Space Transportation Materials and Structures Technology Workshop

The Space Transportation Materials and Structures Technology Workshop was held on September 23-26, 1991, in Newport News, Virginia. The workshop, sponsored by the NASA Office of Space Flight and the NASA Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology, was held to provide a forum for communication within the space materials and structures technology developer and user communities. Workshop participants were organized into a Vehicle Technology Requirements session and three working panels: Materials and Structures Technologies for Vehicle Systems, Propulsion Systems, and Entry Systems

Evaporation, seepage and water quality management in storage dams: a review of research methods

One of the most significant sources of water wastage in Australia is loss from small storage dams, either by seepage or evaporation. Over much of Australia, evaporative demand routinely exceeds precipitation. This paper outlines first, methodologies and measurement techniques to quantify the rate of evaporative loss from fresh water storages. These encompass high-accuracy water balance monitoring; determination of the validity of alternative estimation equations, in particular the FAO56 Penman- Monteith ETo methodology; and the commencement of CFD modeling to determine a 'dam factor' in relation to practical atmospheric measurement techniques. Second, because the application of chemical monolayers is the only feasible alternative to the high cost of physically covering the storages to retard evaporation, the use of cetyl alcohol-based monolayers is reviewed, and preliminary research on their degradation by photolytic action, by wind break-up and by microbial degradation reported. Similarly, preliminary research on monolayer visualisation techniques for field application is reported; and potential enhancement of monolayers by other chemicals and attendant water quality issues are considered

MODES OF INNOVATION & UNCERTAINTIES IN THE CAPITAL GOODS INDUSTRY

Product innovation is a subtle process, frequently leading to shifts in the competitiveness of firms. Developing products in an environment undergoing technological change is given to frequent failure, even in well-established and sophisticated organizations. In order to tackle competitiveness and to deal with innovation uncertainty, firms develop diverse innovation processes. Two modes of innovation are suggested in recent literature: 1) Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) mode, which is based on the production and use of codified scientific and technical knowledge; and 2) Doing, Using and Interacting (DUI) mode, which relies on informal processes of learning and experience-based know-how. In this paper we analyse product innovation at firm level. We perform an exploratory analysis in four leading equipment and machinery producers from the Aveiro region, in Portugal. Doing so, we explore the main features of the capital goods’ industry with implications for innovation, and analyse the dominant uncertainties associated to the innovation process. and modes of innovation. Key findings include the complete absence of DUI mode in the cases studied, and even a low learning characteristic in one company. The paper concludes by considering the implications for firms’ competitiveness and for innovation policy.modes of innovation, uncertainties, R&D, capital goods, SME

Improving order-to-delivery process : Case study:Company X

Improving companies’ processes is one of the core ways to gain competitive advantage in today’s markets. Identifying the problem areas and finding solutions for them is an essential part of companies’ survival and therefore companies are investing in process improvement even more especially when they are preparing themselves for changes. Improving the company’s operations in engineer-to-order environments differs from the other manufacturing strategies due to the lack of standardization in the order-to-delivery process. The purpose of this research is to discover the issues that engineer-to-order manufacturing companies are struggling with and to find ways to improve the case company’s order-to-delivery process. This research also considers the ways that the process and its practices can be standardized in the engineer-to-order environment. The aim is to provide information of the company’s current process and its problems and find solutions for those issues to improve the overall performance of their order-to-delivery process. At the beginning of this research there is a literature review which contains the basic phases of process improvement, the stages and characteristics of the order-to-delivery process in engineer-to-order environment and the common methodologies for process improvement. The information from the literature review is used to form common themes for the empirical part of the research. The empirical part is a single case study where the data is collected through a workshop, interviews and observations. The data is analyzed with fishbone diagrams, five whys tool and with a value stream map. The results from the analysis are used to evaluate the company’s process and to create solutions for the company to implement afterwards. Based on the results, many of the problems in the engineer-to-order environment can be derived from the lack of standardization in the process and its practices. Bad communication practices are creating several other problems and creating better, more standard, ways to communicate and document all actions and data in daily bases is critical for the company’s process performance to be improved. Many phases, as well as the products, can be standardized in some way, but making those changes requires time and resources that must be saved and relocated from the on-value adding activities that are currently done. Measuring the process provides valuable information about the performance and helps identifying problem areas. Managements participation and employees’ proactive attitudes are incredibly important for the process to be successfully improved. This is a single case study for a small company in a very specific business field, and therefore the generalization of the results can be questioned. The results are used to improve the case company’s performance but other SME companies working in engineer-to-order environment can use the results as guidance in their own process improvement projects

Performance evaluation of purchasing and supply management using balanced scorecard

Confidential until 10-april-201

Analysing the implementation of a material requirements planning (MRP) system into an engineer-to-order (ETO) company ; the case of National Oilwell Varco Norway (NOVN)

Masteroppgave økonomi og administrasjon- Universitetet i Agder, 2014A material requirements planning (MRP) system is a computer-based planning and control system whose main objectives are to provide the right part at the right time, and to meet the schedules for completed products. The development of these systems revolutionised the manufacturing industry, and lead to it being adopted by many companies. The expectations of the systems were high, both from academia and industry in the subject area of production planning and control. However, the widespread use of the system has uncovered several failures, mainly because the systems are implemented under the assumption that “one-size-fits-all”, and thus do not differentiate between various operations strategies. Prior research has already identified MRP systems as successful production planning and control systems in several operations strategies. Despite its importance, the previous research on MRP systems has not thoroughly addressed the systems strategic fit with an engineer-to-order (ETO) operations strategy. This thesis therefore focuses on the use of an MRP system in an ETO environment, and the overall objective is to investigate if implementation of an MRP system supports the operations strategy of an ETO company. To help investigate the overall objective, a literature review and a case study has been conducted. The literature review was carried out to provide a theoretical base for the research and a foundation for the future work of the research. A case study was conducted to help get a better understanding of an MRP system’s strategic fit in an ETO company to draw parallels between theory and practice. Numerical data has been collected to conduct statistical analysis. The case study company is a large ETO company that is about to implement an MRP system and that previously have used a similar system in some of its departments. Qualitative data from the case study have mainly been conducted through interviews and informal conversations with key informants employed in the case study company. The result of this research shows that there is a clear misalignment between the decision support provided by an MRP system and the decision support required by an ETO company. The product-, market- and process characteristics of an ETO company are too much of a constraining factor for the MRP system, which may lead to reduced competitiveness. Furthermore, the research suggests that organisational factors, such as education level of employees, company size and culture have significant impacts on implementation of an MRP system. The results gathered from the research have a foundation from relevant theory, which strengthens the quality of the thesis. The thesis has therefore contributed with increased knowledge and provides a better understanding of the use of an MRP system in an ETO company. In particular the definitions in the thesis, the identified variables, and the frameworks should be of interest for researchers, management, and consultant in the area of production planning and control (PPC). The research also has important implications for top management and policy makers in implementing an MRP system, as these stakeholders need to communicate effectively with their organisation about their MRP adoption intentions. Case study findings suggest that MRP systems are not suitable for ETO products, and that MRP implementation is influenced by, but not necessarily bound by, existing national and organisational factors. The findings of this study aid the management of organisations that are implementing MRP systems to gain a better understanding of the likely challenges they may face and enables them to put in place appropriate measures to mitigate the risk of implementation failures

Lunar materials processing system integration

The theme of this paper is that governmental resources will not permit the simultaneous development of all viable lunar materials processing (LMP) candidates. Choices will inevitably be made, based on the results of system integration trade studies comparing candidates to each other for high-leverage applications. It is in the best long-term interest of the LMP community to lead the selection process itself, quickly and practically. The paper is in five parts. The first part explains what systems integration means and why the specialized field of LMP needs this activity now. The second part defines the integration context for LMP -- by outlining potential lunar base functions, their interrelationships and constraints. The third part establishes perspective for prioritizing the development of LMP methods, by estimating realistic scope, scale, and timing of lunar operations. The fourth part describes the use of one type of analytical tool for gaining understanding of system interactions: the input/output model. A simple example solved with linear algebra is used to illustrate. The fifth and closing part identifies specific steps needed to refine the current ability to study lunar base system integration. Research specialists have a crucial role to play now in providing the data upon which this refinement process must be based

Community Development Evaluation Storymap and Legend

Community based organizations, funders, and intermediary organizations working in the community development field have a shared interest in building stronger organizations and stronger communities. Through evaluation these organizations can learn how their programs and activities contribute to the achievement of these goals, and how to improve their effectiveness and the well-being of their communities. Yet, evaluation is rarely seen as part of a non-judgemental organizational learning process. Instead, the term "evaluation" has often generated anxiety and confusion. The Community Development Storymap project is a response to those concerns.Illustrations found in this document were produced by Grove Consultants