Lean methods above the manufacturing floor in an aerospace military program

Abstract

Investigate the feasibility of implementing productivity improvement processes such as lean methods to the product development phase of major military aircraft programs. The study concentrated on the understanding of the current state of the industry from the point of view of the customer as well as the contractor team The primary source of information was a number of interviews with executives from the Aerospace Industry. The major obstacles to the implementation of lean methods were discussed and the current industry implementation status was described. Using the acquired knowledge, two system dynamics casual loop models were developed to enhance the understanding of the extremely complex product development process as well as a framework designing the process of incorporation of lean principles to a major program development. The first model described the macro view of a program and identified external forces acting on the product development process. The second model described a micro view of the product development cycle concentrating on activities internal to a program Utilizing the models and the framework, possible intervention points were identified which could enhance the successful implementation and sustain of leanflean methods. The focus of the thesis was to concentrate on managing the product development cycle time as the key indicator of the overall performance of the program The current st.ate of the industry appears to experience longer and longer development cycles, which leads to financial and political strain. Results show that application of lean methods to activities off the manufacturing floor is feasible with the premise that understanding of the overall system dynamics is essential to the implementation of successful measures.