Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; and, (S.M.) -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 61). / Value-added processes that bear associated wait times occur frequently during production manufacturing and increase cycle time. Since the wait time is integral to the value created by the process, it can be difficult to reduce the cycle time impact. The use of adhesives and the impact of their associated cure times is an example of such a time-dependent process and one that appears frequently on products made at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS). Using a typical Raytheon pod system (RPS) as a case study, this thesis examines various ways to mitigate the impact of these value-added associated wait times (VAAWT) on cycle time. Adhesives with long cure and/or set times are used extensively throughout the design of this RPS in both structural and non-structural applications. Now that the RPS is well into full-rate production, the cycle time impact of these adhesives' VAAWT has become a burden, accounting for over 60% of the cycle time on the three assemblies studied on during the case study. Both short-term and long-term solutions were developed as a result of this project, which enabled a 23% reduction in cycle time exclusive of changes in design. / (cont.) Based upon the lessons learned during this case study, a set of guidelines is presented for application to other time-dependent processes and Raytheon products. This thesis also discusses some of the barriers encountered during the implementation of this project and suggestions for overcoming them. These guidelines and lessons have already been applied successfully to reducing the impact of adhesive cure times on a second SAS product line, resulting in a cycle time reduction of 80%. / by Sara A. Dudnik. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; and, (S.M.) -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-112). / This thesis explores the application of commercial best practices for new technology development within the constraints of the defense contract funded research and development (R&D) environment. Key elements of successful new product development (NPD) are identified from the literature, including strategic fit, organizational structure, financial considerations, and use of Stage-GateTM type processes. Constraints, conflicts, and issues which arise in the defense contract funded R&D world but not in the commercial world are explored, including a multiplicity of funding sources, short funding cycles, and ambiguous ownership of go/kill decisions and gating criteria. Existing defense industry Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and new Engineering and Manufacturing Readiness Level (EMRL) and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) metrics are evaluated as potential gating mechanisms relevant to the defense industry. We determine that the EMRL and MRL metrics meet many of the criteria necessary for good NPD gates, but they must still be supplemented by commercial best practices such as ensuring strategic fit, good organizational structure, financial attractiveness and competitive evaluation. / (cont.) A resulting combined framework of "soft" and "hard" criteria is applied to a case study of an optical component currently under development with contract R&D dollars. The output of this study helped to shape strategic decisions regarding this component and to identify next steps in the technology maturation roadmap. Application of these frameworks in defense should ensure that future successful technical performance is also supported by an appropriate business strategy and by a process maturation plan for manufacturing consistent with the upcoming Department of Defense (DOD) MRL requirements. / by Monica K. Davis. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; and, (M.B.A.) -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-94). / Businesses take deliberate action to change their internal context when managers believe that better performance lies beyond the capabilities of assets in their present configuration. A typical course of action is reorganization. A key consideration for organizational design is how the relationship between an organization's structure, the structure of its products, and the structure of its processes influence the value delivered to customers. In some sense, products, processes, and the organization should "fit" each other. This thesis presents a framework for thinking about product architecture, enterprise architecture, and the value stream of processes that binds them together. Critical to any enterprise architecture are process owners that control and improve organizational processes and product owners that manage the end-to-end development of products. When a product is significantly complex, independent tiers of product ownership might be established to ensure that different levels of products - systems, subsystems, or components - are managed with appropriate developmental objectives in mind. For example, some components must be distinct to a single product; other components can be common among several products. The proposed framework shows how product and enterprise architectures can be integrated to support the development of complex systems. The thesis also presents a case study to which the proposed framework is applied. The study focuses on a business that has recently restructured its organization to achieve better alignment with the complex products it develops. Using the proposed framework, the new organizational structure is evaluated to determine if the new enterprise architecture positions the business to increase customer value and accomplish its long-term goals. / by Jeffrey M. Pasqual. / M.B.A. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; and, (M.B.A.) -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 85). / Virtual Business System (VBS) is a visual-based analytics and real-time information displaying system. It first started at Raytheon's Andover manufacturing facility in early 2000 with the strategic objectives of linking Lean and Six Sigma behavior to customers' successes and gradually transforming Raytheon into a Lean workplace. VBS dashboards are projected onto flat screen panels located throughout the factory floor such that anyone on the floor can view the production line status in real-time. This thesis focuses on developing a new VBS dashboard and using it to transform the enterprise. Leveraging the success in manufacturing deployment, this thesis describes Raytheon's initial attempt of extending VBS to the engineering arena, with the goals of driving Lean and Six Sigma behavior to the next level, transforming problem solving behavior from reactive to proactive and from containment to prevention, redefining quality control and performance metrics to better reveal business risks and opportunities and eliminating undesirable aspects in cost, cycle time and information latency. The VBS dashboard described in this thesis provides root cause "drill-down" capabilities for quality control and performance assessment, which leads to cycle time reduction, early stage problem resolution and defect prevention. VBS changes data ownership culture from privatize to publicize, which couples employees' actions to responsibilities and enhances proactive problem solving attitude. VBS dashboard is also a one-stop shop for data collection and analysis, which eliminates non-value added work for processing and fetching data from multiple sources. Last but not least, VBS dashboards build on modular development architecture, which enables quick turnaround on deliverables. / (cont.) Therefore, VBS is considered the "disruptive technology" of many existing corporate information technology systems and the Andon boards. / by Purdy P. Ho. / M.B.A. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; and, (M.B.A.) -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-69). / This thesis documents a study carried out at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) in Cambridge, MA. The study focused on the development of inventory management processes for laboratory consumables. The pharmaceutical R&D process is characterized by a dynamic project portfolio, which results in a great diversity of stock-keeping-units, low repeat order rates and high variability in consumption rates. These factors create significant challenges for the design of inventory management processes. We first present an assessment and diagnosis of the current state of inventory management at NIBR, using data gathered from various NIBR sites as well as other companies. We discuss underlying drivers that influence current behavior, and identify opportunities for improvement. We then develop alternative models for inventory management and compare these models along several dimensions such as stock room location & control, inventory ownership and replenishment options. We recommend the use of consolidated department level stock rooms as the most suitable option for NIBR. Detailed implementation plans are then developed and validated through a case study. We present key findings and recommendations for implementation, and discuss opportunities for future projects. / by Ranganath Sriram. / M.B.A. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; and, (M.B.A.) -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-60). / Over the past several years, Raytheon has experienced great growth in their revenue and sales. One of the contributing organizations to that growth has been the Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) business sector. To continue this growth, SAS has started initiatives to improve their Operations. One of these initiatives is to reduce the amount of rework performed within the manufacturing centers. By reducing rework, SAS will be able to reduce costs, meet aggressive schedules, and continue to satisfy customer's needs. This paper describes the development of two tools to reduce rework in an attempt to meet Raytheon's goals. One is a manufacturing/Earned-Value Measurement System monitoring tool. The second tool determines the factors during the design and planning phases of a project that affect rework. Developing these two tools will help increase transparency on the manufacturing shop floor and help reduce the amount of rework performed. / by Michael W. Liu. / M.B.A. / S.M.