Τετάρτη 10 Ιουλίου 2013

Vacancies for 3 PhD candidates in Maintenance and Service Logistics, Eindhoven University of Technology

Eindhoven University of Technology has a vacancy for 3 PhD candidates in Maintenance and Service Logistics (1.0 fte per position) within the Operations, Planning, Accounting and Control (OPAC) Group of the School of Industrial Engineering.
The School of Industrial Engineering is one of the longest-established IE Schools in Europe, with a strong presence in the international research and education community, especially in the field of Operations Management and Operations Research. OM and OR are at the core of the undergraduate IE program. The graduate programs (MSc and PhD) in Operations Management & Logistics attract top-level students from all over the world. Researchers in the school are member of the Beta research school and participate in industrial activities with members of the European Supply Chain Forum.

The School of Industrial Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology is looking for 3 PhD candidates in the area of Maintenance and Service Logistics. The group Operations, Planning, Accounting and Control (OPAC) conducts research in the area of Operations Management, with specific emphasis on: 
  • Planning and Control in Manufacturing, Services, and Supply Chains;
  • Distribution Logistics;
  • Maintenance and Reliability;
  • Finance and Accounting, oriented towards operational processes.
Research is generally quantitative in nature, while many of the researchers also engage in empirical research. All research is embedded in Beta, the KNAW-recognized research school for Operations Management & Logistics.

PhD projects
PhD project 1: System-focused inventory control for spare parts networks. In this project, we study the spare parts inventory control for networks consisting of central and local warehouses, and with properties such as the use of lateral transshipments and emergency shipments, customer differentiation, and budget constraints for investments in new parts. The objective is to develop building blocks and to combine appropriate building blocks for an overall planning concept under which system availability constraints for the various installed systems are realized in an efficient way.

PhD project 2: Effect of (re)design decisions on downtime, service logistics costs, and Total Cost of Ownership. In this project, we look at design decisions for technical systems regarding the system structure, the selection of components and suppliers, building in redundancy, modifications of components of existing systems, and so on. Designers tend to look mainly at reliability and production costs of a new system. We will develop quantitative models which show the effect of design choices on the performance of systems when they are installed in the field. With such models, companies are able to make better decisions.

PhD project 3: Location strategy for the maintenance of trains. The maintenance of trains consists of preventive and corrective maintenance. Preventive maintenance actions are executed at planned visits of trains to maintenance locations, and consist of usage-based and inspection-based maintenance actions. A corrective maintenance action may take place in the field or via a short extra visit of a train to a maintenance location. In this project, we study how many maintenance locations one should have in a railway network, where the locations should be positioned, and what level of specialization is desired per location, such that one obtains a high availability of the trains against low overall costs.

Projects 1 and 2 are part of the NWO-TOP project “Service Logistics for Advanced Capital Goods” (NWO is the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research). In these projects, we collaborate closely with ASML and NedTrain. Project 3 is funded by NedTrain and is part of the NedTrain R&D program.

Tasks
The PhD student is expected to do research, write a PhD thesis and write research papers on the research project. The research is executed under the supervision of prof.dr.ir. G.J. van Houtum (all three projects), dr. T. Tan (project 1), dr. H. Peng (project 2), J.J. Arts, MSC (project 3). The candidate also participates in the PhD education program. A small part of the position involves teaching in courses offered by the group.

Requirements
For all 3 PhD projects, applicants should have completed (or be close to completion of) a Master's degree in operations management, operations research, econometrics, mathematics, or industrial engineering, with a solid background in quantitative research methods. Fluency in English is required.

Conditions of employment
We offer:
  • a challenging job in a dynamic and ambitious university;
  • a PhD appointment for a period of 4 years with target start date in the fall of 2013;
  • gross salary is in the range of €28.750 - €36.800 per annum (on a full-time basis), this includes 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end of year allowance.
  • a broad package of fringe benefits (including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, savings schemes, coverage of costs of publishing the dissertation and excellent sports facilities).
Information
More information about the OPAC group can be found at http://w3.ieis.tue.nl/en/groups/opac/.
More information about this position and the research programs should be addressed to: prof.dr.ir. Geert-Jan van Houtum, phone +31 - 40 247 5163, e-mail: g.j.v.houtum@tue.nl

Information about terms of employment can be obtained from Mrs. Ellen van der Mierden, personnel officer (pz.ieis@tue.nl), phone: +31.40.247 4886. Further information about Eindhoven University of Technology can be found at http://www.tue.nl.

Application
Your application must contain the following documents (all in English):
  • Cover letter (1 page max), which includes a motivation of your interest in the vacancies, your preferences regarding the 3 projects, and an explanation of why you would fit well for at least one of the projects;
  • An extensive curriculum vitae;
  • Course list of your Masters and Bachelor programs (including grades);
  • Results of a recent English language test, or other evidence of your English language capabilities;
  • Results of a GRE/GMAT test if available;
  • Name and contact information of two references.
If you are interested, we invite you to apply as soon as possible. You can send us your application through the online job portal of the TU/e: http://jobs.tue.nl/en/vacancies.html or click here.

We start interviewing as soon as possible and keep the positions open until all 3 positions have been filled.