TY - JOUR

T1 - A case study of the successful implementation of workload control

T2 - a practitioner-led approach

AU - Silva, Cristovao

AU - Stevenson, Mark

AU - Thurer, Matthias

N1 - This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/a-case-study-of-the-successful-implementation-of-workload-control(3d84802b-6961-4dcd-9738-f7aeb19ebf9a).html. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - PurposeWorkload Control (WLC) is a Production Planning and Control (PPC) concept of particular relevance to small and medium sized Make-To-Order (MTO) companies. Despite the simplicity of its core principles, few successful implementations have been reported, and both understanding and awareness of the concept amongst practitioners is limited. We describe a rare successful implementation of WLC in which elements of the concept were embedded in a company to support both customer enquiry management and order release. The main focus is on the implementation process itself rather than the impact on performance.Design/methodology/approachA particularly novel aspect of the case is that the implementation was practitioner (rather than researcher) led. A manager chose to read up on and implement the concept, creating a strong in-house commitment to the initiative. The researchers played a facilitating role, e.g. intervening where necessary to answer questions and advise. A factory visit/tour and interview were also conducted post implementation to reflect on the process.FindingsWe identify the elements of WLC implemented by the practitioner and how they were refined to meet company requirements, with implications for improving the alignment between theory and practice. The paper also informs the implementation process, for example, by highlighting the importance of managerial championing for implementation success and how WLC can be implemented based on a reasonably simple Excel© spreadsheet.Research limitations/implicationsMore empirical evidence is required to assess the generality of some of the adaptations made by the practitioner; and to collect longitudinal quantitative evidence on the performance of Workload Control over time. Simulations could also be conducted to confirm the effectiveness of adaptations observed in the study.Practical implicationsThe case has implications for the process of implementing WLC and may provoke a rethink in terms of the range of companies for which the concept is thought to be appropriate – the case described is of a larger, higher volume company than most previous WLC implementations.Originality/valueA rare case of a successful implementation of WLC at both the customer enquiry management and order release levels; the only practitioner-led implementation of WLC reported in the literature to date.

AB - PurposeWorkload Control (WLC) is a Production Planning and Control (PPC) concept of particular relevance to small and medium sized Make-To-Order (MTO) companies. Despite the simplicity of its core principles, few successful implementations have been reported, and both understanding and awareness of the concept amongst practitioners is limited. We describe a rare successful implementation of WLC in which elements of the concept were embedded in a company to support both customer enquiry management and order release. The main focus is on the implementation process itself rather than the impact on performance.Design/methodology/approachA particularly novel aspect of the case is that the implementation was practitioner (rather than researcher) led. A manager chose to read up on and implement the concept, creating a strong in-house commitment to the initiative. The researchers played a facilitating role, e.g. intervening where necessary to answer questions and advise. A factory visit/tour and interview were also conducted post implementation to reflect on the process.FindingsWe identify the elements of WLC implemented by the practitioner and how they were refined to meet company requirements, with implications for improving the alignment between theory and practice. The paper also informs the implementation process, for example, by highlighting the importance of managerial championing for implementation success and how WLC can be implemented based on a reasonably simple Excel© spreadsheet.Research limitations/implicationsMore empirical evidence is required to assess the generality of some of the adaptations made by the practitioner; and to collect longitudinal quantitative evidence on the performance of Workload Control over time. Simulations could also be conducted to confirm the effectiveness of adaptations observed in the study.Practical implicationsThe case has implications for the process of implementing WLC and may provoke a rethink in terms of the range of companies for which the concept is thought to be appropriate – the case described is of a larger, higher volume company than most previous WLC implementations.Originality/valueA rare case of a successful implementation of WLC at both the customer enquiry management and order release levels; the only practitioner-led implementation of WLC reported in the literature to date.

U2 - 10.1108/JMTM-10-2013-0144

DO - 10.1108/JMTM-10-2013-0144

M3 - Journal article

VL - 26

SP - 280

EP - 296

JO - Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management

JF - Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management

SN - 1741-038X

IS - 2

ER -