Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; and, (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 51). / The work for this thesis was completed at Intel Corporation in Colorado Springs, Colorado at Fab 23, a semiconductor fabrication facility making flash memory. The project focused on evaluating and managing preventative maintenance activities to improve WIP (Work in Progress) management and cycle time. Equipment runs a factory, but effective maintenance of that equipment is often overlooked for improvement efforts due to constrained technical resources. However, preventative maintenance (PM) activities can provide process stability and increased throughput if scheduled and executed efficiently. This thesis evaluates the benefits of coordinating PMs among functional areas and the effectiveness of existing PM practices at a 24 hours per day, 7 days per week facility. Using a WIP model, I show that wait times can be significantly reduced by scheduling PMs on sequential tools at the same time, so WIP only waits once for PMs. Additionally, the goal of an effective maintenance team is to spend more scheduled time maintaining equipment and less time doing unscheduled repairs. A base line of PM performance at Fab 23 is completed showing that they have opportunities to improve their PM processes by learning from other Intel facilities and implementing off-line repairs. / by Rebecca Cassler Fearing. / M.B.A. / S.M.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2006. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 55). / This thesis is based on an internship at Honeywell Aerospace's Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) Leadership division. This work focuses on the role and use of analytical cost models in the strategy development process. The scope of ISC strategic decisions encompasses Honeywell Aerospace's global footprint of external and internal suppliers, and includes insourcing, outsourcing, transition and consolidation activities. The current practice within Honeywell Aerospace is to construct a Transition, Migration, and Integration (TMI) model which calculates the net present benefit associated with a specific transition's spending and savings. This model is the primary tool for strategic plan development. This work looks at the use of the TMI model for strategic planning with the intent of addressing concerns related to the model's complexity and accuracy. This work also develops the framework for estimating a confidence range within the TMI model to provide better visibility to the potential range of financial outcome. An additional tool used in the development of the strategic plan is the Landed Cost model. / (cont.) The Landed Cost model is used to calculate the steady state total cost associated with a particular supply chain. Historically within Honeywell Aerospace ISC planning, the Landed Cost model has been used to much less of a degree than the TMI model. This work develops the role of the Landed Cost model and establishes a framework for estimating labor, logistics, inventory, and tax costs associated with manufacturing products in a variety of global regions. While this work focuses on developing analytical tools, developments and recommendations are provided in the context of the overall strategic decision process. Examples are provided to highlight the major cost drivers associated with a particular transitional activity or supply chain design. Improving the analytical component of the decision process allows ISC Leadership to more accurately and effectively identify tactics for improving operational efficiency and identify potential growth opportunities in emerging regions. / by Todd Robinson. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-67). / Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a wireless technology that can be used to track inventory labeled with microchip-embedded identifiers communicating passively with scanners without operator involvement. This non-line-of-sight technology has the potential of dramatically increasing the level of visibility throughout the supply chain for many types of products, assisting in defect reduction, increased granularity in inventory tracking, and decreased direct labor. In recent years, developments in RFID technology have decreased the cost of RFID equipment, and several large U.S. retailers have started to use RFID to track consumer products. However, what is not clear is whether or not these RFID implementations have yielded economic returns. Although RFID promises higher read rates and increased accuracy, how the technology works in particular warehouse settings is not clear. The first step to determining the feasibility of RFID in any organization is the complete evaluation of RFID technology. This document discusses an evaluation strategy using the Six Sigma DMADV framework. The strategy was carried out at internet retailer Amazon.com. / (cont.) The document discusses the various steps required for a complete implementation of the evaluation strategy and refers to the evaluation at Amazon.com as a case study. The purpose of this document is to recommend a complete evaluation strategy of RFID system components for any customer fulfillment center that is thinking of implementing this technology to replace existing tracking technologies such as bar code or other manual forms of tracking. / by Howard H. Shen. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56). / In early-stage drug discovery, thousands of compounds must be tested using in vitro assays to determine their exposure and safety characteristics. This data is used to guide the selection of potential drug candidates and to help chemists in optimize the properties of those compounds. At Novartis, an internal service organization called Preclinical Compound Profiling (PCP) provides these services to the company as a whole. The purpose of this internship was to help PCP make significant improvements in cycle time and cost effectiveness without reducing the quality of information provided to their customers. The project utilized a series of deterministic and stochastic models to predict the impact of multiple operational changes on cost and cycle time. The data from each model was synthesized to create a unified view allowing combinations of changes to be analyzed together. This data was evaluated in the context of the customer needs and organizational strategy to present recommendations. Changes were implemented that will reduce materials spending by $500,000 per year while simultaneously increasing capacity, reducing cycle time, and improving customer value. Additional recommendations were developed that will enable further improvements. / by John P. Heiney. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-42). / Outsourcing maintenance to third-party contractors has become an increasingly popular option for manufacturers to achieve tactical and/or strategic objectives. Though simple in concept, maintenance outsourcing is difficult in execution, especially in a cost-sensitive environment. This project examines the Full Service business under ABB Ltd to understand the key factors that drive the success of an outsourced maintenance operation. We present a qualitative causal loop diagram developed based on the case study of Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill in New Zealand. The diagram describes the interconnections among various technical, economic, relationship, and humanistic factors and shows how cost-cutting initiatives can frequently undermine labor relationship and tip the plant into the vicious cycle of reactive, expensive work practices. The model also explains how Kinleith achieved a remarkable turnaround under ABB, yielding high performance and significant improvements in labor relations. A case study of Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill provides a contrasting case where success has been more difficult. Results point to the importance of creating sufficient resources ("slack") to implement improvement activities and pace implementation based on pre-existing dynamics on site. / by Jacqueline Ming-Shih Ye. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 79). / Development of new technology is critical to the growth and success of technology-driven companies. New technology is generated in a number of ways, one of the most important being the company's own internal research and development department. This thesis examines the transfer of technology developed in an internal R&D group into product development groups across multiple business units of the company. An analysis of the company's documented development process activities and metrics will establish the context in which technology is transferred. The company's organizational structure is a central R&D group that supports two market-focused business units, each with their own technology development group. A series of five case studies tracking technology that was developed in the central R&D group and transferred to the business units will illustrate the way technology development activity occurs in the organization. The R&D organization is structured to support research, applied research, and development activities that drive both incremental and radical innovation, and it is managed to support a balance of short term and long term strategic goals. / (cont.) The case studies highlight the fact that project definition should include attention to the goal the project is intended to achieve, the type of innovation used to achieve that goal, recognition of the phase or maturity of technological research in that area, and how those aspects of the project should shape the development process and plans for communication and collaboration. / by Amanda Kingston Taplett. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 74). / As the medium voltage switchgear industry moves from air insulated to gas insulated technology, Siemens Frankfurt factory is introducing a new gas insulated product line that will improve their relative market position. It is their intent to design a product and supporting production system that will enable substantial cost and lead time reduction over existing Siemens gas insulated switchgear products. This thesis outlines a framework for analyzing the existing production process from 'customer order to customer delivery', identifying areas of opportunity, valuing projects aimed at achieving these opportunities, and prioritizing highest value projects for implementation. To provide a rigorous analytical approach to project selection, it was important to rethink existing ways of valuing inventory holding costs, material handling costs, and lead time. By uncovering hidden costs and benefits for each, projects that otherwise seemed unattractive become important to achieving overall factory objectives. Conversely, other projects that had been historically pushed by factory leadership were shown to generate little overall return on investment. / (cont.) By using the approach outlined in this thesis, improved alignment was achieved across departments on several high value projects. This alignment positioned the factory to move forward with plans for successful implementation. It is the authors' hope that Frankfurt not only finalizes implementation of high value projects identified during this analysis, but also use the framework provided for future analysis and continued improvement. / by Curtis J. Underwood & Jacob R. Wood. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and, (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-80). / Manufacturing flexibility has been a topic of interest for both researchers and practitioners for several decades. Despite the amount of attention that flexibility receives, it remains a nebulous concept to those in industry trying to develop flexibility within their firms. This thesis attempts to act as a guide to practitioners, bridging the gap between the idealistic academic literature and the pragmatic concerns that are encountered when actually implementing flexibility projects. It is very difficult to develop recommendations for the implementation of flexibility projects from outside of an organization. Therefore this thesis introduces two separate flexibility implementation case studies that were performed while the author was employed by the firm in the case study. Through offering this unique perspective, it becomes apparent that without knowing the cultural and political climate of the firm, poor recommendations can be made. Often implementation failure can be traced back to this root cause. Flexibility is often thought of as a manufacturing problem. While flexibility is an important tool in combating increased uncertainty and variability within the manufacturing environment, there is great opportunity to utilize flexibility in other environments as well. / (cont.) In particular flexibility can be a key source of competitive advantage if properly applied to the launch of new products. Typically most organizations divide the manufacturing and design functions through organizational boundaries resulting in vastly disparate entities. Therefore increased focus around the hand-off between these two functions, particularly with respect to flexibility can provide significant opportunities. / by Eric J. Dolak. / M.B.A. / S.M.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-111). / This thesis is based on the author's experience as an intern at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The Broad Institute has been working on applying and implementing traditional manufacturing process improvement tools to customize and select tools that can be adapted to its needs. Its unique production environment necessitates the requirement to customize and select tools that can be adapted to its needs. The objective of the thesis is to identify such tools and recommend methods to sustain them. The scope includes the following: * Conduct a benchmarking survey to understand what other organizations are doing in the area. * Conduct a stakeholder analysis involving relevant team members in Sequencing Operations. * Design a system that brings together the lessons learned from the benchmarking and stakeholder analysis exercises. * Conduct a project to showcase some of the tools. The objective of the project is to identify key process levers and improve the performance of the Duncan Cycler, a key DNA processing step. This problem solving exercise acts as a proxy for situations where tools recommended by the program can be used. / by Subhrangshu Datta. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-80). / Dell's Direct Business Model and its global supply chain are the foundations of the company's success. These strategies, however, bring about problems such as long inbound supply lead times and hard-to-predict site-level forecasts which presents a challenge when managing supply. Mismanagement of supply can lead to part shortages within the factories and subsequent product delivery delays to the end customers. This study proposes a method of quantifying the cost of these delays in a dynamic environment. The first stage of this thesis seeks to understand the implications of part shortages to various business groups within the firm. The second stage isolates and quantifies the major short-term and long-term cost drivers for two types of customer groups: those who have already purchased a system from Dell but are later notified of a delay (customer Type 1) and those who elect not to purchase from Dell because the quoted lead times are longer then they are willing to wait (customer Type 2). The final stage presents the project impact on several groups within the company, including the procurement department, the factories and the customer-focused groups. The results of this project demonstrate that shortage costs at Dell are variable and depend on many factors such as the demand for parts, the lead time quoted to customers, the average selling margin of each system and the location of the factory in which the orders are built. By creating a process to quantify the cost drivers in this dynamic environment, each group within the company is able to identify opportunities for improved decision-making and can explore the cost trade-offs of various policy decisions to maximize benefit to both Dell and its customers. / by Nadya Dhalla. / S.M. / M.B.A.