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, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-83). / This thesis describes work completed during an internship assignment at Intel Corporation's process development and wafer fabrication manufacturing facility in Santa Clara, California. At the highest level, this work relates to the importance of adequately creating and maintaining data within IT solutions in order to receive the full business benefit expected through the use of these systems. More specifically, the project uses, as a case example, the sampling methodology used in the fab for metrology data collection to show that significant issues exist relating to the software Various recommendations were undertaken to improve the application's effectiveness. As part of this effort, plans for an online reporting tool were developed allowing much greater visibility into the system's ongoing performance. Initial data updates and other improvements resulted in a reduction in both product cycle times and required labor hours for metrology operations. application database and business processes concerning data accuracy and completeness. The organizational challenges contributing to this problem will also be discussed. Without a rigorous focus on the accuracy and completeness of data within manufacturing execution systems, the results of continuous improvement activities will be less than expected. Furthermore, sharing information relating to these projects across geographical boundaries and business units is vital to the success of manufacturing organizations. / by Richard M. Anthony. / 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, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-79). / This thesis investigates the issues involved with the outsourcing of the materials management function within aerospace assembly, proposing a process for determining whether all or part of the responsibility should be given to suppliers. A flowchart tailored to the aerospace assembly process has been developed to address strategic as well as cost concerns. This flowchart looks not only at the outsourcing of the entire materials management function, but also at the possibility of outsourcing the management of individual carts of parts to suppliers. In this case, referred to as supplier kitting, existing suppliers package parts in a kit that stops short of a full outsourced assembly, but has many of the same attributes. At this point, a cost model is proposed for assessing the internal costs of receiving and packaging a single set of parts for use at the assembly line. The cost of receiving, storing, and building up a set of parts is difficult to estimate from the data used within internal accounting systems. The cost estimated by the model can be used as the basis of comparison for outside bids to package parts. In addition, the broader trend towards outsourcing in the industry is explored, along with the recent implementation of best practices in supply chain management that impact the requirements of the materials management function. Finally, the organizational barriers to making improvements in the organization's supply chain are explored, along with specific examples that are related to materials management. / by Mark Hagan. / 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, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-101). / The development of fundamentally new technology requires companies to carefully consider how they intend to profit from the commercialization of their ideas. Because companies pursuing disruptive innovations require new organizational capabilities and are often pushing into new markets with unproven technology, they must become masters in dealing with uncertainty. This thesis attempts to provide a holistic and rigorous process to systematically develop and evaluate options for profiting from the commercialization of disruptive technologies that are currently in the limited application stage of development. This thesis reviews the basic elements of technology commercialization, existing approaches to the value capture phase of technology strategy, the fundamental stages of the product development process, and the role of real options theory in addressing uncertainty. The author's experiences with the hydrogen industry provided further insight into the key difficulties in developing strategic options to capture value from the commercialization of disruptive technology. These difficulties include market and technical uncertainty, the infancy of the value chain, capabilities development, the development and valuation of specific strategic options, and the role of established processes, structure and culture of existing companies. This thesis describes a two part process to addressing these difficulties. The macro level process guides the company's strategy development process by emphasizing emergent strategy, the transition to complementary assets, and a focus on navigating the limited application phase of technology commercialization. The product specific strategy provides a rigorous process for exploring the value chain / (cont.) identifying sources of uncertainty, and developing specific options for capturing value from the disruptive innovation while emphasizing sound product development practices and requirements. This thesis builds upon the author's experiences at ChevronTexaco to illustrate the application of these concepts. In one case study, the product specific process is applied to the development of a stationary engine emissions control device. The application of this process revealed or verified significant product development risks while emphasizing that the target segment of the value chain was unlikely to be highly profitable. In another case study, a real options analysis is performed to examine the value of ChevronTexaco developing a near term limited manufacturing capability that would provide future strategic flexibility. The analysis demonstrated how an internal manufacturing capability might improve the probability of profiting from the commercialization of hydrogen fuel processing technology. / by Steven M. Herren. / 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, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-64). / This thesis demonstrates how factories can use the Value Stream Mapping method to reduce both direct and indirect labor cost components through a non-value-added step reduction. The principal objective of this internship was to identify instances of non-value-added work in a product value stream and implement actions to reduce or eliminate it. Operations improvements included actions to eliminate waste through bottleneck utilization improvements, paperwork reduction, planning tool development and safety stock level calculation. From a leadership perspective, this thesis explores the challenges of cross-cultural and second-language change management. / by Anthony C. Gambell. / 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, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-86). / Semiconductor manufacturing is a highly complex and re-entrant process. In a fabrication facility, hundreds of decisions are made during a production shift regarding how shared tool capacity will be prioritized. These decisions contribute to how balanced or unbalanced the manufacturing line will be. Characteristics of an unbalanced line are large WIP bubbles, long queue times, and expediting. A balanced line has less WIP bubbles, shorter queues, and WIP is positioned at all points throughout the line to be in position to meet the demand forecasted. This thesis focuses on work performed at Intel's Fab 23 to improve the process for assigning production priorities through the introduction of pull methodologies. Existing processes and tools were studied, and an improved methodology and decision-support tool was developed to aid operations managers in driving towards a balanced line. An experiment was also designed and executed in production to test the methods and tools developed. Target cycle time data was used along with throughput goals to construct a target inventory profile throughout the line. Actual inventory was then compared to the ideal "balanced" profile to determine where WIP deficits and surpluses existed. / (cont.) Using this information, the operations managers had objective metrics that could be used in determining which operations should receive priority. Significant externalities inhibited performance during the experiment, preventing measurable improvements in line balance and cycle time from being realized. However, these externalities were known prior to experimentation, and a decision was made to learn from the experiment.The tool proved helpful in promoting consistency across shifts in how the factory was run. There were many anecdotal examples of the decision-support tool driving more intelligent priority decisions than operations managers would have made without the tool. / by Jason Walker Connally. / 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, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-80). / Through a disaster, a company is presented with an opportunity to leverage the momentum from recovery efforts to drastically change the way business is conducted. In the case of Raytheon's Solid State Microwave division, the loss of its substrate fabrication facility due to a catastrophic fire prompted the company to create a closer, more integrated relationship with a local contract manufacturer. This more integrated relationship led to drastically reduced manufacturing cycle times and introduced Raytheon's Solid State Microwave division to a Just-In-Time relationship with a contract manufacturer. The more integrated relationship between the two companies also highlighted the potential labor savings associated with enabling operators to retrieve parts from small, satellite inventories (mini-markets) instead of using kits prepared by stock clerks in a centralized storeroom. It is hoped that Raytheon Solid State Microwave and Raytheon's Supply Chain Management division will apply these lessons to other suppliers as well as within Raytheon's own internal manufacturing sites. / by Christian G. Caballero. / 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, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 60). / There are various reasons why companies manufacture their goods in different areas of the world. These reasons include: lower labor costs, emerging markets, tax and tariff considerations, and intellectual property issues. With the constant pressure to decrease costs, outsourcing is becoming more popular, especially to areas having very low labor costs, such as Asia. As a result of the longer distances needed to ship product, logistics is becoming a much larger part of the cost of goods. The global nature of some businesses also requires long supply chains. This globalization requires firms to manufacture their goods and provide their services throughout the world. The logistics systems can affect the supply chain and operations in many ways. In order to have the lowest overall cost, companies must consider tradeoffs among various cost drivers. Inventory policies and operations might have to be altered to accommodate increased logistical needs. Today, the many details involved in the logistics network have created new sets of problems that have not been as important to firms in the past. This thesis looks at examples of cross docking and leveling as means to reduce the overall supply chain costs in a global logistics network and applying them at Eastman Kodak Company. This thesis is the result of work done during a 6.5 month LFM internship at Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York. In order to protect company confidentiality, the data has been altered or disguised. / by John M. Palmer. / 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, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 81). / Ireland Fab Operations (IFO) is transitioning and leading the way within Intel to Multi- Technology High Mix Low Volume (MT-HMLV) manufacturing. To avoid errors in estimating metrics, specific capacity tool set metrics for this manufacturing environment now need to be considered. Approximations for high volume manufacturing may be far enough from MT-HMLV realities that company revenue is affected by making delivery commitments that can not be met. The Intel Model of Record (MOR) which is used to determine the number of each tool set needed to produce a given volume of product does not consider MT-HMLV realities. Things such as product change-overs, cross qualified tools, and smaller than 'normal' lot sizes can create chaos on the manufacturing floor that has not been traditionally accounted for. / by Alyson B. Naughton. / 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, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-75). / Boeing is the premier manufacturer of commercial jetliners and a leader in defense and space systems. Competition in commercial aircraft production is increasing and in order to retain their competitive position, Boeing must strive to improve their operations by reducing costs. Boeing factories today still schedule and monitor the shop floor much as they have for the past 100 years. This thesis compares and contrasts several different methods for shop floor control and scheduling including Boeing's barcharts, Toyota production system, critical chain, and dynamic scheduling. Each system is will be analyzed with respect to how it handles variability in labor output required and how that affects which products are typically made under each system. In additional to qualitative comparisons, discrete event simulations comparing the various strategies will be presented. Areas for future simulation study are also discussed. The recommended approach for commercial airplane assembly is critical chain. A suggested implementation plan is presented along with methods to ease acceptance. / by Vikram Neal Sahney. / 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, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-93). / This thesis shows how a combination of macro-economic, business, and organizational factors can lead a well-run company to adopt a "launch-and-expedite" behavior with detrimental effects on operational efficiency. It also demonstrates how it is possible, for an organization that finds itself in such a state, to apply basic operations principles and a data driven approach to systematically get out of the "launch-and-expedite" mode. The thesis presents a method to characterize a real, functioning supply chain in the context of changing conditions and in the absence of perfect data. It shows the analysis, recommendations, and results from a particular supply chain case study at Agilent Technologies, Inc. The project first analyzes and maps the current supply chain to characterize demand and supply variability. A selected menu of operational building blocks is then recommended to improve overall supply chain performance by reducing the internal bullwhip effect and improving on-time delivery. The recommendations are implemented in a successful pilot study and key operational metrics are recorded such as supply chain inventory, on-time delivery, variability of lead-time, and number of expedite/schedule change requests. / (cont.) The particular organizational context of the project and its affect is also considered. Although this thesis provides a case study of the Colorado Springs Technical Center operations and supply chain, results and lessons learned are applicable to other component suppliers or component buyers within multi-node supply chains, particularly those in the capital equipment business. / by Mark K. Sahney. / S.M. / M.B.A.