ABSTRACT
Case 4.1: Material Delays in a Hydraulic Cylinder Manufacturer I was assigned to a yearlong project to build automated heavy equipment movement systems for a Norwegian customer. Final testing and acceptance of the systems were to be in California. Then the systems were to be surface shipped to Malaysia for installation and usage. I had several critical subcontractors in the project. These subcontractors were controlled by our purchasing agents on a part-time basis and these purchasing agents reported to me for the project on a dotted line. A Dutch subcontractor had six months to complete 20 high-pressure hydraulic cylinders for the project and surface ship them to California. This Dutch subcontractor also had a good track record with our company for on-time and quality product delivery.
