Much research regarding efficiency in manufacturing industry has historically been focused on the material activities of the shop floor. However, companies that merely focus on material activities when trying to improve lead times, risk losing potential for improvements within immaterial activities such as planning, engineering, design, and purchasing, which often constitute the most time consuming parts of the order fulfillment processes. Engineer to order (ETO) products are particularly time consuming regarding their immaterial activities, and the customer is waiting for the products from the very beginning of the order fulfillment process. Shortening the lead time to customer for ETO products is therefore important for customer satisfaction. The aim of this study is to adapt an existing lead time tree model currently focused on material activities to also include immaterial activities, enabling a full visualization of all activities contained in order fulfillment processes. The lead time tree model would thereby be able to use as a tool when working on shortening the lead time to customer. A further aim of the study is to investigate how the adapted lead time tree model can be used in further areas as well, in addition to visualizing immaterial activities. The adaption of the lead time tree model has been based on the original literary source of the lead time tree model. The original lead time tree model has been analyzed towards theoretical data from a literature study, and towards empirical data about immaterial activities in order fulfillment processes for ETO products, from the case company Kongsberg Maritime Sweden AB (previously Rolls-Royce AB). The result of this has been an adapted lead time tree model that can visualize immaterial activities. Several adaptions of the original lead time tree model have been made for it to be able to visualize immaterial activities, while still keeping the basics of the original model. The adapted lead time tree model comprises information that is normally kept separated and that is important when planning and improving a process. Additional information that is needed for each specific case can also easily be included in the lead time tree. The adapted lead time tree model has proven to have additional areas of use within project planning, improvement work regarding lead time reduction and root-cause analysis, and as a boundary object for communication between internal actors and between internal and external actors. The adapted lead time tree model is presumably able to map and visualize immaterial activities in other fields of business as well, other than manufacturing, as the nature of immaterial activities remains the same across business environments.

A Produção Enxuta vêm exercendo um papel cada vez mais importante durante as transformações das organizações em busca de competitividade no mercado. O nivelamento de produção surge como uma das mais importantes características da Produção Enxuta. O ambiente de produção com alta variedade de produtos, tipologia de produção Engineer to Order e com alta variação de tempo de ciclo está se tornando cada vez mais significativo no mercado atual e possui as mesmas necessidades de nivelamento da produção que os ambientes de produção nos quais tradicionalmente são aplicados os conceitos de Produção Enxuta. Este trabalho propõe um modelo de programação nivelada da produção para o tipo de ambiente de produção citado e descreve uma aplicação utilizando o método apresentado em uma empresa de vidros para a construção civil. / Lean Production has played an increasingly important role in the transformation of organizations for market competitiveness. The production leveling appears as one of the most important characteristics of Lean Production. The production environment with high variety of products, production typology Engineer to Order, with high variation of cycle time is becoming increasingly significant in today\'s market and has the same needs leveling production environments in which traditionally applied the concepts of Lean Production. This paper proposes a programming model of the production level for the kind of production environment cited and describes an application using the method presented in a glass company for civil construction.

A Produção Enxuta vêm exercendo um papel cada vez mais importante durante as transformações das organizações em busca de competitividade no mercado. O nivelamento de produção surge como uma das mais importantes características da Produção Enxuta. O ambiente de produção com alta variedade de produtos, tipologia de produção Engineer to Order e com alta variação de tempo de ciclo está se tornando cada vez mais significativo no mercado atual e possui as mesmas necessidades de nivelamento da produção que os ambientes de produção nos quais tradicionalmente são aplicados os conceitos de Produção Enxuta. Este trabalho propõe um modelo de programação nivelada da produção para o tipo de ambiente de produção citado e descreve uma aplicação utilizando o método apresentado em uma empresa de vidros para a construção civil. / Lean Production has played an increasingly important role in the transformation of organizations for market competitiveness. The production leveling appears as one of the most important characteristics of Lean Production. The production environment with high variety of products, production typology Engineer to Order, with high variation of cycle time is becoming increasingly significant in today\'s market and has the same needs leveling production environments in which traditionally applied the concepts of Lean Production. This paper proposes a programming model of the production level for the kind of production environment cited and describes an application using the method presented in a glass company for civil construction.

Customization is an important way for suppliers to offer value to customers and to be competitive. There is a variety of methods suppliers can adopt to offer customization. What they have in common is that some form of interaction between customer and supplier is required as customization is based on involving individual customers in specifying a solution to be produced. This can be achieved, for example, by allowing the customer to choose from components or values that have been defined in advance, later to be assembled or put together according to the customer's wishes. As the possibilities for customization are clearly defined in advance, the supplier can rationalize their procedure to capture customer needs and propose an appropriate solution. This differs from cases where the customer is already involved in the development, design, or engineering stage ± so-called engineer-to-order (ETO) scenarios. Here, the customer is not bound to predefined possibilities for customization, which means that the interaction required to define the solution can extend beyond that required when customization possibilities are predefined and thus limited. In this thesis, customization-based interaction in ETO is investigated, both with the intention of improving the understanding of interaction in this context as such but also to offer ways of explaining how some approaches to customization have implications for interaction that differ from others. The result of the research consists of an account of how interaction is manifested in ETO and how different approaches to customization can be understood to clarify their implications for how solutions are defined. / Kundanpassning är ett viktigt sätt för leverantörer att erbjuda värde till sina kunder och på så vis vara konkurrenskraftiga. Det finns en rad olika metoder som leverantörer kan anta för att erbjuda kundanpassning. Gemensamt är att någon form av interaktion mellan kund och leverantör förutsätts, då kundanpassning baseras på att involvera den enskilda kunden i att specificera den lösning som ska produceras. Det kan exempelvis göras genom att kunden tillåts välja mellan olika komponenter eller värden som definierats i förväg, som därefter monteras eller sätts samman enligt kundens önskemål. Eftersom möjligheterna till kundanpassning är tydligt definierade i förväg kan leverantören därför rationalisera deras procedur för att fånga upp kundkrav och föreslå en lämplig lösning. Denna metod skiljer sig från fall då kunden involveras redan i utvecklings, design, eller konstruktionsfasen, så kallade konstruktion-mot-order (engineer-to-order, ETO) scenarion. Kunden är i dessa fall inte bunden till fördefinierade möjligheter för kundanpassning, vilket gör att interaktionen som krävs för att definiera lösningen inte kan rationaliseras i samma utsträckning. I denna uppsats undersöks kundanpassningsbaserad interaktion i ETO, både med avsikt att förbättra förståelsen för interaktion i denna kontext som sådan men även för att erbjuda sätt att förklara hur vissa förhållningssätt till kundanpassning har implikationer för interaktion som skiljer sig från andra. Resultatet av forskningen utgörs av en redogörelse för hur interaktion tar sitt uttryck i ETO samt hur olika förhållningssätt till kundanpassning kan förstås för att tydliggöra deras innebörd för hur lösningar definieras.

O processo de projeto tem importante papel na geração de valor, pois define o produto de forma que este atenda às necessidades do cliente. No entanto, o planejamento e controle deste processo na indústria da construção são, em geral, informais e ineficazes. Estes problemas tendem a ser mais graves em empreendimentos rápidos e complexos, quando envolvem sistemas pré-fabricados, normalmente caracterizados como sistemas do tipo engineer-to-order (ETO). Visando a aprimorar o processo de projeto, muitas empresas tem implementado conceitos e princípios da produção enxuta, podendo ser destacado o uso do Sistema Last Planner (SLP), que contribui para proteger a produção da variabilidade do processo, assim como para eliminá-la. O presente estudo tem como objetivo propor um modelo de planejamento e controle de projetos em empresas que projetam, fabricam e montam sistemas pré-fabricados, com características de sistema de produção do tipo ETO. Foi realizado um estudo empírico no setor de projetos de empresa de sistemas construtivos metálicos, com sede na Região Sul do Brasil. Inicialmente, o SLP foi implementado em duas equipes de projeto, sendo refinado e adaptado ao contexto da empresa. Depois, o SLP refinado foi implementado em outras quatro equipes. Como principais contribuições destacam-se o papel do modelo proposto no aumento da transparência de processos e na melhoria da confiabilidade deste processo, possibilitando o planejamento integrado entre as equipes de projeto. O modelo pode ser aplicado a sistemas pré-fabricados do tipo ETO, não somente no contexto de sistemas construtivos metálicos, mas em equipes de projetos que desenvolvem múltiplos projetos simultaneamente. / The design process plays an important role in value generation, since it defines the products that must meet customer needs. However, design planning and control in the construction industry are often informal and ineffective. This problem tends to bring serious consequences, especially in fast and complex projects that involve prefabricated building systems, normally defined as engineer-to-order (ETO) environments. In order to improve the design process, several companies have implemented lean production concepts and principles, and especially the Last Planner System (LPS) for production control, which shields production from upstream variability as well as contributes for reducing it. The aim of this study is to propose a model for planning and controlling the design process in companies that design, manufacture and assemble prefabricated ETO building systems. An empirical study was carried out is the design department of a steel fabricator based in Southern Brazil. Initially, LPS was implemented in two design teams, being refined and adapted to the context of the company. Then, the existing LPS was implemented in four other design teams. The main contributions of this investigation is the role of the proposed model in increasing process transparency and improving the reliability of the design process, making it possible to produce an integrated plan for the whole design department. This model is not limited to steel fabricators, but is applicable to any ETO prefabricated building systems, in which design teams carry out multiple design projects simultaneously.

O processo de projeto tem importante papel na geração de valor, pois define o produto de forma que este atenda às necessidades do cliente. No entanto, o planejamento e controle deste processo na indústria da construção são, em geral, informais e ineficazes. Estes problemas tendem a ser mais graves em empreendimentos rápidos e complexos, quando envolvem sistemas pré-fabricados, normalmente caracterizados como sistemas do tipo engineer-to-order (ETO). Visando a aprimorar o processo de projeto, muitas empresas tem implementado conceitos e princípios da produção enxuta, podendo ser destacado o uso do Sistema Last Planner (SLP), que contribui para proteger a produção da variabilidade do processo, assim como para eliminá-la. O presente estudo tem como objetivo propor um modelo de planejamento e controle de projetos em empresas que projetam, fabricam e montam sistemas pré-fabricados, com características de sistema de produção do tipo ETO. Foi realizado um estudo empírico no setor de projetos de empresa de sistemas construtivos metálicos, com sede na Região Sul do Brasil. Inicialmente, o SLP foi implementado em duas equipes de projeto, sendo refinado e adaptado ao contexto da empresa. Depois, o SLP refinado foi implementado em outras quatro equipes. Como principais contribuições destacam-se o papel do modelo proposto no aumento da transparência de processos e na melhoria da confiabilidade deste processo, possibilitando o planejamento integrado entre as equipes de projeto. O modelo pode ser aplicado a sistemas pré-fabricados do tipo ETO, não somente no contexto de sistemas construtivos metálicos, mas em equipes de projetos que desenvolvem múltiplos projetos simultaneamente. / The design process plays an important role in value generation, since it defines the products that must meet customer needs. However, design planning and control in the construction industry are often informal and ineffective. This problem tends to bring serious consequences, especially in fast and complex projects that involve prefabricated building systems, normally defined as engineer-to-order (ETO) environments. In order to improve the design process, several companies have implemented lean production concepts and principles, and especially the Last Planner System (LPS) for production control, which shields production from upstream variability as well as contributes for reducing it. The aim of this study is to propose a model for planning and controlling the design process in companies that design, manufacture and assemble prefabricated ETO building systems. An empirical study was carried out is the design department of a steel fabricator based in Southern Brazil. Initially, LPS was implemented in two design teams, being refined and adapted to the context of the company. Then, the existing LPS was implemented in four other design teams. The main contributions of this investigation is the role of the proposed model in increasing process transparency and improving the reliability of the design process, making it possible to produce an integrated plan for the whole design department. This model is not limited to steel fabricators, but is applicable to any ETO prefabricated building systems, in which design teams carry out multiple design projects simultaneously.

O processo de projeto tem importante papel na geração de valor, pois define o produto de forma que este atenda às necessidades do cliente. No entanto, o planejamento e controle deste processo na indústria da construção são, em geral, informais e ineficazes. Estes problemas tendem a ser mais graves em empreendimentos rápidos e complexos, quando envolvem sistemas pré-fabricados, normalmente caracterizados como sistemas do tipo engineer-to-order (ETO). Visando a aprimorar o processo de projeto, muitas empresas tem implementado conceitos e princípios da produção enxuta, podendo ser destacado o uso do Sistema Last Planner (SLP), que contribui para proteger a produção da variabilidade do processo, assim como para eliminá-la. O presente estudo tem como objetivo propor um modelo de planejamento e controle de projetos em empresas que projetam, fabricam e montam sistemas pré-fabricados, com características de sistema de produção do tipo ETO. Foi realizado um estudo empírico no setor de projetos de empresa de sistemas construtivos metálicos, com sede na Região Sul do Brasil. Inicialmente, o SLP foi implementado em duas equipes de projeto, sendo refinado e adaptado ao contexto da empresa. Depois, o SLP refinado foi implementado em outras quatro equipes. Como principais contribuições destacam-se o papel do modelo proposto no aumento da transparência de processos e na melhoria da confiabilidade deste processo, possibilitando o planejamento integrado entre as equipes de projeto. O modelo pode ser aplicado a sistemas pré-fabricados do tipo ETO, não somente no contexto de sistemas construtivos metálicos, mas em equipes de projetos que desenvolvem múltiplos projetos simultaneamente. / The design process plays an important role in value generation, since it defines the products that must meet customer needs. However, design planning and control in the construction industry are often informal and ineffective. This problem tends to bring serious consequences, especially in fast and complex projects that involve prefabricated building systems, normally defined as engineer-to-order (ETO) environments. In order to improve the design process, several companies have implemented lean production concepts and principles, and especially the Last Planner System (LPS) for production control, which shields production from upstream variability as well as contributes for reducing it. The aim of this study is to propose a model for planning and controlling the design process in companies that design, manufacture and assemble prefabricated ETO building systems. An empirical study was carried out is the design department of a steel fabricator based in Southern Brazil. Initially, LPS was implemented in two design teams, being refined and adapted to the context of the company. Then, the existing LPS was implemented in four other design teams. The main contributions of this investigation is the role of the proposed model in increasing process transparency and improving the reliability of the design process, making it possible to produce an integrated plan for the whole design department. This model is not limited to steel fabricators, but is applicable to any ETO prefabricated building systems, in which design teams carry out multiple design projects simultaneously.

Syfte – Studien syftade till att undersöka den interna interaktionen i en liten, tillverkande ETO-verksamhets kundorderprocess samt hur boundary object underlättar dess gränsöverskridande interaktion. För att uppfylla studiens syfte kommer följande frågeställningar att besvaras: Vad kännetecknar den gränsöverskridande interaktionen i en liten, tillverkande ETO-verksamhets kundorderprocess? Hur kan boundary object underlätta den gränsöverskridande interaktionen i en liten, tillverkande ETO-verksamhet? Metod – För att uppfylla studiens syfte har en fallstudie genomförts hos Premould AB. Via intervjuer och dokumentstudier har deras kundorderprocess undersökts och interaktionsobjekt i processen identifierats. Insamlad data låg sedan till grund för hur det teoretiska ramverket upprättades. Med hjälp av den empiriska insamlingen och det teoretiska ramverket har en analys genomförts som i sin tur genererat studiens resultat. Resultat – Genom att undersöka kundorderprocessen, i en ETO-verksamhet, har olika kännetecken för den gränsöverskridande interaktionen kunnat urskiljas. Interaktionsobjekt, som belyses som boundary object, har identifierats i processen. Boundary object kan underlätta den interna interaktionen om de används utefter den nivå av komplexitet av kunskapsridning som finns i gränssnitten mellan funktioner. Implikationer – Resultatet att boundary object underlättar den gränsöverskridande interaktionen ger ett praktiskt bidrag till små, tillverkande ETO-verksamheter. Genom valet av boundary object ska det gå att förenkla kunskapsspridning och genom det effektivisera arbetsprocesser. Det ges även ett teoretiskt bidrag till vidare forskning om boundary object i ETO-kontexter. Begränsningar – En av begränsningarna i studien är att det kan vara svårt att generalisera utifrån resultatet eftersom studien var av enfallsdesign. Gränsöverskridande interaktion är dessutom komplext att undersöka med strukturella metoder och det saknades därför möjlighet att djupt undersöka de identifierade interaktionsobjekten. Nyckelord – Engineer to order (ETO), gränsöverskridande interaktion, kunskapsgränser, kunskapsspridning, boundary object. / Purpose – The purpose of the study was to investigate the internal interaction of a small, manufacturing ETO-business's customer order process, as well as how boundary objects facilitate its boundary-crossing interaction. In order to fulfill the purpose of the study the following questions will be answered: What characterizes boundary-crossing interaction in a small, manufacturing ETO-business's customer ordering process? How can boundary objects facilitate boundary-crossing interaction in a small, manufacturing ETO-business? Method – To fulfil the purpose of the study, a case study has been conducted at Premould AB. Through interviews and document studies, their customer order process has been investigated and interaction objects in the process been identified. The collected data then formed a base for the establishment of the theoretical framework. With the empirical collection and the theoretical framework, an analysis has been conducted which, in turn, generated the results of the study. Findings – By examining the customer ordering process, in an ETO-business, different characteristics of boundary-crossing interaction has been identified. Interaction objects, which are used according to the principles of boundary objects, have been identified in the process. Boundary objects can facilitate internal interaction if used at the proper level of complexity of knowledge sharing found in the interfaces. Implications – The result that boundary objects facilitate boundary-crossing interaction provides a practical contribution to small, manufacturing ETO-business. Through the choice of boundary object used, it is possible to simplify knowledge sharing and make more effective work processes. There is also a theoretical contribution to further research on boundary objects in ETO-contexts. Limitations – One of the limitations of the study is that it can be difficult to generalize from the result, due to the use of a single-case design. Moreover, boundary-crossing interaction is complex to investigate with structural methods, and it was therefore difficult to closely investigate the identified objects. Keywords – Engineer to order (ETO), boundary-crossing interaction, knowledge boundaries, boundary object.

In order to gain competitive advantages in markets, companies have provided a variety of customized products to satisfy customer-specific requirements, leading to not only a large amount of product data but also high cost, long lead-time and complexity of quality control. Efficient product data management throughout the product lifecycle has become increasingly crucial, of which product structure management is regarded as the most important constituent.  The study took ABB Mine Hoist system as a case to investigate how to construct a generic product structure model fit for engineer-to-order system offerings with the consideration of their sales-delivery product lifecycle. The aim of the model is to facilitate the product-related information sharing and reuse across a company, and the integration of different business operations throughout the entire product lifecycle as well. Based on the current situation analysis of product data management on ABB Mine Hoist, three major issues were identified which need to be addressed in the formulation of a generic structure model: namely the integration of requirements of multiple disciplines; the consistency of product information throughout the product lifecycle; and the constant update of product repository. Through illustrating the formulation of ABB Mine Hoist generic structure model, the method of how to construct a generic product structure model for engineer-to-order system product was presented. The model was achieved by applying the framework of the step-based product model and was regarded as a result of integrating domain-specific requirements. The adaptive generic product structure model was then employed to display the role of this generic model in the different phases of a sales-delivery lifecycle. The model could serve as a “master concept” to transfer common product information in the product lifecycle. It’s expected to benefit the business of engineer-to-order system product through improving the integration of different disciplines, enhancing information exchange and reuse. It could also provide an abstract and conceptual basis for potential product repository to reinforce data consistency and completeness.

Este trabalho avalia o grau em que a integração de sistemas de informação tem atendido ao desenvolvimento de bens de capital com engenharia sob encomenda, com base em objetivos de desempenho para o processo de desenvolvimento de produtos. Descreve uma investigação, realizada por meio de pesquisa-ação, sobre o ambiente de desenvolvimento de produtos em uma indústria de bens de capital, conduzida sob a perspectiva organizacional e da tecnologia da informação. Objetiva aumentar a difusão deste tipo de informação para os profissionais deste ramo de atividade e comunidade científica, bem como servir como base para pesquisas e ações de melhoria para a empresa estudada. Focaliza a relevância da caracterização de um modelo de referência para o processo de desenvolvimento de produtos que otimize as atividades de tomada de decisão, controle de fluxo de trabalho, armazenamento de informações e documentos e retro-alimentação de informações em ambientes com engenharia sob encomenda. Apresenta os desafios enfrentados pela empresa estudada quanto à estabilização dos seus processos após uma ampla reformulação da aplicação de sistemas de informação, abordando elementos de sua dinâmica organizacional e diagnosticando o comportamento destes elementos diante das integrações executadas. Aborda ainda os aspectos humanos envolvidos neste segmento, considerando-os como fatores críticos para a aplicação e desenvolvimento de soluções / This work evaluates the support level offered by integrated information systems to engineered-to-order development of capital goods, based on the product development process performance objectives. It describes an investigation, performed by means of an action-research, about the product development environment in a capital goods industry, carried out under the organizational and information technology perspectives. It aims to increase the diffusion of this kind of information among the professionals in this production segment and scientific community, as well to serve as a research and improvement actions base to the studied company. The work focuses on the relevance of a reference model characterization to the product development process in order to optimize the decision making activities, workflow control, document and information storage and feedback in engineering-to-order environments. It presents the challenges faced by the studied company to reach the processes stabilization after a broad changeover of its information systems applications, analyzing its dynamics organizational elements and making a diagnosis of these elements behaviour, considering the achieved integration. It still analyzes the human aspects involved in this industry segment, considering these aspects as critical factors for solutions development and application