Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Engineering Management
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the integration of lean manufacturing principles with digital design tool & initiatives and the perceived impact it has on organizational performance in terms of quality, cost, and schedule/response-time. Lean manufacturing and digital design have been studied and modeled, however understanding the interaction associated with integrating the two principles and the resultant effects on organizational needs and performance remains a relatively undeveloped field of study. The study was conducted utilizing the Lean Manufacturing and Digital Design (LMADD) Questionnaire developed by the researcher that measured the opinions of U.S. aerospace executives and leaders responsible for the implementation of lean manufacturing principles and digital design advancements. Nineteen digital design tools and initiatives were identified by the study, and a total of 17 lean manufacturing principles/initiatives were identified as being used in the U.S. domestic aerospace industry. Quantitative assessment was conducted utilizing Spearmans rank correlation to characterize the relationship between the level of lean and digital integration and the corresponding organization performance improvement with respect to quality, cost, and schedule. Quantifiable data was presented which supported rejecting null hypothesis #1 and null hypothesis #2, indicated that a statistically significant strong correlation does exist between the level of integration (between lean manufacturing and digital design) and organizational quality and cost performance. Whereas the same data failed to reject null hypotheses #3 and #4, indicating that a significantly significant relationship did not exist between the level of integration and organizational schedule improvement, and the overall relationship with respect to organizational performance. This research provided an opportunity to study a cross section of the U.S. aerospace companies identified in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWCs) Top 100 an Aerospace Companies 2015 Report (PWC, 2016) expanding the body of knowledge associated with aerospace lean manufacturing to include the integration of digital design.
Recommended Citation
Troutman, Dana R., "Integrating Digital Design Technologies And Lean Manufacturing To Meet Aerospace Organizational Needs And Improve Performance" (2018). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1654.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/1654