Implementation Of Agile Manufacturing Research Articles

Development of a model of critical failure factors for integrated LSS–AM practices in Indian manufacturing industries: a fuzzy TISM approach

The purpose of the present study is to identify the critical failure factors (CFFs) for implementing integrated practices of lean six sigma (LSS) and agile manufacturing (AM) in Indian manufacturing industries and develop a framework that prioritizes the CFFs. Total nine CFFs were identified through a vast review of research articles. A framework of CFFs was developed by the fuzzy-total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) approach with the help of academia and industry experts’ opinions. Fuzzy-MICMAC (Matrice d'Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliqués à un Classement) analysis was performed to categorise CFFs into four clusters. The findings of the present study suggest that there are nine CFFs to LSS–AM implementation in Indian manufacturing industries. From the fuzzy-TISM model it is revealed that top management commitment and organisational culture change CFFs are major roadblocks to LSS–AM implementation strategy in any organization. Further, this research helps LSS–AM decision-makers and practitioners to prioritize CFFs based on their driving and dependence. Accordingly, they can make strategies to mitigate these CFFs and create a smooth pathway for the LSS–AM implementation process. This in turn can enhance the performance of the organization. This study is one of the pioneer studies of the integration of LSS–AM CFFs, which analyzed the contextual relationship among the CFFs through fuzzy-TISM.

Agile Manufacturing vs. Lean Manufacturing

Abstract The aim of this paper is to describe characteristics of agile manufacturing and analyse the needs and benefits of agile manufacturing under the conditions of uncertainty and market turbulence. It also describes four main changes in the production environment which were implemented thanks to agile methods, and compares the lean and agile manufacturing, while describing their intersections and differences in achieving the set goals. The conclusion summarises the advantages and identified benefits suitable for organizations after implementation of agile manufacturing, as those are the important facts that can play a significant role in the survival and re-establishment of balance in the periods of uncertainty.

Implementation of Agile Manufacturing in industry: A Critical Review

Implementation of Agile Manufacturing in industry: A Critical Review

Analysis of the Dimensions of Lean Manufacturing through the Hierarchical Analysis Process in the General Company for Automobile and Equipment Manufacturing in Alexandria, Babylon of Iraq

This study analyzed the dimensions of agile manufacturing through a hierarchical analysis process at Alexandria’s State Company for Automotive and Equipment. This topic is important in the use of management accounting methods as means to improve the performance of automotive and equipment manufacturers in Alexandria, with a view to achieving their objectives. The fact that these companies also have a significant and fundamental impact on the realities of Egypt’s economy was the answer to the following questions: What are the elements of agile manufacturing at Alexandria’s State Automotive and Equipment Company? What are the most relevant dimensions of the company’s agile manufacturing? And the researcher has followed the analytical approach of analyzing the data on research that will be obtained through the study tool of the scale of dimensions of agile manufacturing, The research was based on the collection of data related to the search on the personal interview with members of the company’s senior management to obtain information and data and relying on the lean manufacturing scale 2012 Singh & Culshan which consists of nine dimensions and applied to employees of the Automotive and Equipment Industry Company in Alexandria, One of the results of this study is a hierarchical analysis process, which depends on the opinions and ideas of the people involved in issuing judgments only, but not other employees of the company, and therefore the views of as many employees as possible must be expanded. In Alexandria, there is an average value for agile manufacturing. Interest from Alexandria General Automotive Company’s management in achieving agile manufacturing and the study recommended that attention should be paid to low relative weight dimensions and to high relative weight dimensions and maintain this level to be used in the implementation of agile manufacturing, Raising the level of awareness of the employees of the State Automotive Company in Alexandria of the importance of applying and increasing the level of efficiency of the dimensions of the process of agile manufacturing and providing all the possibilities and needs required by the process of agile manufacturing.

Agility enhancement through agile manufacturing implementation: a case study

PurposeDynamic business environment has a deep influence on production and management related exercises. In order to remain competitive, organization needs to coordinate with continuous and unpredictable changes taking place in the market. Globalization of markets is posing competitive pressure on firms, which leads them to adopt a new manufacturing paradigm termed agile manufacturing (AM). The purpose of the present case study is to explore the contribution of AM towards agility and productivity enhancements in an Indian manufacturing company.Design/methodology/approachThe study is carried out at forging industry which has been assessed on certain key business performance indicators. The assessment highlighted various issues which had scope for improvement to enhance the agility of the organization. Therefore, a phase-wise implementation of AM is carried to reap the significant benefits as a result of AM implementation in the case study company. The methodology has been applied to decrease the inline rejection, increase the productivity and responsiveness of the organization.FindingsThe results revealed an improvement in performance score from 77.5 to 100. Further, an increase in productivity and reduction in line rejection has been achieved through the systematic implementation of AM.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the contributions of strategic AM implementation to organizational performance and highlights the need for successful management of AM practices for establishing sustained performance of the organization.Originality/valueThe contribution of the present work is the phase-wise implementation of AM in the case studied company.

An empirical investigation of the relationship among agile manufacturing practices and business performance: a pilot study

PurposeAgility addresses vibrant solutions for running companies to meet the dares of customers asking for high quality and low- cost goods and services. The purpose of this study is to identify the practices for the successful implementation of agile manufacturing and measure their relationship with business performance measures of the manufacturing industry.Design/methodology/approachThe data for the pilot study were collected from 26 respondents through a questionnaire survey. After confirming the normality and reliability of the data, it was analyzed to examine the relationship between agile manufacturing practices and business performance measures.FindingsThe results show that there are strong relationships between agile manufacturing practices and business performance. Further, these attributes significantly contribute to delivering better business performance.Originality/valueThe study signifies the need for agile manufacturing in enhancing business performance for the growth and sustainability of the organization.

Decision making system for agile manufacturing implementation: A fuzzy-based simulation

Decision making system for agile manufacturing implementation: A fuzzy-based simulation

An empirical investigation and prioritization of barriers toward implementation of agile manufacturing in the manufacturing industry

PurposeThe study aims at empirically investigating and prioritizing the critical barriers for the successful implementation of agile manufacturing in the medium- and large-scale Indian manufacturing industries.Design/methodology/approachA literature review of peer-reviewed journals and discussion with experts is used to identify 17 barriers to the implementation of agile manufacturing. An empirical survey is then conducted to collect data regarding the agile manufacturing barriers and is further analyzed using the factor analysis and vlsekriterijumska optimizacija i kompromisno resenje (VIKOR).FindingsBased on the survey of empirical data, the investigated critical barriers were reduced in five critical categories, as follows: Managerial constraints, technological constraints, human resource–related constraints, operational constraints and organizational culture-related constraints, which are further ranked in terms of their severity using VIKOR. This research advocates the development of a strategy for addressing the most critical barriers instead of focusing on all for the successful implementation of agile manufacturing.Originality/valueThis work contributes to agile manufacturing literature by the structured presentation of the barriers to implement agile manufacturing in the Indian manufacturing industry. It also extends the integrated factor analysis and VIKOR method to investigate and rank the barriers.

Lean and agile manufacturing: complementary or competing capabilities?

PurposeLean (TQM and JIT) and agile manufacturing (AM) are viewed as strategic capabilities that can help firms to meet diverse set of market demands. However, the question whether lean manufacturing and AM are complementary or competing capabilities is still open to discussion. This research proposes an integrated research framework that draws on complementary theory, theory of systems, and concept of fit to examine this question regarding these two strategic capabilities.Design/methodology/approachData are collected from 248 apparel exporting firms, and the proposed model is evaluated using structural equation modeling.FindingsResults show that lean manufacturing, AM, and supporting management and infrastructural practices have positive and complementary effects on firm's performance. Further, results depict that lean manufacturing and AM complementarity is a complete organizational synergistic phenomenon, and piecemeal implementation of these initiatives may lead to suboptimal or unsatisfactory results. Results also indicate that there is no significant direct (correlated and uncorrelated) relationship of management, infrastructure, lean manufacturing, and AM practices with firm's performance and support that lean manufacturing and AM are not competing paradigms.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is based on cross-sectional data from one industry. Future research should collect data from diverse sectors in different countries.Practical implicationsThis study provides a key insight for manufacturing managers that piecemeal implementation of lean manufacturing and AM does not yield optimal outcomes. In addition, study suggests that lean manufacturing and AM complementarity builds on strong foundation of strategic management and internal and external infrastructure. Therefore, managers should focus on development of skilled and empowered human resources, technological advancements, and learning and virtually integrated organizations for effective implementation of lean manufacturing and AM.Originality/valueProposed framework is one of the first, if not the first, that seeks to resolve the question: whether lean manufacturing and AM are complementary or competing capabilities. Complementary effects of lean manufacturing and AM along with management, internal infrastructure, and common external infrastructure practices have positive impact on performance. This study also segregated infrastructure practices into internal and common external infrastructure practices.

Identification & Prioritization of Agile Manufacturing Enablers for Small and Medium Scale Industries

In Indian economy the small and medium scale industries are playing a significant role in manufacturing sector, global competition and dynamic demand of customer poses a big challenge in front of manufacturing industry. To mitigate this challenge the concept of agile manufacturing stood as a big relief. Agile manufacturing focuses on customer demand by giving quick response to the changes in product. Enablers are essential methodology which are significant to achieve agility. This research is divided in two parts: first part consists of Identification of Agile Enablers through extensive literature survey; second part focuses on prioritizing the identified enablers by using analytical hierarchical process (AHP). This research aims to find the solution for the problem statement given by TTC MIDC Industry Association, formerly known as Small Scale Entrepreneurs Association, Navi Mumbai, to identify the most essential enablers for implementation of Agile Manufacturing in Indian Small and Medium Scale Manufacturing industry.

A combined AHP and TOPSIS approach for prioritizing the attributes for successful implementation of agile manufacturing

PurposeThe concept of agile manufacturing is becoming critically important to manufacturing industry due to rapid industrialization, fluctuating customer demand, and turbulent business environment. The aim of this study is to prioritize the attributes for successful implementation of agile manufacturing using a combined analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach in Indian manufacturing industry.Design/methodology/approachThe current study identifies eight agile manufacturing attributes through literature review and discussion with subject experts. The experts from different manufacturing industry have been asked to provide data for pairwise comparison of attributes. Afterward, an integrated AHP and TOPSIS approach is employed. The AHP is used to drive the priority weights of the attributes, and TOPSIS is used for prioritizing the attributes for successful implementation of agile manufacturing.Findings“Information technology,” “human resource management-related issues,” “customer-related issues,” “leadership support,” and “organizationalc related-issues” have been ranked as the top five significant and contributing attributes, which can pave the path for top management to concentrate on the critical areas and allocate significant resources to ensure successful implementation of agile manufacturing.Originality/valueThis research integrates AHP and TOPSIS to prioritize the attributes for successful implementation of agile manufacturing, which are further validated by comparing the ranks obtained through respective approach and sensitivity analysis.

Impediments to Lean Six Sigma and Agile Implementation: An interpretive structural modeling

To remain sustain in the cutthroat rivalry era many organizations are adopting various combination of manufacturing strategies in order to enhance their efficiency, effectiveness and quality. The integration of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and Agile Manufacturing (AM) are one of the prominent strategies which gives organizations to a competitive edge in this modern ages, but most of organizations fail to implement them, hence to conquer the impediments of implementation, identification and mutual relationship among the impediments are vital. The main aim of this paper is to identify and establish mutual relationship among the impediments to LSS and AM implementation through an interpretive structural modelling (ISM). In this paper total 20 impediments are identified through vast literature review and their mutual relationship has been established with the help of industries and academia expert’s opinion in order to develop ISM framework of impediments. This framework will help the practitioners in developing the strategies to handle these impediments.

An empirical exploration of Agile manufacturing for enhanced business performance in Indian manufacturing industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of agile manufacturing practices on business performance of Indian medium and large-scale manufacturing industry.Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire was designed to attain the research objectives. Agile manufacturing questionnaire was sent to around 500 randomly selected manufacturing organizations in the northern spectrum of India through e-mails and posts, out of which 154 usable responses have been received. This study investigates the inter-relationships between various agile manufacturing implementation practices and business performance measures using various statistical techniques. This paper deploys Games–Howell hoc test to establish the statistical significance of business performance improvements, progressively accrued over a reasonable period of time, through holistic agile manufacturing implementation.FindingsThe paper validates the contribution of agile manufacturing toward realization of the significant improvements in various business performance measures such as customer-related achievements, financial achievements, business-related achievements, operational achievements, employee-related achievements, and supplier-related achievements. Further, the discriminant validity test has been used in this paper for classifying highly successful and moderately successful organizations.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper only concentrated on manufacturing organizations in northern India. The results of this paper cannot generalize across all the sectors and spectrum of Indian manufacturing organizations.Originality/valueThis paper develops an insight into the strong potential of agile manufacturing implementation practices in affecting business performance measures.

Agile manufacturing: a literature review and Pareto analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the existing literature on agile manufacturing (AM) to pinpoint critical success factors (CSFs) affecting the successful implementation of agile manufacturing systems.Design/methodology/approachThe study focused on empirical articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 1991 to 2019 (July). In total, 37 empirical studies were shortlisted for analysis as the reliability and validity of the constructs were critically tested using various statistical methods. Further, “Pareto analysis” tool was employed to sort and arrange the factors critical for smoother and effective implementation of AM, in descending order according to their frequency of occurrence.FindingsThe present work scrutinizes 37 research papers, resulting in 33 CSFs that affect AM implementation. Using Pareto analysis, 8 CSFs are regarded as “vital few,” which account for 82.66 percent of occurrence, and the remaining 25 CSFs are regarded as “useful many,” which account for 17.34 percent of occurrence. The managers must focus on successful deployment of “vital few” CSFs, as they are more critical in achieving business excellence through the successful implementation of AM, in comparison to other 25 “useful many” CSFs.Originality/valueTo the best knowledge of authors, this work is the first attempt to employ Pareto analysis for critically analyzing a wide range of AM CSFs studies. The findings of this study will assist researchers and managers in AM implementation in a more smoother and effective way in manufacturing industries.

Development of a framework for agile manufacturing

PurposeIn the past, the insufficiency of the traditional business practices to meet vibrant customer demands in continuously changing business environment has severely affected organizational competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to develop and propose a new framework for smoother and effective implementation of agile manufacturing by identifying and integrating a set of significant agility principles and techniques.Design/methodology/approachThe present work proposed a framework for agile manufacturing by deploying the comparative analysis of 17 frameworks published in peer-reviewed journals.FindingsThe proposed conceptual framework constitutes of eight pillars for agile manufacturing implementation. The proposed framework relies on a strong foundation of leadership support. The roof of the proposed framework of agile manufacturing is supported by the pillars constituted of seven elements, an industry must deploy for successfully implementing agile manufacturing, namely, human resource-related issues, organizational culture-related issues, supplier-related issues, customer-related issues, innovation, concurrent engineering and information technology.Originality/valueThis work is the first attempt, in the best knowledge of the authors, to employ comparative analysis for critically analyzing a wide range of agile manufacturing frameworks. The findings of this study will assist researchers and managers in agile manufacturing implementation in more a smoother and effective way in manufacturing industries.

Supply chain performance measurement: a future research agenda for acquiring competitiveness through the implementation of leagile manufacturing paradigm

In this paper, a literature survey conducted to study the state of the art research and pinpoint the future agenda of research on leagile manufacturing is reported. The information and knowledge derived by conducting this literature survey have indicated that the researchers have been enunciating the determination of a juncture which is called the decoupling point to determine the proportion of lean and agile manufacturing implementation in the concerned traditional manufacturing companies. These researchers have also found that supply chain management plays a crucial role in ensuring the successful implementation of leagile manufacturing paradigm. The ultimate results of conducting this literature survey revealed that efforts are yet to be made for measuring the process of achieving leagility through supply chains. At this moment, researchers are required to contribute a model for measuring the performance of leagile supply chains. In this context, this paper ends with suggesting the steps to be followed for developing leagile supply chain measurement model. Such model will be useful for the engineers and managers for strengthening the weak spots to successfully implement leagile manufacturing paradigm in traditional manufacturing companies and acquire competitive strength.

Implementation performance of agile manufacturing: a graph theoretic approach

The primary objective of this paper is to quantify, evaluate and compare the implementation performance of agile manufacturing program using graph theoretic approach. Eleven agile manufacturing enablers with their key performance indicators were identified and classified into three significant categories. The proposed model captures the performance and interdependencies of significant categories, agile manufacturing enablers and their key performance indicators to quantify the agile manufacturing implementation performance level. In order to demonstrate the utility of the proposed approach, it was applied to an Indian automobile manufacturing company. The performances along the timeline were evaluated and compared with different scenarios to identify performance gap and set the future targets. Although it was observed a significant growth in agile manufacturing implementation performance level in the case company over six quarters, but there was performance gap that needs to be reduced.

Implementation performance of agile manufacturing: a graph theoretic approach

The primary objective of this paper is to quantify, evaluate and compare the implementation performance of agile manufacturing program using graph theoretic approach. Eleven agile manufacturing enablers with their key performance indicators were identified and classified into three significant categories. The proposed model captures the performance and interdependencies of significant categories, agile manufacturing enablers and their key performance indicators to quantify the agile manufacturing implementation performance level. In order to demonstrate the utility of the proposed approach, it was applied to an Indian automobile manufacturing company. The performances along the timeline were evaluated and compared with different scenarios to identify performance gap and set the future targets. Although it was observed a significant growth in agile manufacturing implementation performance level in the case company over six quarters, but there was performance gap that needs to be reduced.

Addressing the Agile Manufacturing Impediments using Interpretive Structural Modeling

Agile manufacturing (AM) has achieved tremendous remembrance by the organizations to beat the uncertainties resulting from rapidly change market, shortening product life cycle, varying customer demand and obsolete technologies. AM is adopted as a new concept to improve the competitiveness of different organizations ranging from manufacturing sector to service sector. However, in reality, many organizations have been facing lots of problems during the implementation of AM due to some environment specific impediments. The AM implementation process is getting delayed without the efforts of addressing the root cause of Agile Manufacturing Impediments (AMIs). These AMIs have its deep roots along various tangible and intangible issues of the organizations. Therefore, an organization needs to target the appropriate AMIs as putting efforts on all AMIs is not feasible. In this paper, a methodology is proposed using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) integrated with Fuzzy Matriced Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliqueeaun Classement (FMICMAC) algorithm for systematic analysis of impediments of AM. To demonstrate its practicality, a case study was conducted in an Indian automobile manufacturing company.

Effective human utilization in an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) industry by the implementation of agile manufacturing: A POLCA approach

AbstractAgile manufacturing (AM) has been recognized as an international strategy for improving industrial competitiveness. Agility refers to the ability of an organization to adapt to changes within its environment and to utilize them for earning profit and constituting a major item of expense for any organization, having a palpable effect on its profitability. Manpower utilization is considered as one of the important attributes affecting the organization's ability to be agile. In other words, an effective manpower utilization in any agile environment can reduce the workload and enhance the profitability of any organization. The efficiency of any agile organization lies in improved production, through the utilization of a smaller workforce without impacting on its work‐life balance. Thus, this research is focused on ensuring minimum manpower utilization on the machine shop floor of an Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) industry by implementing the Paired‐cell Overlapping Loops of Card with Authorization (POLCA) approach. Effective manpower utilization is an important aspect requiring focus in all areas relating to manufacture. However, POLCA, despite being a powerful and multiapplicative tool for AM, has still not been used by researchers for effective manpower utilization. This article takes initiative in this area.