Mitigating the impact of a time-dependent production process
Name
173420730-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
5.3 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
afcffac19f3fe8151ca46f2911bbd03f
Author(s)
Dudnik, Sara A
Advisor(s)
Roy Welsch and David Hardt.
Date Issued
2007
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Value-added processes that bear associated wait times occur frequently during production manufacturing and increase cycle time. Since the wait time is integral to the value created by the process, it can be difficult to reduce the cycle time impact. The use of adhesives and the impact of their associated cure times is an example of such a time-dependent process and one that appears frequently on products made at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS). Using a typical Raytheon pod system (RPS) as a case study, this thesis examines various ways to mitigate the impact of these value-added associated wait times (VAAWT) on cycle time. Adhesives with long cure and/or set times are used extensively throughout the design of this RPS in both structural and non-structural applications. Now that the RPS is well into full-rate production, the cycle time impact of these adhesives' VAAWT has become a burden, accounting for over 60% of the cycle time on the three assemblies studied on during the case study. Both short-term and long-term solutions were developed as a result of this project, which enabled a 23% reduction in cycle time exclusive of changes in design.
(cont.) Based upon the lessons learned during this case study, a set of guidelines is presented for application to other time-dependent processes and Raytheon products. This thesis also discusses some of the barriers encountered during the implementation of this project and suggestions for overcoming them. These guidelines and lessons have already been applied successfully to reducing the impact of adhesive cure times on a second SAS product line, resulting in a cycle time reduction of 80%.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; and, (S.M.) -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 61).
Subjects
Engineering Systems Division.
Sloan School of Manufacturing.
Leaders for Manufacturing Program.
MIT Department
Sloan School of Manufacturing.
Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division
Sloan School of Management
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