M.Ing. / This report covers literature studies of Logistics, Warehousing (as one of the important components in the logistics chain) as well as Just-in-time (JIT) principles (as an important focus recently in logistics operations). The spareparts distribution function of a South African motorcar manufacturing business is then investigated and positioned within the logistics chain and warehousing concept, using the information from the literature study. The implementation of Just-in-time (JIT) principles with regards to specific components of the logistics chain is then investigated in the form of case studies. While most literature only discuss the implementation of JIT principles in a manufacturing environment, this report highlights the fact that substantial benefits can also be obtained by implementing JIT principles in a non-manufacturing environment. This investigation highlights specific benefits as well as negative points which support the literature and which could be used to guide future implementors of JIT principles.

This diploma thesis with the topic "The Producitvity - measurement and raising" involves the most important knowledge on the productivity. In the first part, author is describing theoretical concept of rasing, measurement productivity and its influence over ROI. The final part deals with practical implementation to a company struggling against its low performance. The target of this diploma thesis is to create a instruction for this company to increase the efficiency.

Cette thèse analyse le rôle que jouent les clients dans l’efficacité productive des entreprises de service. Après avoir présenté la conception de la valeur dans laquelle elle s’inscrit et défini ce qui caractérise la marchandise service, elle s’appuie sur une enquête de terrain menée auprès de clients et personnels de contact de la restauration rapide, de la grande distribution, des centres d’appels et du secteur paramédical, pour montrer qu’il existe quatre sortes de contribution des clients à l’efficacité productive des entreprises de service. La première est ce que l’on appelle l’astreinte client. Elle est le produit d’une certaine organisation du travail et contribue à réduire la porosité du temps de travail des personnels de contact. La seconde est la contribution managériale des clients. Elle renvoie au rôle que tiennent les clients dans l’encadrement et le rapport au travail des experts en front office. La troisième est l’intensification de leur contribution informationnelle. Elle se retrouve dans certaines situations de service, sous l’effet de la pression exercée par les personnels de contact et les autres clients. La quatrième, enfin, est l’augmentation de leur participation au procès de production. Concrètement, elle renvoie à toutes les situations de service dans lesquelles les clients prennent en charge de nouvelles tâches à la place des experts en front office. Ces différentes sortes de contribution des clients constituent les pièces d’un puzzle qui, une fois mises en discussion avec les théories de la valeur et de l’exploitation de K. Marx, donnent naissance à la théorie du néo-surtravail et aux concepts fondamentaux de la thèse : la néo plus-value extra et la néo plus-value relative. / This thesis analyzes the role played by customers in the productive efficiency of service firms. After introducing the concept of value of its framework and defining what characterizes a “marchandise service”, it relies on a survey conducted among customers and staff of different sectors (fast food, chain store retail, call centers and paramedical ones), to show that there are four sorts of customers’ contribution to the productive efficiency of service firms. The first one is the “astreinte client”. It is the consequence of a specific work organization, and it helps to reduce the porosity of the working time of the staff. The second one is the customers’ managerial contribution. It refers to the role played by customers in the management, and to the attitude to work of front office experts. The third one is the intensification of their informational contribution. It is found in certain service situations, as a result of pressure from staff and other customers. Finally, the fourth one is the increase of their participation in the production process. Basically, it refers to all service situations in which customers take on new tasks in place of front office experts. These different sorts of customers contribution are the pieces of a puzzle which, when discussed with the theories of value and exploitation of K. Marx, create the néo-surplus labour theory and the fundamental concepts of this thesis : the extra neo surplus value, and the relative neo surplus value.

approached previously by both Harry Partch and Ben Johnston, and proposes the decoupling of interface and sound production as a way forward. The design and implementation of a software instrument and a hardware prototype are described, both using a simple API for variable tuning instruments. The hardware prototype uses physical computing techniques to control the tuning of a string with a servo motor, while the software instrument exists entirely in a web browser. Finally, potential algorithms for clients of the API are presented, and the effectiveness of the hardware prototype is evaluated by measuring its pitch accuracy.

Over the past two decades, Lean Production has begun to replace traditional manufacturing techniques around the world, mainly due to the success of the Toyota Motor Company. One key to Toyota's success that many American companies have not been able to emulate is the transformation of their suppliers to the lean philosophy. This lack of supplier transformation in America is due to a variety of reasons including differences in supplier proximity, supplier relationships, supplier performance levels, and the ordering policies used for supplied parts. The focus of this research is analyzing the impact of ordering policies for supplied parts of a manufacturing cell utilizing Lean Production techniques. This thesis presents a simulation analysis of a multi-stage, lean manufacturing cell that produces a family of products. The analysis investigates how the ordering policy for supplied parts affects the performance of the cell under conditions of demand variability and imperfect supplier performance. The ordering policies evaluated are a periodic-review inventory control policy (s, S) and two kanban policies. The performance of the cell is measured by the flowtime of the product through the cell, the on-time-delivery to their customer, the number of products shipped each week, the amount of work-in-process inventory in the cell, the approximate percentage of time the cell was stocked out, and the average supplied part inventory levels for the cell. Using this simulation model, an experimental analysis is conducted using an augmented central composite design. Then, a multivariate analysis is performed on the results of the experiments. The results obtained from this study suggest that the preferred ordering policy for supplied parts is the (s, S) inventory policy for most levels of the other three factors and most of the performance measures. This policy, however, results in increased levels of supplied part inventory, which is the primary reason for the high performance for most response variables. This increased inventory is in direct conflict with the emphasis on inventory and waste reduction, one of the key principles of Lean Production. Furthermore, the inflated kanban policy tends to perform well at high levels of supplier on-time delivery and low levels of customer demand variability. These results are consistent with the proper conditions under which to implement Lean Production: good supplier performance and level customer demand. Thus, while the (s, S) inventory policy may be advantageous as a company begins transitioning to Lean Production, the inflated kanban policy may be preferable once the company has established good supplier performance and level customer demand. / Master of Science

<p>This study looks into the possibility, and profitability, of expanding a pilot project that has been put into action at GGP Sweden AB in Tranås, a manufacturing company that produces front mowers. The pilot project is meant to give GGP Sweden AB a more precise control of the flow of goods from their suppliers, and its essence has proven to be quite similar to the Japanese Just-in-Time philosophy.</p><p>The study has been divided into four separate areas; mapping, supplier selection, supplier evaluation and cost analysis. These areas represent a holistic perspective on the expansion of the pilot project and cover topics varying from methods of finding suitable JIT-suppliers, constructing Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to reviewing costs and assessing profitabilities.</p><p>In this report, the reader will initially take part in the works of mapping GGP’s manufacturing unit, pilot project and supplier base, which results in a list containing the most suitable suppliers for a Just-in-Time based collaboration. Afterwards, the reader will be led into the area of supplier evaluation, where five KPI’s are created with the purpose of ensuring that GGP will be able to evaluate their suppliers and pilot project in an effective way. The recommended KPI’s are</p><ul><li>precision in deliveries</li><li>precision in quantities</li><li>precision in quality</li><li>tied up capital</li><li>turnover rate.</li></ul><p>When a number of suppliers have been identified as suitable for the expansion of the pilot project and GGP has been given the possibility of satisfying evaluation, a cost analysis will be performed on one of the JIT-suppliers. The results from the analysis shows that an expansion of the pilot project is not profitable from a cost perspective due to the increasing cost of transportation outweighing the savings made in reduced stock levels.</p><p>The report ends with a number of recommendations being presented to GGP and suggestions for future research in areas similar to the ones that this study has concerned.</p> / <p>Den här studien undersöker möjligheten, samt lönsamheten, i att bredda ett pilotprojekt som genomförts vid GGP Sweden AB i Tranås, ett varuproducerande företag som tillverkar åkgräsklippare. Det genomförda pilotprojektet grundar sig i att GGP ska få en mer precis styrning av materialförsörjningen från sina leverantörer, vilket visat sig ha många likheter med den japanska Just-in-Time filosofin.</p><p>Studien har delats upp i fyra separata områden; kartläggning, leverantörsval, uppföljning och kostnadsanalys. De representerar ett helhetsperspektiv inför breddningen av pilotprojektet som täcker upp allt ifrån att finna lämpliga JIT-leverantörer, konstruera nyckeltal, granska kostnader till att bedöma lönsamhet.</p><p>I rapporten kommer läsaren att få ta del av hur GGP:s produktionsanläggning, pilotprojekt och leverantörsbas kartläggs med resultatet att en lista med lämpliga leverantörer att bredda pilotprojektet med erhålls. Därefter leds läsaren efter resonemang kring leverantörsval och utvärdering in i området uppföljning, där fem stycken nyckeltal skapas med avsikten att säkerställa att GGP kan utvärdera sina leverantörer och sitt pilotprojekt på ett effektivt sätt. De rekommenderade nyckeltalen är</p><ul><li>leveransprecision</li><li>kvantitetsprecision</li><li>kvalitetsprecision</li><li>kapitalbindning</li><li>lageromsättningshastighet.</li></ul><p>När ett antal leverantörer identifierats som lämpliga till att bredda pilotprojektet med och GGP:s möjlighet till tillfredsställande uppföljning säkerställts utförs en kostnadsanalys på en utav de lämpliga JIT-leverantörerna. Kostnadsanalysen påvisar att en breddning av pilotprojektet inte är lönsamt ur ett kostnadsmässigt perspektiv på grund av att den ökade transportkostnaden överväger de besparingar som fås av att bland annat lagernivåerna kan minskas.</p><p>Rapporten avslutas med att ett antal övriga rekommendationer ges till GGP samt att förslag ges till områden för fortsatta studier inom samma område som denna studie berört.</p>

This study looks into the possibility, and profitability, of expanding a pilot project that has been put into action at GGP Sweden AB in Tranås, a manufacturing company that produces front mowers. The pilot project is meant to give GGP Sweden AB a more precise control of the flow of goods from their suppliers, and its essence has proven to be quite similar to the Japanese Just-in-Time philosophy. The study has been divided into four separate areas; mapping, supplier selection, supplier evaluation and cost analysis. These areas represent a holistic perspective on the expansion of the pilot project and cover topics varying from methods of finding suitable JIT-suppliers, constructing Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to reviewing costs and assessing profitabilities. In this report, the reader will initially take part in the works of mapping GGP’s manufacturing unit, pilot project and supplier base, which results in a list containing the most suitable suppliers for a Just-in-Time based collaboration. Afterwards, the reader will be led into the area of supplier evaluation, where five KPI’s are created with the purpose of ensuring that GGP will be able to evaluate their suppliers and pilot project in an effective way. The recommended KPI’s are precision in deliveries precision in quantities precision in quality tied up capital turnover rate. When a number of suppliers have been identified as suitable for the expansion of the pilot project and GGP has been given the possibility of satisfying evaluation, a cost analysis will be performed on one of the JIT-suppliers. The results from the analysis shows that an expansion of the pilot project is not profitable from a cost perspective due to the increasing cost of transportation outweighing the savings made in reduced stock levels. The report ends with a number of recommendations being presented to GGP and suggestions for future research in areas similar to the ones that this study has concerned. / Den här studien undersöker möjligheten, samt lönsamheten, i att bredda ett pilotprojekt som genomförts vid GGP Sweden AB i Tranås, ett varuproducerande företag som tillverkar åkgräsklippare. Det genomförda pilotprojektet grundar sig i att GGP ska få en mer precis styrning av materialförsörjningen från sina leverantörer, vilket visat sig ha många likheter med den japanska Just-in-Time filosofin. Studien har delats upp i fyra separata områden; kartläggning, leverantörsval, uppföljning och kostnadsanalys. De representerar ett helhetsperspektiv inför breddningen av pilotprojektet som täcker upp allt ifrån att finna lämpliga JIT-leverantörer, konstruera nyckeltal, granska kostnader till att bedöma lönsamhet. I rapporten kommer läsaren att få ta del av hur GGP:s produktionsanläggning, pilotprojekt och leverantörsbas kartläggs med resultatet att en lista med lämpliga leverantörer att bredda pilotprojektet med erhålls. Därefter leds läsaren efter resonemang kring leverantörsval och utvärdering in i området uppföljning, där fem stycken nyckeltal skapas med avsikten att säkerställa att GGP kan utvärdera sina leverantörer och sitt pilotprojekt på ett effektivt sätt. De rekommenderade nyckeltalen är leveransprecision kvantitetsprecision kvalitetsprecision kapitalbindning lageromsättningshastighet. När ett antal leverantörer identifierats som lämpliga till att bredda pilotprojektet med och GGP:s möjlighet till tillfredsställande uppföljning säkerställts utförs en kostnadsanalys på en utav de lämpliga JIT-leverantörerna. Kostnadsanalysen påvisar att en breddning av pilotprojektet inte är lönsamt ur ett kostnadsmässigt perspektiv på grund av att den ökade transportkostnaden överväger de besparingar som fås av att bland annat lagernivåerna kan minskas. Rapporten avslutas med att ett antal övriga rekommendationer ges till GGP samt att förslag ges till områden för fortsatta studier inom samma område som denna studie berört.

The main thesis of my dissertation is that Kant has a just war theory, and it is universal just war theory, not a traditional just war theory. This is supported by first establishing the history of secular just war theory, specifically through a consideration of the work of Hugo Grotius, Rights of War and Peace. I take his approach, from a natural law perspective, as indicative of the just war theory tradition. I also offer a brief critique of this tradition, suggesting some issues that are endemic to these kinds of theories. From this general understanding, the version of Kant’s just war theory present in Brian Orend’s work War and International Justice: A Kantian Perspective, is explored and rejected as another traditional just war theory. Orend attempts to shoehorn Kant into a tradition which Kant rejects as ineffective, and poorly grounded. Orend’s work is not without merit, and his view is reconceptualized in the last chapter. If not a traditional just war theory, then either a new category of just war theory needs to be established, or the thesis ought to be rejected. Thus, the next task is to defend against the claim that Kant does not have a just war theory at all, as claimed by Howard Williams in his work Kant and the End of War. This is rejected as insufficiently nuanced in its interpretation of Kant, and also for resulting in principles contrary to Kant’s moral theory. This view is also utilized in a new manner in the last chapter. Prior to describing the new category of just war theory, I consider the general approach Kant had to war. To do this, I explore his philosophical approach on ever more specific areas of philosophical investigation. I conclude that Kant has a dynamic and progressive understanding of the concepts he investigated, including philosophy, humanity, ethics, politics, and, eventually, war. In the penultimate chapter, I establish what I call a universal just war theory. I consider and name the traits of both a traditional just war theory and a universal just war theory, using Marxist Communism as an explanatory example of universal just war theory. This provides an intellectual space for Kant’s theory to reside, which is also consistent with his philosophical approach. The last chapter is devoted to the explanation and application of Kant’s universal just war theory. I offer an overarching principle for Kant’ view of conflict and defend it as a universal just war theory. I also revisit the place Orend and Williams views’ have in a proper understanding of Kant on just war. I end with an application of Kant’s universal just war theory to previous conflicts, as a demonstration of the practical value of this view. Thus, through first a negative argument against current conceptions of Kant’s views of just war theory, and then a positive argument for Kant’s general philosophical approach and a new category of just war theory, I offer an interpretation of Kant on just war theory. I argue this interpretation is superior to previous ones, and recommends real world applications for just war theorists to utilize.

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