Creation of a Daily Cadence Production System in Large Aerospace Manufacturing

 

Purpose

The project was conducted in collaboration with a large aerospace manufacturing company located in Portland, Oregon. The company is a large manufacturing center which primarily produces parts for commercial airplanes. The purpose of the project was to improve adaptation of the production system both in rate and quality.

 

Goal

The purpose of the project was to improve adaptation of the production system both in rate and quality. In order to fulfill this purpose, three objectives were set to be achieved:

      1. Minimize deviation from the planned production performance as a result of the system's implementation​

      2. Assist management to measure team thinking and team doing

      3. Minimize deviation from the planned production performance as a result of the system's implementation

 

Methodology

The production system was designed in alignment with Cooke’s (Cooke & Rousseau, 1988; Cooke & Szumal, 2000) constructive culture norms to emphasize thinking and doing to establish a culture of continuous improvement. The four constructive culture norms were:

1. Humanistic-encouraging norms, which exist when members support each other and are open to influence from one another.

2. Affiliative norms, which describe an organization whose members are concerned about the satisfaction of their work group, and interact well with others.

3. Achievement norms, which expect members to set and pursue attainable goals.

4. Self-actualizing norms, which expect members to develop themselves and take on new tasks.

Each constructive culture norm was then fit to the context of the aerospace manufacturing company by adapting the terminology. The adapted terminology for each of the four constructive culture norms, respectively, were:

1. Team Temperament (TT), which is how open individuals of a team are to new ideas.

2. Team Dynamic (TDy), which is how members interact and have concern for one another.

3. Team Performance (TP), which is how a team is performing with respect to their goals.

4. Team Development (TDe), which is how a team is developing its members improving the teams work.

Each norm was then assigned a transition-phase management model, like the model seen in Exhibit 1. The transition-phase management model was able to map the trajectory of congruence for each constructive cultural norm, with Stage 1 representing a state of developing, Stage 2 representing a state of emerging behavior, Stage 3 representing a state of accomplishment, and Stage 4 representing a state of excellence (i.e., sustained accomplishment). Seen in Exhibit 1, norms that are congruent follow the intended adaption path.

Exhibit 1. Hypothetical Transition-Phase Management Model

Once each constructive cultural norm was mapped using a transition-phase management model, the current state of each norm was aggregated into a radar chart, like the one seen in Exhibit 2. Thus, not only could each constructive cultural norm's congruence be illustrated individually, but could also be compared with the other norm's to illustrate the overall system's congruence.

Exhibit 2. Hypothetical Radar Chart

Tracking these instances of climate over time creates the behavior over time data necessary to forecast future adaption of the production system. High scores (green or blue zone) reflect a strong presence of that component within a team. Higher congruent scores indicate a higher level of adaptation. Incongruent scores represent a deviation from the intended adaption path. Managers can use this information as a guide for identifying which dimensions they should assist their team(s) with.

 

Research Papers

1. Kittelman, S., Calvo-Amodio, J., & Martínez León, H. C. (2018). A systems analysis of communication: Defining the nature of an principles for communication within human activity systems. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 35(5), 520-537. doi:10.1002/sres.2562

2. Sprunger, A., McGrath, J., Alkharashi, A., Jacobsen, M., & Calvo-Amodio, J. (2016). New process implementation: a matter of congruency between learning, knowledge, and practice. Paper presented at the international Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Management, Concord, North Carolina.

3. Sprunger, A., McGrath, J., Alkharashi, A., Jacobsen, M., & Calvo-Amodio, J. (2015). A proposed conceptual model to analyze team congruence at a large manufacturing operation. Paper presented at the international Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Management, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Photo Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/United_Airlines_Boeing_767-322ER.jpg