Lean Manufacturing Process Research Articles

Knowledge Based System Implementation for Lean Process in Low Volume Automotive Manufacturing (LVAM) with Reference to Process Manufacturing

Global manufacturing industry mostly depends on new product development and processes to become competitive. The product development process for automotive industry is normally complicated, lengthy, expensive, and risky. Hence, a study of lean manufacturing processes for low volume manufacturing in automotive industry is proposed to overcome this issue by eliminating all wastes in the lengthy process. This paper presents a conceptual design approach to the development of a hybrid Knowledge Based (KB) system for lean process in Low Volume Automotive Manufacturing (LVAM). The research concentrates on the low volume processes by using a hybrid KB system, which is a blend of KB system and Gauging Absences of Pre-requisites (GAP). The hybrid KB/GAP system identifies all potential waste elements of low volume process manufacturing. The KB system analyses the difference between the existing and the benchmark standards for lean process for an effective implementation through the GAP analysis technique. The proposed model explores three major lean process components, namely Employee Involvement, Waste Elimination, and Kaizen (continuous improvement). These three components provide valuable information in order for decision makers to design and implement an optimised low volume manufacturing process, but which can be applied in all process manufacturing, including chemical processing.

Going lean drives business success at E‐Z‐GO

AbstractWhat happens when an aging command‐and‐control vehicle manufacturer company facing diminishing business embarks on a course guided by lean manufacturing and business processes? For E‐Z‐GO of Augusta, Georgia, the result was a 200‐percent jump in profits in five years and systemwide improvement across all business functions that led the company to earn the first enterprise‐level Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. This article details the continuous improvement roadmap that helped steer the organization on its journey of transformation, the bumps encountered along the way, and the widespread employee engagement designed to power E‐Z‐GO's efforts toward excellence in the future. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Last In, First Out: A Case Study of Lean Manufacturing in North America's Automobile Industry

This paper describes a three-year case study (2003-2005) of General Motors' (GM) Lansing Grand River Assembly (LGRA) plant, the first new vehicle assembly plant in North America to be built on GM's Global Manufacturing System (GMS), a globally integrated lean manufacturing model. The paper is an ethnographic journey to understand the LGRA's perceived initial success with lean manufacturing. In the study, LGRA's economic performance is related to two Participant Propositions, one connecting performance to the plant's rural workforce and the second predicting performance declines based on the transfer of other workers to the plant. Findings from the case, overall, contribute to the literature on lean manufacturing and participatory work processes, describing how organizational and institutional processes beyond the control of a single plant can possibly lead to a breakdown in participatory structures, creating risks for the long-term sustainability of lean manufacturing approaches.

Lean Manufacturing Process Implementation and Their Case Study

In this paper a framework is created by a brief exposure to lean manufacturing process and its implementation on some companies chosen as case study in this paper. These companies have main focus on maximizing profit even in their limited resources and inventories. They have to do so by not neglecting the quality according to World Class Manufacturing (WCM) standards. To do so they adopted strategies and philosophy of lean manufacturing concept. Here we are covering up with the case study of a company and its sister concerns that were initially lagging in proper technology utilization. But after they had adopted Lean manufacturing Process, they had overcome most of the hindrances they were facing on the business front. With the use of Lean concept they were able to remove the bottleneck in their manufacturing process and were able to achieve increase in overall productivity and other parameters which maximize their monetary gain. Although to achieve it they had worked for years but by the continuous improvement they have finally achieved their goal of overall success.

A case on vendor selection methodology: An integrated approach

Vendor selection methodology is a highly researched area in supply chain management l terature and a very significant decision taken by supply chain managers due to technological advances in the manufacturing process. Such research has two basic dimensions: one is related to the identification of variables affecting the performance of the vendors and the other deals with the methodology to be applied. Most of the research conducted in this area deal with the upfront selection of vendors. However, it is very common to have a list of dedicated vendors due to the development of sophisticated production technologies like just in time (JIT), a lean or agile manufacturing process where continuous flow of materials is a requirement. This paper addresses the issue of selecting the optimal vendor from the internal database of a company. Factor analysis, analytical hierarchy process and regression analysis is used in an integrated way to supplement the vendor selection process. The methodology presented here is simply a proposal where every possible room for adjustment is available.

OPERATIONS RESEARCH TECHNIQUES FOR DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF LEAN MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

The paper focuses on Lean Manufacturing. The aim is to position Operations Research techniques from the perspective of optimal design of lean manufacturing processes. The developed methodology is based upon advanced line balancing methods and their coupling with process planning and equipment selection. An example of such a decision aid system is presented for the design of machining systems.

Application of lean visual process management tools

Visual process management tools have been developed by lean practitioners as communication aids and are used to help drive operations and processes in real time. Three case studies from aerospace companies describe the physical visual tools that have been implemented to facilitate performance measurement and communication in different engineering processes. Rolls Royce presents an example of how ERP outputs are communicated and controlled in a lean manufacturing process. At Airbus UK (Filton) visual process boards are used to manage a complex knowledge and people based process bringing together multiple supplier inputs in the production of aircraft maintenance manuals. Senior management at Weston Aerospace are using visual process control to run and report on work packages, resources and processes throughout their organisation. These systems act as an extension to metrics, and in themselves may be considered as a dynamic measurement system as they provide instant feedback and can be used to predict a probable outcome if no action is taken. The learning and themes that have made these implementations successful is presented and collated into a set of guidelines for consideration when implementing visual process management tools.

The development of a fluidized bed process for the heat treatment of aluminum alloys

Heat treating of aluminum alloys is often necessary to achieve the mechanical properties required for a part. With conventional furnaces, though, the heat-treating process requires several hours and manufacturers have traditionally utilized off-line, batch heat-treating operations. The long cycle times required for heat treating with conventional systems go contrary to lean manufacturing where the goal is to reduce the time a part spends in the factory. The fluidized bed technology offers rapid heating rates and excellent temperature control that allows one to significantly reduce the time required for heat treating by an order of magnitude. Technomics developed a fluidized bed conveying system that allows the manufacturer to bring the heat-treating system in-line with the casting or forging operation, obtaining a true lean manufacturing process.

Marketing in the emerging era of build-to-order manufacturing

Build-to-order (BTO) and lean manufacturing processes are changing the paradigms under which businesses-to-business marketers operate. For example, BTO processes allow marketers to customize products to a greater degree, creating a competitive advantage over traditional manufacturing. Business-to-business (B2B) marketers who take advantage of the operational efficiencies and effectiveness that emerge from BTO are outperforming firms that utilize traditional manufacturing processes in multiple industries, such as office furniture, personal computers, and windows. This paper examines the long-term impact of the adoption of build-to-order manufacturing strategies on the marketing function and identifies marketing strategies associated with successful BTO companies. Throughout, the paper highlights managerial implications and proposes directions for future research.

Societal Complexity and Diminishing Returns in Security

rity in recent years have frequently concerned the ways in which the complexity of technologically advanced societies can be an Achilles’ heel. Various observers and real-life events have drawn attention to how relatively unsophisticated threats against air travel, power grids, computer networks, anancial systems, lean manufacturing processes, and the like can have devastating effects. There has been little effort, however, to approach the problems that complexity poses for security in a comprehensive way, though this is not to say that work applicable to such a purpose has failed to appear. In The Collapse of Complex Societies, Joseph Tainter argues that societies can reach and pass a point of diminishing marginal returns to investment in societal complexity.1 Eventually, this eats away at their slack, which can be understood as that “human and material buffering capacity that allows organizations and social systems to absorb unpredicted, and often unpredictable, shocks.” In other words, slack is the untapped human and material resources for pursuing new endeavors or meeting emergencies. This lack of slack leaves these organizations and systems increasingly vulnerable to collapse as a result of such a shock, for example, military invasion.2 Although concern with diminishing returns in the areas of defense and economics has long been a part of discussions of international security, appearing in the theoretical summations of authors such as Robert Gilpin and John Mearsheimer, Tainter’s work (and the aeld of complexity studies in general) have had little impact on security studies to date.3 This article argues that security is becoming an area of diminishing returns to complexity for today’s advanced societies because of the diminishing returns from investments in complexity in general, the risks posed by the interconnections this growing complexity creates, and the rising cost of security forces. Before proceeding to the argument’s details, however, some clariaca-