Department of Industrial Engineering

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Browsing Department of Industrial Engineering by browse.metadata.advisor "Bartel, K. J."

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    The application of necessary but not sufficient principles to the implementation of product lifecycle management software
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2007-03) Van der Walt, Lizenka; Dimitrov, D. M.; Bartel, K. J.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is defined as the business activity of managing a company's products across the product lifecycle. Product Data Management (PDM) systems are the primary system component of PLM. The focus of this research is on the implementation of PDM software within the context of PLM. Fifty percent of all PLM projects fail. Failure implies no bottom-line benefit is achieved with the implementation. The main reason for failure is not the technology but the implementation approach used. The research question addressed by this thesis is: How can it be ensured that bottom-line benefit is achieved with the implementation of PLM technology? The Necessary but not Sufficient (N&S) solution is based on Theory of Constraints principles and was developed to help achieve significant bottom-line benefit with the implementation of new technology. This is accomplished through focusing on the removal of limitations (something that prevents the company from better achievement of its goal of increasing profit) as well as addressing the necessary organisational changes (the N&S solution refers to the changing of customs, habits, policies, procedures, metrics and behaviour). This research applies the N&S solution to the PLM software environment in order to address the research question. The outcome of the project is an implementation methodology that will ensure bottom-line benefit will be achieved with the implementation of PLM software. This implementation methodology was applied to a practical case study from an analysis point of view and was validated with cause and effect logic.
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    Development of Drum-Buffer-Rope scheduling software to support a “what if” approach to scheduling job shops
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2006-03) De Jager, C. J.; Bartel, K. J.; Von Leipzig, Konrad; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    The Theory of Constraints is a management philosophy based on the underlying assumption that only a few constraining factors limit the throughput of the entire system. Drum-Buffer-Rope is the production logistical solution of the Theory of Constraints. It is the implementation of Constraints Management on the manufacturing shop floor, to manage physical resource constraints. Drum-Buffer-Rope was designed with the purpose of increasing Throughput, while simultaneously decreasing Inventory, and minimising Operating Expense. It aims to accomplish these goals by focusing on simplifying and therefore reducing variability in the production process, and ultimately protecting order due dates against disruptions. The dynamic conditions under which typical job shops operate can make Constraints Management of the resource constraints a cumbersome task. By following a “What If” approach to the scheduling process, the scheduler can play an interactive role in developing practical shop floor schedules. In this way the scheduler can see the results of his/her ideas on the shop floor situation quickly as immediate feedback is provided. The Drum-Buffer-Rope methodology only finite schedules certain points in the manufacturing process therefore scheduling calculations can be performed quickly if done in software. This makes it possible for the scheduler to analyse various scenarios in a short period of time and allowing the development of near optimal shop floor schedules by following a “What If” approach to scheduling. In this project, new developments in the field of Drum-Buffer-Rope were investigated, and the newly developed Simplified Drum-Buffer-Rope methodology was researched. The methodologies were incorporated in a fully developed software package that uses Drum-Buffer- Rope or Simplified Drum-Buffer-Rope to marry the intrinsic knowledge of the shop-floor worker with modern day computer technology to create production schedules that can be released to the shop floor. Schedules are created rapidly enough by the software to enable the scheduler to follow a “What If” approach to create near optimal shop floor schedules. The developed software was used with live data from a South African job shop to illustrate the “What If” approach to Simplified Drum-Buffer-Rope scheduling. The results show that throughput can be increased and operating expense decreased, therefore increasing bottom line results, by analysing various scenarios.
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    Enterprise wide business management using EDEN TM as a platform
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003-12) Louw, Ian; Bartel, K. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Rapid Product Development Division (RPD) of the Global Competitiveness Centre (GCC) identified the need to automate and integrate their organisational business processes a nd to share common data and practices a cross the entire enterprise in a real-time environment. Different software applications such as Microsoft" Excel, Microsoft" Access, the University's Financial System and others, are used to complete a single project. A system was therefore needed to provide the capabilities to integrate all of these applications into one workable system. The most perceived technology to create such an environment, namely Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), was found to be too sophisticated and expensive. The Knowledge Management Software Solution, called EDEN™, was identified as the most appropriate technology that could fulfil the needs of the RPD. Different modern management approaches, such as Theory of Constraints (TOC) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and process modelling tools were combined to build three roadmaps on the EDEN™ (Enterprise Design Navigator) platform to provide an enterprise wide business solution. A roadmap will aid as a guide that leads the user through a series of steps in order to create an understanding of the methods to be used when starting a new project or product design. The three roadmaps developed are Project Management, Product Development and Business Functions. The Project Management Roadmap was developed because all the RPD's work for clients is managed in the form of a project. This Roadmap should provide the necessary guidance and support to manage any project. The most important processes of the RPD are without doubt the product development processes. The Product Development Roadmap was developed with detailed procedures to assist with any product design. The business functions of the RPD are functions, such as finance and management information, that support the organisation's operations and the project management processes. The Business Functions identified for the RPD was combined into the Business Functions Roadmap. The main 0 bjective 0ft he thesis was toi ntegrate the business p rocesses a nd a II the software applications into one workable system and to share common data in a real-time environment. This was successfully accomplished by making use of the roadmaps and of the EDEN™ Environment.
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    Scheduling program based on the theory of constraints
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003-03) Malherbe, Johannes Louw; Bartel, K. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The goal of this thesis is to provide a stepping-stone for the design and development of a software package that implements the Goal System Algorithm, based on the Theory of Constraints (TOC). This includes the complete description and explanation of the Goal System Algorithm (GS), as well as the partial implementation of this algorithm using Microsoft Access as a Database Management System (DBMS) and Microsoft Visual C++ as programming language. The main development effort was put into the development of a scheduling algorithm and the implementation of a data structure that lies at the core of this algorithm. The reason for the development of such a package is that it will aid a production manager, working in a small to medium size job-shop, in generating a schedule for production that will increase throughput, while simultaneously reducing both inventory and operating expense thereby generating profits and cash flow. With regard to this thesis and the overall project goal the following have been achieved. 1. The complete project has been researched, scoped and each step has been explained. 2. The complete program structure has been defined and broken into two separate modules; the Data Mining and Conversion Module and the TOC Scheduling Algorithm. 3. The database containing all the MRP data necessary for scheduling has been designed and implemented using a MS Access database with an ODBC connection. An ODBC connection to the database was used so that a smooth transmission to other database management systems can be made. 4. The TOC Scheduling Algorithm has been developed and the following have been implemented: • A basic user interface has been created for the insertion of all the user input and to display the constraint schedule. • A data structure called a linked list has been developed and used to store the scheduling data in memory. • The complete GS algorithm had been researched and explained. • The GS algorithm has been and implemented and tested up to the point where it schedules the constraint. • The pseudo code for the part of the GS algorithm that was not implemented has been documented and included in this report. More development needs to be done and a proper Graphical User Interface must also be created to complete this project, but after completion a Toe software package will exist that is completely unique in South Africa and the market potential for this package will be considerable.