published_or_final_version / abstract / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Successful Concurrent Engineering (CE) with suppliers requires a pre-disposition on the part of the prime company and the supplier to work in this manner. This thesis explores the impact of design ethos on the implementation of Supplier-inLoop (SIL) CE between an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and a first tier supplier. Design ethos for the purpose of this thesis is described as 'a characteristic manner or approach to constraints on SIL displayed by personnel involved in the design of new products'. This research employs a mixed-method to understand SIL constraints across industry sectors. A design ethos framework is developed and a military design community is characterised in terms of anomalies to the existing literature. These anomalies are then tested through a questionnaire and then interpreted in terms of the design ethos framework. The results of this comparison show that some characteristics are common to both the civil and military design communities and some are not. A case is made that design ethos, in the context of SIL, is primarily determined by: suppliers' aptitude, skill level and contracts; problems with data I information exchange mechanisms; existing processes, relationships and management support; supplier history; technological view of the product; external influences on the process; existing design milestones; visibility of supplier capability; and, continuity of service in terms of skill and data security. The research concludes that the implementation of SIL is directly impacted by design ethos, and that for SIL to be a success in the military sector design ethos must be managed in line with business objectives. The contribution to knowledge that this thesis provides is the insight it offers into the human issues associated with implementing concurrent engineering with external suppliers, and the identification of sector-specific issues as well as those which will benefit from cross sectoral learning. It is of value to military and civil OEMs for purpose of change management, also to their suppliers in understanding the different needs of military and civil customers when working in a concurrent engmeenng manner.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 288-304). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 288-304). Also available on the Internet.

A hierarchical methodology is developed for the overall design of manufacturing systems. The methodology consists of solutions to four levels of problems, namely, (1) manufacturing system selection, (2) shop loading, (3) machine loading and tool allocation, and (4) testing the feasibility of a schedule and determining strategies for the operational control of the system. Although these problem levels are developed in a hierarchical sense, they can be applied independently by assuming appropriate inputs to the problem level under consideration. The third and the fourth level problems are addressed in this research for the flexible manufacturing system. The first level of the hierarchical methodology addresses the problem of manufacturing system selection. The mathematical 4 model formulated for this problem captures the basic and integrated relationships among the systems and system components. This model provides a practical approach and a precise tool to determine an optimal mix of systems, to assign appropriate machines to each system, and to select the best material handling system for each system to best suit long-term production requirements at minimum costs. The second level of the hierarchical methodology addresses the shop loading problem. A mathematical model is developed for partitioning parts among the manufacturing systems selected at the first level to minimize total operating costs. For the third level problem, a mathematical model is formulated to obtain routings of parts through an FMS and to assign appropriate cutting tools to each machine in the system to minimize total machining cost. For the fourth level problem, a simulation model is developed for testing the feasibility of the solution obtained at the third level. It also helps to determine strategies for the operational control of the system. The computational experience with the mathematical models is presented using the MPSX-MIP/370 package. Sensitivity analysis is also performed to further understand system behavior under various operating conditions. Several new findings of the research are reported. Because of the special structure of the mathematical models, a computational refinement for their solution is also proposed based on Lagrangian relaxation. / Ph. D.

No description available.

No description available.