Elfving, J A (2003) Exploration of opportunities to reduce lead times for engineered-to-order products. PhD thesis, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
Abstract
Scholars and practitioners have long advocated the benefits of reduced lead times. Moreover, most, if not all members of a supply chain would gain from reduced lead times. However, the construction industry has been slow to radically reduce lead times, particularly for Engineered-To-Order (ETO) products. This research applies Transformation-Flow-Value (TFV) theory and lean methods in order to answer the following research question: How can the performance of ETO supply chains be improved? Data were collected from supply chains of power distribution equipment (PDE). The supply chains were described with help of detailed process maps and performance measures. Simulation was applied to gain further understanding of supply chain behavior. The data demonstrated that current design and procurement practices have a major impact on the delivery lead time of PDE. This work discusses the role design batch sizes and standards may have on the delivery process. It argues that the disadvantages of competitive bidding are poorly understood from a supply chain perspective. Competitive bidding generates waste not only in the procurement phase but also in the design and manufacturing phases, e.g., by forcing people to use early commitment and large batch sizes, and by involving downstream players late in the process. As a result, the delivery process is long and changes are tedious to carry out. Finally, this dissertation proposes alternative practices to improve the current process of ETO products that can lead to major improvements over the delivery process. These alternatives include involving downstream players early in the delivery process, reducing document batch sizes, making decisions at last responsible moment, changing procurement methods, and sharing configuration software. In cooperation with industry partners it was estimated that these changes could have reduced a 2.5 year lead time by nearly 1 year. This could have led to major cost savings, particularly with respect to saved labor hours. However, major process changes in the delivery of ETO products also require redefinition of organizational relations in the delivery process. These extend to requiring an industry-wide rethinking of roles and responsibilities, risks and rewards as well as, contractual structures used in the ETO delivery process.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Tommelein, I D |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | competitive bidding; engineered-to-order; equipment; standards; bidding; manufacturing; simulation; procurement method |
| Index terms: | transformation, process change, procurement method, dissertation, cost saving, construction industry, lead time, commitment, performance measure, competitive bidding, maps, bidding, cooperation, configuration, engineer-to-order, practitioner, exploration |
| Subjects: | bidding, contractual arrangements, environmental resource management, psychology, practitioner, business, research dissemination and communication, systems engineering, industry analysis, project controls, spatial and geospatial analysis, economics, management, manufacturing engineering, performance measurement |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Organizational Design, Time Control, Procurement, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here