The challenge for many manufacturing firms today is to meet the requirements of an increasingly dynamic and competitive global marketplace while keeping costs at a minimum. One solution to this challenge, especially within the automotive and electronics industries, has been to simplify the product portfolio through product modularization. Even though the logic behind this practice is intriguing, there are still some questions, which remain unanswered: Can firms, not part of the automotive and electronics industries, adopt product modularization successfully? If so, what factors are important to consider for these firms in their efforts to adopt these practices? What performance effects can these firms expect, and how can these performance effects best be captured? My PhD research aims to answer these questions, and has the overall purpose to explore what performance effects can be expected from the implementation of (a higher degree of) modularity in a firm’s product portfolio.

The internship regarded one of Siemens Wind Power's Lean initiatives - Shop Floor Management. In particular, the Master thesis suggests the use of performance measurement systems to support continuous improvement. Three prototypes of these systems are developed: a modification of the balanced scorecard, an operational system pinpointing causes for delays in the production processes and a employee suggestion system. Each of the system prototypes is supplemented with suggestions regarding how to implement and audit them.