Learning and the Cost of Production.

Abstract

Previous work has developed theoretical production models for airframes. The model was developed for a firm producing to an order which specifices a quantity and delivery date for output. The model augments a neoclassical production function with a learning hypothesis, and the discounted cost of production is minimized to yield optimal time paths for both production and costs. The model has been applied to the C141 airframe program with good results. In that application the process of transferring the theoretical model into a statistical model of the C141 data required assumptions about the details of the production process that the theoretical model did not address. The purpose of this paper is to apply the model to a data environment that is more compatible with the production issues addressed by the model. Here, the model is stated in more general form, data collected on the F102 airframe program is presented, the parameters of the model are estimated, and the economic implications are discussed. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA112921

Entities

People

  • Norman K. Womer
  • Thomas R. Gulledge Jr.

Organizations

  • Clemson University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Assembly
  • Calculus Of Variations
  • Contracts
  • Cost Estimates
  • Costs
  • Databases
  • Differential Equations
  • Equations
  • Euler Equations
  • Fabrication
  • Learning
  • Manufacturing
  • Production
  • Production Rate
  • Research Management

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Industrial Economics
  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis