Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56). / Few companies globally source and manage commercial transportation for frequent and high volumes of explosive cargo for the U. S. Department of Defense. U.S. regulations are strict and economically competitive options are limited. The challenge is even more problematic when the company has not developed an internal capability to efficiently manage logistics transportation. Companies view logistics and supply chain management as crucial to their overall success, though most do not claim it as a core competency. Instead, companies often outsource logistics operations and management to 3rd Party Logistics and other transportation solution providers. This paper explores how a company dealing with frequent shipments of explosive, Department of Defense cargo need not fully outsource logistics operations and management. Rather this paper shows how a company can quickly and cost-effectively improve their internal logistics capability while utilizing the benefits of logistics outsourcing. It is imperative that a company evolving its logistics capability maintain flexibility yet realize the advances in the transportation outsourcing industry. This research is distinctive in that it provides a case study of an organization that utilizes global partners supplying the U.S. Government in substantial volumes and must operate within the confines of hazardous goods regulations and archaic United States Department of Defense shipping regulations. / by Nathan Peck. / 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 Manufacturing Program at MIT, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56). / Bay Networks, like other high tech companies whose competitive advantage lies in the design of their products, has moved to a manufacturing model that relies heavily on outsourcing. Almost all the components of its products, from metal boxes and power supplies, to electronic components and the printed circuit boards on which they reside, are manufactured and assembled by subcontractors. This strategy has been pursued to reduce costs and to increase flexibility. To make this system work effectively, considering the long lead times sometimes associated with networking electronic components, Bay Networks forecasts demand to eliminate a portion of the demand uncertainty. Bay then passes its forecast to the subcontractors so they can deliver material as Bay expects to use it. This model makes the forecasting function of extreme importance when determining whether Bay will end up with too much or too little material. This thesis analyzes the "outsourced" supply chain that Bay Networks currently uses and how forecasting is really the cornerstone of information dissemination within the supply chain. Additionally, this thesis will look very specifically at how demand for the motherboard of a particular networking product is forecast and how it is an example of taking outsourcing too far. Since Bay Networks is forecasting motherboards with a specific memory configuration, before they actually know what the customer wants for memory, they are reworking many boards to effectively meet customer demand. Further analysis will show that forecasting motherboards in the plain vanilla format, i.e. without memory, and configuring with memory only when they receive a customer order, will allow Bay Networks to take advantage of the concept of risk-pooling. With risk-pooling Bay Networks will be able to increase customer service levels with less inventory- a win -win situation considering that the typical tradeoff consists of increasing inventory to improve service levels. Specifically, it will be shown that the optimal level of inventory safety stock for these and other motherboards can be significantly reduced by holding them in a format which allows them to be easily and flexibly configured to satisfy demand when a customer order arrives rather than holding the material in a specific format. / by Scott A. Roza. / 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. 85-87). / Corporations continue to grapple with the dilemma of identifying, developing and managing the implementation of meaningful process improvement projects while simultaneously meeting business goals and customer needs. In this thesis we propose a methodology, dubbed Design for Project Implementation (DFPI) that integrates a change management model and engineering design and assessment tools to provide facts and data upon which to base decisions. We suggest that the methodology can be applied via a two-dimensional evaluation process that provides a means of balancing the needs of the business (via an impact to business perspective) and a means to accelerate return on investment (via an ease of project implementation perspective). We propose that the DFPI methodology can be applied in a bottoms-up approach to investigate the value proposition of a project, highlighting critical project elements and making specific recommendations to project leaders. We also suggest that a DFPI integrated business solution (design tools in conjunction with an interactive database) can be applied in a top-down approach, identifying high risk or high leverage areas to leadership sponsors whom can deploy project leaders to investigate the potential opportunities. We tested our hypotheses related to the DFPI methodology and design tools at Raytheon Company. The methodology was deployed on process improvement projects targeted on leveraging the increased capability gained from a recent transition to an SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) system integrated solution. In this thesis we define the DFPI methodology, describe how the associated design tools can be customized to target any type of business processes within a corporation (by applying it to ERP-related business processes at Raytheon), review the results of our pilot application at Raytheon and conclude with a short discussion of future areas of study. / by Julie M. Chun. / 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, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-75). / This thesis describes the formulation of short-term and mid-term operational excellence strategies through the use of value stream mapping. It is shown that many interconnected issues form a backdrop for seemingly independent "symptomatic issues" or issues that can be seen readily on the surface because of their significant financial or organizational impacts. These underlying issues indicate organizational improvement projects are necessary in the short term to create an environment conducive to sustaining results stemming from projects addressing the surface issues. One example of a surface issue is that of scheduling where the problem can be readily seen with blockages, starvation, and long cycle times, but must be solved with organizational and other fundamental improvements for improvements to be sustainable. Also presented is a case study showing a root cause and financial analysis relating to the capabilities of the aseptic filling process. The value stream mapping analysis led to recommendations of working on fundamental organizational, communication, and cultural issues to create a strong foundation for improvement projects on more visible projects. / by Zachary Wolf. / M.B.A. / S.M.

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, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 44). / In an increasingly complex supply chain, the use of a structured methodology for locating applicable existing parts during the design process can help a large-volume manufacturer to encourage the reuse of components already in inventory, rather than source new ones. This reuse can dramatically reduce the speed at which the database grows in complexity and can prevent unnecessary escalation of inventory levels. It can also serve to increase the order volume of a smaller number of electromechanical components and reduce the cost and delivery time of new products in development. The use of an internal search tool to facilitate the design process will also encourage engineers to make design decisions that benefit the larger organization. This thesis proposes a design methodology for a web-based search tool aimed at reducing unnecessary new part creation in a component database. Included is a proposed set of features to be implemented in the software tool to assist engineers in locating, reviewing and utilizing relevant existing parts quickly, as well as suggestions for integrating this tool into the standard engineering workflow. The goal will be to encourage the reuse of parts in inventory and prevent unjustified proliferation in the database. / by Toni J. Ferreira. / M.B.A. / S.M.

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, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-117). / Injectable drugs, like those manufactured by the BioPharmOps group of Novartis Pharmaceuticals AG, must conform to strict guidelines for purity and potency. Recent non-conformances of critical supplied consumables have revealed potential business and patient safety risks for biotechnology manufacturers worldwide. As a result, Novartis has launched a program to enhance control systems over all consumables and their suppliers. Within this program, the author has developed a system to identify, analyze, and mitigate the various risks which may impact the business due to non-conformances in supplied consumables. The first function of the system is the identification of key risks and their potential effects according to various failure modes that have been observed during the use of the consumables in production. This is accomplished with a standardized list of possible failure modes which can be applied to all consumables. The categorization allows the relative risk of each failure mode to be compared among consumables. Secondly, the risk of contamination is evaluated using a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) framework. The three dimensions of the FMEA framework are the severity, likelihood, and detectability of a failure. The severity of each failure mode is assessed by analyzing the quantitative and qualitative impact that a failure might have on the purity and potency of the drug. This calculation is based on the properties of each consumable and its use in the production system. The likelihood of failure events is assessed through an analysis of the complexity of the consumable and its supply chain, and a review of the quality systems at the supplier. Detectability analysis considers the tests and inspections in place at various stages including consumable manufacturing, receiving inspection, and in-process tests during drug manufacturing which could detect a non-conformance. The total risk level is evaluated as the product of these three dimensions and a threshold is defined for requiring additional mitigations for these risks. This risk assessment method is implemented in an automated worksheet to ensure consistency among users and efficient analysis. The third outcome of the system is the recommendation of mitigations to reduce total exposure to contamination risk. Mitigations may be internal (new tests and inspections) or implemented at the supplier (improved sampling rates, enhanced general quality systems, or new controls). The recommended mitigations provide guidance for the reduction of risks to an acceptable level, and when implemented, the impact and frequency of non-conformances will be diminished. Ultimately, this reduces Novartis' exposure to potential business loss and protects patients from injury caused by contamination. / by David Linders. / 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. / This electronic version was submitted and approved by the author's academic department as part of an electronic thesis pilot project. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged from department-submitted PDF version of thesis / Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-73). / This work focuses on the application of a streamlined version of Multi-Attribute Tradespace Exploration (MATE) as a first-order analysis tool to aid in the selection of CubeSat communication systems. As CubeSats have become more capable, their need to support ever-increasing amounts of mission data has become imperative. However, the selection of a communications system is complex endeavor with multiple competing objectives and multiple stakeholders. This already challenging environment is compounded by the fact that CubeSats often operate with minuscule budgets on reduced timelines. So, in order to aid the decision maker while maximizing value, we show that MATE can be applied as a first-order analysis tool. / by Clayton B. Crail. / S.M. / M.B.A.

Thesis (S.M.)--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 Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Jennifer A. Rigoni. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-84). / by Kristie A. Burnham. / S.M.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-98). / by Robert G. Hacking. / S.M. / M.B.A.