Achieving mass customization in the Boeing Wire Responsibility Center
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, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2006
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| Online Access: | http://theses.mit.edu/Dienst/UI/2.0/Describe/0018.mit.theses%2f2000-44 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34705 |
| _version_ | 1811082456973967360 |
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| author | Napier, Matthew Kirk, 1968- |
| author2 | Duncan Simester and Kevin Otto. |
| author_facet | Duncan Simester and Kevin Otto. Napier, Matthew Kirk, 1968- |
| author_sort | Napier, Matthew Kirk, 1968- |
| collection | MIT |
| description | 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, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:03:42Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/34705 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:03:42Z |
| publishDate | 2006 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/347052022-01-28T18:52:49Z Achieving mass customization in the Boeing Wire Responsibility Center Achieving mass customization in the BWRC Napier, Matthew Kirk, 1968- Duncan Simester and Kevin Otto. Leaders for Manufacturing Program. Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sloan School of Management Sloan School of Management. Civil and Environmental Engineering. Leaders for Manufacturing Program. 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, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000. Also available online at the MIT Theses Online homepage <http://thesis.mit.edu>. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-47). Customized options are costly to produce using the current production and design methods of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group (BCAG). The company is redesigning its engineering and manufacturing processes in order to enhance its ability to deliver customized options cost effectively. The majority of the company's continuous improvement efforts to date have centered on either its manufacturing operations or its engineering processes, and significant progress has been made in the areas of lean production and reduced flowtimes. While there is still plenty of room for improvement within each functional group of the business, there is arguably much more opportunity for improvement in the relationships between functional groups. The thesis analyzes the potential for significant cost improvements of initiatives that focus on formalizing cross functional continuous improvement relationships between the engineering and manufacturing groups. The analysis is conducted in the form of a case study of the company's Wire Responsibility Center (WIRC), which has the distinction of handling more customization, variability and change than most other areas of the company. This high degree of variation is coupled with large volumes of product - hundreds of units per plane - to produce fertile ground for the study of process improvements between engineering and manufacturing teams. This study shows the significant impact of the WIRC's Change, Error, and Rework (CER) Initiative on the quality and cost of its products and offers suggestions for further improvement. The thesis concludes with a discussion of how effective application of the lessons learned from this pilot project could greatly improve the profitability of The Boeing Company's Commercial Airplane Group. by Matthew Kirk Napier. S.M. 2006-11-08T16:22:20Z 2006-11-08T16:22:20Z 2000 2000 Thesis http://theses.mit.edu/Dienst/UI/2.0/Describe/0018.mit.theses%2f2000-44 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34705 45502732 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://theses.mit.edu/Dienst/UI/2.0/Describe/0018.mit.theses%2f2000-44 http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 47 leaves 4451029 bytes 4450786 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Sloan School of Management. Civil and Environmental Engineering. Leaders for Manufacturing Program. Napier, Matthew Kirk, 1968- Achieving mass customization in the Boeing Wire Responsibility Center |
| title | Achieving mass customization in the Boeing Wire Responsibility Center |
| title_full | Achieving mass customization in the Boeing Wire Responsibility Center |
| title_fullStr | Achieving mass customization in the Boeing Wire Responsibility Center |
| title_full_unstemmed | Achieving mass customization in the Boeing Wire Responsibility Center |
| title_short | Achieving mass customization in the Boeing Wire Responsibility Center |
| title_sort | achieving mass customization in the boeing wire responsibility center |
| topic | Sloan School of Management. Civil and Environmental Engineering. Leaders for Manufacturing Program. |
| url | http://theses.mit.edu/Dienst/UI/2.0/Describe/0018.mit.theses%2f2000-44 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34705 |
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