Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / John A. Fox / The cost of wheat is the largest input cost for a flour mill, and as a result, profitability in wheat flour milling is determined in large part by milling efficiency – i.e., the amount of flour extracted per unit of wheat milled. In this project the objective was to quantify the influence of several measurable variables on flour mill efficiency. Data was collected from two commercial milling units of similar size. Linear regression was then used to estimate the relationship between flour yield and variables measuring grain characteristics and environmental factors. The analysis suggests that increasing ambient temperature and the occurrence of downtime both have a significant negative effect on flour yield. A significant difference in flour yield efficiency was also found between the two mills.

The market is developing and a growing competition increases pressure on companies to maintain their competitive advantage. Working with cost savings is a way to enhance earnings in a short term but also in a longer perspective. Volvo Powertrain Production Köping has an overall goal; to reduce costs by nine percentages in three years. To achieve the goal, Volvo Powertrain Production Köping works with World Class Manufacturing where the Department of Processing Technology constitutes an important part. Volvo Powertrain Production Köping lacks a standard for how savings within the metal cutting tool area are to be calculated. This makes it difficult to control and monitor their business outcome but it also causes difficulties in controlling the tool suppliers’ outcome. The suppliers’ outcome is later used as the basis in price negotiations which means that Volvo Powertrain Production Köping lacks information that can improve their outcome of a negotiation. The aim of the project is to increase understanding of how activities of processing technology affect productivity through a spreadsheet model. Starting with a current status report and a literature review revealed that many companies are missing an hourly rate designed at machine level. There are theories saying that the machine hourly rate should be allocated for both producing state and downtime, which in subsequent interviews with other companies proves to be far from being reality. Collected information was analyzed and a model was developed. The model has been tested in two improvement projects and the outcome has been compared with existing calculations from tool vendors. The result of the thesis is a standardized savings model with a machine specific hourly rate, taking into account both producing and downtime states. The savings model is based on the currently used Cost Deployment system. The proposed spreadsheet will monitor the outcome of tool suppliers which will result in a better control of cost savings and price negotiations. The savings model is not solely for savings calculations; the model also helps the user to understand how different parameters affect the cost of manufacturing. The expectation is to increase cost awareness and reduce the risk of sub-optimization in Volvo Powertrain Production Köping´s operations. The developed hourly rate is not specific to processing technology but the entire company can benefit from the spreadsheet. From a wider viewpoint, the model is applicable to manufacturing companies that have a detailed loss monitoring system similar to Cost Deployment. / Marknaden utvecklas och konkurrensen ökar vilket medför ett ökat tryck på företagen att behålla sin konkurrensfördel. Att arbeta med kostnadsbesparingar är det säkraste sättet för att öka förtjänsten på kort sikt men även i ett längre perspektiv. Volvo Powertrain Production Köping har ett övergripande mål som innebär att kostnaderna ska reduceras med nio procent på tre år. För att uppnå målet arbetar Volvo Powertrain Production Köping med World Class Manufacturing där bearbetningsteknik utgör en viktig del. Volvo Powertrain Production Köping saknar en standard för hur besparingar inom bearbetningsteknik ska beräknas. Detta medför svårigheter att kontrollera och följa upp den egna verksamhetens utfall men också svårigheter att kontrollera verktygsleverantörernas utfall som ligger till grund för inköpsförhandlingar. Syftet med examensarbetet är att öka förståelsen för hur aktiviteter inom det bearbetningstekniska området påverkar produktiviteten genom en kalkylmodell. Arbetet började med en nulägesbeskrivning och en litteraturgenomgång som visade att många företag saknade en timkostnad framtagen på maskinnivå. Det finns teori som säger att maskintimkostnaden bör finnas både för producerande tillstånd och stillestånd vilket i efterföljande kvalitativa intervjuer med andra företag visar sig vara långt ifrån verkligheten. Insamlad information analyserades och en modell utvecklades. Modellen har testats i två förbättringsprojekt och utfallet har jämförts med befintliga kalkyler från verktygsförsäljare. Resultatet av examensarbetet är en standardiserad besparingskalkyl med en maskinspecifik timkostnad där hänsyn tas till om maskinen producerar eller om maskinen har oplanerat stillestånd. Besparingskalkylen är baserad på Cost Deployment som redan används inom Volvo Powertrain Production Köping. Besparingsmodellen är inte enbart till för att beräkna besparingar utan modellen kan också hjälpa användaren att förstå hur olika parametrar påverkar tillverkningskostnaden i hopp om att öka kostnadsmedvetenheten och minska risken för suboptimering i den egna verksamheten. Den framtagna timkostnaden är inte specifik för bearbetningsteknik utan hela företaget har nytta av kalkylen vid besparingsberäkningar. I ett större perspektiv är modellen applicerbar på tillverkningsföretag som har en noggrann förlustuppföljning liknande Cost Deployment.

High quality within a Lean production system begins with standardised work, which creates stable processes able to generate predictable output. If nonconformity from the standard procedures occurs, routines are needed to analyse, correct and prevent the nonconformity from occurring again. In that way, the nonconformity can be a trigger for continuous improvements toward more stable processes. In takted production lines, where the operator follows a standard sequence with tasks set to be completed within the takt time, a nonconformity leads to downtime in the operator’s sequence, and no value is added. With short takt time, the nonconformity leads immediately to line stop and the nonconformity will be detected. With long takt time it is often possible to catch up in the sequence before the nonconformity stops the whole line. Thus, as a consequence the problem will be hidden. The aim of this study is to investigate how downtime and nonconformities can be tracked and measured in a Lean production system with long takt time, as well as investigate how this data can contribute to improvements. The study has been carried out as a case study of an assembly line at Atlas Copco Rock Drills division of Underground Rock Excavation in Örebro. Within this case study semi-structured interviews were performed to investigate needs from data collection and improvement processes. Beside the case study at Atlas Copco, external case studies have been performed to gather information about other companies’ processes. Participating companies for external case studies has been RUAG Space, AstraZeneca, Väderstad-Verken and Saab Aerostructures. The result of the study generated three different processes, one for collecting data about nonconformities and related downtime and two parallel processes to use the data for improvements. The data collection process shows how the downtime can be tracked to support investigated needs. The downtime data is also complemented with information about key factors that affect the accuracy of the downtime measurements. The different type of downtimes that are gathered from the process is the deviations total recovery time, recovery time affecting production and downtime for the entire production line. Together with the time measurement the nonconformities is categorised and described with attributes and text to make a thoroughly analysis possible. Analysis tools proposed for the gathered data is pareto analysis, trends, calculation of cost of poor quality and identification of areas with overcapacity. Also, the result shows how some classic TPM-indicators can be used in the analysis. The gathered data can then be used in two developed improvement processes, one for reactive improvements and one for proactive improvements. The reactive process aims to in a systematic manner find corrective and preventive actions for detected nonconformities with high impact on the production. The nonconformities are handled one by one like the procedure for many deviation systems for product quality assurance. The proactive improvement process focuses on patterns in historical data about major nonconformity areas. Together with high level KPI:s and SMART goals to support high level goals, the nonconformity areas helps to identify which activities to carry out in order to fulfil the goals. / Inom Lean utgår stor del av kvalitetsarbetet från att standardisera arbetssätt för att sträva mot stabila processer som genererar förutsägbara resultat. Om en avvikelse från den fördefinierade standarden upptäcks måste det finnas metoder för att analysera och åtgärda avvikelsen för att förhindra att den sker igen. På så vis kan avvikelser bidra till att verksamheten kontinuerligt förbättras. I taktade produktionssystem, där operatörer utgår från en standardsekvens som ska utföras inom takttiden, leder avvikelser till stopptid i det värdeskapande arbetet. Är takttiden kort ger stopptiden snabbt konsekvensen att takten inte kan hållas vilket ger stopp för hela produktionslinan. Således visar takten direkt om avvikelse förekommit. För långa takttider finns dock ofta möjlighet att arbeta ikapp stopptid inom takten. Därmed döljs avvikelser och den kontinuerliga förbättringen uteblir. Denna studie syftar därför till att undersöka hur stopptid och avvikelser kan följas upp vid produktion med långa takttider inklusive hur insamlad data kan användas vid förbättringsarbete. Studien har bedrivits som fallstudie vid Atlas Copco Rock Drills ABs division Underground Rock Excavation i Örebro där även interna semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomförts för att samla in data om behov kring stopptidsuppföljning och förbättringsarbete. Detta har kompletterats med externa fallstudier där processjämförelser genomförts vid RUAG Space, AstraZeneca, Väderstad-Verken samt Saab Aerostructures. Resultatet från studien ledde till tre framtagna processer, en för insamling av avvikelsedata samt två parallella förbättringsprocesser. Datainsamlingsprocessen visar hur stopptid och avvikelseinformation kan samlas in för att erhålla efterfrågad data och vad som påverkar mätningens noggrannhet. Stopptid som mäts i processen är total åtgärdstid, åtgärdstid som påverkat produktion samt stopptid för linan. Genom att mäta dessa tider tillsammans med att kategorisera data och sammanlänka med attribut möjliggörs exempelvis paretoanalyser av avvikelseområden, analys av trender, beräkning av kvalitetsbristkostnad samt lokalisering av överkapacitet. Dessutom redovisas hur klassiska TPM-nyckeltal kan integreras i analysen. Insamlad avvikelsedata kan sedermera användas i två förbättringsprocesser, en reaktiv förbättringsprocess och en proaktiv förbättringsprocess. Den reaktiva förbättringsprocessen syftar till att genom ett systematiskt arbetssätt skapa förebyggande åtgärder åt enskilt allvarliga stopp. Den proaktiva förbättringsprocessen visar hur data för övergripande avvikelseområden kan bidra till det långsiktiga strategiarbetet genom integrering av företagets övergripande KPI:er och SMART målsättning. De framtagna modellerna är generella nog att användas i de flesta verksamheter med taktade flöden men speciellt framtagen från behov för produktion med långa takttider.

Title: Beach time and knowledge management – a comparative case study on the impact of beach time on IT-consulting firms’ knowledge management Background: The consulting industry has a cyclic nature, where the consultant enters and exit projects. The time between projects is called downtime (or beach time) and contractors show three approaches to this downtime: minimizing, embracing and scheduling. Consultants sell their knowledge and is in constant need of developing it. Downtime enables time for competence development. Downtime is however a rather unresearched subject and therefore there is a knowledge gap on its effect on knowledge management. Aim: The aim is to increase the understanding beach time’s impact on knowledge management. Methodology: This study is qualitative and has been conducted through a comparative case study, where interviews have been used as a method for data collection. In total, three firms within the IT-consulting industry participated in the study, resulting in seven respondents. Conclusion: The study shows that there is an additional approach to downtime and that swedish IT-consulting firms have a combination of the four identified approaches. The firms of the study have different combinations of approaches to downtime but they have in common that they all try to minimize downtime. Firms working closely with softwares show more of a scheduling approach. Firms that do not have full occupancy on their consultants can have a continuous competence development during work hours and need less planning. The study also shows that downtime is a problem for the consulting firms since the length of the downtime affects the consultant’s motivation. / Titel: Ställtid och kunskapshantering – en komparativ fallstudie om ställtidens påverkan på IT-konsultföretags kunskapshantering Inledning: Konsultbranschen har en cyklisk karaktär där konsulten går in och ut ur uppdrag. Tiden mellan uppdrag benämner vi ställtid och fristående konsulter har tre förhållningssätt till denna ställtid: minimerande, inplanerande och anammande. Konsulter säljer sin kunskap och behöver ständigt arbeta med dess förnyelse. Ställtid frigör tid för kompetensutveckling. Ställtid är dock ett ämne som väldigt få har forskat om, och därför saknas kunskap om dess påverkan på kunskapshantering. Syfte: Syftet är att öka förståelsen om ställtidens betydelse för kunskapshantering. Metod: Studien är kvalitativ och har genomförts genom en komparativ flerfallsstudie, där intervjuer har varit den datainsamlingsmetod som har använts. Totalt tre företag inom IT-konsultbranschen har deltagit i studien, vilket resulterar i att studien har sju respondenter. Slutsats: Studien visar att det finns ytterligare ett förhållningssätt till ställtid och att de studerade företagen har en kombination av de fyra identifierade förhållningssätten. Företagen i studien har olika kombinationer av förhållningssätt men gemensamt är att de alla försöker undvika ställtid. Företag som arbetar med en specifik programvara visar på ett mer inplanerande förhållningssätt. Företag som inte har full beläggning på sina konsulter kan ha en kontinuerlig kompetensutveckling under arbetstid och behöver mindre planering. Studien visar även att ställtiden är ett problem för konsultföretagen då ställtidens längd påverkar konsulternas motivation.

This Master´s thesis is focused on Multi-machine efficiency in specific chosen production company With using company´s data to determine how it is reflected in the costs and how this fact affects in standartization and labor costs. By using analysis of current state of multi-machine operation and costs.

The main subject of the master's thesis "Study of machines efficiency in manufacturing process" is the lean processes in the organization. The introductory section describes the theoretical grounds and methods of lean manufacturing. The main section consists of the analysis of selected manufacturing processes, including the implementation of two proposed solutions. The result of work is the elimination of certain types of waste during the production. Another contribution is improving of packaging processes at distribution to the customer.

The subject of this thesis is the issue of leadership and management of employees in the construction company employees in the construction business. The practical part is focused on exploration of the company, its structures and strategies in the planning of human resources through the questionnaire.

Denna rapport behandlade utvecklingen av ett uppföljningsverktyg vars syfte är att hålla koll på underhåll och användning av lastbilar som de ansvariga på distributionscentralen på Alfa Laval AB i Tumba kan använda för att ta fram den optimala lastbilsflottan. Studien analyserade även kostnader och drifttider. För att få fram undersökningens egentliga syfte, formulerades det fem olika frågeställningar. Ovanstående ärenden besvarades med hjälp av insamling av all relevant data, och av olika litteraturstudier där diverse källor analyserades och även jämfördes med varandra i syfte att skriva rapporten på så tillförlitliga grunder som möjligt. Resultatkapitlet innehåller alla relevanta svar, och dessa diskuterades i avsnittet efter. Resultaten och granskningen av dessa gav upphov till en slutsats som talar om att produktionen styr användningen av truckarna. Detta innebär i sin tur att det är produktionen som reglerar stilleståndstiden och drifttimmarna. / This paper covered the development of a follow-up tool in order to keep track of maintenance and use of trucks that those responsible at the distribution center at Alfa Laval AB in Tumba can use to produce the optimal truck fleet. The study also analyzed costs and operating times. In order to clarify the actual purpose of the survey, five different questions were formulated. The matters above were answered with the help of a collection of all relevant data, a literature study, and a comparison between the collected data with conclusions drawn from the literature study. The result contains all the relevant answers, being discussed in the subsequent section. The main conclusion is that it is the production that controls the use of the trucks. This in turn means that it is the production that regulates downtime and operating hours.

While costing methods have developed over time, they are often static in nature and ill-suited to the dynamic nature of production lines. Static costing systems are often developed for long-term analysis. Due to this, they lack the ability to aid short-term decision-making. In addition, the use of averaged data prohibits a static costing system from accurately tracing the cost effects of changing system behavior like random downtime events. A dynamic costing system, however, can capture the cost effects of changing system behavior in a manner that can aid short-term operational management. The proposed methodology is a dynamic activity-based costing method that relies on real-time production line data to track costs, specifically the added costs of unused capacity and downtime events. The methodology aims to trace these costs to responsible cost centers on the production line to give a better representation of the total cost of production, specifically in regards to normal production costs, added downtime costs, and added costs from unused capacity. In addition to monetary costs, the methodology provides a framework for tracking environmental costs, such as energy use, in order to aid plant managers with determining the environmental impact of their operations. The methodology addresses a gap between activity-based costing and downtime costing by combining the two under a single methodology. It traces both monetary and environmental costs to cost centers on the manufacturing line to aid continuous improvement efforts and the allocation of resources. By using real-time data, the methodology alerts management to changing system performance in a shorter time frame than static costing systems. The methodology will be shown in a case study of an automotive assembly plant. The case study will model the resource use of an automotive paint shop and trace this resource use to line segments in order to highlight areas of possible improvement.

This master thesis was performed in collaboration with Scania Ferruform in Luleå, with the purpose to create an efficient, rational and safe workplace at the unloading station of the crossmember painting line. The mission from Ferruform was to investigate and analyse flaws, risk, and bottlenecks with regards to flows, ergonomics and material handling. The project aimed to create a vision that could guide present and future development, followed by an implementation strategy consisting of concrete measures of both layout and organisational character. The vision is: “Create a work situation that is rooted in Scania's production system and characterized by efficiency, rationality and safe working conditions, where committed individuals can be challenged and developed”   The research questions that has guided the project are: What problem is the basis for the ergonomic situation at the crossmember painting? How can an efficient and rational workplace be created at crossmember painting? What does Ferruform need to do to create a safe and sustainable work environment at the crossmember painting?   The first step was to map the current state and identify problems with regards to process and organisation. This was done by using participative observation, interviews, user participation, overview analysis and Scania’s intranet. Apart from previous studies, the main problems that the mapping identified was consequences of frequent downtimes, shifts being isolated and having unique work methods, unsafe work environment, and finally that tools and aids for reducing harmful lifts are not used.  These problems and their consequences were analysed with regards to the current research in work science, behavioural science, and by using methods such as Fault tree analysis and proximity chart. One of the most important conclusions was that downtime, apart from compromised production volumes, affected the work situation negatively. Operators compensate for downtime by working faster and unsafe to reach the weekly production goals. Additionally, a middle manager role has disappeared in favour of meeting the production goals. This has severe consequences on the organisation of work and among others, ergonomics. The proximity chart showed that placement of functions in the production system is not based on logic, resulting in safety issues, intersecting flows and inefficient handling of materials. To counter the identified problems, three different layouts were developed and evaluated using the specification of requirements. The concept with highest score was further developed and detail designed. It is called “Wing” and separates humans and forklifts, has a centralized material buffer and redundancy for downtime. The concept allows for safer work environment, and efficient flows. The required changes are arranged in three steps, each with increasing capacity. The final concept together with the implementation plan, which present recommendations on how the final concept could gradually be implemented and what organisational changes that are needed, shows that productivity and rationality can coexist with a good work environment, where both humans and the production system can flourish.