Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2018. / Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 85-89). / This thesis proposes a data-driven approach to automate the visual inspection of uncured rubber tire assemblies. Images collected from a machine vision system are used to develop proof of concept predictive models to automate the visual inspection step for tread caps. The developed binary model exhibits an AUC of 0.91 on the test set and a simulated business scenario shows this performance can reduce manual inspection time by 16-70%, depending on the selected decision threshold determined by business needs. This appears to be the first study to develop a method that successfully detects and locates a wide range of uncured rubber nonconformities. The multiclass model also exhibits promising ability to distinguish between different nonconformity types. The results of this study can be used to inform the investment decisions required to fully automate the process. It will be straightforward to adapt the models to predict nonconformities on the rest of the uncured assembly surface when that data becomes available. Of interest to the machine learning community, the empirical work required to develop these models highlights several key insights. A comparison is made of techniques used to address class imbalance in neural network training. For our problem, a penalized loss function is superior for binary classification, while oversampling performs best for the multiclass problem. The study also highlights the importance of analyzing to what extent a pre trained network should be transferred. For our problem, removing the final convolutional layers of the pretrained network significantly improves performance. While the specifies of these findings are likely unique to our problem, this study highlights the importance of these decisions when training neural networks on relatively small and imbalanced training sets. / by James Thomas Howard Smith. / 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 Global Operations Program at MIT, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-91). / Intel Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer of processors for personal computers. As the company strives to maintain its leadership position in this industry, it identifies significant trends in the industry and attempts to develop product solutions that intercept these trends. One such set of industry vectors is the continued movement toward lower cost and smaller notebook system designs with a coincident shift toward fully outsourced production in China. These trends point to increased future demand for processors utilizing a ball-grid-array (BGA) package in notebook computers, which is the lower cost, smaller size packaging technology available today. This project was initiated to understand why with such a seemingly favorable environment for BGA, it still represents a small minority of Intel's mobile processor volume. The analysis shows that significant changes must be made to Intel's product roadmap, OEM product scalability strategies, or after-sale service models to enable a full transition to BGA processors. SKU levels increase by lOx with a BGA transition resulting in much higher supply chain complexity, management cost, and inventory cost. In addition, simple modeling approaches are developed and utilized for this study that can be leveraged in the future to quantify possible product strategy impacts on the industry supply chain. They can also be used in other industries contemplating supply chain simplification strategies. / by Chad Sailer. / 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 Global Operations Program at MIT, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-69). / Companies of all sizes are now looking for ways to reduce their energy use and carbon emissions, motivated by the desire to save money, improve public relations, and prepare for a possible carbon tax. From a technical perspective, reducing energy use and reducing carbon emissions represent opportunities to save on operating costs. However, the largest barriers to adopting better energy practices are often organizational, rather than technical. This work shows how organizational structure can hinder efforts to improve energy performance and recommends ways to overcome these barriers. / by Mark P. Chew. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and, (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-60). / Standard work is commonly used in manufacturing and assembly operations to minimize process variation by providing detailed instruction to operators. Internal best practices are processes within the firm that achieve a more beneficial result when compared to alternative existing methods. Standard work is one approach to share best practices, and the challenge is in identifying their existence and effectively capturing the information in written documentation. Best practices are often tacit in nature, being difficult to codify and to put into writing. Effectively finding internal best practices and transferring them from tacit to explicit form as standard work is a desirable objective, improving knowledge transfer and operational efficiency within the company. There are techniques that can be applied to the standard work development process that increase the likelihood of successful best practice capture and organizational adoption. These techniques are developed and implemented through application at Sikorsky Aircraft, in creating and deploying a system of standard work titled, the "Assembly and Flight Operations Franchise Book." Major process steps in developing and sustaining standard work include an initial planning phase characterized by an upfront analysis, organizational structuring, and content framework development; and a sustaining phase characterized by a repeating cycle of best practice discovery, documentation, and sharing. / by Travis E. Gracewski. / 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 Chemical Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, June 2011. / "June 2011." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-80). / Planning for vaccines manufacturing capacity is both a complex task requiring many inputs and an important function of manufacturers to ensure the supply of vaccines that prevent life-threatening illnesses. This thesis explores the development of an operations based long range capacity planning model to facilitate the annual strategic capacity planning review at Novartis Vaccines. This model was developed in conjunction with process owners at Novartis Vaccines and utilizes operations principles, non-linear optimization, and process data to efficiently calculate the capacity of the vaccine manufacturing network. The resulting network capacity is then compared to the long range demand for vaccine production to determine capacity deficits and surpluses in the current manufacturing network as well as analyzing options for more efficient capacity usage. Although this model was developed specifically with respect to the Novartis Vaccines manufacturing network, the capacity calculation and gap analysis tools for single and multiproduct facilities as well as batch allocation for in multi-product, multi-facility networks are also applicable to other companies and industries that utilize batch processing. The model was validated utilizing process information from a production line that was already operating near capacity and showed a 95% agreement with the data from this line. Additionally, this operations based planning model was able to achieve buy-in from both process owners and the global strategy organization allowing it to be implemented in the planning cycle. Use of this tool enables efficiency and transparency in capacity analysis as well as the tools to examine the impact of a range of scenarios on the manufacturing network. / by Cynthia M. Wilson. / 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 Aeronautics and Astronautics; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-67). / Since Michael Dell returned as CEO in 2007 the company has undergone several changes such as utilizing third party manufacturers, reentry into retail, and a new focus on solution based offerings. Although historically Dell has been a build to order business, it is now expanding into build to plan (such as retail) and build-to-stock (BTS) fulfillment channels. This study focuses on Dell's recent entry into the BTS space and the use of finished goods inventory analysis to understand policy tradeoffs. Finished goods inventory decisions often have implications across multiple groups in a corporation. Decisions such as how many locations in which to hold inventory, where to hold inventory, how to fulfill that inventory, and at what service level cannot be made independently as they often influence each other and can be customer and product dependent. Additionally, external factors such as fuel costs, taxes, and market rates can change frequently, which can alter optimal strategies. A means of quickly evaluating alternative strategies to understand tradeoffs is needed. This study creates a model of inventory associated costs from the point of manufacturing to delivery to the customer for the US computer notebook market and seeks to account for the impacts across multiple organizations. Key inventory levels are explored and inventory theory is utilized. From this study a flexible model has been created that estimates a cost per unit for a given inventory policy as well as a methodology that will be used globally. Key decision makers have also gained greater intuition on the tradeoffs associated with these integrated decisions and have a tool that helps quantify the impacts of changes such as improved forecast accuracy, increased ocean shipment, and higher service levels. In this example, fundamental inventory theory and basic modeling techniques have been utilized to provide a tool that can evaluate complicated tradeoffs and the financial implications of inventory policies. This stresses the importance of knowledge of inventory fundamentals such as risk pooling, type one and type two service levels, and risk management by managers setting policy. / by David J. Segrera. / 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 Aeronautics and Astronautics; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 67). / This project presents improvements to the business process used to generate the Sikorsky five-year production scheduling plan that is a central coordinating process for company operations. Recommendations will improve the speed and quality of the planning process. The current production planning method leaves Sikorsky at risk of reserving too little capacity to satisfy demand for its most important customers. Additionally, the current method can lead to overproduction of rotorcraft. Both scenarios are very costly to Sikorsky. In the absence of a more data-driven planning approach, shortcomings of the current planning method will only be exacerbated as Sikorsky continues to pursue new customers in emerging markets. Sikorsky may struggle to continue applying judgment-based planning methods to a customer base for which there is little historical information. To investigate the problem, we used interviews, surveys, and lean techniques to study the current state of the five-year planning process. As part of the solution, we developed and applied statistical demand forecasting methods and a more formal process definition. We documented and communicated the new planning process using standard work templates and instructions. New methods were disseminated to stakeholders through a variety of showcase exercises that featured demonstrations and hands-on exercises. In general, Sikorsky production planning stakeholders were receptive to a more formal and datadriven planning process. We expect that the new methods will enable an overall planning process time of two weeks, compared to current process time of several months. Furthermore, the new methods improve forecasting accuracy by integrating and synthesizing previously unused forward-looking sales and marketing data. Going forward, a small pilot team will continue to apply and improve new planning methods. The team will engage in a preliminary pilot exercise during an upcoming revision to the five-year plan, which will occur in early 2011. / by Timothy McIntosh. / 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 Global Operations Program at MIT, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-72). / In the U.S. news, healthcare related headlines frequent the covers of newspapers and make regular primetime news appearances and the U.S. is not alone. The world is awakening to a need for more equal access to healthcare for its citizens and governments believe this equality will be achieved through tighter regulation in huge healthcare markets such as the pharmaceutical industry. To sustain shareholder value, as a result of these changing price structures, Novartis sees a need to reassess its sourcing and procurement strategies, assessing the feasibility of value based procurement, through staged implementation. While all procurement organizations tend to focus on maximizing cost savings for a company, this approach can often alienate suppliers and leave untapped value on the table. This additional value can be captured through long-term supplier development and collaborative work to utilize a supplier's knowledge, while maximizing the value proposition both for the company and the suppliers. For this early research, there was a focus on packaging equipment at pharmaceutical production facilities. The goal has been to understand the types of savings which could be achieved by purchasing extending its measure of success beyond price reduction to include value, such as through enabling increased quality or flexibility. As a company formed from many individual companies with a myriad procurement maturity, Novartis has an extended geographic and physical footprint which requires many disjointed groups to come together to produce products. This project has focused on developing a new procurement strategy to help optimize and standardize the procurement of Novartis's packaging lines at the manufacturing facilities, enabling them to work more cohesively to deliver greater benefit to the company. Additionally, following a successful pilot of the proposed sourcing practices in the packaging equipment space could be replicated in other category spaces both in the Pharmaceutical division and throughout Novartis's other six divisions. Novartis will continue to develop and produce drugs, as the predecessor companies have excelled in doing for more than a hundred years but it should also realize what expertise should be core and where others outside of the company excel. / by Mary E. Anito. / 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 Global Operations Program at MIT, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 90). / Amgen is in the midst of a transformative initiative to become operationally more efficient. For Amgen Engineering, this initiative has prompted a reevaluation of the entire organization and brought to light the need to standardize, define processes, and promote a culture wherein reliable outcomes are both possible and expected. One way to accomplish this is by evaluating and then implementing the concepts of High Reliability Organization (HRO). This thesis focuses on using concepts such as HRO to evaluate the Engineering organization at Amgen and then provide tools, frameworks, and recommendations for driving increased reliability and greater process maturity across Amgen's entire asset lifecycle (Plan, Build/Lease, Operate/Maintain, Reinvest/Dispose). Three main deliverables resulted from this project's reliability efforts. The first deliverable is a set of recommendations and strategies to help the Engineering organization operate as an HRO. The second deliverable is an enhanced process maturity model that implements reliability concepts to drive the maturity of Engineering's business processes. The model better defines criteria for each level of maturity and will be used as a guidance tool for organizational advancement in the coming years. The last deliverable focuses on the maintain portion of the asset lifecycle, and is a Maintenance Excellence Roadmap that defines what maintenance excellence looks like and provides a strategy to best utilize the systems and tools that Amgen has in place, and will need in the future, to get there. / by Daniel Bolgren. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; and, (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-95). / Strategic technology planning is a core competency of companies using technological capabilities for competitive advantage. It is also a competency with which many large companies struggle due to the cross-functional knowledge that needs to be shared, the varying perspectives that must to be aligned, the complicated network of dependencies that need to be understood and the high-degree of uncertainty involved in technology planning. Technology roadmapping has proven to be an effective strategic technology planning technique that can overcome these challenges. This thesis reviews literature on technology roadmapping and expands on this literature by applying these techniques to roadmapping the manufacturing technology. While the existing literature largely focuses on roadmapping the technologies that will directly deliver value to the customers, this thesis focuses on the technologies that indirectly deliver value to the customer. In an advanced products company, examples of the former and latter technologies are the product and manufacturing technologies, respectively. This distinction has important implications for the management of these technologies. Technology roadmapping is a powerful and flexible technique that must be tailored to the strategic context where it will be implemented. Through a case study of the development and implementation of manufacturing technology roadmapping at Raytheon Space and Airborne systems, the author seeks to provide a general set of guidelines for roadmapping a company's technology that indirectly add value to the customer. / by Marcus Cullen Johnson. / M.B.A. / S.M.