http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7924 Sun, 19 May 2013 02:38:01 GMT 2013-05-19T02:38:01Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69232 The development of a hybrid virtual reality/video view-morphing display system for teleoperation and teleconferencing Hutchison, William Edward, 1960- Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2000.; This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 84-89). Sat, 01 Jan 2000 05:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69232 2000-01-01T05:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59520 A system perspective on warranty problems within a supply chain Shen, Wei, 1975-; Cheng, Wangquan Warranty is important financially to American manufacturers, especially automotive companies. Carmakers and suppliers must work aggressively to improve their warranty management approach as warranty cost often equals or exceeds their investment in engineering. This thesis focuses on studying warranty management in a supply chain from a systems perspective. Warranty data in the automotive industry, focused upon a "Tier one" supplier, is analyzed to obtain general warranty trends and typical failure types. Following the data analysis and hypothesis formation, a sequential series of surveys and interviews within the supplier are conducted in attempt to determine the root causes of warranty failures. A major finding of the study is the lack of a cross-company and long-term approach for dealing with warranty. Other root causes (though not as deeply imbedded as that noted first) include the lack of design discipline, design knowledge, and resources in the product development process. In addition, unclear accountability, poor communication, and lack of a supplier management process delay the warranty resolution process. Furthermore, the culture and mindset in an organization is a critical element in effective warranty management. A reactive warranty firefighting mindset is inadequate to attack the significant warranty issues. Based upon solving the root causes found in the research, the thesis provides five specific recommendations. These recommendations appear likely to be useful to a wide variety of automotive companies as well as manufacturers in other industries. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2005 [first author]; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2006 [second author].; Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-113). Sat, 01 Jan 2005 05:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59520 2005-01-01T05:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59520 A system perspective on warranty problems within a supply chain Shen, Wei, 1975-; Cheng, Wangquan Warranty is important financially to American manufacturers, especially automotive companies. Carmakers and suppliers must work aggressively to improve their warranty management approach as warranty cost often equals or exceeds their investment in engineering. This thesis focuses on studying warranty management in a supply chain from a systems perspective. Warranty data in the automotive industry, focused upon a "Tier one" supplier, is analyzed to obtain general warranty trends and typical failure types. Following the data analysis and hypothesis formation, a sequential series of surveys and interviews within the supplier are conducted in attempt to determine the root causes of warranty failures. A major finding of the study is the lack of a cross-company and long-term approach for dealing with warranty. Other root causes (though not as deeply imbedded as that noted first) include the lack of design discipline, design knowledge, and resources in the product development process. In addition, unclear accountability, poor communication, and lack of a supplier management process delay the warranty resolution process. Furthermore, the culture and mindset in an organization is a critical element in effective warranty management. A reactive warranty firefighting mindset is inadequate to attack the significant warranty issues. Based upon solving the root causes found in the research, the thesis provides five specific recommendations. These recommendations appear likely to be useful to a wide variety of automotive companies as well as manufacturers in other industries. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2005 [first author]; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2006 [second author].; Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-113). Sat, 01 Jan 2005 05:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59520 2005-01-01T05:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59268 A systems approach to mitigation of project failure modes Syed, Athar A This thesis sets out to develop a systems approach towards the mitigation of project failure modes. The methodology used is the application of the Scope and Solution Neutrality principle to develop a general model for Project Systems using the Object- Process-Method (OPM) for systems modeling. By correlating the elements and attributes that constitute basic project artifacts with process performance enablers, a Systems Approach to Performance Improvements is developed. Systemic factors that affect a project's performance, and its ability to address issues, are identified using the Project System model, and project failure modes as well with their underlying causes are examined. The Systems Approach to Process Improvements is then applied to addressing these issues. A key insight gained from the modeling is the importance of communication and information flow as a critical function for effective project management and execution. Consequently the impact of optimizing information flow on project execution is demonstrated through systems dynamics modeling. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2009.; Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 177). Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59268 2009-01-01T05:00:00Z