Increasing Availability Through Reduced Delays in Large Systems : A Case Study Based in Systems Engineering, Integrated Support Logistics, and Lean

Abstract: Increased trends towards servitization within previously exclusively manufacturing industries makes a larger part of maintenance become the responsibility of the manufacturer. This increased responsibility makes it more important for suppliers to know how different parameters contribute to cost, to be able to price their contracts correctly. Systems Engineering (SE) and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) are two current methodologies on how to manage large systems. These methodologies are mainly used within defence industries and large capital-intensive infrastructure projects but are today also utilised in civilian industries. With the new methodology of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and the new demands of servitization it becomes more important to know how different parameters affect the final cost of a project during the very early phases of development. Within ILS the parameters Administrative Delay Time (ADT) and Logistics Delay Time (LDT) have previously not received attention proportional to their contribution to overall availability in projects. This thesis is based in literature, interviews of industry professionals, and the study of a real case of an electrical charging infrastructure project currently in development. From these sources multiple paths to resolve the issues with support from ILS, MBSE, SE, and other management literature are explored. Several attributes of the case, and characteristics of MBSE and ILS leads to the conclusion that coupling the methodologies with Lean methods would lead to better insight into where critical points in the explored system are and give ways of resolving issues with ADT and LDT that exist. The combination of MBSE and Lean methods could successfully identify possible critical points in the error handling of the electrical charging infrastructure system early in the process of implementation. Conclusionary the combination of MBSE, ILS, and Lean is a possibly powerful way to identify and improve the availability and consequently the cost of a project in the early stages.