A Management System for Sustainable Lean Implementation

Lean has become the leading method to pursue productivity improvement in Western companies. However, the rate of success of implementation in industry is overwhelmingly disappointing and not in line with the level of available documentation and support. This chapter describes a back to basics approach to Lean implementation, developed specifically for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). This approach was developed out of many years of research, which is described succinctly. The chapter then delineates the framework of a management system, which uses standard Lean tools embedded in an IT data gathering system. This framework consists of 3 loops that provide the kind of information needed for a sustainable Lean implementation trajectory. Finally, the authors show how the system provides an answer to current gaps in Lean Management.

Blending Green with Lean - Incorporating Best-of-the-Breed Practices to Formulate an Optimum Global Supply Chain Management Framework

This chapter identifies potential areas in which firms can integrate green into current business practices based on the existing literature. An extensive literature review was conducted to examine research and practice with respect to the concurrent implementation of green, lean, and global supply chain strategies. The applied literature analysis identifies that lean not only serves as a catalyst but is also synergistic for green. Lean is beneficial for green practices, and the implementation of green practices, in turn, also has a positive influence on existing global business practices (Dües, Tan, & Tim, 2013). The chapter provides an assessment of existing academic research on the relationship and links between lean and green supply chain management practices. Existing explanatory frameworks are explored and discussed, primarily based on objectives including: (a) identification processes where lean practices are synergized with a go-green philosophy of business, (b) advocating green practices as an essential element in the lean value chain, and (c) developing a green-lean framework based on existing literature for competitive advantage for business firms.

The Role of Lean Production on Organizational Performance

This chapter introduces the role of Lean Production on organizational performance, thus explaining the management practices of Lean Production of just in time, total productive maintenance, total quality management, cellular manufacturing, and human resource management. The successful Lean Production implementation programs can facilitate the manufacturing organization’s quest for achieving enhanced business performance leading to competitive advantage. This chapter has highlighted some significant revelations about various facets of simultaneous implementation of Lean Production paradigms in the manufacturing organizations. Lean Production implementation dimensions are important to the manufacturing organizations trying to realize manufacturing excellence for competing in the highly dynamic global marketplace. The study also highlights that significant business performance enhancements can be realized through Lean Production implementation over considerable period of time. Organizations should focus on developing the management practices of Lean Production of just in time, total productive maintenance, total quality management, cellular manufacturing, and human resource management in order to achieve better organizational performance.

Lean Management and Supply Chain Management

This chapter evaluates the state-of-the-art of research on Lean Management and Supply Chain Management strategies in the aerospace sector using Systematic Literature Review methodology. The complementary aims are: a) to identify the topic set studied and to propose a criterion for classifying the literature, and b) to discuss the empirical evidence that identifies existing interrelationships. The analysis has enabled three main topics to be identified: a) adoption and implementation of lean management, b) development of supply chain management, and c) deployment of lean principles and practices across the supply chain. A number of more specific lines of research are also proposed that have been assigned to each of these three main research topics. Finally, a set of challenges and opportunities for future research are set out, along with a range of academic and professional implications that could be useful not only for the aerospace sector but also for other industrial sectors that share similar contingent factors.

Is Lean Supply an Option for SMEs in the Automotive Industry

It is widely claimed that the lean supply concept has enabled both buyers and suppliers to engage in collaborative relationships based on mutual dependencies and shared risk and reward. The concept has ultimately allowed both parties to engage in the collective identification and elimination of waste across the broad range of activities that determine the purchasing and supply process. The study ascertains the many internal and external challenges that MSMEs face when trying to achieve equitable amounts of value from the lean supply concept with larger, more powerful suppliers. Internal issues—such as limited purchasing spends, restrictions in the availability of resources, and an inherent fear and distrust of long-term commitment—limit the potential for small firms to embrace the concept. External factors such as power and dependency and a reduced ability to influence the larger players in the market also contribute to the difficulties for MSMEs.

Dynamic Supply Chain Management for Lean Manufacturing

Lean is a management philosophy to eliminate waste both in the inside and from the outside of factories. A supply chain strategy is a key issue for the improvement of the outside. Recent information technologies provide even small- and medium-sized supplier companies with a chance for entering into contracts with major supplier companies and large manufacturing companies in different Keiretsu groups, but will give the trouble for surviving in the dynamic supply chain environment at the same time. This chapter proposes a strategy for MTO (Make To Order) companies to find suitable business partners in the dynamic supply chain environment and to enter into proper contracts with the partners as well as to obtain appropriate profits. A supply chain model proposed in the chapter provides a negotiation protocol to determine suitable prices and delivery times for ordered products through the iteration of the negotiation process between the organizations, as well as through the modification processes of production schedules. A two-layered supply chain model is firstly proposed as a basic model for dynamic supply chain management of MTO companies. The model is extended to a three-layered supply chain model for representing the negotiation protocol among multi-layered organizations. A prototype of a supply chain simulation system is developed and computational experiments are carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of changing business partners and negotiating among the partners cooperatively.

A Corporate Perspective on Global Management and Development of Lean Production Systems

The challenge for every multinational manufacturing company with the ambition to implement the lean production concept is how to implement it worldwide within its global manufacturing footprint. There are many decisions that need to be taken from a company group perspective when planning and implementing a lean program. These concern the level of standardization on principles and tools, how to structure and organize additional resources, how to share experiences within the organization, and how to sustain the effort. These factors are elaborated in this chapter from a factory perspective based on the presentation of the lean journey of Gyproc AB, a process industry company within the Gypsum part of the large Saint Gobain group. The company has worked for about ten years with implementing world-class manufacturing and has extensive experience of the issues of starting-up and sustaining the lean-based concept.

Implementing Lean in Engineer-to-Order Manufacturing

This chapter reviews the state of the art in engineer-to-order production and non-repetitive production to give an overview of existing research and applications of Lean in this sector. Afterwards, a real case study at a medium-sized ETO manufacturer shows an approach to implement Lean Production in such a non-repetitive manufacturing environment. The experiences from the case study illustrate that the suitability of certain lean methods, such as value stream mapping or Kanban is limited, while other lean methods, such as 5S, CIP, or a material-oriented layout, brought significant changes. In the consolidation phase of the Lean production system, the authors defined a Lean-Toolset with the most suitable lean methods for engineer-to-order manufacturing systems. A core aspect of the Lean implementation was the desired mind-change of the employees. The chapter closes with a short description of the achieved results in the case study and gives an outlook to further research activities.

On Designing Robust Kanban Production Control Strategies in Multiproduct Manufacturing Environments

In this chapter, two Kanban Allocation Policies, Shared (S-KAP) and Dedicated (D-KAP), are analysed to understand how they would perform under different manufacturing scenarios, and the authors identify the merits and demerits of each. To evaluate the performance, a three-stage two product system was simulated under scenarios that provide for different levels of demand variability for each product. When operated under S-KAP, the system contained less Work In Progress (WIP); however, under D-KAP, the system provided more robust service levels as the variability increased. Based on the results from the model, guidelines on how to effectively combine these two policies to achieve the benefits of both in a multiproduct manufacturing system are developed. By partitioning the system at locations that would suit the transformation from one policy to another in a similar fashion to what is obtained in hybrid push-pull strategies, and deploying the policies that match the dominant characteristics at each segment, gives reduced WIP while maintaining service levels.

The Evolution of Manufacturing Systems

The transition from local economies to the global competitive landscape and the current fluctuating customer demands drives a never-ending transformation of manufacturing systems. In combination with prominent technological advances and other socio-political reasons of each era, such changes led to the evolution of manufacturing paradigms systems from craftsmanship to automation and decentralisation. This transition created the necessity for new means of designing, planning, and controlling manufacturing companies and networks. In production early stages, manufacturing was viewed as a functional area. On the other hand, current production paradigms are based on the customer focus and view manufacturing as an enterprise. This major diversification led to the gradual reorganisation of manufacturing systems in order to achieve mass customisation of typically mass-produced products. The purpose of this chapter is to specify the evolution of manufacturing paradigms, their basic principles, and the links among them. A discussion on future trends of manufacturing paradigms derives from the review and is finally presented.