The team's coach, Kirby Harder, said he provided guidance, but the kids did all of the work. It took about ten prototypes before they got it just right.
"We cut it out at school. The kids drew it up using engineering software. We laser cut some of the pieces," Harder said.
The end result got the attention of the National SourceAmerica Design Challenge. The Lady Engineers Plus Two team was selected as one of five finalists for the best design out of nearly 200 teams.
Denise Balko, who handles marketing for Weaver Industries, has been beyond impressed with the bright, young minds.
"They scare me," she said with a laugh. "They are all very intelligent. They're very mature. They're very empathetic."
The Copley Students will join the four other teams in Washington D.C. next week. The winning team will be announced on Wednesday and will receive prize money.
Regardless, the team already feels like winners because of the smiles their invention has brought to the business.
"Ultimately, it's just that we got the chance to help employees with disabilities," White said.
The other team members are Daniel Garner, Alexis Gingras, Alison Jones and Courtney Phillips.
