Managing expectations during acquisition of bespoke automation systems

Abstract

A new facility seeks to manufacture inlets for the turbine of the new NDA aircraft. The inlet is a new design and has never been built before. To complicate matters the manufacturer, Aeron 2 Company, has not traditionally produced any inlets, let alone at the expected production rates for the new aircraft that already has thousands of orders. It was decided that in order to meet demand production must be automated in a similar way to the automotive industry. Aeron, and the commercial aerospace industry as a whole, are inexperienced with automation systems and they believed that they lacked the in-house knowledge to develop and integrate their own automated system. They entered into a contract with a robotics integrator that is has traditionally operated within the automotive industry for delivery of a "turnkey" system. This research covers a six-month period that overlaps with the beginning of Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) of the automated assembly line. Initial observations hinted at the possibility of a strained relationship between Aeron and its automation integrator. This thesis sought to understand if the relationship was indeed strained, and if so, what were the causes and could it be improved? The Aeron group most involved with this system purchase, referred to as TWS, is used as a case-study to investigate the different factors that can affect an interorganizational relationship during development of a technically complex system. The research and recommendations can be applied to other companies that are involved in inter-organizational relationships founded upon development of technically complex projects. An inductive-deductive iterative approach was used in three phases to conduct this research. Beginning with background research in phase one an inductive approach is used to develop a qualitative model of the inter-organizational system. This model leads to additional questions regarding inter-organizational relationships and their more important factors, such as expectations and trust; namely, what are the expectations that are held by each party in the relationship and what are their impacts? These additional questions are addressed in a deductive manner in phase two. Through the use of surveys sent to different automation teams across the organization, data was collected that reflected the different relationships. These survey results indicate interesting customer perceptions of their respective automation suppliers. At the time of this writing all of the automation projects are perceived to be technically complex, yet some contractors are perceived as more technically capable than others. These data also indicate a general lack of trust. Expectations are addressed using a simple matrix that outlines the different technical and management expectations held by TWS in regards to the equipment being purchased and their integrator. A number of expectations held by TWS are unrealistic and have, as of this writing, gone unfulfilled. The third and final phase revisited the initial model in phase one and made modifications based on findings from phase two. For technically complex projects, such as the development of an automated assembly line using immature technology to build a new product, it is impossible to capture every design specification for the system. Design changes will occur. It is imperative that correct expectations regarding the equipment and the firm's capabilities are correctly set at the beginning of the project to reduce a shortfall in expected performance versus actual performance. Expectations, including those that are unrealistic, that go unfulfilled lead to decay in trust. This decay in trust in turn leads to a decreased likelihood in project success. It is recommended that Aeron shy away from "turnkey" systems for such state-of-the-art projects in the future, or at least until Aeron becomes more familiar with automated assembly and their integrators become more familiar with aerospace requirements. This research is most applicable to commercial aerospace companies entering a formal relationship with an automation integrator for an automated assembly line. The research does have general recommendations that are applicable to other industries engaging in similar endeavors. Future work would include a lifecycle study of trust levels within an interorganizational relationship and how they change over the course of the project from conception to delivery.