Browsing by Author "Lister, Gordon"
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- ItemOpen AccessThe application of Just-In-Time techniques to small to medium sized manufacturing companies(1988) Bright, A H; Lister, GordonJust-In-Time (JIT) Production evolved in Japan as a result-of the need to increase both productivity and manufacturing flexibility. It was initially applied by the large, repetitive manufacturing companies, but was soon adopted by the manufacturer. JIT has only relatively recently found its way into Western manufacturing industries. JIT aims to only produce the products that a customer requires, and at a rate which will just satisfy demand. Organizations run under JIT should produce perfect quality products with minimum lead time There should be little manufacturing waste, and the personal development of people should be encouraged. There are a number of techniques which enable these requirements to be met. Workstation setup times must be reduced. The establishment of a preventive maintenance programme helps increase machine availability and process capability. Employees should be trained to operate as many machines as possible, thus increasing their flexibility. Mutually beneficial deals can be arranged with suppliers for the Just-In-Time delivery of purchased parts. And finally, a pull system should be installed. All of these measures aim at reducing waste and increasing plant flexibility and productivity. Although the understanding of the principles behind JIT is simple; its application in practice is difficult. To compound the problem, certain aspects of JIT tend to be more difficult for the small than the large manufacturer to apply. Yet it is necessary to go this route if industrial productivity in this sector is to be improved. In order to determine which aspects of JIT Production are the most difficult for the small manufacturer to apply, and in order to be able to set out general guidelines for the organization wanting to implement JIT Production, the redesign of a press shop in a small manufacturing plant was undertaken. From this a number of significant points emerged.
- ItemOpen AccessAn assessment of the viability of labour intensive township development in the Cape Metropolitan Area(1994) Steunenberg, Hendrik Stephanus; Lister, Gordon; Ryan, TomLabour intensive construction, generally defined by authors as the economically efficient use of labour to produce the quality of product as demanded by the specification (and allowed by the funding available), ensures that significantly more labour is used per unit of expenditure than in conventional construction. Labour intensive municipal infrastructure projects have been implemented in South Africa since 1985, but it is only in recent years that large township development projects in the Cape Metropolitan Area were undertaken with a purposeful exchange of machines for people. This thesis aims to assess the viability of labour intensive construction methods when applied in township development in the Cape Metropolitan Area. Case study methodology was used to design the study and gather and analyse data to reach meaningful conclusions. Six cases where labour intensive construction methods are used to provide municipal services, were investigated. After analysis, the findings were synthesised and recommendations presented. The objectives of the thesis were to investigate the factors; cost, time and quality when labour intensive construction methods are used. Contractual arrangements, possible social benefits and communication were also identified as areas to be investigated. The findings were compared with the industry's norms for conventional construction methods in order to evaluate the viability of labour intensive construction.
- ItemOpen AccessBoiler maintenance using expert systems(1989) Gamede, Cyril Vuyani; Lister, GordonThis research explores the application of expert systems to the maintenance of boilers, are as follows: and its main objectives [1] To explore the application of expert systems in the maintenance of boilers. [2] To simplify the task of boiler maintenance with the help of expert systems. [3] To improve the skills of boiler maintenance workers through the knowledge 'captured ' or 'preserved' by expert systems. [4] To minimise errors which may cost time, money, effort and possible risk of injury to boiler maintenance personnel. [5] To develop a prototype expert system which can advise and assist boiler maintenance personnel. [6) To contribute to research in the application of expert systems in the field of engineering.
- ItemOpen AccessThe development of an integrated sales forecasting and production planning system for the brewing industry(1991) Knight, T D; Lister, GordonConsiderable imminent in change on the this country. political and economic front is There is constant demand on businesses to improve productivity in the face of rising inflation, a trend that is unlikely to reverse given expected high wage demands. The liquor market is consider-ably influenced by government legislation and the state of the economy, hence companies operating within the liquor market are challenged with improving productivity in a changing environment. In order to facilitate productivity improvement, sales and production requirements need to be ascertained. The objective of this thesis is to design personal computer- based sales forecasting planning system that will aid a brewery productivity and minimise costs, through an integrated and production to maximise an ability to accurately forecast beer sales and translate such forecasts into efficient production plans. Fundamental to ensuring that the optimum production scenario is achieved is the need to generate a number of production scenarios for comparative purposes. To this end, the sales forecasting and production planning systems must be fully integrated, thereby allowing for the efficient generation of "what if" type analyses.
- ItemOpen AccessEvolution of total quality management principles and their implementation in high schools(2001) Yesilyurt, Yasar; Lister, GordonIncludes bibliographical references.
- ItemOpen AccessGuidelines for the successful implementation of concurrent engineering practices in the South African electronics industry(1995) Seeruttun, Dhiren Kumar; Lister, GordonThis thesis describes the concurrent engineering environment necessary for developing electronics products in the 1990s, and beyond. The broad scope of the research has made it possible to derive guidelines for the successful implementation of concurrent engineering in the South African electronics manufacturing industry. For a long time, design and manufacturing have been viewed as two distinct steps that must be sequential. The problem is that this process delays product introductions and promotes design errors that have to be caught either in the field or on the factory floor. Nevertheless, these drawbacks were viewed as simply an evil of modern industry. Today, progressive companies see that there is a better way to do things. Viewing product design and manufacturing engineering as separate entities is yesterday's technology. Both can be done at the same time in the process called Concurrent Engineering (CE).
- ItemOpen AccessIdentifying and eliminating the root causes of the undesirable effects present in small manufacturing business production systems(1999) Almeleh, Marc R; Lister, GordonThe manufacturing industry in South Africa is presently experiencing severe competition from cheap imports from the east. Furthermore, the present high interest rate and newly legislated business and labour laws have created unfavourable conditions for small manufacturing businesses. For small manufacturing businesses to survive in this competitive market and under unfavourable conditions, they require increased performance in lead times, product innovation, product and service quality, manufacturing flexibility and responsiveness and, reduced manufacturing costs. To attain sustainable improvements requires a comprehensive understanding of problematic situations present in small business manufacturing systems. The aim of this project was to identify the major problems present in small business manufacturing systems, to highlight the difference between, and show the causality relationships between, "symptoms" of problems and their root causes, and to propose ways of eliminating the problems.
- ItemOpen AccessThe influence of project structural factors on the time management of electronic engineering projects in the south western Cape(1993) Fakira, B S J Hamida; Lister, GordonTime management is certainly the most invaluable tool in projecting time-phased resource utilisation requirements as well as providing a basis for tracking performance. It allows optimal integration of all the resources in a project such that synergy is produced. Consequently, an effective time management system is crucial to the success of a project. This research highlights the major requirements for setting up an effective time management system for electronic engineering companies in the South Western Cape. It includes a literature review which shows the influence of the project structural factors on time management and the project performance. The research also uses an industrial survey to uncover the current impact of the project structural factors on electronic engineering projects. The effectiveness of alternative time control system is examined as well. From the findings of this research study, it has been possible to set up guidelines for selecting time control techniques which are pertinent to the current project structural factors of electronic engineering projects.
- ItemOpen AccessAn investigation into after-sales service in the South African motor industry(1993) Gordon, E C D; Lister, GordonThis thesis looks at after-sales service in the South African motor industry, an area where very little research has been published. The aims of the project, in addition to just gaining a better understanding of the broad subject, were to find out the relative importance, in the mind of the customer, of the car or dealer service, as well as factors such as reliability, the standard of work done by dealers, on-time delivery, etc. other aims were to compare the service received by customers with different makes of car and relate the importance of different factors to respondent characteristics such as gender, age, etc.
- ItemOpen AccessAn investigation into appraisal methods for industrial projects(1990) Möller, Ian Robert; McGeorge, J F; Lister, GordonA wide variety of tools exists for appraisal in general. There are, however, very few widely accepted guidelines governing their specific application in industrial projects. It would be useful to a practicing project appraiser to be able to discern which appraisal methods are most applicable to a particular situation. This research has therefore undertaken to investigate the relationship between the appraisal methods available and their application to industrial projects. As such, a number of specific objectives have been discerned. The first of these was to analyse the literature in order to determine the general views held. The second was to corroborate the views of literature with actual industrial trends. The final objective was to compare theory and practice in order to develop broad guidelines for future project appraisers. The procedure adopted to meet these objectives firstly involved conducting a survey of the literature. This yielded a number of conclusions which suggest a preferred approach to appraisal. To evaluate this approach an appropriate questionnaire was compiled. This questionnaire was then circulated to a representative target area, namely the industrial sector of the South Western Cape. The response to this survey provided a database of actual industrial projects. From this database trends were extracted using a number of statistical techniques, such as Analysis of Variance, Contingency Analysis and Log-linear Modelling. The results of this analysis were then used to complement the conclusions of literature and to confirm the preferred approach to project appraisal. The conclusions from the literature where consensus was found to exist involve the following issues: The chronological position of appraisal in the project life-cycle. The types of study that should be included in project appraisal. The chronological order of these studies. The extent to which formal techniques should be used. The background that the appraisers should have. The extent to which project characteristics influence the appraisal approach. The database provided by the industrial survey consisted of 173 projects conducted in 33 different organisations. Analysis conducted on this database yielded a number of simple one-to-one relationships between project success, appraisal method used and project characteristics. From these relationships a picture of the reality experienced in the South Western Cape could be formed. Such a picture was compared with literature in order to form an overall set of guidelines for use by the practising project appraiser. As a result of the analysis and the subsequent comparison between literature and practice, conclusions were drawn concerning a number of aspects in the research. Such aspects include the success of the research method, uncertainties of the industrial survey, consensus between literature and practice on appraisal procedures and the existence of a preferred approach to project appraisal. A number of recommendations could also be made with regard to two areas of interest. The first concerns recommendations for further research in the field of project appraisal. These include extending the database so as to accommodate multi-variate analysis, researching the formal techniques available for operational suitability and technical feasibility studies and adopting a different mode of survey to that of a posted questionnaire. The second area of interest recommends a set of broad guidelines to the practising project appraiser. These guidelines rationalise such issues as the influence of project characteristics on the use of appraisal methods, the chronological position of appraisal within the project life-cycle, the type and chronological order of studies that should be conducted in the appraisal procedure and the techniques and expertise that should be utilised within each study.
- ItemOpen AccessAn investigation into consulting engineering service quality perceptions and expectations(1998) De Villiers, Gregory Ian; Lister, GordonThis thesis focuses on the 'Quality of Service' provided by Consulting Civil/Structural engineers. The study assesses whether or not there are shortfalls in the quality of engineering services provided by consulting engineers. It identifies service dimensions that are problematic and also identifies 'real' variables which consulting engineers should manage in order to improve their services. A survey research method was used (pilot and main study) to collect information from management in the consulting industry; and from clients of the consulting engineering profession. The pilot study aimed to determine whether engineers were meeting client expectations; and to what extent formal quality control usage and management support of this, contributed to the delivery of quality services. Furthermore the study aimed to determine whether engineers ever assessed client satisfaction to gather information about providing more accurate services to clients; to determine any costs associated with poor services; and to determine any general service improvements suggested by engineers and clients. The main study aimed to measure the relative size of the gap that existed between the expected and perceived services from clients; as well as the gap across the boundary between clients' expected service and engineers' perceptions of clients' expectations. It was found that on the whole clients were dissatisfied with services received from engineers. This provision of 'poor services' was found to have bigger financial implications to engineers than it did to clients! Three areas of service, were identified which engineers should manage to improve their services i.e. the provision of the optimum solution to the client's exact need, doing this in the allotted time, and tailoring this service to within the client's budget. This was regarded as being superior service provision, and would give engineers the required competitive edge to remain profitable in the market. Includes Bibliography: p. 85.
- ItemOpen AccessAn investigation of the factors influencing the sustainability of small- and medium-scale electrical contracting enterprises (SMECEs) in the Cape Peninsula(2004) Visser, Charl; Lister, GordonThis study focuses on small- to medium-scale electrical enterprises (SMECEs) in the Cape Peninsula, and specifically on electrical contractors with fewer than 25 employees. The objectives of this study are threefold: Firstly, the study reviews the position of current SMECEs, their economic contribution to the economy, their origin and establishment, the lifespan of the business, as well as the level of education of the individuals involved in the business. Secondly, it determines the constraints and limitations that may lead to the failure of these businesses. And, thirdly, it identifies the factors that may enable SMECEs to become sustainable or successful enterprises. A two-phased research method was used to collect information from owners of electrical contracting firms. This method involved the use of a pilot survey questionnaire and a main survey questionnaire. The pilot and main questionnaires were used to obtain data pertaining to the electrical contracting industry and owners of such firms. More specifically, this data includes information on the background of the company and its owner, the establishment of the business and its employment structure, as well as its work history, current operations and future objectives. It also looked at the constraints and limitations faced by these SMECEs, and identified specific factors that may enhance their sustainability. These questionnaires revealed that the constraining factors could be placed into two main categories, viz. management and labour. Management problems, for instance, included poor cash flow because of slow payment by clients, a lack of management skills on the part of business owners, and an inability to calculate project costs accurately. Labour problems, on the other hand, included an unreliable work force with no proper or effective work ethic, a lack of skilled and trained labour, and a work force that was inadequately skilled as either electricians or assistants. Among the factors that are necessary to ensure the success and sustainability of SMECEs, were the following: Business owners need to deal personally with problems and constraints and must learn how to avoid them. They must improve their management and planning ability, and must be able to understand the market. Their business must offer good workmanship and quality of service, and they must be able to complete their projects successfully. A reliable skilled work force is imperative, as are marketing skills and the ability to ensure the controlled growth of the firm. The following recommendations are made to owners of SMECEs: In order for their business to be successful and sustainable, they need to identify training courses that can assist their current contracted labour force. Business owners themselves also need to attend tendering and cost-control courses to improve the running and management of their business. They need to support the education and training of their work force and to employ skilled workers. Furthermore, they must ensure that the scope of the electrical contract is explained to the work force and that there is a written contract from the client, setting out the conditions of payment, in order to prevent late payment and thus cash flow problems.
- ItemOpen AccessLearning, continuous improvement, world class manufacturing and the South African plastics industry(1996) Saban, Alon; Lister, GordonSouth African manufacturers are re-entering the global market where competition is fierce. Greater and faster learning is necessary for organisational survival in the turbulent global market Learning is understood to be a continuous cycle of activities. Continuous Improvement is shown to be a continuous learning cycle. World Class Manufacturing methodologies are described as being an effective manner to make performance improvements as they are based on Continuous Improvement. Reviews of Learning, Continuous Improvement and World Class Manufacturing methodologies and techniques used by companies in international industry are presented. Examples of implementations are focused on the plastics conversion industry. This industry has a record of poor performance in South Africa.
- ItemOpen AccessPersonal computer network planning techniques amongst building contractors in the Western Cape(1990) Dreyer, Michael John; Lister, GordonThe construction of a building requires that the sequence of operations to be planned in one way or another. In the last 100 years a variety of planning techniques have been developed. Common methods amongst builders are "Bar Charts" and various network analysis techniques. The recent advent of powerful personal computers linked to these analysis methods have opened new horizons. Just how are these techniques being used amongst the members of the Master Builder's Association of the Western Cape? A survey amongst members showed that the use of planning techniques and attitudes towards them were similar to that reported in literature. Network analysis techniques were used on about 10% of projects. Firms with personal computers used about 7% of computer time on network analysis techniques. Visits to firms showed that the techniques were used in a different way in each of the firms visited.
- ItemOpen AccessPhysical distribution in South Africa : a review and a system design for hanging textile merchandise(1986) Dreze, A R H; Lister, GordonThe subject of physical distribution was first examined in the early 1900s. It was developed and refined especially during World II under the name of 'Logistics', and began to be adopted in the field of business from the 1950s. From the 1960s onwards, national bodies have been established, both in the U.S. and the U.K., and works and theories have been published leading to the establishment of journals and the establishment of formal education programmes all dealing with physical distribution. A review of published works on the subject was undertaken. Some books were studied, as well as a number of journal articles dating from the early 1970s. No suitable references were obtained dealing with the subject in a South African context. A project was also carried out to design a system for distributing garments in a hanging mode. The thesis thus concerns a general review of physical distribution management and the distribution of goods and services throughout business and industry, with an emphasis being placed on south African conditions. The principal objectives of this study were to examine and review the state-of-the-art of the general theory and the use of physical distribution, to suggest means of applying it in South Africa and to briefly examine future trends and developments. These objectives were achieved by examining from books and articles the concept and theory of distribution, its interrelationships with aspects such as marketing, production and business organisations, and its management in business organisations: by discussing some characteristics of South African business and industry; by examining certain areas that provide the greatest potential for improvements: by discussing a project carried out to design a distribution system for hanging garments merchandise; and by examining future trends both overseas and in South Africa. Physical distribution is shown to be an important subject for business and society and for the economy as a whole. It is always changing in a dynamic environment and requires constant monitoring. This thesis shows how this field, which has been researched and developed overseas, is affected by local conditions and should be applied to specific areas in South Africa.
- ItemOpen AccessProduction scheduling in a foundry machine shop(1986) Miller, Jeremy John; Lister, GordonThe scheduling of production in job shops is generally accomplished in four stages; aggregate planning, machine loading, sequencing and detailed scheduling. In industrial job shops, the number of jobs and machines makes detailed scheduling a particularly complicated and unwieldy task. When faced with this situation, a typical response of managements is to simply ignore the problem and apply some remedial action by adapting existing company operation procedures. The first objective of this dissertation is to indicate the dangers and inefficiencies which result when the problem of detailed scheduling is ignored. This is done in terms of a case study analysis in which the problems which currently exist in the machine shop at Atlantis Aluminium, a jobbing foundry, are illustrated. The second objective is to develop a systematic approach for the solution of detailed scheduling in job shops. Major steps in this approach are: i) a classification of shop scheduling problems ii) a survey of relevant scheduling literature in order to determine existing detailed scheduling techniques iii) the design of the scheduling system This approach is illustrated by applying it to the machine shop at Atlantis Aluminium.
- ItemOpen AccessProductivity improvement in a dyehouse in the textiles industry(1993) Craven, A S; Lister, GordonThis dissertation describes the application of productivity improvement techniques in a dyehouse in order to reduce costs and to improve quality and delivery performance. It consists mainly of investigations into the high reject rate in the dyehouse and into the dyeing process itself. In these, the technique of Pareto analysis and the application of the principle that all processes contributing to product quality should be controlled, were applied. In addition, work study techniques were used to improve process flow, planning and batch sizes. A number of conclusions and recommendations were made: there are no major obstacles to successful first-time dyeing; the proportion of rejects produced tends to increase with increasing workload; the overall ability of the dyehouse operators and supervisors needs to be improved; the dyeing process is very vulnerable to human error, and increased automation, such as the purchase of a more sophisticated machine control system, is recommended; investigation into the purchase of a colour matching computer is also recommended.
- ItemOpen AccessQuality assurance during system/product development(1990) Schultz, Richard Wilhelm; Lister, GordonThis thesis discusses the need for and requirements of quality assurance during development of systems and products. Quality Assurance is necessary during the acquisition programme to verify that the deliverable end products and systems satisfy the requirements of the user or client. No proper guidance is available to the industry on the subject of Quality Assurance during development. The objective of this thesis is thus to develop a Quality Assurance model for use as a guide for quality assurance planning on each project.
- ItemOpen AccessA simulation study of a chemical distribution system(1988) Koenig, M J N; Lister, Gordon; Stewart, Theodor JThere has been a great deal of interest recently in using the simulation approach to analyse and optimize industrial systems. Applications of simulation techniques in the South African field are however limited and there is an urgent need for further work. This thesis provides industry an illustrative example of a simulation model of a chemical distribution system. It is concerned with the handling of raw materials and products at the African Explosives and Chemical Industries (AECI), situated in Somerset West. The model objectives were threefold; firstly, to establish the application of the simulation concept in the distribution field; secondly, to analyse the whole distribution system and to provide the factory with thorough details on its distribution performance; and finally, to identify any potential future strategies to minimize distribution cost.
- ItemOpen AccessA survey on the use and application of information technologies in construction management processes(2002) Serumola, Sedireng; Lister, GordonThis dissertation describes the findings of a study that was carried out on the use and application of information technologies (IT) in construction management processes. This study, which was in the form of a survey, was conducted in October and November 2001 covering forty-five (45) architectural, engineering and construction companies operating in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The objectives of the study were: to investigate the extent of use and application of information technologies in construction companies operating in the Western Cape, and to determine the factors influencing IT investments in the construction industry. The survey results reveal that 96% of respondents have invested in IT during the last two years, and some of the companies are planning to make further IT investments. Although an overwhelming number of companies have invested in IT during the last two years, only 71% of the respondents have IT strategies. From this 71% of the respondents, 34% have their IT strategies in written form and 37% have it in oral form. These construction companies are planning to make further IT investments in computer-aided design, document handling and accounting systems. Only a few companies showed interest in investing in electronic trading, computer product modelling, virtual reality and property information. The survey has also established that many business processes like bookkeeping, invoicing, scheduling, resource-planning, costing, budgeting and tendering are highly computerised. Despite these large IT investments and high computerisation of the business processes, the outcomes have been mixed. The introduction of IT in the construction industry has resulted in some desirable changes since it has improved the efficiency of doing work, thereby reducing the cost of doing work. Furthermore, IT has increased productivity in general administration, project management, design, and site management. However, the introduction of IT has brought little or no improvement in reducing the mistakes in documents, the number of construction errors, the complexity of work, the administration needs and the proportion of new work. Continual demand for upgrading hardware and software, and high investment costs are seen as prohibitive to the greater adoption of IT in the construction industry.