Kettering University

The primary purpose of this thesis is to address perceived performance problems of the network by remote end users. Remote end users perceive the network to be slow and unreliable, this thesis addresses those concerns and attempts to correct those issues. The thesis examines different aspects of the network including Hub Network systems, Remote Network systems, Hub Servers and Remote workstations. Changes on each of the four areas are detailed.

The Sterling Trucks Corporation price ordering/price quote system SpecPro 21 was experiencing some efficiency problems in various aspects that caused users frustration and decreased their productivity within the system. This thesis gathered information from various sources on the causes of the glitches within SpecPro 21, formally documented the problems for management, and offered recommendations for eliminating those problems from the system. Maximum Efficiency and User friendliness is hoped to be achieved with the implementation of the thesis ideas.

The problem presented in this thesis is a result of inefficient processes and non-existent flexibility. Testers of the Forensic Support Unit (FSU) use the DEMS application on a daily basis. Incurred in its use, are a myriad of problems and headaches that each employee must deal with before a final test report can be delivered to the customer. In an effort to remedy the problem, an approach was made to completely redesign the DEMS application using efficient technologies and programming practices. This effort allows future development to be integrated easier, while maintaining an accurate and user-friendly web based application.

This thesis is an attempt to solve the problem that exists with prototype orders. In the past prototype orders were going untracked. This then resulted in no payment from customers, with whom received their parts. This thesis shows the process used to recoup the money unpaid by customers. This thesis takes a look at processes/procedures and updates them where needed. In addition, in this thesis you will find a routine check that was established to avoid this same problem from occurring in the future. Also other methods of saving money were created in this thesis as well.

This thesis provides information regarding the benefits of All-Wheel Drive to end-users. The data and findings of this thesis are aimed towards an OEM Product Planner. The surveys completed by consumers show their purchasing decisions, behavior, and priorities. The perception of All-Wheel Drive can be negative, depending on what the consumer?s priorities are. This thesis gives a brief overview on the available technologies that help mitigate negative perceptions (such as fuel efficiency) and the markets that should be pursued.

Bjorn Oxos Thesis Abstract Title: Stationary Engine Market Research Project Due to the quickly changing market conditions in the automotive industry and increased competitiveness, Bosch?s traditional business is no longer supporting adequate growth. There is a lack of information of the stationary engine market in the Bosch original equipment sales department were applicable Bosch products could be applied. This thesis explores the market of stationary engines it gives a complete picture of the size, climate, and key competitors of the Market. It also looks at Bosch products and their application to the market.

The goal of this thesis was to create a tool for analyzing customers financially. The Tier II KAM now has such a tool providing account managers with a thorough understanding of the potential customer's financial condition prior to business negotiations. The thesis also provides an in depth analysis of each of SV's Tier I Customers allowing for an even better understanding of the customer's financial situation.

The initial scope of the thesis was to define the true cost of Eagle Ottawa's lamination process in order to gauge EO's position in the market and assess the operation's true profitability. Once the cost model was defined, opportunities for cost reduction were sought out leading to the elimination of blocker patterns from the Dodge Ram DS program yielding approximately $200k in annual material savings. As the project progressed, it brought to light concerns about machine reliability and process consistency. As a result, a complete laminator overhaul was scheduled and, as explained in the thesis, a full set of trials will be performed to update machine settings in order to achieve the most consistent product quality possible.

This thesis is an attempt to use my business marketing and research knowledge gained at kettering to determine if a business venture would be profitible in the off-road market.

The thesis explains the process (in a step-by-step guide) to launching a pilot program and explains the differnt processes most sales and marketing groups in GM go through to launch a pilot program. The thesis is written for the GM sturcture but main ideas can be applied to many other employers and organizations, on a high level. The thesis covers the entire pilot program process from: identifiying the problem to evaluating the pilot program results. The thesis is based off of an experience the Powertrain Business Line experimented and observations made through out the experience.

There are currently two main objectives of this project. The first is to develop a system in which inventory inputs and outputs of diesel component cores are better tracked. Enduing so, core product returns shipped to the Bosch aftermarket facility in Broadview, will be properly accounted for and credited to the customer. The other main objective focuses on the physical labor process used from the time the cores are received to the time the cores are shipped to their appropriate destination. By focusing on the physical processing of the cores, we will be able to identify inefficiencies that slow the data flow needed to credit customers in a timely manner, and also to account for the cost endured in the handling and shipping of the cores. The Bosch automotive aftermarket facility located in Broadview, IL Handles core returns for a number of products and product lines. Focusing on the diesel sector, Bosch Broadview accepts cores of vp44 diesel injection pumps, Common rail injection, CP3 pumps, and other components. Although BV receives all sorts of different cores (diesel and automotive), they only remanufacture VP44 pumps currently, and ship out all other cores to the appropriate Bosch remanufacturing plants. Bosch sells the pumps or any other product requiring a core return at a surcharge (generally 100 USD), and Bosch will credit the customer when a core is returned within 18 months after the purchase of a new product. When Bosch Broadview receives a core it is separated and counted, unless the core is warranty, when this case occurs 30% of warranties are tested and then placed in inventory after a delay. With in the receiving process of cores there is much inefficiency that will be address, mostly due to time lapses between receiving cores and the verification of the cores. After the core are counted and verified they are entered into the database in which sales and other relevant departments use to credit customers for their returns. If the database carries insufficient data then crediting our customers and accounting for cost of handling the cores will be subjective and inaccurate.

Silikhan Publishing Group is looking to expand their web business through the addition of a new website. The goal of the new website is to use current test vehicles to generate content, which in turn will attract visitors, advertisers, and eventually commerce and revenues. The website must utilize new web technologies while staying within the existing framework deployed by Silikhan Publishing Group. A business plan is presented to ensure a successful launch. A market analysis, a revenue structure, and an implementation strategy form the foundation of this project.

Communication during a project is very important. The implementation of a project depends on everybody knowing their roles and responsibilities during the project. Documenting the project is also very important. This thesis shows the effective communication of a global project.

This thesis was to detail the development of a retail webstore for a manufacturer of ceramics and glassware. It incorporates the management of the key phases in developing a retail webstore for a company with no other retail business. These phases include design and programming of the website, integrating the website with a credit card processor, developing the chain of distribution from receipt of order to shipment of order, and finally marketing the website. This thesis focuses on the management and final solutions for each of these phases. Finally, the thesis concludes that the project was successful, because it decreased the cost of existing processes and increased gross sales with higher margins on those sales.

The primary objective for this project is to reduce scrap associated with electronic failures in the manufacture of side by side refrigerators. Scrap can be attributed to three causes; supplier defects, design flaws, and operator error. This project will seek to address and at least partially assist in the reduction of all three of these failure modes. This will be accomplished through tear downs of scrapped product and communication of problems to both in-plant personnel and supplier representatives. Major design problems will be resolved and efforts to resolve suppliers? problems will be made. In the short term, scrapped refrigerators with supplier defects will be billed back to the offending company to reduce overall profit loss through scrap. Since the new 2006 model year there has been an increased amount of scrap related to supplier issues, design issues, and operator error. Although there has always been a significant amount of scrap related to the manufacture of side by side refrigerators in our Bloomington, IN plant, scrap has increased during the 2006 model year due to design changes as well as increases in the line rate involved the manufacturing process. Currently scrap is running $40,000-50,000 a week, which is excessive. This project aims to significantly reduce this number, thus reducing cost and increasing profits. When this project is complete, the Bloomington plant should see a significantly reduced number of scrapped refrigerators due to electronic failures. Weaknesses in the design will be communicated from me to design engineers, who, with my input, will develop a modified design of our current wiring harness to significantly reduce electronic failures resulting in scrapped refrigerators for the 2007 model year. Currently, this block change is slated for January 2007. Supplier scrap should also see significant reduction because of the design changes and communication of supplier related problems to the supplier representative. The success of my work will be determined during the start of the 2007 model year. If I am successful, the Bloomington plant should see significantly reduced scrap totals relating to electronic failures. We should see the weekly scrap total fall from about $50,000 a week to $30,000 or less. A zipping system (tear down) will be utilized in order to locate and solve problems with electronic failures. This will translate into design changes, which will translate into reduced scrap and a positive affect on profits.

As Valassis continues to grow, their dependence on technology also increases. This results in larger IT budgets, to purchase new servers, and to maintain the old servers, along with increase space to house those physical units. Valassis is growing as a company, and has an increased need for servers, and systems that relay on those servers. This has resulted in 3 data centers located in Michigan, along with other servers scattered throughout the U.S. offices. By utilizing the newest Server Virtualization technology, Valassis would be able to decrease the number of physical servers, thereby reducing the space that these systems take up, along with the cost of maintaining a greater number of physical units. The number of physical servers at Valassis? corporate facility alone has caused the need for additional environmental controls to be placed in an already crowded space.

In today?s office environment there is a lot of physical IT assets. Without a good system in place it is very hard for an IT manager to keep a good track of equipment. Data calls can take weeks in a large office if there is not an automated system. In a small office or organization an excel spreadsheet may suffice but once you get a few hundred pieces of equipment there needs to be a better way to organize the equipment. In addition, if you put these many small offices together under one IT department, it needs a way of tracking this equipment both for itself and for its customers. In this case a scenario a centralized web system was implemented using an SQL back end. This allowed for simplified querying and distributed management. You have the option of either one or two main administrators or each functional group managing their organizations IT assets. This thesis documents the needs for and the challenges of creating this asset management system.

This thesis is the experience in the project management world of IT system. The system MATSPC/APOPS is a legacy mainframe that is due for a support expense increase in the 2006 General Motors IT MSA. The need for a new upgraded system that takes advantage of new web based technology is in order to cut costs. The decision was made to leverage and already existing system?s hardware, so the MATSPC/APOPS application must work in conjunction with already existing server software. This thesis will go over the steps that produce IT systems under General Motor's SDP-21 process. Observations of problems and issues were made during the project life that will be examined. Recommendations will then be made using PMI standards to solve project problems.

It is important for every company to be able to identify their tooling assets. Assets at company owned locations as well as those at non-company owned locations must be accounted for. In addition to knowing what is in invetory, you also need to know where it is located. Where is a critical factor in determining property taxes. To accomplish this task successfuly there must be procedures and tools to handle this information.

The compilation of resumes for the Kettering Business Department decreases productivity. The resumes are kept in different formats. A Resume Database increases the functionality and allows the Department Head to make better decisions. Implementation of a RDBMS speeds up the compilation and printing of faculty resumes. Choose a software program the department can use and install the Resume Database System. The installation of a Resume Database allows resumes to be created and printed in minutes.

Our Technology Group faces several hurdles when preparing to respond to government requests for proposal. The Technology Group must respond with technical information based on past performance on previous contracts. With the introduction of an open source knowledge management portal, the company is able to respond to proposals more quickly and effectively by viewing and editing past performance narratives and employee technical resumes.

Discusses the possibility of opening production facilities and supplying the Chinese commercial vehicle OEM market with ArvinMeritor axles.

Streamlining the processes and procedures of the CACH Label Quality Group will significantly increase the efficiency of the group, thus reducing the volume of packages that require re-processing in the hub. Roughly 90,000 packages must be re-handled throughout the hub daily. Eliminating wastes, focusing on customer needs, and improving communication will allow Label Quality to increase the number of packages audited and issues resolved.

This thesis evaluated a tool for door effort used by another manufacturing plant within general motors. After evaluation of the tool the thesis determined where the tool was repeatable and if it was able to be modified to work on the products being produced at Fairfax Assembly.

This thesis represents the culmination of all work the student performed relating to implementing Northwest Analytical's Quality program into the Labworks laboratory information management system at the State laboratory's Drinking Water laboratory. Quality Analyst program is now being used to improve quality control processes and forecast possible trends in quality control process was previously done manually using Microsoft Excel at great cost and time. The process can now be done automatically virtually instantly at great savings to the laboratory and the State of Michigan as a whole.

UPS gathers a large amount of data on packages, but much of it is just kept for records. This thesis takes steps to solve that problem by creating an automated e-mail system to track problems. The author conducted research on the issue, and created a system using open source software to solve the issue.