Lean Manufacturing Concepts Research Articles

Economic and environmental value stream map (E2VSM) simulation for multi-product manufacturing systems

Value stream mapping (VSM) is a well-accepted tool within lean manufacturing concept which is often used for analysing and designing the flow of materials and information required to manufacture a product. However, the analysis is static and single product oriented, which fails to cope with either the variation of production plan or a multi-product environment. In addition, the environmental impact of a manufacturing system is highly associated with the dynamic consumption of energy and resources. Despite the recent integration of VSM with simulation or environmental studies (in the domain of energy efficiency), still neglected is the dynamic assessment of all the resources involved in a multi-product production environment. This paper presents a methodology for modelling multi-product manufacturing systems with dynamic material, energy and information flows with the aim to generate economic and environmental value stream maps (E2VSM). The proposed methodology is validated with an industrial case.

Kaizen Application at The Reception Stage in a Sugarcane Plant

The main reasons for the decline of the sugar and alcohol sector in the last decade are the increased cost of production, delayed investment in the recovery of sugarcane plantations aiming higher production volumes, lack of competitiveness of ethanol and sugar and lack of investment in new technologies. This situation faced by the sugarcane industry in Piracicaba/ SP leads the sugarcane companies to seek increasingly competitiveness. This condition leads to continuous improvements, like the development of production systems. In this sense, a new operational and strategic orientation is needed to achieve the objective of profit maximization, and to excel in the current situation through an increase in productivity. In this paper, we intend to achieve the application of kaizen in the production process of a sugar and alcohol plant, specifically, at the reception of sugarcane. Therefore, this paper aims to apply the concept of lean manufacturing to maximize the yield of sugarcane reception process. The research method used was obtained in an exploratory literature review of the main concepts of lean production in order to provide the necessary basis for application of kaizen. A case study was carried out for the implementation of the concept. The contribution of this work is at pointing out improvements in the sugarcane reception process through a lean tool, the Current and Future Value Stream Mapping.

An empirical study for implementation of lean principles in Indian manufacturing industry

Purpose – Lean manufacturing (LM) principles are one of the alternatives to improve manufacturing productivity, quality and customer satisfaction in Indian manufacturing industry. The purpose of this paper is to find the implementation status of LM principles across Indian manufacturing organizations through the empirical survey methodology. Design/methodology/approach – The survey questionnaire was developed based upon literature review conducted on LM and also considered experts suggestion in the field of LM. The survey questionnaire was sent to 753 manufacturing organization located in India. The respondent organization details have gathered from the list of Confederation of Indian Industries directory for the year 2011.The selected respondents were production managers, quality managers, sales managers, maintenance managers, CEOs of the organization. The empirical survey collected 180 filled survey questionnaires from Indian manufacturing industries. Findings – The study clearly identified that many manufacturing organizations were in initial transition stage and concentrating mostly in-plant operations instead of collaboration in all levels of business with suppliers and customers. The present study found that drivers for implementation of LM were customer satisfaction and organizational continuous improvement program. The present study also found that barriers to implement LM principles were employee resistance, implementing few elements of LM principles instead of the complete package of LM framework, budget constraints and lack of understanding of LM principles to shop floor managers. Finally the study concluded that Indian manufacturing organizations have to conduct continuous learning programmed to improve understanding of LM principles as well as to maintain their motivation level in apex point. The study also suggested that a systematic LM framework is needs to Indian manufacturing organizations, which will act as clear cut guiding torch to the organization managers to implement LM principles across organization. Research limitations/implications – The sample size of the present study was moderate number than previous studies. However the study only concentrated on manufacturing organizations across India. The results of the present study cannot generalize across all the sectors of Indian organizations. Originality/value – The concept of LM was very popular among developed and developing countries in the world. Many research studies were performed across world to find the status of LM implementation in their countries. Very few research studies reported the status of LM implementation in Indian manufacturing industries and those studies also with limited focus of the status of LM implementation. Hence the study presented details status of LM principles implementation in Indian manufacturing industries.

Implementing lean manufacturing in small and medium scale enterprises-identification and modelling of managerial factors

The aim of this research paper is to present the managerial factors that constitutes a successful implementation of lean manufacturing within the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). Lean manufacturing concepts not only reduce the cost of production, but also reduce the number of defects. For this purpose, shop floor commitment and employee trust, business strategy based on customer demand, analysis of data, linking lean into the business were labelled as four construct with 19 variables to measure the managerial factor. Empirical data was collected to measure these managerial contributing factors in different industries in Kerala, India. A structural equation modelling (SEM) was used build up the measurement model. This is the first known study that adopts SEM framework to measure the managerial contributing factors towards the success of lean implementation. After the analyses of the results, shows that these four construct with 14 variables are significant to the managerial involvement.

A model for evaluating the success factors for implementation of lean manufacturing in small and medium scale enterprises

In recent years, the world has given attention on the progress of small and medium enterprises. Meanwhile, the world has also been looking ahead to lean manufacturing concept as a facilitator for companies to attain prosperity. Hence, it is suggested that lean can be applied to small and medium scale enterprises. However, modern SMEs are suffering to identify the key success factors for implementation of lean manufacturing. The identification of key success factor demands the need to develop the model, rather a strong model using structural equation modelling (SEM) that can enable to establish the key factors for implementation of lean manufacturing. In order to fulfil the need, a model is designed to indicate the key success factors using SEM. The results show that two constructs named as managerial, and structure factors of SMEs has a significant role in the lean implementation.

Evaluating lean execution performance in Indian MSMEs using SEM and TOPSIS models

To meet competitive requirements and reduce costs, many manufacturers are turning to lean manufacturing techniques. Various problems are usually faced in the implementation of lean manufacturing in the Indian micro, small and medium enterprises. This paper investigates the implementation of the lean manufacturing concept in the MSME sector. In particular, it examines the extent to which lean manufacturing can be implemented given the various financial constraints encountered in the current economic environment of India. To this end, lean implementations were conducted and studied in six Indian MSMEs. The study was conducted using structural equation modelling (SEM). The software, LISREL was used for calculating the ranking factors using TOPSIS and FUZZY TOPSIS technologies. The study was conducted with a view to elucidating the methodology of lean manufacturing that was successful, besides supporting the basic hypotheses. The final solution proposed is a systematic method postulated to improve the productivity and performance of the manufacturing industry.

Effect of lean manufacturing on organisational performance of Indian industry: a survey

Most recently, companies have started adopting a lean manufacturing concept on a large scale to beat the global competition. Subsequently, a thorough investigation has started to understand the areas of lean manufacturing, which has been impacting on the operational performance and hence organisational performance parameters directly. Supplier development, supplier feedback, JIT supply from supplier, customer involvement, flow, SPC, TPM, setup reduction, employee involvement and customer participation, has been identified as key implementation areas, which impacts on operational performance parameters such as productivity, quality, cost, delivery, safety, morale and financial performance. A large scale study has been conducted in different Indian industries to verify the results.

REDUTEX: a hybrid push–pull production system approach for reliable delivery time in knitting SMEs

The textile sector is composed of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) worldwide. Nowadays there is a shortage of technological knowledge in SMEs. Lead time is a critical indicator in any productive company organisation. The aim of this research was to provide an approach, called REDUTEX, based on theoretical concepts of lean and synchronous manufacturing in order to help to understand the behaviour of SMEs and to improve the manufacturing process by reducing the customer lead times. The integration of these philosophies is the basis of REDUTEX; a hybrid push–pull production system approach to knitting SMEs. With this approach, it is possible to obtain a process reliability when the restrictive resource capacity (RRC) is identified, optimised and protected. By synchronising all activities to the rhythm of RRC, through a continuous flow, it is possible to obtain high-impact results through a dual automated system and product quality, through a visual control. REDUTEX uses a push system from the RRC to the location of the supermarket, where accumulated inventory may be distributed in the internal assembly department and external family workshops, making a pull system. Subsequent re-assembly processes use a push system until the end of the product. The stages of REDUTEX are explicitly described and applied to real data, so that the staff of SMEs can easily understand the behaviour of the process and implement it. One of the advantages of REDUTEX is that it does not need highly trained staff. The research methodology was conducted as a case of study in twelve SMEs and validated and implemented in three textile companies of the southern area of the state of Guanajuato in Mexico, obtaining reliable delivery times and very promising results.

The Theory Of Constraints: A Comparative assessment

The worldwide economic reorganisation of the last decade has regularly been accompanied by appeals to concepts of lean manufacturing and flexible systems. These generally imply a scaling of productive and operating capacity to match demand and current throughput levels. The issue of how to manage scarce capacity has risen in priority both because of a constant search for greater efficiency and because of imbalances between the supply and demand of many resources. Multiple constraints have emerged throughout the Irish economy for individual firms, and for entire sectors. In “The Goal” Eli Goldratt reinvigorated traditional optimisation insights by presenting them in the repackaged form of the Theory of Constraints (Goldratt and Cox ,1993). This management best seller took the form of a thriller following the struggle of plant manager with 90 days to save his loss making operation from shutdown. In it Goldratt and Cox attack cost accounting as the “enemy number one of productivity” and instead called for a holistic process of ongoing improvement integrating techniques such as MRP, Just in Time and Statistical Process Control. This paper examines in detail the relative utility of the Theory of Constraints compared to traditional management accounting approaches to resource utilisation in aiding decisionmaking. It also considers the propagation and evolution of the Theory of Constraints and critically examines the response it has generated in the accounting and management literature. The continuing survival of cost accounting in the face of frequent assaults similar to Goldratt’s may in part be due to the ability of the discipline to adapt its practices to integrate the mandated improvements into practice and educational curricula. The paper reflects on the process by which new ideas are assimilated into the conventional management wisdom based on this example.

Investigation of prospects and problems of lean technologies introduction in Russian enterprises

The use of lean technologies as the key component of the concept of lean manufacturing is discussed in the article. The main aim of the work is the analysis of the theoretical foundations, basic principles and tools of lean management and evaluation of the prospects and obstacles encountered in the implementation of lean in manufacturing plants in Russia. The main result is the formulation of recommendations on the transition of Russian enterprises from traditional management to lean management.Implementation and development of lean production technologies provides a number of advantages, such as: reduction of production losses, reduction of production costs, increasing productivity while reducing labor costs, improving product quality, increasing yield. The basic lean tools are discussed. The field of application and the place in the chain of measures to improve the processes and products of the company were defined. Key issues - constrained factors of the transition to the concept of lean manufacturing were identified. Research confirmed the importance of the sequence of steps in the lean implementation, the starting point for this is the request of the consumer market to the technical specifications and consumer products. The research results can be applied in business optimization processes through the introduction of lean technologies in manufacturing plants, retail and service sectors. The company offers to improve the competitiveness of the implement, change or improve its own production concept, based on the synergistic effect of the introduction of the integrated lean technology.

Implementation of Lean Manufacturing Principles in the Process Industry: A Case Study

This research aims at implementing lean manufacturing principles in different industries and re-design the manufacturing system based on the concepts of lean manufacturing by developing a pull-oriented manufacturing system. This research was applied at the assembly line of Sunny Egypt Company for Electronics Industry which related to UNION AIR GROUP at Egypt. LCD 32'' model television was selected from the company's products for improvement. The Results obtained showed that the implementation of lean manufacturing in industrial systems eliminates wastes, increases productivity, profit, improves product’s quality, decreases cycle times, work in progress, inventory, raw materials, costs and number of operators. This research can be useful in developing a more generic approach to design lean environment.

Leanness metric evaluation platform in fuzzy context

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to provide an efficient index system for evaluating leanness extent of the organizational supply chain. In today’s competitive global marketplace, the concept of lean manufacturing has gained vital consciousness to all manufacturing sectors, their supply chains and, hence, a logical measurement index system is indeed required in implementing leanness in practice. Such leanness estimation can help the enterprises to assess their existing leanness level and can compare different industries that are adapting this lean concept. Design/methodology/approach – The present work exhibits an efficient fuzzy-based leanness assessment system using trapezoidal fuzzy numbers set. Findings – The methodology described here has been found fruitful while applying for a particular industry, in India, as a case study. Apart from estimating overall lean performance metric, the model presented here can identify ill-performing areas toward lean achievement. Originality/value – The major contributions of this work have been summarized as follows: development and implementation of an efficient decision-making procedural hierarchy to support leanness extent evaluation; an overall lean performance index evaluation platform has been introduced; concept of generalized trapezoidal fuzzy numbers has been efficiently explored to facilitate this decision-making; and the appraisement index system has been extended with the capability to search ill-performing areas which require future progress.

The Impact of Vacuum-Drying on Efficiency of Hardwood Products Manufacturing

Many wood product manufacturers are trying to increase competitiveness by implementing continuous improvement programs such as lean manufacturing. However, the lumber drying process can significantly affect manufacturing time and inventory size, thus limiting how “lean” the entire process can become. The goal of this research was to determine how vacuum drying technology could support lean manufacturing concepts relative to conventional drying technology in hardwood manufacturing. Two flooring manufacturers with drying operations were modeled, and simulations were used to determine differences in cycle time and work-in-process inventory. The total cycle time of vacuum drying was 78% and 90% less than conventional drying. Work-in-process inventory was reduced by 57% and 52%. The reduction of work-in-process inventory in the drying process represents a potential cost savings of $7.3 million and $13.6 million per year for each manufacturer, respectively. The reduction in inventory carrying costs, faster drying rates, and reduced cycle time demonstrate that vacuum drying could significantly improve the competitiveness of hardwood flooring manufacturers.

Modular Home off-site Construction Production Line Improvement

Today modular and off-site construction practices are widely used as a novel approach to residential and commercial building construction. Although this approach is known for its high production efficiency and low material waste, manufacturers are facing the challenge of fully differentiating their modular construction procedures from the conventional construction approach. Manufacturers are thus seeking to continuously implement efficient methodologies to improve their production line effectiveness, thereby enhancing their market competitiveness. This paper proposes a methodology enabling the modular manufacturer to overcome this challenge and increase their assembly line productivity by implementing building information modelling (BIM)-supported lean manufacturing concepts, with a particular focus on the importance of the upstream pre-assembly line. This technique was implemented on a case-study, a residential modular factory, and increased the production line productivity by implementing the Lean-assembly concept. This approach is supported by the information provided from an enhanced BIM model generated to deliver accurate resource quantity required at each assembly station.

MODERN TECHNOLOGIES OF PRODUCTION ORGANIZATION TO ENSURE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENTERPRISE

The article deals with the concept of sustainable development of the enterprise, provides the author’s interpretation of sustainability. It is proposed indicators for assessment of sustainability of the enterprise, it is recommended to use the concept of lean manufacturing to ensure sustainability of the enterprise. It is considered main types of losses in the production organization and ways to overcome these losses. It is considered lean manufacturing tools and proposed an algorithm implementation of lean production for Russian enterprises to ensure their sustainable development.

Lean implementation in Indian process industries – some empirical evidence

Purpose – In the present era of intense competition, industries are adopting lean manufacturing for successful survival. The concept of lean manufacturing is new for Indian process industries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the status of lean manufacturing in Indian process industries in terms of lean practices, reasons and challenges of implementing lean manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was carried out to assess the level of lean implementation in Indian process industries. Statistical tests were conducted to assess the significant lean practices, reasons and challenges of implementing lean in Indian process industries. Findings – It is observed that the level of implementation of lean manufacturing in Indian process industries is still low. Results indicate that Indian process industries those who have implemented lean found lean to be very useful to reduce wastes and to increase quality. Major lean practices being implemented by Indian process industries are primarily those which are related to waste elimination or improvement in quality. Indian process industries found that important challenges to implement lean are to produce in small batches, to arrange for lean experts and to impart training to employees. Research limitations/implications – In the present study, the sample size is small and hence, the findings should be generalized cautiously. Although the study indicates that lean can be very useful if implemented in Indian process industries but further empirical studies are required to quantify performance improvements through adoption of lean. Originality/value – The paper explores status of lean adoption in Indian process industries. Considering the unique characteristics of process industries, the present research would be helpful for making strategies to implement lean in process industry setups.

Lean Philosophy for Global Competitiveness in Ethiopia Chemical Industries: Review

This study attempts to investigate the global competitiveness scenario in chemical manufacturing industries in line with lean thinking. The objective of this article is also to understand the concept of lean manufacturing, its philosophy, various tools and techniques, lean implementation benefits and barrier towards lean implementation of chemical industries in Ethiopia. Competitiveness of chemical manufacturing industry is not easily attainable since chemical products nature is variant. There are challenges which hinder the development of chemical industries production. The chemical industries contribution to the economy is very small when compared to agriculture contribution due to infant stage of the industrial group in general. The methods that can bring the chemical industries development and increase competitiveness is one lean thinking revolution. The big challenges noticed in this study found are chemical manufacturing industries have not diffused lean thinking into their process. The chemical industries consume more energy and resources with high technology. As a result of these, the development of chemical manufacturing industry in Ethiopia is darting and at initial stage in contributing for the country economics in employment, GDP, and self-sustained economy. Lean philosophy utilization to companies needs more commitment by the industrial sectors worker and kaizen institute.

Evaluating lean implementation performance in Indian MSMEs using ISM and AHP models

This paper investigates the implementation of the lean manufacturing concepts in Indian MSMEs. In particular, it examines the extent to which lean can be implemented given the various financial constraints businesses find themselves in the current economic environment in India. Here a new method combined with interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) models were used to evaluate the lean implementation performance of MSMEs. After finding the weights for those criteria, these were ranked. The AHP model was applied to find the best one in lean implementation from a group of six MSMEs. Further, to justify the AHP results, fuzzy was used to compare those criteria weights. This paper presents an innovative method to ascertain how a set of 11 factors can influence successful lean implementation. The analysis of AHP and ISM methodologies provides the industry with an insight on how lean implementation can be made more responsive.

Combining Lean Concepts & Tools with the DMAIC Framework to Improve Processes and Reduce Waste

Six Sigma DMAIC methodology has been applied to systematically apply lean manufacturing concepts and tools in order to improve productivity in a local company specialized in the manufacturing of safety and fire resistance metal doors, windows, and frames. In-depth analysis of the plant processes unfolded different critical processes, specifically foam injection process and sheet metal cutting process. Throughout the different project phases, various improvements had been implemented to reduce production cycle time from 216 min to 161 min; non-value added activities in the different processes were identified and eliminated. Plant layout and machine reconfiguration reduced backtracking and unutilized space. Percentage of defective doors (needing rework) dropped from 100% to only 15%. The successful implementation of this project is largely due to top management active involvement and participation of workers and operators in all stages of the project. Finally, new policies and mentoring programs are introduced to maintain improvements.

The impact of the concepts of lean manufacturing on the strategies of the supply chain

In a highly competitive environment, cost reduction and optimization of the supply chain are more than ever a strategic issue for companies. In this sense, lean manufacturing is a lever that allows the company to continuously reduce the time required for the transformation of raw materials into finished products, eliminating waste and with the aim to meet the growing and diverse needs of these customers.In this paper, it based on the latest studies in this field in order to highlight the relationship between supply chain and lean manufacturing at reducing costs, eliminating waste and non-value added. Then it highlights the impact of lean manufacturing on the reactivity of the supply chain through inventory reduction, cycle time and flow acceleration. Finally, it presents the role and expectations of the supplier in the context of the merger Lean Manufacturing and Supply Chain.This research has enabled to understand the impact of lean manufacturing concepts on supply chain strategies.