Lawrence E. Whitman

Methodology to mitigate supplier risk in an aerospace supply chain

Supply chain design is frequently performed from the perspective of a single supplier‐customer relationship. However, as a supplier provides value to different supply chains, it becomes increasingly difficult to optimize each supply chain. Each supply chain has different requirements, procedures, and formats. A member may have requirements placed upon them by one member that contradicts another member. The competitive success of a supplier depends on its ability to participate in different supply chains. This, in turn, affects the competitiveness of each of the other supply chains. This paper presents a generic prescriptive methodology for mitigating risks in an aerospace supply chain and proposes five activities. The methodology provides a mechanism to minimize conflicting objectives. A hypothetical case study is then presented on how the methodology can be applied.

THE MISSING LINK: CULTURE AND LANGUAGE BARRIERS TO INTEROPERABILITY

Interoperability is key to ensuring that a global supply chain operates as seamlessly as a vertically integrated organization. Much research has been accomplished and is on-going related to the technical, organisational and scientific issues concerning interoperating dissimilar enterprise systems and languages. However, there are significant issues concerning interoperating information across the barriers of cultures and national languages. This paper presents the key drawbacks regarding the cultural and language barriers to true exchange of knowledge. The paper then presents an example enterprise model in light of these identified issues. Copyright

A taxonomy of a living model of the enterprise

A designer has a choice of many models, methods, frameworks, and architectures. There is little consistency between these terms among researchers. Some of the most widely used architectures and frameworks are described with definitions and concepts that distinguish them clearly. This paper proposes a clear definition of these terms, a clear distinction between these and a methodology that will significantly aid in the comparison and evaluation of various enterprise models. A direct benefit of this research is a more clear presentation of how the enterprise modeling community uses enterprise models.

Virtual reality: its usefulness for ergonomic analysis

This paper presents the results of an effort to compare results of an experiment performed in both a virtual and a real environment. The research question addressed is if virtual reality is a suitable tool for performing ergonomic analysis. The subjects performed a palletizing task in the virtual environment and then performed the same task in the real environment. The results showed that VR can be compared to a similar experimental task in the real environment if it involves measuring only range of movements and no velocities or accelerations. This paper presents these results using a lumbar motion monitor and proposes areas for future improvement and research.

On the Use of Enterprise Models

This paper presents the results of a field study designed to determine how enterprise models are used. The paper begins with an introduction to enterprise models then provides an overview of the survey method used. No known empirical studies have been conducted to determine how enterprise models actually are used by industry. The research is designed to answer this question. A screening sample and complete web-based survey of 72 enterprise modelers was conducted. The primary research question of this survey was on the use of enterprise models, with particular focus on the three dimensions of living models: scope, enactment, and dynamicity. Half the respondents claim that their enterprise models were of their entire division, multiple divisions, and even multiple enterprises. It is encouraging to see that enterprise models are used on such a wide scope. The enactment of the enterprise models was not as large as was expected. Of the respondents, 75% claimed that their models did not receive information from the enterprise more frequently than quarterly. The same was true for how often the models provided information to the enterprise. Seventy-five percent did not update their models more than five times (although, 32% did update the model three to five times). Finally, additional areas of research are proposed.

Using legos to interest high school students and imtrove k12 stem education

Wichita State University is actively using LEGOs to encourage science math engineering and technology (SMET). There are two major thrusts in our efforts. The college of engineering uses LEGO blocks to simulate a factory environment in the building of LEGO airplanes. This participative demonstration has been used at middle school, high school, and college classes. LEGOs are used to present four manufacturing scenarios of traditional, cellular, pull, and single piece flow manufacturing. The demonstration presents to students how the design of a factory has significant impact on the success of the company. It also encourages students to pursue engineering careers. The college of education uses robotics as a vehicle to integrate technology and engineering into math and science preservice and inservice teacher education.. The purpose is to develop technologically astute and competent teachers who are capable of integrating technology into their curriculum to improve the teaching and learning of their students. This paper will discuss each effort, the collaboration between the two, and provide examples of success.

Reducing Customer Wait Time at a Fast Food Restaurant on Campus

In a typical fast food restaurant, the customer expects to receive service quickly. A restaurant manager will want to keep the customers wait time to a minimum. If a customers wait time is higher than their expectation, their satisfaction level will decrease. Most believe that improving a customers wait time will increase operating cost. Therefore, this results in a tradeoff between customers wait time and cost of operation. A study is conducted at a restaurant on the Wichita State University campus to improve its service time. A simulation model is used to analyze the system. A survey is conducted to determine the customers expected wait time. The result of the study is to recommend adding one more server during peak hours to improve customer wait time. An economic cost analysis is also provided to discuss the cost impact of adding one more server.

An enterprise model of interoperability

Abstract Enterprise integration (EI) is the re-engineering of business processes and information systems to improve teamwork and coordination across organizational boundaries, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the enterprise as a whole. EI is enabled by interoperating enterprise models. This paper presents an IDEF0 model specifying an approach for interoperating dissimilar enterprise models. Enterprise models are transformed by the activity, “interoperate enterprise model” into interoperable enterprise models. This activity is decomposed into the following five functions: Define ***meta-models, Validate the meta-model, Investigate and define the relations between the enterprise modelling languages , and Validate unified meta-model. These functions are described in detail in this paper.

Developing a Capability Maturity Model for Enterprise Intelligence

Abstract Capability maturity models have become popular for outlining the key processes from which methodological flows are created. In this article, we define the topical framework of a capability maturity model for Enterprise Intelligence. Of special concern are the integration of systems engineering, process management, and data analytics to support robust knowledge management practices through the organization.

Greening the value stream: Towards an environmental index

Abstract Lean is all about the removal of waste. Typically, waste is considered that which is non-value added. Lean takes a process view and calls it a value stream (the process from the start to end product). The value stream is typically documented with a value stream map (VSM). The value stream map contains pertinent details to enable improvement. These details usually consist of a cycle time, changeover time, and number of shifts and other items of interest. A mechanism for measuring items for improvement is required for notation on this map. This paper presents a preliminary investigation into a method to calculate an environmental index for incorporation into a value stream map to increase opportunities for waste minimization.