System supportability and life cycle cost based decisions

This thesis is a result of my PhD study at Molde University College, Norway. I started my study in June 2004, and this thesis is written in the period up until November 2008. The main supervisor for the thesis is Professor Øyvind Halskau, Molde University College, Norway. At the moment I am a Chief Consultant at Logiteam Consulting AS in Bergen, Norway, and I have a part time position as senior lecturer in logistics at the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy in Bergen, Norway. My PhD has been financed by the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy in Bergen, Norway where I have been employed as a senior lecturer in logistics and head of the Logistics and Management Department from May 2003 until September 2008, holding the rank of Commander Senior Grade. The main subject of my thesis is system supportability with a special focus on spare parts and life cycle cost based procurement decisions. The thesis contains four papers and a synthesis presenting why and what to research, the theoretical foundation of the thesis as well as how to research. The synthesis includes chapters on research design, validity and reliability, theoretical framework and paper abstracts. The synthesis further reports on the main research conclusions. Finally the synthesis gives the main research contribution along with self criticism and suggestions for future research. All four papers in the thesis have been published (or accepted for publishing) in peer reviewed journals or peer reviewed conference proceedings or both

Process redesign of the Norwegian Navy Materiel Command's replenishment of inventory items

The Norwegian Navy Materiel Command must keep inventory in order to serve its customers. Service level is established as a measure of effectiveness on delivery from inventory. Long replenishment lead-time, with variability in both lead-time itself and lead-time demand, make it hard to achieve the desired service level. The lead-time becomes costly, both in form of holding cost of safety stock and in form of stock-outs. Current inventory control policy used at the Materiel Command is presented, and compared to theoretical inventory control models. Computer simulation is used to measure current administrative lead-time at the Norwegian Navy Materiel Command. Two proposals for redesign of existing replenishment process are built as simulation models, and the effect on administrative lead-time and associated variability is measured. The first proposal is to consolidate two separate procurement offices into one. The second proposal is to introduce, and use electronic commerce in the replenishment process. It is concluded that both redesign proposals will reduce administrative lead-time, variability and hence cost. Benefits from an introduction of electronic commerce will yield a yearly cost saving of at least 4,500,000 Norwegian Kroner, which is more than four times the savings of consolidationhttp://archive.org/details/processredesigno00tyssLieutenant-Commander, Royal Norwegian NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited