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Master’s of engineering management : graduation rates lagging behind growth rate

Conflict management in outsourced engineering projects in South Africa

Requirements degradation for the creation of a first prototype

  • Authors: Green, Jeremy , Marnewick, A. , Pretorius, J. H. C.
  • Date: 2015-08-02
  • Subjects: Prototypes, Engineering
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5212 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/14496
  • Description: The requirements engineering process is typically executed, irrespective of the process model chosen, for the final commercially viable system. The system requirements generated are for a system deployed and used in its final form and function. However, the first prototype that is generated is typically representative of a minimum viable technology, and represents a degraded set of the initial system requirements specification. Typically, a first prototype is used as a technology demonstrator, and its failure or success will determine the continuation of the project, with success triggering the allocation of additional financial and personal resources. This paper explores techniques for requirements degradation that can be used to form the system requirements specification for the first prototype. A requirements Engineering methodology is proposed based upon a survey of literature. It takes into consideration the characteristics of the project, i.e. a market driven, technology implementation research project with limited budget and a flexible timeline executed in an academic environment. The techniques must take into cognizance the main risk items, and core requirements, that need to be demonstrated in the minimum viable technology to secure the future of the project. The degradation cannot undermine or jeopardize the future success of the commercially viable system in determining the subset of requirements for the minimum viable technology.
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Factors affecting the performance of a manufacturing supply chain, and the organization

  • Authors: Mazibuko, S. M. , Marnewick, A. , Van Wyngaard, C. J.
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Supply chain , Collaboration , Integration
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/271158 , uj:28834 , Citation: Mazibuko, S.M., Marnewick, A. & Van Wyngaard, C.J. 2018. Factors affecting the performance of a manufacturing supply chain, and the organization.
  • Description: Abstract: Due to constant failure in delivering the products to customers on time the defence manufacturing organization introduced the supply chain phenomenon into its operations in an attempt to improve its performance (on-time delivery). This research aims to identify if supply chain performance is affected mainly by social or technical factors and also outline which of these factors have the highest effect on the performance of supply chain. The importance of this research is that it will determine if the performance of supply chain is affected by technical or social factors and also how the organization is affected by these factors. This research employed a case study and made use of both qualitative and quantitative data to allow for data triangulation in order to minimize biasness and increase the credibility of the results. The findings indicate that supply chain performance is affected by both social factors and technical factors, however the impact of these factors on both supply chain and the organization is different. In summary, this research will provide insight to the factors that affect the performance of supply chain and accordingly provide methods to minimize or eliminate these factors and therefore reducing their effect on supply chain and the organization.
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Productivity management in the South African civil construction industry – factors affecting construction productivity

  • Authors: Bierman, M. , Marnewick, A. , Pretorius, J.H.C.
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/383857 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/215348 , uj:21411 , Citation: Bierman, M., Marnewick, A & Pretorius, J.H.C. 2016. Productivity management in the South African civil construction industry – factors affecting construction productivity.
  • Description: Abstract: Labour productivity in South Africa is at one of its lowest levels. During 2014 the civil construction industry contributed only 3.5% to the GDP of South Africa. It is faced with challenges such as an industry environment that is increasingly competitive, and organisations in the civil industry that experience financial difficulties, such as low profit margins. An industryspecific survey, using a questionnaire, was conducted to ascertain the perceptions of industry professionals regarding factors which have an impact on productivity. A literature study was done to identify the factors that have an impact on construction productivity, based on a global perspective. From the literature study, 12 studies were identified, and a benchmark was set with which to compare the findings of the research questionnaire. To obtain the relevant information through the questionnaire, a selective sampling process was used, as the focus of the research required a specific group of individuals who were involved in the management of projects in the civil construction industry. Two civil engineering organisations, the South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, were contacted to assist with the distribution of the questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 51 factors which the industry professionals had to rate, based on their experience. These factors had to be rated with the use of a 0–4 Likert scale, based on two specific questions: (1) What impact does the factor have on construction productivity? (2) What is the frequency of occurrence of the factor? A total of 40 questionnaires were completed by the industry professionals. Thereafter the ranking of the factors was calculated with the use of the relative importance index.
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Energy efficiency through the use of technology in South African industry

Prototyping during the requirements elicitation process in the development of an underground unmanned aerial system

  • Authors: Green, Jeremy , Marnewick, A. , Pretorius, J.H.C.
  • Date: 2015
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/87796 , uj:19624 , Citation: Green, J., Marnewick, A. & Pretorius, J.H.C. 2015. Prototyping during the requirements elicitation process in the development of an underground unmanned aerial system.
  • Description: Abstract: Prototyping of subsystem and system components is most often thought of as a development task. This paper shows the usefulness of prototyping as an activity in the requirements elicitation process, prior to any developement activities. It is approached from the field of engineering and technology management. It uses the Requirements Engineering approach to identify tools and methods for the development of the requirements for an underground unmanned aerial system for use in South Africa’s’ gold mines to inspect box-holes and ore-passes. Box-holes and ore-passes are vertical tunnels through which the ore must pass in moving from the stope, where it is mined, to the shaft, where it is hauled to the surface for processing. The more familiar new product development framework is compared to the requirement engineering process. The prototypes of a number of subsystems are presented, namely, a quadrotor platform, a platform preservation sensor array, an optical flow sensor for position holding, a vision sensor for operator visualization, and an operator interface. The perceived significant technological challenges are discussed as motivation in the choice of these subsystem prototypes that will be used in the interviews that are to form the basis of the requirements elicitation activity.
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Dynamic capability theory as an input variable for supplier performance evaluation and selection

  • Authors: Kganyago, N.J. , Marnewick, A. , Pretorius, J.H.C.
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Dynamic capability theory , Functional capability , Supplier performance evaluation criteria
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/93263 , uj:20324 , Citation: Kganyago, N.J., Marnewick, A. & Pretorius, J.H.C. 2016. Dynamic capability theory as an input variable for supplier performance evaluation and selection.
  • Description: Abstract: Supplier performance evaluation and selection are two fundamental constituents of optimal sourcing decision making and are the main contributing factors to an effective supply chain and most importantly to the procurement process. Based on the literature and management experience the present research established that current evaluation criteria are intra‐organisational focused and give prominence to the use of supplier’s strategic capabilities. Little or no consideration is given to the influence of the changing business environment and the fact that there are many proposed evaluation criteria that exist today. To close the gaps the research introduces the theory of dynamic capability as an intrinsic criterion for supplier performance evaluation and also as the generic guideline to reduce the current multi performance evaluation criteria. The proposed model will empower the procurement practitioner with the criteria logic to identify the suppliers able to meet the demands of the changing business environment. This research is largely based on the literature and supply chain management experience to arrive at the conceptual model. The future research should validate the conceptual model through survey and case study research design methods to enable the conclusive generalisation of the results. The research contributes by conceptualising the generic model for supplier performance evaluation that combines supplier strategic capabilities and dynamic capability variables as the significant input variables for optimal sourcing decision making. The research also provides academics and the supply chain fraternity with enhanced knowledge of the literature of dynamic capability variables as generic criteria for supplier performance evaluation.
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A practitioner’s guide to establishing and managing a project management office at a South African parastatal.

  • Authors: Malatji,M. , Marnewick, A.
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: Journal article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/91281 , uj:20088 , Citation: Malatji, M. & Marnewick, A. 2016. A practitioner’s guide to establishing and managing a project management office at a South African parastatal.
  • Description: Abstract: Project management offices (PMOs) are established to support organisations in realising their strategic objectives by aligning project initiatives with organisational goals. This is achieved through standardising their project management (PM) practices, methodologies, tools and techniques. While PMOs can be beneficial, indications are that many organisations struggle to set them up optimally. Consequently, this study investigated the unique challenges encountered when setting up and managing PMOs at South African parastatals, and how those challenges were prioritised and overcome. The study followed an in-depth interview method were qualifying participants were identified and asked to participate in the research. It was found that the people and organisation-related challenges contributed to the six topmost challenges encountered when establishing and managing PMOs at the South African parastatals. In general, the study contributed to the limited body of knowledge relating to the PMO topic in South Africa. Moreover, the study provided an alternative and practical guideline for the PMO establishment and management processes. This will benefit the parastatals with established PMOs as they can utilise the setup model as a guideline to re-engineer their existing PMO processes. In addition, the PMO establishment guideline was developed, especially, for those parastatals without a PMO, but wanting to establish one.
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