Search results

The purpose of this paper is to explore a classic tool in project management, which for some has become almost synonymous with project management: the Gantt chart. The Gantt chart was developed in the early twentieth century, at the heart of Scientific Management; yet, the chart is used with very little adaptation across a wide range of types of projects. In this conceptual paper, the authors question its universal and unreflective use.

The authors analyse the conceptual roots of the Gantt chart, its historical development and use, derive its engrained principles, and analyse its implications to the management of projects.

While a Gantt chart can be useful to cope with some of the “complicatedness” of projects, and embraces the importance of time and timing, it is based on principles that are not valid to all projects. The consequence is a propagation of a management approach that does not explicitly cope with complexity, ambiguity, uncertainty and change. In that respect, the Gantt chart fails to acknowledge insights from years of organization theory research and project management research with a firm grounding in contingency theory.

While the majority of contemporary project management thinking already accepted that a normative use can be inappropriate, the practice is still pretty much embracing this approach. By showing the conceptual roots of the Gantt chart, the authors hope to make some of its limitations more evident to practitioners and academics, and encourage its use to be more reflective and contextualised.

The purpose of this paper is to trace the European and British activities of Wallace Clark and his consulting firm with public sector agencies and private firms implement Henry L. Gantt’s chart concept.

Archival records and secondary sources in English and French.

Developed to meet the shipbuilding and use needs for the Great War (World War I), the Gantt chart was disseminated through the work of Wallace Clark during the 1930s in numerous public sector and private organizations in 12 nations. The Gantt concept was applied in a variety of industries and firms using batch, continuous processing and/or sub-assembly lines in mass production. Traditional scientific management techniques were expanded for general management, such as financial requirement through budgetary control. Clark and his consulting firm were responsible for implementing a managerial tool, the Gantt chart, in an international setting.

Some firms with which Clark consulted could not be identified because the original records of the Wallace Clark Company were disposed of by New York University archival authorities. Industries were identified from the writings of Pearl Clark and Wallace Clark, and some private or public organizations were discerned from archival work and the research of French and British scholars.

This is the first study of the diffusion of a managerial tool, developed in America by Henry L. Gantt, into Europe and Britain through the contributions of Wallace Clark.

Describes flow‐shop scheduling problems and an interactive graphical flow‐shop manufacturing scheduling system (FSMS) developed to handle any number of jobs and machines. Outlines the methodical approach of using scheduling tools, such as lower bound, automatic generation of near‐optimal system sequences and schedule optimization in which the user is guided in determining optimal sequence, to cut scheduling time and make the scheduling system flexible. Outputs are in the form of Gantt charts. The graphical capability can be a very useful tool for decision makers such as production and operations managers who often encounter many day‐to‐day scheduling problems and challenges.

This study aims to propose a novel method for the conflict detection and eradication of autonomous vehicles which has predetermined routes to establish multi pickup and delivery tasks according to task priorities and vehicle capacity status on each pickup and delivery nodes in assembly cells in the automotive production.

In the designed system, the routing of autonomous vehicles (AVs) and scheduling of pickup and delivery tasks are established in production logistics. Gantt chart is created according to vehicle routes, and conflicts are detected using the proposed conflict-sweep algorithm. The proposed conflict-solving algorithm eliminates conflicts on intersections and roads by considering vehicle routes and task priorities.

In many production systems, there is a need to obtain flexible routes in each pickup delivery task group that changes during day, week, etc. Proposed system provides remarkable advantages in obtaining conflict-free routes for pre-scheduled multi transport tasks of vehicles by considering efficiency in production systems.

A novel method is proposed for the conflict detection and eradication of AVs. Proposed system eliminates conflicts on intersections and roads by considering pre-planned vehicle routes for a fleet of heterogeneous AVs. Unlike most of the other conflict-free algorithms, in which conflicts are solved between two points, proposed system also considers multi pickup and delivery points for AVs. This is pioneering paper that addresses conflict-free route planning with backhauls and scheduling of multi pickup and delivery tasks for AVs.

Lenin advocated “Taylorization” (i.e. scientific management), to rebuild post‐revolutionary Russia's economy. The evidence, however, indicates that Lenin's advocacy caused conflict within the communist party, and scientific management was rarely implemented successfully. Noting a rhetoric‐reality gap, the paper explains the difference between Lenin's advocacy and actual practice. Lenin wished to convey the message that his regime was progressive, using the latest management techniques. Rather than following scientific management precepts, pressure was placed on Soviet workers to increase productivity without improving work methods. The paper's conclusion is that Lenin's advocacy of scientific management was a leader's rhetoric, a political expediency, and it would be misleading to connect scientific management with the practice of management in post‐revolutionary Russia.

Since lean manufacturing considers that “Inventory is evil”, the purpose of this paper is to find and quantify the relations between work-in-process inventory (WIP), manufacturing lead time (LT) and the operational variables they depend upon. Such relations provide guidelines and performance indicators in process management.

The authors develop equations to analyse how, in discrete deterministic serial batch processes, WIP and LT depend on parameters like performance time (of each workstation) and batch size. The authors extend those relations to processes with different lots and the authors create a multiple-lot box score.

In this paper, the relations among WIP, LT and the parameters they depend on are derived. Such relations show that when WIP increases, LT increases too, and vice versa, and the parameters they depend on. Finally, these relations provide a framework for WIP reduction and manufacturing LT reduction and agree with the empirical principles of lean manufacturing.

Quantitative results are only exact for discrete deterministic batch processes without any delays. Expected results might not be achieved in real manufacturing environments. However, qualitative results show the underlying relations amongst variables. Different expressions might be derived for other situations.

Understanding the relations between manufacturing variables allows operations managers better design, implement and control manufacturing processes. The box score, implemented on a spreadsheet, allows testing the effect of changes in different operational parameters on the manufacturing LT, total machine wait time and total lot queue time.

The paper presents a discussion about process performance based on the mutual influence between WIP and LT and other variables. The relation is quantified for the discrete deterministic case, complementing the models that exist in the literature. The box score allows mapping more complex processes.

The success of business process re‐engineering (BPR) is dependent on the use of data‐driven methods that provide cost‐effective and optimal solutions. Today's business managers are inundated with methodologies and tools that claim to provide sustaining process improvement results. Determining the appropriate BPR method(s) to employ is a daunting task for many businesses. Understanding the technical complexities of these methods is even more overwhelming. However, with the increased availability of management science software, business managers can easily identify and employ proven management science techniques. Readily available software that provides timely results, is easily adaptable to resource changes, and does not require extensive technical competencies. This paper demonstrates how scientific management techniques, coupled with management science software (Management Scientist, Project Management and Excel), provided a feasible and achievable solution to a laboratory courier service BPR project. The solution yields a 19.5 percent reduction in annual laboratory courier specimen costs while improving service levels.

This paper aims to present a graphical comparison method for construction schedules, which illustrates the differences for each individual activity. The method overlays the observed differences on a bar chart creating a representation of whether each activity is ahead, on or behind schedule at a given date.

The method is implemented using a Microsoft Project add-in (plug-in). The paper demonstrates the method and its potential uses with three illustration cases: a time impact analysis, an alternative analysis for the selection of subcontractors and a multi-baseline analysis of an as-built schedule.

The cases included in the paper show that the proposed method uses a simplified and familiar attribute comparison for each activity in a schedule. The method affords flexibility in presenting differences between schedules such as the start/finish dates or duration. As the method does not rely on a specific software application or analysis method, it can be implement to different software applications as well as performance or delay analysis techniques. The method also makes it possible to present multiple and selective baseline comparisons overlaid on an updated or as-built schedule.

The method graphically presents a comparison of start dates, durations and finish dates for each activity that can be integrated with any schedule. The method can be used for forensic analysis as well as project control measures during construction. As the method does not rely on any specific performance or delay calculation method, it can be applied to any forensic analysis technique and delay analysis.