Systems thinking applied to find underlying problem in enterprise management of induction heating transformers

Abstract

The world is more interconnected than ever which emerge new complexity for organizations and their enterprises. Systems thinking is an accepted approach to deal with the messy interconnected problems of complexity but is sometimes difficult to tailor for a real‐world problem. The paper's objective is to represent the problem using systems thinking approach. This paper focuses on applying systems thinking on a real‐world problem where the underlying problems are unknown with a case study of a transformer management system (TMS) within an enterprise of a worldwide organization (the umbrella of enterprises). The paper starts out by diversifying the use of systems thinking, systems engineering and traditional engineering to present why this approach where selected. Following is a practical methodology using interviews to find the interconnection of the enterprises and a study of the TMS's current state. The interconnections are graphically displayed through a systemigram used to bring the enterprise on “the same page”. The result of this effort is a fishbone diagram to display several possible underlying issues found to the problem, the fishbone diagram's intention is to help the enterprise for selecting what problems to focus on and their order. The paper found the systemigram as a useful tool as it promoted discussions and debate within the enterprise which resulted in a more defined problem overview. To visually display the overview, a cause‐and‐effect diagram where selected. The cause‐and‐effect diagram showed to be an efficient tool to simplify the problems and to be used for communicating them along with the systemigram.

Product portfolio mapping used to structure a mature sub‐system with large variation – A case study

“…The uncertainty is related to the sub-system overview and the understating of its cost drivers. ENO has investigated the case of this research through company processes and as an academic study to survey potential root causes (Sundet & Mansouri 2020). The company has identified the product data structure (Technically oriented data) as the main challenge due to the number of variants.…”

Study on Enterprise Management Mode

“…Tangible resources refer to the resources that can be directly measured with money, including but not limited to material resources such as production and non-material resources such as human resources. Intangible resources include but are not limited to goodwill, corporate culture, and organizational experience [18]. The internal resources of the enterprise are the foundation of the enterprise.…”