Applying constraint-based theory to a complex aerospace manufacturing process

Abstract

A new airplane model is quickly ramping up in production rates, and in order to achieve the organizational targets and commitments, Flow Days, Unit Hours and Cycle Times must be reduced throughout the entire supply chain. The Continuous Improvement Group (CIG) is an initiative supporting these improvements by applying the Theory of Constraints to identify improvement opportunities and lead teams to implement solutions and make the improvements. This thesis details the approach of using historical manufacturing data to identify focus areas for analysis and a methodology for analyzing a specific manufacturing process. This analysis and the improvement opportunities identified for several processes in the Final Assembly of the new plane are discussed, as well as the efforts implement solutions to these opportunities. Finally, this thesis also describes the mindsets and organizational characteristics that are necessary in order to make large efficiency improvements in a complex manufacturing process.