A Changeover Time Reduction through an integration of lean practices: a case study from pharmaceutical sector

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bevilacqua ◽  
F.E. Ciarapica ◽  
I. De Sanctis ◽  
G. Mazzuto ◽  
C. Paciarotti
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Pharmaceutical Company ◽  
Good Manufacturing Practice ◽  
Process Time ◽  
Pharmaceutical Sector ◽  
Total Productive Maintenance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lean Practices ◽  
Mean Time

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to uncover the significance of quick changeovers in the packaging line of a pharmaceutical company. Using an integration of different lean practices, the study aims to reduce the batch change and changeover time up to 50 per cent, increasing overall equipment effectiveness by 25 per cent. Design/methodology/approach – The paper gives setup instructions and guidelines for preparing the standardized setup procedure without ignoring the actual constraints in a pharmaceutical company. It uses a case study to generate an integrated setup reduction approach, utilizing single-minute exchange of die tools (SMED) in combination with suppliers, inputs, process, outputs and customers (SIPOC), Kanban, 5S techniques and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) indexes to achieve faster setups. Findings – The SMED approach helps the pharmaceutical company to eliminate unwanted activities and to externalize and reduce the internal activities by simplification or standardization. The application of other tools, such as 5S and Kanban tool-kits, allowed the company to optimize the process and reduce the standard deviation of the changeover times. Good manufacturing practice (GMP) procedures of the pharmaceutical sector limit the conversion of internal setup elements to external setup elements. Originality/value – The paper demonstrates the practical application of SMED, showing how it can bring real breakthroughs in productivity to a pharmaceutical company. Moreover, in this work, we highlight the importance of an integration of different lean practices to reduce variation in the changeover time. In particular, the standardization of setup tasks and the increased reliability in the material supply chain, in addition to reducing the changeover mean time can also reduce the standard deviation of the setup process time.

Maintainability analysis in shaving blades industry: a case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Tsarouhas ◽  
George Besseris
Keyword(s):  
Production System ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Total Productive Maintenance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fitness Index ◽  
Maintainability Analysis ◽  
Mean Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide results for a complete maintainability analysis utilizing data sets from a production system in a shaving blades division of a large high-tech razor manufacturer. Through the illustrated case study, the authors demonstrate how to spot improvement points for enhancing availability by carrying out an equipment effectiveness analysis. Design/methodology/approach Descriptive statistics of the repair data and the best fitness index parameters were computed. Repair data were collected from departmental logs, and a preliminary screening analysis was conducted to validate their usefulness for the indicated period of 11 months. Next, the maintainability and repair rate modes for all the machines of the production system were calculated. Maintainability and availability estimations for different time periods that took in account the overall system were obtained by trying out and selecting an optimum statistical model after considering of several popular distributions. Findings Out of the five considered machines in the system, two particular units received about half of the repairs (M2 and M3). The time to repair follows a loglogistic distribution and subsequently the mean time to repair is estimated at 25 minutes at the machine level. Repair time performance is approximated at 55 minutes if the availability of the system is to attain a 90 percent maintainability. Originality/value This study is anticipated to serve as an illuminating effort in conducting a complete maintainability analysis in the much advertised field of shavers, for which on the contrary so little has been published on operational availability and equipment effectiveness. The case study augments the available pool of sources where executing maintainability studies is highlighted usually under the direction of combined total quality management and total productive maintenance programs.

Implementation of lean in IT SME company: an Italian case

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Torri ◽  
Kaustav Kundu ◽  
Stefano Frecassetti ◽  
Matteo Rossini
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Lean Implementation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Lean Practices

Purpose In spite of huge advancement of Lean in the manufacturing sector, its advantage in the service sector is not fully investigated. The purpose of this paper is to cover this gap in particular for the information technology (IT) sector through the implementation of the Lean philosophy in a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME), operating in the IT sector. Design/methodology/approach A case study is conducted and following the A3 model, Lean is deployed in the case company. Data were collected through on-site interviews, waste sources were identified and then countermeasures for their reduction were proposed and adopted. Findings This study reveals that the implementation of the Lean practices in an SME operating in the IT sector offers good operative and financial results, thanks to the higher productivity obtained through the reduction of non-value-added activities. Research limitations/implications This paper reports a single case study, not enough to generalize the results. Moreover, more Lean tools and practices should be tested in IT companies to assess their effectiveness. Practical implications This paper increments the knowledge base for the application of Lean and A3 model outside the manufacturing industry. This paper should assist practitioners and consultants who have the desire to understand a better way of Lean implementation in fast-growing IT industry and in SME. Originality/value Research on Lean implementation in an SME company and in IT sector is scarce. This study aims to assess the efficiency of the adoption of Lean practices following the A3 model. The results could be highly valuable for similar companies (dimension or sector), especially those that are facing transition situations in terms of size and at the same time want to improve their operations performance, efficiency and avoid waste.

Deterrents to knowledge-sharing in the pharmaceutical industry: a case study

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athar Mahmood Ahmed Qureshi ◽  
Nina Evans
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Pharmaceutical Company ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – This study aims to explore deterrents to knowledge-sharing in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Effective knowledge-sharing is fundamental to stimulation of the process of knowledge absorption. The limited proximal communication between the employees in the pharmaceutical industry stifles their knowledge-sharing behaviour significantly. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional case study, consisting of semi-structured interviews with managers and scientists, was conducted in a multinational pharmaceutical company in Australia. Respondents were asked to answer questions regarding their current knowledge-sharing practices and to identify organisational deterrents to knowledge-sharing. The data were condensed into themes according to the thematic analysis method. Findings – The pharmaceutical industry is extensively regulated and its excessive competitiveness is cultivating organisational reticence towards the development of a knowledge-sharing culture. Nine categories of deterrents to intra- (within) and inter-organisational (between organisations) knowledge-sharing have been identified. These categories include high cost of sharing knowledge, information technology limitations, knowledge-hiding, lack of socialisation, lack of trust culture, non-educational mindset, organisational politics, poor leadership and time pressure. Research limitations/implications – The population of this study consists of managers and practitioners working for a pharmaceutical company. Hence, the generalisability of the findings to other health-care settings is unknown. Practical implications – The findings have implications for leaders and managers who should be aware of these professional diversities, instigators as well as the ripple effects of limited knowledge-sharing to guide the organisation towards developing an optimal knowledge-sharing culture. Originality/value – A focussed investigation of knowledge-sharing behaviour within the pharmaceutical industry in Australia, considering the pressure applied to this industry over the past decade. This case study specifically focusses on the diversity of deterrents to knowledge-sharing in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

The transfer process of lean practices in multi-plant companies

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 468-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Danese ◽  
Pietro Romano ◽  
Stefania Boscari
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Process ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Contextual Variables ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lean Practices ◽  
The Usa ◽  
National Environment ◽  
Multiple Case

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to deal with the transfer of lean practices between different units in multi-plant organizations with different levels of adoption of lean practices. It investigates how certain influential contextual variables – i.e. lean standards development, lean transfer team composition, source characteristics, recipient national environment and corporate lean programme deployment – can influence stickiness in the different phases of lean transfer process. Design/methodology/approach This paper opted for the multiple-case study method and examines six lean transfer projects at a dyadic level, that is, between a source and a recipient unit. The authors focussed on companies with headquarters in Europe with an attested experience in lean and which had recently and successfully transferred lean to subsidiaries in the USA and China. Findings The paper provides empirical insights about how stickiness in lean transfer projects changes during the initiation, implementation/ramp-up and integration phases. It identifies three lean transfer approaches (local, global, global and shared) and provides a set of propositions that explains how sociocultural traits of recipient environment (China vs USA) and lean transfer approach affect stickiness in each phase. Originality/value Literature on stickiness in lean transfer is at an early stage and very fragmented. Unlike previous contributions in the field, this paper provides an interpretation of the dynamics of stickiness in lean transfer at a micro-level (i.e. for each single phase of the lean transfer process). In addition, it develops a fuller understanding of the influence of context on lean transfer by adopting a configurational view, i.e. studying the joint effect of contextual variables on stickiness, which is a novelty in the lean transfer literature.

Lean production practices and bundles: a comparative analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saumyaranjan Sahoo ◽  
Sudhir Yadav
Keyword(s):  
Quality Management ◽  
Total Quality Management ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Lean Production ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Total Productive Maintenance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lean Practices

PurposeTotal productive maintenance and total quality management are two lean manufacturing initiatives that are used by manufacturing plant managers to improve operations capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of standalone lean practices and lean bundles on manufacturing business performance.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative approach was used. The survey data were drawn from 160 manufacturing organizations in India. The respondent companies were grouped on the basis of the duration of lean production in operation and then classified based on the profile of their operations strategy. The approach, based on comparative assessment between standalone lean practices and lean bundles, has been directed toward justification of lean bundles for its support to competitive manufacturing in the context of the Indian manufacturing sector.FindingsThe paper establishes the long-term effects of lean bundles in significantly improving manufacturing business performance as compared to standalone lean practices. Further findings of the study revealed the significance of the duration of lean production in operation in achieving higher levels of manufacturing business performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is cross-sectional in nature. It would be interesting to test the analytical framework adopted for this study for more industries and in different countries. The use of subjective measures in survey questionnaire is also another limitation of the study.Practical implicationsThis study offers clear implications for practitioners, proving that they should give higher emphasis on the implementation of lean bundles using total productive maintenance and total quality management practices together, to prioritize their product, production and business strategies, to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.Originality/valueThis paper empirically examines and evaluates the effect of lean practices and bundles in the context of medium- and large-sized manufacturing industries in India. Besides, there are very few studies that comparatively assess the differences in performance contribution of various lean operational strategies considering duration of implementation of lean. Also, the theoretical contribution of the study establishes the essence of integrating total productive management and total quality management for attaining world class manufacturing is of high value.

Simulation of stakeholders’ consensus on organizational technology acceptance (case study: Internet of Things)

Kybernetes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Sarkeshikian ◽  
Mohhamadali Shafia ◽  
Amir Zakery ◽  
Alireza Aliahmadi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Opinion Dynamics ◽  
Process Time ◽  
Suitable Model ◽  
Consensus Process ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

Purpose In the organizational technology acceptance (TA) decision-making process, stakeholders have many divergence opinions. Sometimes, an opposing stakeholder of a decision can stop the whole process of decision-making. In such a case, consensus may take a long time followed by a high risk. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to find the best model with the least prediction error for the simulation of the consensus process in TA decisions. Second, to investigate the time required for the consensus process to yield the TA decision in different scenarios and to propose solutions to reduce the required time in a case study. Design/methodology/approach This study uses real-world data containing 1,186 actual observations. Stakeholders are decision-maker agents, and the observations are derived from survey data and used for simulation. Data were obtained from 126 experts in the Iranian rail freight industry. Opinion dynamics theory was used for agent-based simulation of stakeholders’ behavior. The agents interacted over time and their effects on other agents’ opinions were investigated. Findings The results illustrate an appropriate opinion changing model, a data-gathering method and a simulation scenario for TA consensus. The suitable model was selected after examining the advantages and disadvantages of and comparing the prediction results for different models with the real database of opinions. To reduce the consensus process time, the results suggest gathering the team members and networking with some leaders as advocators. A large number of advocators with high acceptability and continuous exchanging messages with other agents can improve the acceptance rate and have the most significant impact on other stakeholders’ opinions. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, previous studies simulate individual TA processes. However, there is a difference between the individual TA and the organizational TA. The organizational TA requires the simultaneous decision-making of different stakeholders. In this research, the organizational TA was investigated.

A lean six sigma approach for improving university campus office moves

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 928-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Wheeler-Webb ◽  
Sandra L. Furterer
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Six Sigma ◽  
Lean Six Sigma ◽  
Similar Process ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Control Methodology ◽  
Six Sigma Approach ◽  
Improvement Effort

Purpose The purpose of this study was to improve the quoting, scheduling, invoicing and paying for campus office moves at a university. The Lean Six Sigma project goal was to improve the campus office move process by making it less complicated, free-up program managers’ time and pay the vendor on time. Design/methodology/approach The team used the Lean Six Sigma Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control methodology to improve the process. Findings The average time from the campus move to when the invoice was paid improved by 27%, with an improved median of 16%. The standard deviation was greatly reduced by 51%. The average invoiced date to paid date remained statistically the same, and the median increased from 20 to 30 days, due to a policy change to move the target from 20 to 30 days. The standard deviation of the invoice to paid date was greatly reduced by 38%. This was a successful project because the sponsors were on-board from the beginning and included the process owners in the improvement effort. Originality/value Other higher education institutions or other industry areas with a similar process can implement this methodology and processes outlined in this case study to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness and as a guide for improving other processes within institutions.

scholarly journals Improving Decision-Making Grid based on interdependence among failures with a case study in the steel industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arash Shahin ◽  
Ashraf Labib ◽  
Soroosh Emami ◽  
Mahdi Karbasian
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Block Diagram ◽  
Fault Tree Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Steel Making ◽  
Physical Asset ◽  
Mean Time ◽  
Continuous Casting Plant

Purpose Decision-Making Grid (DMG) is used for determining maintenance tactics and is associated with the reliability and risk management of assets. In this grid, decision making is performed based on two indicators of Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and frequency of failures. The purpose of this paper is to improve DMG by recognizing interdependence among failures. Design/methodology/approach Fault Tree Analysis and Reliability Block Diagram have been applied for improving DMG. The proposed approach has been examined on eight equipment of the steel making and continuous casting plant of Mobarakeh Steel Company. Findings Findings indicate different positions of equipment in the cells of the new grid compared to the basic grid. Research limitations/implications DMG is limited to two criteria of frequency of failures and MTTR values. In both basic and new DMGs, cost analysis has not been performed. The application of the proposed approach will help the reliability/maintenance engineers/analysts/managers to allocate more suitable maintenance tactics to equipment. This, in turn, will enhance the equipment life cycle and availability as the main objectives of physical asset management. Originality/value A major limitation of basic DMG is that the determined tactic based on these two indicators might not be an appropriate solution in all conditions, particularly when failures are interdependent. This has been resolved in this paper.

Lean manufacturing implementation using value stream mapping as a tool

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naga Vamsi Krishna Jasti ◽  
Aditya Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Lean Manufacturing ◽  
Value Stream Mapping ◽  
Process Time ◽  
Inventory Level ◽  
Specific Product ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Value Stream ◽  
Work In Process ◽  
Current State

Purpose – Value stream mapping (VSM) is a lean manufacturing (LM) tool used for analyzing material and information flow on a specific product family. The purpose of this article is to address the importance of VSM in LM environment in an Indian auto components industry. Design/methodology/approach – The case study approach has been used to show the applicability and importance of VSM in an Indian auto components company, in which the current state of manufacturing is mapped with the help of VSM symbols. According to the current state mapping, the study conducted analysis and identifies the area of improvement needed in terms of work in process, lead time and cycle time. The study further implemented kaizen on the current state map and developed future state map while including these kaizens. Findings – The study clearly shows that the VSM brings out the positive impact on process ratio, TAKT time, process inventory level, line speed, total lead and process time and reduced man power. It is helping the company in satisfying their customers with respect to quality, cost and delivery. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of the study is the confined focus on a single industry. The case should be extended to other industries in order to support the findings and for the purpose of the wider generalization. Practical implications – The results obtained from the study will help other industries and sectors to implement VSM in LM environment. Originality/value – The article deals with a real case study, which shows application of VSM for implementing lean principles.

Quantitative assessment of the impacts of BIM and lean on process and operations flow in construction projects

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Musab Jamal Maraqa ◽  
Rafael Sacks ◽  
Sabrina Spatari
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Lean Construction ◽  
Flow Index ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Lean Practices ◽  
Degree Of Confidence

PurposeThe study aims to test, measure and quantify the impacts of lean construction and BIM implementation on flow in construction projects.Design/methodology/approachDetailed control data from a set of 18 high-rise residential construction projects executed between years 2011 and 2020 were analyzed using the construction flow index (CFI), a measure of workflow quality. Seven comparable projects with a diverse range of LPS, BIM, VDC and 5S implementation were selected to compare the impacts of these innovations on flow.FindingsImplementing BIM in the big room and applying the last planner system and other lean construction techniques increased the CFI from 4.31 to 8.12 (on a 10-point scale). Avoiding trades crossing one another's paths between tasks was the most significant aspect of improved flow. Moreover, the benefits of implementing lean practices with BIM or VDC were found to be measurably greater than when these approaches were implemented separately.Research limitations/implicationsThe primary limitation of the study is that the degree of confidence in the results is limited by the nature of the case study approach. Although 18 is a respectable number of case study projects, it cannot offer the degree of confidence that a broader, representative sample of projects could. Similarly, the case studies are all drawn from the same construction context (residential apartments) and the same geographic region, which necessarily limits confidence concerning the degree to which the findings can be generalized.Originality/valueThe research is the first of its kind to quantitatively assess the impacts of BIM and lean construction on flow. Use of the CFI to quantify flow quality also highlights the potential value of CFI in providing project managers and planners a clear view of the smoothness or irregularity of flow and of differences between subcontractors' production rates.

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