The development and application of an interactive end-user training tool: part of an implementation strategy for workload control

Stevenson, Mark; Huang, Yu‐An; Hendry, Linda

doi:10.1080/09537280903034313

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The most important factors included: strong leadership and championing; selecting an appropriate end-user for the system; clear understanding of the concept within the company; and, regularly monitoring the performance of the project and PPC system. This confirms the importance of issues relevant to the implementation of any new initiative, e.g., project management and performance measurement, and the importance of choosing an appropriate end-user (Hendry et al, 1993) and providing training (Stevenson and Silva, 2008;Stevenson et al, 2009). In addition, top management support followed by anticipated benefits were the two most cited reasons for adopting a new initiative; hence, it is important to gain top management support and ensure key actors are aware of the benefits WLC would bring to them and the company as a whole.…”

Section: Organisational Embedding-related Issuessupporting

confidence: 53%

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The theory and practice of workload control: A research agenda and implementation strategy

Stevenson

Huang

Hendry

et al. 2011

International Journal of Production Economics

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a b s t r a c tThe Workload Control (WLC) concept is one of few Production Planning and Control (PPC) solutions appropriate for Make-To-Order (MTO) companies yet its successful implementation is an enduring challenge. Most implementations reported are in large organisations yet it has been argued that WLC is particularly suitable for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) with limited financial resources. Moreover, previous studies do not adequately describe the process through which implementation success was achieved. In this paper, data collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with key personnel from 41 companies is presented in order to build up a body of evidence on the characteristics of MTO SMEs that affect WLC implementation. The data paints a complex picture of MTO production and suggests that research is likely to be required to move theory closer to practice and organisational change to move practice closer to theory. The former is recommended where processes perform well or appear difficult to change; the latter is recommended where fundamental WLC principles are involved. Two outputs emerge from the study: (1) a research agenda for refining the WLC concept to improve alignment between theory and practice, covering the customer enquiry, order entry, design and engineering and order release stages; and (2) an implementation strategy, including elements of organisational change and covering pre-implementation, implementation and postimplementation stages. The characteristics of MTO SMEs identified should be used in future research to develop more realistic simulations for testing conceptual refinements while field research should apply and extend the implementation strategy presented in order to develop a more detailed roadmap for successful WLC implementation in practice.

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Section: Organisational Embedding-related Issuessupporting

confidence: 53%

“…This confirms the relevance of many of the findings in Hendry et al (2008) to a larger number of companies. Training is also required to educate users of WLC systems; this could build on the training tools provided by Wiendahl et al (1995) and Stevenson et al (2009).…”

Section: Contribution To Research Agenda and Implementation Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

The theory and practice of workload control: A research agenda and implementation strategy

Stevenson

Huang

Hendry

et al. 2011

International Journal of Production Economics

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“…Some such as Hendry et al (2008) and Stevensen and Silva (2008) contend that it is important to provide sufficient training to key organisation personnel before full implementation. In particular, an interactive end-user training tool and the training process are presented in the study by Stevenson, Huang, and Hendry (2009).…”

Section: Wlc Implementation Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intelligent computer systems are playing an increasingly significant role in embedding the WLC concept in practice; although this is subject to information availability (see Silva, Roque, and Almeida 2006;Stevenson 2006;Stevenson, Huang, and Hendry 2009). While a few WLC systems are presented in the literature, information requirements for such systems to be effective have not been explicitly articulated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information architecture for effective Workload Control: an insight from a successful implementation

Huang

2017

Production Planning & Control

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The implementation of Workload Control (WLC), a Production Planning and Control concept uniquely designed for Make-To-Order companies, has been a constant challenge. Scholars argued that WLC is largely developed through simulations of well-defined environments while much more complex circumstances (e.g., information availability) have emerged in field research. A recent trend of WLC research is to improve the practical applicability of the concept, where empirical evidence is essential. However, success in WLC implementation remains impeded. The availability of data has been a significant area that frustrates the implementation process. While there is a tendency to simplify data requirements in recent WLC theory development, it is important to understand and maintain the information that is essential for the concept to be effective. For the first time in the field, this paper details the information architecture for WLC. Key informational entities of relevance to the input/output control functions in WLC as well as performance measurement are discussed based on evidence from a successful implementation. The paper not only sheds light for practitioners on how to construct an information system that facilitates successful WLC implementation but also has implications for future development of WLC mechanisms coping with information uncertainties in practice.

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“…Implementation issues encountered included a lack of familiarity in practice with WLC, hindering progress during the early stages of a project (Silva et al 2006, Stevenson and Silva 2008. In response, Stevenson et al (2009) developed an interactive end-user training tool which coupled a DSS based on the LUMS Approach with a simulated shop floor and demonstrated its positive impact in practice. In other cases, refinements were made without validation.…”

Section: Conceptual Research (2000-2009)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Three decades of workload control research: a systematic review of the literature

Thürer

Stevenson

Silva

2011

International Journal of Production Research

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The workload control (WLC) concept has received much attention in the past three decades; however, a comprehensive literature review has not been presented. In response, this article provides a systematic review of the conceptual, analytical, empirical and simulation-based WLC literature. It explores the evolution of WLC research, determines the current state-of-the-art and identifies key areas for further study. The research finds that the field has evolved substantially. Early research focused on theoretical development and experimental testing of order release strategies; order release was then integrated with other planning stages, e.g., the customer enquiry stage, making the concept more suitable for customised manufacturing and leading to a comprehensive concept which combines input and output control effectively; recent attention has focused on implementing the resulting concept in practice and refining theory. While WLC is well placed to meet the needs of producers of customised products, future research should include: conducting further action research into how WLC can be effectively implemented in practice; studying human factors that affect WLC; and feeding back empirical findings to simulation-based WLC research to improve the applicability of WLC theory to real-life job shops.

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The development and application of an interactive end-user training tool: part of an implementation strategy for workload control

Cited by 16 publications

References 41 publications

The theory and practice of workload control: A research agenda and implementation strategy

The theory and practice of workload control: A research agenda and implementation strategy

Information architecture for effective Workload Control: an insight from a successful implementation

Three decades of workload control research: a systematic review of the literature

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