Improving complex enterprises with system models

Air Force sustainment operations are the focus of an intensive internal effort to improve performance and reduce costs. Past improvement initiatives have often failed to produce the intended results, and have caused performance to decline in some cases. Exploratory research was conducted at an Air Logistics Center to study how improvements are executed. Two conclusions are drawn from this research. The first is that changing sustainment operations is a problem of high dynamic and behavioral complexity. The second conclusion is that system models are well suited to coordinating change at the ALC because they provide insight into how a complicated system can be managed and improved. Three key findings support these conclusions. First, there is significant correlation between categories of unavailable F-16 aircraft such that reductions in one category are associated with increases in another. Second, an analysis of change efforts in two parts of the ALC shows that systemic influences, such as the inability to reinvest in improvements, are hindering change initiatives in one part of the ALC.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Hemann, Justin M. (Justin Matthew)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• George L. Roth and Deborah J. Nightingale.

• Engineering Systems Division.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35615

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/35615