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354 Pages·2013·1.62 MB·English

by  Dirk Van Dyk

SUSTAINABILITY OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES
IN A HEAVY ENGINEERING MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENT:
A SYSTEM DYNAMICS APPROACH
by
DIRK JOHANNES VAN DYK
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
PHILOSOPHIAE DOCTOR
in the

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA
PRETORIA
SUPERVISOR : PROFESSOR LEON PRETORIUS
July 2013
©© UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff PPrreettoorriiaa
“I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me”
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
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ABSTRACT
SUSTAINABILITY OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES IN A
HEAVY ENGINEERING MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENT - A SYSTEM
DYNAMICS APPROACH
Supervisor : Prof L Pretorius
Department : Engineering and Technology Management, University of Pretoria
Degree : PhD
Companies realise that to stay competitive they have to introduce quality improvement
programmes. Many companies are challenged today with the sustainability of these quality
improvement programmes. Generally the dynamic behaviour of quality improvement
programmes is poorly understood with soft issues as factors of the system. System dynamics
may solve this problem.
This research is focused on the operational management of operations. The organising
framework of this research has been on qualitative research where the research design was a
polar type research design and case studies focused on initiatives that were dramatic
successes or failures, with the expectation that their comparison would help identify those
processes that prevent competence enhancing change.
A dynamic hypothesis has been constructed from archival data, semi-structured interviews
and direct observations, gathered during these case studies. A system dynamics model for
quality improvement programmes in an automotive environment has been tested and
expanded to be applicable for a heavy engineering manufacturing environment. The structure
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of the system dynamics model has been expanded to include a sustainability feedback loop
which also included a management support model. This model included soft factors such as
management support, management pressure and managerial effectiveness.
The complete quality improvement program system dynamics simulation model with
sustainability has been tested and validated against real system data, for a heavy engineering
manufacturing environment, gathered during the case studies. The model parameters were
determined from a calibration algorithm, by using the Vensim® simulation platform, that
fitted the real system behaviour the best. A sensitivity analysis has been done on the model
parameters determining the information cues for the management decision policies.
From the system dynamics model of the complete quality improvement programme,
including the sustainability feedback loop, proposed management decision policies have
been studied that could lead to sustainable quality improvement programmes for a heavy
engineering manufacturing environment. From these simulation studies several management
policies have been proposed.
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OPSOMMING
SUSTAINABILITY OF QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES IN A
HEAVY ENGINEERING MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENT - A SYSTEM
DYNAMICS APPROACH
Toesighouer : Prof L Pretorius
Departement : Ingenieurs- en Tegnologiebestuur, Universiteit van Pretoria
Graad : PhD
Maatskappye verstaan dat kwaliteitsprogramme suksesvol geïmplimenteer moet word om as
kompeterend beskou te word. Verskeie maatskappye vind dit egter moeilik om
kwaliteitsprogramme volhoubaar te implimenteer. Omdat daar leemtes bestaan om die
dinamika volledig te verstaan, veral ten opsigte van die nie-tasbare faktore wat moeilik is om
te meet, kan “System Dynamics” moontlik gebruik word om hierdie probleem te oorbrug.
Die navorsing soos hierin vervat, is gemik op operasionele bestuur van
vervaardigingsoperasies. Hierdie navorsing is gebasseer op kwalitatiewe navorsing. Die
navorsingsontwerp het te doen met 'n polêre navorsingsontwerp waar die gevallestudies
gefokus het op dramatiese suksesse en falings. Die vergelyking van die data en die prosesse
wat bydra tot die sukses van die gevalle, het 'n bydrae gelewer tot die nuwe teorie.
'n Dinamiese hipotese is ontwerp vanuit data wat bepaal is vanaf argiefdata, semi-
gestruktureerde onderhoude en direkte observasies. Alle data is versamel tydens die
gevallestudies. 'n Stelseldinamiese model vir kwaliteitsprogramme in 'n
motorvervaardigingsomgewing, is getoets en geëvalueer om van toepassing te wees in 'n
v
swaar ingenieursvervaardigingsomgewing. Die struktuur van die stelseldinamiese
model is uitgebrei om die terugvoerlus van volhoubaarheid in te sluit. Hierdie lus
sluit ook die stelseldinamiese model van bestuursondersteuning in, asook
bestuursdruk en bestuurseffektiwiteit.
Die volledige stelseldinamiese model van die saamgestelde kwaliteitsprogram, ingesluit die
terugvoerlus van volhoubaarheid, is getoets en geëvalueer teen data wat die werklike stelsel
voorstel. Hierdie data is versamel gedurende die gevallestudies. Die modelparameters is
bepaal met behulp van 'n kalibrasiealgoritme met behulp van Vensim® simulasieplatform,
wat die werklike data die beste pas. 'n Sensitiwiteitsanalise is gedoen op die
modelparameters om sodoende die inligtingsveranderlikes te bepaal vir die
besluitnemingspunte in die stelseldinamiese model.
Vanuit die stelseldinamiese model van die volledige kwaliteitsprogram, ingesluit die
terugvoerlus van volhoubaarheid, is voorgestelde bestuurspraktyke bestudeer aan die hand
van dinamiese simulasies. Laasgenoemde mag lei tot volhoubaarheid van toepassing op 'n
swaaringenieursvervaardigingsomgewing. Vanuit hierdie studie word verskeie
betsuurspraktyke aanbeveel wat mag lei tot volhoubare kwalitietsprogramme.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To my Lord and Saviour for giving me the strength and wisdom in order to have completed
this study successfully. To the honour and glory of your Name, without You, none of this
would have been possible.
To my loving wife Brenda, for all your support you gave me during the late nights and
weekends, especially all the encouragement and small extraordinary reminders that kept me
motivated during those long hours.
To my lovely teenage daughter Janda, for all your enquiries and support and for sharing your
thoughts with me, it has been truly special.
To Buddy, my loyal four-legged Labrador friend who lay patiently at my feet while I was
burning the midnight oil.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT..........................................................................................................................iii
Sustainability of quality improvement programmes in a heavy engineering manufacturing
environment - A system dynamics approach
OPSOMMING.......................................................................................................................v
Sustainability of quality improvement programmes in a heavy engineering manufacturing
environment - A system dynamics approach
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................vii
LIST OF TABLES..............................................................................................................xvi
LIST OF FIGURES.........................................................................................................xviii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction, purpose and expected contribution of this study
1 Introduction.........................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background.................................................................................................................1
1.2 Problem statement ......................................................................................................3
1.3 Research objective ......................................................................................................3
1.3.1 Research questions..............................................................................................4
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1.4 Dynamic hypothesis....................................................................................................5
1.5 Expected contributions................................................................................................8
1.6 Thesis research road map..........................................................................................10
1.7 Summary...................................................................................................................13
CHAPTER 2
Literature overview of quality improvement programmes, sustainability and system
dynamics
2 Introduction......................................................................................................................14
2.1 Overview of quality improvement programmes .......................................................15
2.1.1 Lean manufacturing...........................................................................................15
2.1.2 Lean six sigma...................................................................................................17
2.1.3 Six sigma...........................................................................................................17
2.1.4 Design for six sigma (DFSS).............................................................................19
2.1.5 Total quality management (TQM).....................................................................20
2.2 Overview of systems thinking and system dynamics.................................................22
2.2.1 Systems thinking...............................................................................................22
2.2.2 System dynamics...............................................................................................23
2.2.3 System dynamics and soft factors......................................................................31
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2.3 Sustainability and continuous improvement..............................................................33
2.4 Summary...................................................................................................................36
CHAPTER 3
Conceptual theory - System dynamics and quality improvement programmes
3 Introduction.......................................................................................................................38
3.1 System dynamics model of a quality improvement programme ...............................40
3.2 Modelling of the interaction between first- and second-order improvement loops....48
3.3 Discussion of the simulation results from the interaction of the first - and second-
order improvement loops..................................................................................................54
3.4 Summary...................................................................................................................61
CHAPTER 4
Research design and methodology
4 Introduction.......................................................................................................................63
4.1 Research design.........................................................................................................64
4.2 Methodology.............................................................................................................66
4.3 Selecting the cases.....................................................................................................67
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