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Decision Making Approaches in Process Innovations: An Explorative Case Study
Mälardalen University, School of Innovation, Design and Engineering, Innovation and Product Realisation.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0798-0753
Mälardalen University, School of Innovation, Design and Engineering, Innovation and Product Realisation.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5963-2470
Mälardalen University, School of Innovation, Design and Engineering, Innovation and Product Realisation.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7935-8811
Mälardalen University, School of Innovation, Design and Engineering, Innovation and Product Realisation. IPR (Innovation and Product Realisation).ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4308-2678
2019 (English)In: Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management JMTM, ISSN 1741-038X, Vol. 32, no 9, p. 1-25Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the selection of decision-making approaches at manufacturing companies when implementing process innovations.Design/methodology/approach: This study reviews the current understanding of decision structuredness for determining a decision-making approach, and conducts a case study based on an interactive research approach at a global manufacturer. Findings: The findings show the correspondence of intuitive, normative, and combined intuitive and normative decision-making approaches in relation to varying degrees of equivocality and analyzability. Accordingly, the conditions for determining a decision-making choice when implementing process innovations are revealed. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to increased understanding of the combined use of intuitive and normative decision-making in production system design. Practical implications: Empirical data are drawn from two projects in the heavy-vehicle industry. The study describes decisions, from start to finish, and the corresponding decision-making approaches when implementing process innovations. These findings are of value to staff responsible for the design of production systems. Originality/value: Unlike prior conceptual studies, this study considers normative, intuitive, and combined intuitive and normative decision-making. In addition, this study extends the current understanding of decision structuredness, and discloses the correspondence of decision-making approaches to varying degrees of equivocality and analyzability.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sweden, 2019. Vol. 32, no 9, p. 1-25
Keywords [en]
intuitive, normative, decision-making, process innovation, equivocality, analyzability, casestudy, production system design
National Category
Engineering and Technology Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-45496DOI: 10.1108/JMTM-03-2019-0087ISI: 000506697800001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85077979443OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mdh-45496DiVA, id: diva2:1359512
Projects
XPRES - Excellence in Production ResearchINNOFACTURE - innovative manufacturing developmentAvailable from: 2019-10-09 Created: 2019-10-09 Last updated: 2023-12-04Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Supporting Decision-Making in the Design of Production Systems: A Discrete Event Simulation perspective
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Supporting Decision-Making in the Design of Production Systems: A Discrete Event Simulation perspective
2019 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Manufacturing companies are introducing process innovations, namely new production processes or technologies, to achieve increased competitiveness. Production systems design can ensure the fulfillment of process innovations. However, literature shows that the staff responsible for the design of production systems face unfamiliar circumstances, lack of consensus or understanding (equivocality), and absence of information (uncertainty). Hence, manufacturing companies find it difficult to support decision-making in the design of production systems leading to increased competitiveness. One way to support decision-making during production systems design is through discrete-event simulation (DES). However, there is limited understanding of the application of DES in decision-making support, in this context.

Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to support decision-making through DES in the design of production systems involving process innovations. To this end, the thesis reviews the current understanding of production system design, including decision-making and DES. This thesis adopts a qualitative case study method to extract empirical data from three production systems design projects of a manufacturing company in the heavy vehicle industry.

The thesis offers several contributions. Firstly, the findings identify the conditions of use, challenges, requirements, and activities essential for the utilization of DES during production system design related to process innovations. These important findings are critical for supporting decision-making when manufacturing companies renew their production processes. Secondly, this thesis reveals that determining the conditions of use of DES for supporting decision-making rests on the structuredness of a decision (e.g. its degree of equivocality or analyzability), and the quantitative or qualitative nature or DES models. Thirdly, the results describe four novel findings about the challenges undermining the use of DES including equivocality, uncertainty, and the lack of a structured approach and the absence of resources for DES use. Fourthly, the results reveal three requirements necessary for the use of DES including analyzing information consensus, specifying the activities of conceptual models, and coordinating DES models with the information needs. Fifthly, this thesis provides three valuable findings describing additional activities in the design of production systems related to defining the objectives of DES models, and facilitating a structured approach and the management of resources for the use of DES.

This thesis present a framework that contributes to the use of DES for decision-making support at manufacturing companies. Based on this framework, managers of those companies can supervise formal activities involving the use of DES in production systems design.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Eskilstuna: Mälardalen University, 2019
Series
Mälardalen University Press Dissertations, ISSN 1651-4238 ; 299
Keywords
production system design; Discrete Event Simulation; process innovation; decision-making
National Category
Engineering and Technology Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics
Research subject
Innovation and Design
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-45542 (URN)978-91-7485-443-5 (ISBN)
Public defence
2019-11-29, Filen, Mälardalens högskola, Eskilstuna, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Projects
INNOFACTURE - innovative manufacturing development
Funder
Knowledge Foundation
Available from: 2019-10-15 Created: 2019-10-15 Last updated: 2020-10-20Bibliographically approved

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Flores-García, ErikBruch, JessicaWiktorsson, MagnusJackson, Mats

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