An Evaluation of Measurements Used to Drive Competitiveness in a Depot Maintenance Environment
Abstract
This thesis acknowledges that Air Force Materiel Command maintenance depots will face increased competition for workload, especially exchangeable items, both from other Service depots and from civilian contractors. The authors identify quality, delivery, and cost as the three primary competitive edges firms can use to gain advantage in the marketplace. Further, a recent study confirms that Air Force depot managers also consider these three factors of competitiveness to be most important. The authors tested two depot measurement systems: the Defense Depot Performance Measurement System (DDPMS) and measurements based on the Theory of Constraints (TOC). During personal interviews, 10 depot managers were asked a series of questions designed to discover whether they understood the constituent measures of the two systems and whether they found the measures useful for competing with respect to quality, delivery, and cost. The authors analyzed the managers responses to the questions and found that neither measurement system related well to the three competitive edges. Also, according to the managers, neither measurement system, as a whole, was driving depot performance. A new measurement system combining measures from DDPMS and TOC with other measures was recommended.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA259676
Entities
People
- Jack A. Meyer Jr.
- Timothy A. Widowfield
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology