Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2015. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2015. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-163). / Producibility is an emergent property of product development and manufacturing systems that encapsulates quality, product compliance, cost, and schedule. Detailed product definition and process variation have traditionally been a focus area for understanding risk for producibility losses. It is proposed for this investigation that while assumptions inherent to product configuration and process selection can significantly impact producibility, producibility risk and realized producibility losses are primarily indicated by organizational design assumptions and associated phased implementation of programmatic governance. This premise is systematically explored through an assessment of organizational dynamics and product development performance within Aerospace Corporation X. An extension of the hazard analysis technique System Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) is invoked for leading indicator derivation from assumptions underlying causality of inadequate producibility control. Indicator integration with risk management processes is outlined, and a combination of expert-assessments and quality loss correlation are used to validate indicator significance. As a result of these investigations, it is concluded that functional isolation, phased capability and control, and differing performance incentives are central to producibility loss. In addition, these factors are deemed to be more important than product feature-based sources of producibility risk. Extension of STPA for indicator identification is validated and recommendations are provided for implementation of a leading indicator monitoring program. / by Allen J. Ball. / 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 Aeronautics and Astronautics; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-73). / The research presented in this thesis explores two hypotheses focused on excess inventory at a heavy equipment manufacturing facility. The scope of the thesis includes inventory in the form of raw materials, purchased components, and work in process parts found at the facility and in the off-site storage warehouse. The first hypothesis proposes that excess inventory at the facility has several key root causes, and that their elimination drastically reduces the accumulation rate of excess inventory. The second hypothesis proposes that a basic material review process could be effective in identifying and reducing excess inventory at the facility in a six-month timeframe. The hypotheses were tested over a six-month period at a Caterpillar Global Mining facility. The first hypothesis was not confirmed. More than twenty root causes of excess inventory accumulation were identified and no evidence was discovered that would suggest that certain root causes are dominant. The second hypothesis was supported by the findings at the facility. The organization was able to formulate a basic material review process, apply the process to the facility's inventory, and reduce excess inventory by roughly 35% over a three-month time span. / by Alexander Romanov. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2016. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / Thesis: S.M. in Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2016. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 56-57). / Amgen Singapore Manufacturing (ASM) is a "first of its kind" commercial biomanufacturing site, incorporating myriad innovations including a full scale single-use bioreactor production model. Known internally at Amgen as Next Generation Biomanufacturing, this model will be the future of drug substance manufacturing at Amgen Inc. With the creation of Next Generation Biomanufacturing, significant changes are required within site operations including how Lean principles and methodologies are implemented and utilized in this model. An opportunity had been identified to determine an effective Lean implementation for ASM in order to capitalize on its full potential and set the Lean strategy for future Amgen Next Generation Biomanufacturing sites. This thesis has two primary objectives: documenting how Lean principles are deployed within a biomanufacturing operation and investigating potential opportunities for Lean within Next Generation Biomanufacturing. The first objective documents the methodology and results of the author's efforts in implementing Lean principles at ASM for Amgen while the second objective generates hypotheses on elements that will lead to more effective and efficient Lean implementation for future applications of Amgen's Next Generation Biomanufacturing model. These hypotheses were developed with qualitative research conducted within Amgen Inc. through interviews and surveys with Amgen leadership and staff. The responses from these efforts were assimilated with the use of a Grounded Theory approach and three unique hypotheses were created, summarized as: 1) Lean implementation from the start of operations, 2) Site-wide Lean implementation and 3) Technology enabled Lean implementation. Each of these hypotheses were preliminary validated through a quantitative analysis of a process improvement that involved elements of each hypothesis. The results from the process improvement showcased positive reinforcement from each of the hypotheses, with a quantifiable improvement of the process of over 70%. This thesis provides significant evidence on how biomanufacturing operations can improve the efficiency and efficacy of Lean implementations within to their organizations. / by Joshua David Jensen / M.B.A. / S.M. in Engineering Systems

Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2017. / Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2017. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (page 53). / Current shipping pricing for BTO notebooks on Dell.com is uniform across products and provides customers with three levels of service Express, Expedited, and Standard. In October 2016, Dell launched a program to give customers more information and better choices when they select their shipping method with the goal of improving the customer order experience. The goal of this research was to develop an optimization model that will recommend shipping prices to maximize the value that Dell realizes across three levers: customer experience, profitability, and working capital. The value of customer experience is measured by the cost of customer dissatisfaction associated with different shipping levels including the cost of returns, exchanges, customer contacts, and order disruptions. Key components of logistics profitability are logistics costs and shipping price. Dell does not have current shipping price elasticity data to forecast attach rates to upgraded shipping at different price points. To collect this data, an experiment has been designed to measure the results of three price treatments across three BTO product brands. This experiment is scheduled to launch in summer 2017. The optimization model would have to be updated following the results of this experiment and rerun before implementation of changes to delivery pricing. The third lever of the model, working capital, becomes increasingly important as customers move to the new fastest shipping option, Express, which was first launched in October 2016. This lane provides the fastest delivery times on BTO products in the industry. It also reduces the number of days the product is in Dell inventory leading to an inverse relationship between express shipping attach rate and working capital required. Finally, it allows Dell to bill the customer faster improving their cash conversion cycle. The optimization model indicated that there is the opportunity to increase delivery value by 28% through reduced delivery pricing leading to increased attach rates. This value based approach to delivery pricing can be applied across industries to online retailers looking to create value through their delivery pricing. / by Carrie Beyer. / M.B.A. / S.M.

Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2017. / Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 132-135). / For Johnson & Johnson (J&J), a healthcare industry leader, speed to market is a valuable component of any New Product Development (NPD). This is especially so in its Medical Devices (MD) franchise increased salable lifetime, first mover advantage, customer loyalty, and company reputation for innovation are just some of the reasons that accelerating the pace of development is a priority at J&J. Despite the incentives to speed up the development process, a typical MD product introduction takes three years from initial prototyping to full launch. Over this period, the product is repeatedly refined, prototyped, and tested for reliability and safety prior to production at high volume to meet expected demand. Throughout this process, J&J has historically favored proven manufacturing techniques such as machining and injection molding, which are well understood by the company's designers and manufacturing engineers but lead to long development cycles and high costs when used iteratively, as in NPD. Because new products can improve patient care-which is at the core of J&J's Credo-the company is currently investigating methods to accelerate the NPD process. One way to accelerate development that is being explored is enabled by the burgeoning field of additive manufacturing, or 3D Printing. Traditionally used only for early prototyping and development, innovation in 3D Printing over the past decade and recent FDA guidance on the subject opens the opportunity for its use in late-stage development, tooling, and even end production healthcare products. The scope of this effort was to investigate how MD can use 3D Printing to shorten NPD time from early prototyping through launch, with a target of two months acceleration. Through literature review, expert interviews, and close work with three project teams at J&J over the sixmonth duration of this effort, a portfolio of technical and organizational improvements were identified to improve New Product Development speed in Medical Devices. The use of 3D Printing was found to have a positive impact on all phases of development, ranging from initial design through high-volume manufacturing, with a cumulative effect of over 8 weeks of project-dependent improvement. An organizational structure was proposed to speed adoption of any new technology by using a twofold approach, which focuses on improving both organizational knowledge and internal processes to optimize company value. Additional proposals for using 3D Printing to reduce time to market include: using Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) for improved injection molding tooling; increasing developer access to local 3D Printing technologies; establishing decision rules to determine appropriate investment in new technology; using polymer 3D Printed injection molds for improved prototyping; increasing minor design iterations to minimize major reliability tests; improving availability of cutting-edge high-volume additive manufacturing technologies; and developing Design for Additive Manufacturing (DFAM) guidelines to decrease the learning curve for engineers. In compilation, these proposals show significant potential to increase the rate of organizational learning around 3D Printing and accelerate the pace of NPD in MD. 3D Printing therefore has the ability to benefit not only J&J's financial position, but also the patients it serves through new products and improved clinical outcomes. / by Michael David Sandford. / 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 Global Operations Program at MIT, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 46). / Inventory management for retail companies has become increasingly more important in recent years as competition grows and new supply chain models are implemented. Inventory levels have implications on not only the financial side of the business, but also on brand perception in the marketplace. Because of the impact of inventory levels on the external perception of Nike's overall financial performance, inventory management continues to be a high priority for the most senior leaders at Nike. The average DSI (Days of Sales in Inventory) has not dramatically changed overall from 2007 to 2012. While the business has made great strides in inventory efficiency (turnover) overall, that efficiency is offset by structural changes in the geography mix, product engine mix, business model mix, channel mix, and manufacturing locations. Nike would like to understand the impact of the structural changes and determine future levels of inventory. The objective of this project is to determine future levels of inventory based on business growth variables as well as optimal levels based on value creation opportunities. This will enable Nike Supply Chain to effectively prioritize improvement opportunities and project the proper inventory levels to stakeholders. The key research objective includes creating a forward-looking model to better understand the structural elements of inventory and the related drivers to each one of those. This model gives Nike the ability to perform scenario planning analysis and quantify value opportunities to determine target levels of inventory, considering different variables of Nike business such as strategies in retail, merchandising, sourcing / manufacturing and sales. Finally, this enables the company to have a standardized process across business geographies and incorporate them into supply chain management cycles already in place. More specifically, this research has proven that the MTS (made-to-stock) inventory order type is becoming increasingly more important to Nike's business. It is essential for Nike to begin tracking this order type at a higher granularity to truly understand future business levers to pull for each geography and product engine. / by Marie Wolbert. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2014. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2014. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / 36 / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 71-73). / This thesis examines the application of reconfigurable industrial robotics in the assembly of the engine nacelle inlet for a commercial aircraft. In addition to addressing the achievable level of automation, this thesis also reviews the evaluation of robotics vendor proposals and the accompanying financial justification requisite for implementation. The aircraft industry has long been dominated by manual fabrication and assembly methods. Variability in human skill, however, results in defects, rework, and reduced production throughput. One approach to reduce variability, decrease cycle time, and increase throughput is the implementation of robotic automation for various assembly tasks. Low aircraft production volumes have made it difficult to justify large investments in robotic automation. Decreasing cost and increasing capability of industrial robotics, however, are making investment more palatable. The excellent repeatability of robotic automation can significantly reduce individual task times for a wide range of operations. Standard automated task times are 60{85% lower than standard manual task times for drill and fasten operations which represent the greatest opportunity for cycle time improvements because typical aircraft assembly requires tens of thousands of holes and fasteners. The optimal level of automation is a balance among decreasing manual touch time, improving production capacity, and increasing automation costs. A semi-automated solution is shown to reduce manual touch time by 70% and total touch time by 30%. The implementation of this solution requires an investment of tens of millions of dollars and results in present value savings of hundreds of millions of dollars for the program lifetime. / by Bryce J. Durham. / M.B.A. / S.M.

Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2014. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2014. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (page 63). / In the face of challenging market conditions, Dell, Inc. is in the process of shifting from focusing on electronics hardware development and sales to focusing on providing complete IT solutions to business clients. Part of this process involves determining what products and services Dell can provide beyond its current offerings, and then developing these new offerings internally or through acquisition. This thesis will use the internal development of one such offering as an in-depth case study to examine an accelerated version of Dell's standard new product development processes. Additionally, it will use the case study to identify pain points in Dell's process and make recommendations to improve this process. The process detailed here resulted in the successful development of a new product concept that Dell may or may not pursue for further development and market introduction. The success of the project is evidence of the robustness of standardized product development processes. The thesis strives to provide a working example of this process in action, and serve as a guide for others who intend to identify new product opportunities and capitalize on them through new product development initiatives. / by Jeremy M. Giese. / M.B.A. / S.M.

Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2014. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biological Engineering, 2014. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / 28 / Title as it appears in MIT commencement exercises program, June 6, 2014: Crystal ball planning for analytical technology implementation in ASM. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 65-66). / Amgen is building a new drug substance manufacturing site in Singapore (ASM). This project identified and mitigated the risks associated with implementing analytical technologies to facilitate the design and implementation of the quality control process in the new plant. Here, a systematic risk evaluation model was established to identify sources of high risks from implementing the analytical technologies in ASM, evaluated business cases and proposed technical strategies for risk mitigation. This project also included a case study about the cross-functional initiatives at Amgen, and made recommendations regarding how to bridge the gaps between the technology development in R&D and the technology implementation in manufacturing sites. / by Cong Fang. / M.B.A. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2016. / Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2016. In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 50-52). / Reducing cycle time for geostationary communication satellites represents a major competitive advantage for manufacturers. Reducing cycle time can be done through application of lean manufacturing techniques such as production leveling, or heijunka. However, research on applying lean manufacturing to the manufacture of satellites is not straightforward as payloads vary considerably. To show the effect of production leveling on satellite manufacturing, we analyze production data recorded over a 5-year time frame from a major satellite manufacturer to propose and simulate a method for leveling production. Statistical analysis of historical cycle times was performed to identify the critical path and bottleneck in the satellite development process. Production through the bottleneck was then leveled at the maximum consistent throughput. The effect of leveling was estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation to predict the total cycle time and delivery date for each satellite. Analysis showed that the critical path ran through the development of the communications payload and the bottleneck was at the payload unit build process. The bottleneck was leveled to operate at a takt time of 2 months with 4 payloads in WIP at a time. Simulating a leveled bottleneck estimated that the total cycle time of each satellite, on average, would decrease by 1.9 months with a standard deviation of 14 days. Cycle time in the payload unit manufacturing process fell from 13 months to 8 months, with standard deviations 64 and 12 days, respectively. Over the 5-year period investigated, all satellites through the factory would have met their delivery dates while being produced to a 2 month takt. These results demonstrate that production leveling can be applied to the high-mix low volume manufacturing of geostationary communications satellites to increase efficiency and reduce cycle time. Leveling manufacturing should be a top priority for all satellite manufacturers looking to become more competitive. / by Karl Gantner. / S.M. / M.B.A.