REENGINEERING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR PRINTED WIRING BOARD ASSEMBLY

This paper describes a decision support system known as Integrated Sch eduling, Inventory and Throughout Evaluation System (INSITES) designed to assist Texas Instruments in the day-to-day operations of printed w iring board (PWB) assembly at their facility in Austin, Texas. The pro ject started off modestly with the goal of developing a series of algo rithms for scheduling new orders and managing work-in-process. It quic kly evolved into an organization-wide reengineering effort accompanied by the development of a full-scale management information system (MIS ). The focus of this paper is on the procedures used to validate the M IS component of INSITES and on the redesign of the information flow an d control structure of the PWB organization. The MIS experimental desi gn was aimed at evaluating two measures-perceived usefulness and perce ived ease-of-use-as a means of gauging user acceptance. Questionnaires were distributed to shop floor personnel most familiar with the syste m as well as upper management. The results, coupled with those of the scheduling experimental design, substantiated the benefits that INSITE S was providing and led to full integration in early 1992. An expanded version of the system is now being used daily for scheduling, plannin g, and inventory management.