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How Delta Used TOC to Decrease Turnaround Times in its MRO Operation
Date: March 12, 2008, at 2:00 p.m. ET
Presenters: Melissa R. Bowers, Ph.D., and Chris Fay
Duration: 1 hour
Site Price: $99 APICS member, $139 nonmember
Availability: Space Available
Description
Many organizations struggle to coordinate maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities with shared resources. The challenge is to find the constraint in the MRO process; exploit and elevate the constraint; and then design an execution management system (EMS) to support improvements in the MRO process.
Substantial improvement and growth at Delta Airline’s Tech Ops group, the Engine Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) unit, were achieved through the design of a new execution management system built around the tools in Goldratt’s theory of constraints (TOC). The unit designed an EMS that integrated critical chain project management (CCPM) and drum-buffer-rope (DBR) scheduling systems to manage MRO activities on engines in a project management environment. CCPM was used to drive the basic engine disassembly and reassembly processes while a DBR system was integrated to manage and prioritize work in the Repair and Support Shop areas. Delta was able to increase its orders from external customers by 33 percent, decrease engine turnaround times by 15 percent, and increase throughput by 22 percent.
Top Learning Objectives
Learn how to use an execution management system to successfully schedule a shared resource to support operations in a project management environment. Participants will become familiar with seven simple principles used in designing and implementing the Execution Management System developed by the Delta Airlines Tech Ops group:
- Using the system constraint to set the drumbeat
- Managing backshop queues
- Avoiding multitasking
- Synchronization of execution priorities
- Anticipating and rectifying the potential for delays
- Using flexibility to respond to variation
- Adopting and adhering to a doctrine of accountability
Level: Intermediate
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About the Presenters
Melissa R. Bowers, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the College of Business, Department of Statistics, Operations, and Management Science at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She has worked in the area of production planning and scheduling in the apparel industry with companies such as Oxford Industries, Milliken, and Tanner Companies. Bowers has also applied the concepts of lean thinking across organizations in both the service and manufacturing arenas, as well as in the area of maintenance, repair, and overhaul. She has worked extensively with organizations in the aerospace industry including a number of U.S. Air Force and U.S. Naval depots. Bowers has numerous publications in academic journals such as Interfaces, Decision Sciences, Production and Inventory Management Journal, Journal of Mathematical and Computer Modeling, and European Journal of Operational Research. She is a coauthor with Gary Adams of “TURBO TOC: The ‘Thrust’ Behind Delta’s Maintenance Success,” in the February 2008 APICS Magazine.
Chris Fay is a Master Black Belt for Delta Air Lines’ Technical Operations division. His primary area of focus is the development and implementation of strategic improvement initiatives in the Engine Maintenance division of Technical Operations. Fay is responsible for planning, managing, and coordinating the accomplishment of large-scale improvement and systems management projects. He also provides mentoring and developmental support for the business unit’s Black Belts, Green Belts, work teams, and continuous improvement teams, acting as a subject matter expert in six sigma, lean enterprise, and theory of constraints concepts. He is also responsible for assisting the business unit leadership in developing and implementing strategic improvement initiatives for improving operational performance, as well as developing and administering continuous improvement training and certification.
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