Specifics of Lean Manufacturing - Essay Example

Lean Manufacturing Name Course Date Abstract Lean manufacturing is a method aimed at eliminating wastages in the manufacturing process. The gear manufacturing company is facing challenges mainly resulting from the high lead times. The manufacturing processes of the company has value added activities as well as the activities that do not add value. Most of the activities that do not add value contribute to the wastages. The wastages identified under the seven lean involves waiting, transporting, inappropriate processing and unnecessary motion. It is recommended that the company should redesign the process and utilize technological equipment with high levels of precision. Introduction Lean manufacturing is a systematic method used for elimination of wastes during the manufacturing process (Petersen, 2010). This is achieved through taking into account various aspects including overburden and unevenness in the workloads. The aspects of value are also considered in lean methodology. The value involves any action or process that the customers will be willing to pay for. Lean manufacturing therefore ensures that value is added and any other thing that does not add value is reduced. This management philosophy was derived from Toyota Production system (Drombrowski, et al, 2011). The company involved in the manufacture of gears for differential gear boxes for automobiles will find lean manufacturing quite effective. The ability to reduce wastage is one of the major strengths of lean manufacturing. Flexibility in the manufacturing process is also one of the main characteristics associated with the method. Its weakness is however on the detailed information required in the implementation process. The paper is a report for the senior management based on lean manufacturing. Discussion Value added and non value activities In lean manufacturing, the activities that add value as well as those that do not add value has to be identified. This is mainly for the purposes of ensuring that the wastes are effectively reduced. The activities that physically change the shape or character of the product have the ability of adding value (Krajewski, et al, 2012). Such products can therefore be classified as value addition activities. However, the non value activities do not change the product or assembly. The non vale activities are also considered as a waste as in lean manufacturing. The activity that does not meet an explicit customer requirement or cannot be shown to be performed more economically is also considered as a waste (Krajewski, et al, 2012). The table below indicates the value added as well as non value added in relation to the gear manufacturing company. Value added Non value activities Testing and inspection Billet cutting Bore Hole Inspection, unload and move Gear Tooth forming Inspection, unload and move Shaving the workpiece Inspection, unload and move Heat treat the workpiece Testing and inspection Packaging Pull raw material Move billet Load billet on boring machine Load workpiece on Gear hobbling machine Load workpiece on Shaving machine Load on heat treatment furnace Loaded for transportation The rationale used in the selection of the activities is based on their ability to add value. The activities and process that will lead to changes in the characteristic of the products has been categorized as value added. However, those activities and processes that cannot change the characteristics of the product have been categorized as non value adding. It is for this reason that loading and moving during the manufacturing process has mainly been categorized as non value adding. Current and future stream maps Current Stream Map Future Stream Map Lean seven waste in categorizing the potential areas of waste The elimination of wastes is one of the most important aspects of lean manufacturing. This is an important aspect that enhances the effectiveness and profitability of the business. Some processes during the manufacturing process either add value or waste the production of goods and service. A total of 7 wastes have been identified in the methodology and this includes overproduction, waiting, transporting, inappropriate processing, unnecessary inventory, unnecessary motion and defects (Goetsch, et al, 2014). The gear manufacturing company is undertaking some process that contributes to wastage. The non value activities increases the time required to carry out the manufacturing process. An increase in time taken during the manufacturing process contributes to increased costs. Waiting is one of the categories of wastes associated with the gear manufacturing process. The time taken between different activities is too long and hence contributing to wastages. Transporting products between processes takes a lot of time and hence contributing to waste. Inappropriate processing is also a category of wastage that is facing the company. This mainly involves the value addition processes. Most of the processes take too long which is an indication of lack of precision. The delays in the value addition process impacts negatively on the costs as such activities are mandatory. This includes activities such as billet cutting, boring holes, shaving, heat treatment and packaging. The manufacturing process is also characterized by unnecessary and excess motion that contributes to wastage. The potential waste areas therefore impact negatively on the cost as well as time taken to carry out the manufacturing process. Improvement Strategy Based on the stream map and the waste categories that have been identified in the lean seven, improvement strategies are required. The waiting time has negative impacts on the lead time of the organization. In order to improve on the process, the linking the processes together is the main strategy that will be put in place. This will reduce the time taken from one process to the other. According to the theory of constraints, the time lost between the processes can never be recovered and this has a direct negative impact on manufacturing (Kim, et al, 2012). Linking the processes together is vital in ensuring that one process feeds directly into the next. Mapping of the product flow will also be carried out in order to deal with the aspects related to transportation. The mapping will provide an opportunity to determine the most appropriate time that can be taken to carry out the transportation processes during manufacturing. Each of the processes will be analyzed in details in order to obtain information about the arrangement. It is also important to note that the delays may be attributed by lack of proper planning regarding the sequence of the activities. The strategy will also involve the use of machines with high levels of precision. The use of such machines will solve the challenges associated with long lead time for the activities that add value to the company. Inappropriate processing has negative impacts on the quality and well as the cost of the products (Reijers, Mendling & Recker, 2015). Improvement plan for the Recommended Strategy Linking the processes together as well as the implementation of the strategy required to reduce the transportation time will require redesigning. The work area will have to be redesigned so as to ensure that the equipment for carrying out different activities is close to each other. The rearrangement of the equipment based on the new design will be carried out on a step by step basis. The rearrangement is projected to take up to three weeks in order to come up with a new layout at the production plant. The step by step basis will be vital in ensuring that the company is able to continue with the manufacturing process as the changes are being implemented. New equipment with high levels of precisions will also be purchased and installed during the implementation of the new design. This may lead to some delays during the manufacturing process. This is because the equipment has to be tested to ensure that it operates in accordance with the specifications and standards (Agus & Shukri Hajinoor, 2012). The new equipment will be technological and automatic. This will play an important role in ensuring that the lead time for the manufacturing activities is reduced by up to half. The staff members will have to undergo some training so as to enable them to use the new equipment. In order to further reduce costs, some of the employees will be laid off as the new technological equipment will be automated. Recommendations and Conclusion It is recommended that the company should embrace the aspects of lean manufacturing in order to improve on the processes. It is recommended that the company should come up with a new design to govern the operations of different activities. The main emphasis of the company should involve reducing the lead time for the activities involved in the manufacturing process. New and technological equipment should be put in place by the company in order to reduce the lead time for the value addition activities. It is recommended that the new design should be carried out on a step by step basis so as to ensure the production process continues to take place as the changes are made. In conclusion, it is evident that the company is facing some challenges resulting from wastages. Lean manufacturing has played an important role in identifying the wastages in the process. It is evident that the manufacturing process at the company is comprised of value addition as well as the non value addition activities. The lead time for all the activities is too high and hence contributing to wastages. A new design is required in order to enhance the manufacturing processes. The implementation of the changes will lead to improvements. Bibliography Petersen, J., 2010. Defining lean production: Some conceptual and practical issues. The TQM Journal 21(2), pp. 127-142. Drombrowski, U., et al., 2011. Lean leadership- 15 rules for a sustainable lean implementation. Procedia CIRP, 17, PP. 565-570. Krajewski, L, et al, 2012, Operations management, Pearson Education Limited. Goetsch, D, et al, 2014, Quality management for organizational excellence, Pearson, London. Kim, D, et al, 2012, Relationship between quality management practices and innovation, Journal of Operations Management, 30(4), 295-315. Reijers, H. A., Mendling, J., & Recker, J. (2015). Business process quality management. In Handbook on Business Process Management 1 (pp. 167-185). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Agus, A, & Shukri Hajinoor, M, 2012, Lean production supply chain management as driver towards enhancing product quality and business performance: Case study of manufacturing companies in Malaysia, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 29(1), 92-121. Read More