Applying the Theory of Constraints to a Base Civil Engineering Operations Branch

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to introduce the Civil Engineering manager to the Theory of Constraints management philosophy and to show how to apply this process of ongoing improvement to the Operations Branch. One of the reasons for the success of Theory of Constraints in commercial firms is that it provides all levels of management the ability to find simple solutions for bridging the gap between local and global issues. This 'bridge' is built by clearly defining the goal of the organization and using performance measurements capable of predicting the effect of local decisions and actions on the goal. Using the mission statement from Civil Engineering Doctrine and policy statements from The Civil Engineer, a goal is hypothesized for the daily peacetime efforts of a base level Base Civil Engineering Operations Branch. The goal is stated in such a way as to make measurement towards the goal possible. Performance measurements are postulated using the four services provided to base organizations: operations (utilities), job orders, recurring maintenance of base facilities, and work orders. This thesis also shows that by managing all shops to their maximum efficiency, the maximum potential output of the organization cannot be realized.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA243910

Entities

People

  • Bryan K. Zachmeier

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Civil Engineering
  • Customer Services
  • Efficiency
  • Employment
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Lead Time
  • Maintenance
  • Management Personnel
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Personnel Management
  • Scheduling (Production)
  • Standards
  • Work Measurement
  • Workload

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Theoretical Analysis.