A model for optimizing performance based on reliability, life-cycle costs and other measurements

Abstract

The shorter lives of products today simply do not leave room to fix problems later, correct design errors, iterate, or redesign products many times over for lowering costs or improving quality. A well-orchestrated process, not just a program, is required to achieve corporate goals and objectives. Optimization is often a balancing act. It is the balance between the goodness of products and services to the process and methodologies that are expended to produce them. This paper describes a heuristic-based model for optimizing performance based on a set of eight distinctive indicators including reliability, life-cycle cost and other measurements. A company is considered, in this paper, to have reached a world-class manufacturing status if the goodness of products and services far outweighs the cost of process and methodologies expended to realize the product. In this context, productivity is measured in this paper based on 'throughput' and 'operating expenses', not just based on 'inputs and outputs'.