Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2014. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 70-72). / This research sought to identify the right strategy to mitigate the supply chain risk while maintaining supply chain efficiency for a company in the medical device industry. The company in our case was exposed to great risk of supplier disruption because of its single source practice. In general, there are two different approaches to reduce the impact of supplier disruption. One is holding additional inventory to cover the demand over the time-to-recovery, and the other is maintaining a second source to reduce the risk. In this research, we proposed a method of distinguishing the better approach. First, we classified the SKUs by criticality and complexity, evaluated the current inventory policy and inventory status, defined the time-to-recovery for each SKU, estimated the potential revenue lost over the time-to-recovery, calculated the additional inventory required, and calculated the related cost for both holding additional inventory and maintaining a second source. Then, we compared the three ROA ratios from holding additional inventory, maintaining a second source, and not taking any action (potential sales lost). The strategy with the highest ROA ratios represented the most efficient way to prevent the risk of supplier disruption. Based on the analysis, holding additional inventory was generally a better strategy for the company in the medical device industry to protect itself from the risk of supplier disruption in any given level of supplier risk. / by Wan-Yu Huang and Jierui Liu. / M. Eng. in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-98). / In the medical device industry, many companies rely on a high inventory strategy in order to meet their customers' urgent requirements, sometimes leading to excessive inventory. This problem is compounded when it involves a long supply chain with several stages of activities and with long delivery and processing lead times. It is further exacerbated when high inventory leads to the frequent expiry of items with short shelf lives, which is typical of surgical items that have to be sterilized. Good supply chain strategies can potentially lead to a significant reduction of the supply chain cost. Through the use of relevant mathematical formulae and Strategic Inventory Placement optimization method, this paper examines the extent of the usefulness of a few possible strategies, such as kitting architecture change and continuous review system, for a family of medical emergency surgical kits across the whole supply chain for a medical device company. The result shows that reducing production lead time and review period, as well as adopting certain kitting architecture changes can reduce inventory value by more than 60% and operating cost by more than 20%. In addition, the paper shows that the Strategic Inventory Placement method can further reduce the total inventory value and operating cost by increasing the inventory of finished products and reducing the inventory of components in the supply chain. / by Poi Chung Tjhin and Rachita Pandey. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, June 2009. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / "May 2009." Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / An emerging requirement for 21st century enterprises is operational flexibility, a requirement particularly important for the U. S. Department of Defense (DoD). To achieve flexibility, most practice and research emphasizes process improvement, robust collaboration and "flattened" or "networked" organizations. Lateral alignment has also been proposed as a means to enable flexibility. Missing from these approaches is an appreciation and understanding of the role of architecture and hierarchy as well how to apply these ideas at the enterprise level of organization. The DoD has embraced information technology as one means to achieve flexibility via these methods. Within DoD the Air Force is a uniquely flexible combat arm, but it has proven particularly difficult to integrate air power at the level of inter-service (Joint) military operations in order to leverage this flexibility. Kometer (ESD Ph.D., 2005) used a complex, large-scale, interconnected, open, socio-technical (CLIOS) systems analysis to examine command and control of the Combat Air Operations System (CAOS), proposing new command and control concepts to gain flexibility. This thesis extends Kometer's research by using a qualitative architectural analysis to explore the twin ideas of hierarchy and laterality in enabling flexibility. We define lateral interactions as those within the same layer of an enterprise hierarchy. Lateral interactions enable formalized collaboration among peer entities, which can enable more operational alternatives and make these alternatives executable on more responsive timelines than possible with classic hierarchical structures. / (cont.) We identify previously unexamined trends in the operational architecture of combat air operations that are related to flexibility and examine the trade-offs between flexibility and other enterprise properties. We find a pattern of increasing enterprise laterality from beginning to end of the case studies and an association between upper- and lower-echelon laterality, overall system flexibility and strategic coherence. To enrich the analytical framework, an analogous example of flexibility in the New England Patriots football team is developed and presented. We find that our architecture framework provides a rich addition to existing empirical research on combat air power and addresses difficult socio-technical analysis issues in a way that complements other approaches. We also find that traditional perspectives on flexibility, efficiency and effectiveness trade-offs are strongly dependent on hierarchical level of analysis. Our framework lays a foundation for rigorous holistic enterprise design efforts in the area of military operations and other socio-technical enterprises such as health care, disaster relief and large-scale defense acquisition. / by John Q. Dickmann, Jr. / Ph.D.

Thesis: Ph. D. in Technology, Management, and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2014. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 419-464). / US Air Force fighter aircraft underwent a remarkable transformation in the period from 1950 to 1980. Whereas the lone fighter pilots of earlier fame relied on the power of their eyesight, the finesse of their piloting skills, and a steady squeeze of the trigger to achieve victory, later pilots vanquished their foe by focusing on a four-inch-square cockpit display, manipulating electromagnetic waves, and launching rocket-propelled missiles from miles away. Two popular historical narratives dominate this period in fighter aviation: one of "great machines," which focuses on the technologies; the other of "great pilots," which focuses on the oft-heroic aviators. The former conjures notions of technological determinism; the latter, a timeless "myth of the fighter pilot." Regrettably, the two distinct approaches obscure the important human-machine interactions that linked the pilots with their fire control technologies. This study presents an alternative perspective of fighter aviation, viewing it instead as an inseparable system of humans and machines working together. I develop a cognitive history of the air-to-air fighter pilot, analyzing three sequential experiences: the F-86E Sabre during the Korean War, the F-4C Phantom II during the Vietnam War, and the F-15A Eagle during a pair of air combat evaluations conducted in 1977. In each case, new fire control systems were introduced to simplify weapons employment and thereby free the pilot to focus attention on other tasks deemed more vital, such as flying itself. The pilots, however, soon realized that within air combat, their traditional flying skills were becoming less critical to their success and survival; in contrast, the skills required to operate their new fire control systems were growing in significance and complexity. With the pilots uniquely vested in sustaining the "fighter pilot myth," tension and conflict ensued, both within individual fighter cockpits and in the social relationships that extended between fighter cockpits. This study offers fresh insight into issues of technological change that confront today's military aviators, especially regarding remotely piloted aircraft. More generally, this study addresses the tensions that often arise when increasing automation alters or displaces the tasks that have historically defined an individual's profession. / by Steven A. Fino. / Ph. D. in Technology, Management, and Policy

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2003. / "June 2003." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-100). / A logistics cost model is developed for a chemical distribution system from a single plant using bulk and packaged transportation strategies. The purpose of this research is to provide a tool that helps understand the cost trade offs in the operation of a logistics system at a strategic level for large scale systems and complex distribution systems. An analytical modeling approach was used to determine variables that define transportation, storage and material handling costs in the system. Several distribution strategies were evaluated and benchmarked in terms of costs against the current. Savings offered by the packaged distribution system for a single plant were marginal; extension of the current model to evaluate cost reduction opportunities across the complete network of plants and distribution centers is proposed for further research effort. / by Jose Joaquin Hernandez Lopez. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 45-46). / As the US economy recovers from the recession of 2008, demand for freight transportation is getting stronger. However, the trucking industry is not ready to take on this growth in volume due to a shortage of truck drivers. From a shipper's perspective, availability of transportation is an important concern that needs to be addressed to ensure customer satisfaction, realize growth and keep costs down. Shippers can enhance their carriers' ability to provide consistent trucking capacity by reducing the variability of freight demand. This thesis creates a simulation model of deployment processes at a consumer packaged goods company to evaluate relationship between transportation variability and various management levers. Through the analysis of the simulation runs, the effects of management levers on the freight volatility are quantified. The findings of the research show that actively limiting the truckloads sent downstream, and thus eliminating the freight volatility through internal policies is a potential solution. The thesis concludes by presenting the benefits and trade-offs of this approach on the logistics costs of the sponsor company. If the company sticks to the current policy of immediate shipment as the need arises, the thesis shows that the best deployment schedule is a bi-weekly one. / by Kurn Ma and Manish Kumar. / M. Eng. in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-53). / Agriculture is a business fraught with risk. Crop production depends on climatic, geographical, biological, political, and economic factors, which introduce risks that are quantifiable given the appropriate mathematical and statistical methodologies. Accurate information about the nature of historical crop yields is an important modeling input that helps farmers, agribusinesses, and governmental bodies in managing risk and establishing the proper policies for such things as crop insurance. Explicitly or implicitly, nearly all farm decisions relate in some way to the expectation of crop yield. Historically, crop yields are assumed to be normally distributed for a statistical population and for a sample within a crop year. This thesis examines the assumption of normality of crop yields using data collected from India involving sugarcane and soybeans. The null hypothesis (crop yields are normally distributed) was tested using the Lilliefors method combined with intensive qualitative analysis of the data. Results show that in all cases considered in this thesis, crop yields are not normally distributed. / (cont.) This result has important implications for managing risk involving sugarcane and soybeans grown in India. The last section of this thesis examines the impact of crop yield non normality on various insurance programs, which typically assume that all crop yields are normally distributed and that the probability of crop failure can be calculated given available data. / by Narsi Reddy Gayam. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Page 98 blank. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-97). / There is urgency for NewCo, a large multinational corporation, to better execute programs spanning across product lines. This is because the number of these programs appears to be increasing and there are indicators that this trend will continue moving forward. The increase is driven by both business and customer needs for commonality as well as a shift in customer expectations making NewCo's current product lines a subsystem in a large system of systems. NewCo has recently struggled to execute programs implementing technology spanning product lines successfully. The organization is rooted in decentralized engineering of individual product lines and gaining alignment across these internal stakeholders is very difficult. The goal of this research is to identify factors making programs that span across multiple product lines and corporate divisions more difficult than expected making achieving commonality difficult. The research will also recommend potential changes to the design of the overall enterprise to improve the ability to execute programs spanning multiple product lines successfully. Using an exploratory research approach, the current state of NewCo has been evaluated based on value exchange with stakeholders and an eight views enterprise architecting framework. Nine individual factors that contribute towards the difficulty in these programs that consolidate into five categories are identified. The first category ties to strategy and includes three topics: the lack of enterprise alignment, the impact of decentralized history and culture, and the strategic choice in addressing system of systems transition. The second category relates to the organization structure and has three veins within it as well: the status of most recent organizational realignment, the perceptions around supporting businesses and shared services, and the increase in councils and committees. The third category discusses enterprise policies focusing on the metrics used to measure the divisions. The fourth category reviews the decision making process and the culture of consensus. The fifth and final category relates to knowledge sharing and recent process improvements and shifting roles that impact the ability to effectively share knowledge. Six initial recommendations are presented based upon the findings of this research. First, intentionally "design" the system of systems solution including centralizing a portion of engineering to allocate requirements to product lines and shared services. Second, reinvigorate reorganization effort of Division B and expand shared services. Third, revise policies to incent cooperation and supporting system of systems solutions. Fourth, establish clear roles and empower decision makers. Fifth, continue to invest in process improvements within the marketing organization and the knowledge transfer into product development. The sixth and final recommendation includes reiterating that programs spanning product lines are difficult. This would create awareness that commonality and system of systems solutions are not easy to develop. If team members and leadership begin these programs acknowledging the challenges ahead of them they will be better able to position the program for success. The next step is to validate these recommendations with senior leaders within NewCo. Additional research could continue though the Enterprise Strategic Analysis and Transformation (ESAT) framework and complete steps five through eight for NewCo. A second future research opportunity would be to conduct a larger study incorporating different enterprises within different industries that are facing the same challenge of shifting from individual product lines to delivering customers complete integrated solutions that span traditional product boundaries. This type of research could potentially identify best practices and provide insights for the most effective enterprise architecture. / by Candice Engler. / S.M.

Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2014. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 66-67). / This thesis investigates the utility of using retailer point of sales (POS) data in the production planning process of a consumer-packaged goods (CPG) manufacturing company. The quantitative measurements of utility include the improvement of production forecasting, reduction of inventory costs, and reduction of equipment changeover costs. Qualitatively, we evaluate the effectiveness of using POS to drive a more collaborative relationship between the retailer and the manufacturer. The POS data include items sold, store inventory, and warehouse inventory of a retail partner for specific stock keeping units (SKUs) produced by the manufacturer. We develop production-planning models by combining POS data with customer orders, current production plans, and existing inventory positions to optimize manufacturing and inventory costs. The results illustrate that if the aggregate volume of customer orders approximately equaled to that of the POS, then the integration of POS data into manufacturing planning offers opportunities to reduce production and inventory costs. The analysis also points to situations where POS data and customer orders vary significantly; in these situations the proposed production-planning model does not apply, but the POS data provide useful evidence for aligning plans between the manufacturer and the retailer. / by Daniele Primavera and Hang Shi. / M. Eng. in Logistics

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-247). / When inclement weather reduces the arrival capacity of a busy metropolitan airport, it may lead to significant airborne delays. Delaying aircraft in the air consumes additional fuel, increases overall air traffic congestion, and may lead to costly flight diversions. As a result, during periods of inclement weather, the FAA may implement a Ground Delay Program (GDP) to proactively delay flights on the ground before they depart and reduce the possibility of future airborne delays. However, in order to assign ground delays to flights, a GDP must be implemented before they depart, at a time when the future airport arrival capacity may be uncertain. This dissertation discusses two analyses in regards to the design of a GDP. The first analysis proposes a model that solves for the optimal assignment of ground delay to aircraft for a stochastic and dynamic forecast of the airport arrival capacity, with nonlinear delay cost functions, and a capacity of the airborne arrival queue. This model is applied to several hypothetical examples and, in comparison to prior models from the literature, identifies solutions with a lower total expected cost, a smaller maximum observed arrival queue, or both. The second analysis compares the salience, or importance, of various stakeholder groups to their roles in the design of a GDP in practice. Passengers, in particular, are shown to be an important, but under-represented stakeholder group. A second model is proposed that solves for an assignment of ground delay that minimizes the total passenger delay cost. A comparison of these results to those of the first model show that the total cost of delays to passengers could be reduced by more than 30% if the FAA were to directly consider the cost of delays to passengers during the design of a GDP. / by Michael J. Hanowsky. / Ph.D.