Abhijeet K. Digalwar

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR WORLD CLASS MANUFACTURING PRACTICES IN INDIA

This paper aims to develop and validate performance measures for world class manufacturing (WCM) in Indian context that could be used by managers/ practitioners in assessing and improving their manufacturing performance. Using a thorough synthesis of the world class manufacturing literature, sixteen performance measures — top management commitment, knowledge management, employee training, innovation and technology, employee empowerment, environmental health and safety, supplier management, production planning and control, quality, flexibility, speed, cost, customer involvement, customer satisfaction, customer services and company growth — of world class manufacturing and their 89 variables have been developed. Using the data obtained from a survey of manufacturing industries in India, the identified performance measures were subjected to appropriate statistical tests to establish reliability and validity. Statistical computing package SPSS 11.5 for Windows was used for reliability and validity analysis. The validated instrument of world class manufacturing measures developed here may be used by manufacturing organizations to prioritise their management efforts to assess and implement WCM. The validated results are in Indian context, however, the instrument developed can be used in global context.

Green manufacturing performance measures: an empirical investigation from Indian manufacturing industries

Summary Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore the performance measures for the green manufacturing practices in the Indian manufacturing industries. Design/methodology/approach – A tentative list of items/variables was developed for green manufacturing performance measures based on a thorough and detailed analysis of the pertinent literature. The survey questionnaire contained 128 items/variables, developed based on the literature and interviews with nine manufacturing industry experts, specifically green manufacturing areas. A total of 400 questionnaires were mailed out, and 114 were returned, of which 108 were valid, representing a response rate of 27 percent. Using the data collected, the identified items/variables were performed via factor analysis to establish reliability and validity. Findings – A total of 12 performance measures of green manufacturing with their 66 items/variables have been developed: top management commitment, knowledge management, employee training, green product and process design, employee empowerment, environmental health and safety, suppliers and materials management, production planning and control, quality, cost, customer environment performance requirement, customer responsiveness and company growth. Research limitations/implications – This study obtained 108 valid responses from the Indian manufacturing industries; the limitation of the study is the insufficient sampling. Future research needs to be performed using a larger sample and studying more countries. Practical implications – The performance measures developed in this study enables decision makers to assess the perception of green manufacturing in their organization and in prioritizing GM efforts. Originality/value – This study is probably the first to provide an integrative perspective of performance measures for green manufacturing practices in the Indian manufacturing industries. It gives valuable information, which hopefully will help this business sector to accomplish green manufacturing practices. This paper fills the gap in the literature on identification, establishment and validation of performance measures of green manufacturing for Indian manufacturing industries.

Modeling the performance measures of world class manufacturing using interpreting structural modeling

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the performance measures of world class manufacturing (WCM) and to establish relationship among them using interpretive structural modeling (ISM). Design/methodology/approach – The research paper presents a blend of theoretical framework and practical applications. In the paper, 16 performance measures are identified from literature survey and experts’ opinion, and then these are validated by questionnaire survey in India. Finally, ISM is used to obtain structural relationship among these performance measures of WCM. Findings – The results of the survey and the ISM methodology have been used to evolve the mutual relationships among these performance measures. Practical implications – The adoption of such an ISM-based model on WCM performance measures in manufacturing organizations would help managers, decision-makers and practitioners of WCM in better understanding of these performance measures and to focus on appropriate performance measures while implement...

An overview of existing performance measurement frameworks in the context of world class manufacturing performance measurement

Performance measurement plays a significant role in order to sustain an improved performance. An enterprises measurement system strongly affects the behaviour of people, both inside and outside. If organisations are to survive and prosper in information age competition, they must use a measurement system derived from their strategies and capabilities. As enterprises introduce world class manufacturing (WCM) techniques, they need new methods of performance measurement to control and improve their production plants. Recent studies provide a useful framework for performance measurement and strategic alignment. The paper first highlights the imperatives of a performance measurement system for manufacturing excellence then discusses existing performance measurement systems and their limitations in measuring world class manufacturing performance. Finally, the paper suggests that there is a need to develop a new performance measurement system and proposed a framework for world class manufacturing performance measurement.

Evaluation of world-class manufacturing systems: a case of Indian automotive industries

Many industries are implementing World-Class Manufacturing (WCM) systems to compete in the global market. However, the researchers in the area of WCM have not paid much attention to the techniques/methodologies for the evaluation of WCM systems. This paper presents a set of validated critical success factors and their performance variables for WCM industries. The reliability and validity analyses were carried out by using the SPSS? 11.5 statistical tool on the data obtained from the Indian automotive industries. A multiattribute decision model, i.e., Performance Value Analysis (PVA), was developed for the evaluation of WCM systems. The usefulness of the model is demonstrated using a case situation of the Indian automotive industry. By utilising this model, it is expected that managers/decision makers will acquire sufficient confidence in evaluating world-class automotive industries.

Role of knowledge management in world class manufacturing: An empirical investigation

Today companies are facing important challenges such as the need to reduce the time-to-market, the development cost and manufacturing cost, or the management of products with more and more technology. As a result, this current situation is encouraging the implementation of world class manufacturing and new management techniques such as knowledge management (KM) to increase competitive advantage. Many researchers theoretically justified the role and benefits of knowledge management in world class manufacturing. In this study an attempt has been made to empirically examine the role and benefits of knowledge management in world class manufacturing.

Sustainability assessment in manufacturing organizations: Development of assessment models

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a sustainability readiness assessment model and a sustainability assessment model for manufacturing organizations. Design/methodology/approach The proposed models have been developed using resource-based theory along the integrated supply chain. The models are based on resources sustainability (people, money, material, energy, infrastructure, water, and air), critical factors of sustainability (product, process and policies), sustainability dimensions (environment, economic, and social), and life cycle sustainability (integrated supply chain). Findings The paper presents an integrated assessment system which includes: product life cycle, resources, critical factors (product, process, and policy), key performance indicators, and their interrelationship with sustainability dimensions. The three critical factors and all the important resources required by a manufacturing organization along the integrated supply chain are identified. The readiness assessment model is user friendly and effective to guide the managers to identify the weak areas of sustainability. Research limitations/implications The proposed model for readiness assessment is tested and in an automotive manufacturing organization but the sustainability assessment model is conceptual and it requires validation by implementing the same in an organization to understand its effectiveness. Practical implications The readiness assessment model can help the top management to decide whether the organizational orientation is correct to improve sustainability. The easy to use models can be used by the decision/policy makers and independent bodies to assess, compare and benchmark the products, processes or organizations and thus affect public policies and attitudes. Originality/value This study has developed, for the first time, a sustainability readiness assessment model. The resource-based theory has been applied along the integrated supply chain.

Development of fuzzy PROMETHEE algorithm for the evaluation of Indian world-class manufacturing organisations

Establishing a performance-oriented evaluation in manufacturing sectors is the key to successful administrations and further improvement. However, because of lacking relative comparable measuring standards, it is difficult to measure the relative performance of one organisation while comparing to other organisations with regard to the multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) of performance evaluation. This paper aims to focus on the evaluation of world class manufacturing (WCM) practices in Indian manufacturing sectors. The algorithm in this paper is based on the concept of fuzzy set theory and the PROMETHEE. This algorithm is then applied to three heavy engineering sector organisations in India. These organisations are ranked according to their WCM practices.

Development and validation of quality management constructs for software industries: an empirical investigation from India

Quality management (QM) is a powerful technique for managing, monitoring, analysing and improving the operational performance. Various studies have been done in the manufacturing and service sectors to find out the relation between quality management practices and operational performance. Very little studies are found from software industries. The aim of this paper is to present results of a survey on QM in the software industries. The focus is on understanding the critical success factors (CSFs) for successful implementation of QM in the software industry. In total, 12 critical success factors (CSFs) with 114 variables were developed from the literature and discussions with software quality professionals. To validate the data obtained from a survey of software industries in India, reliability and validity analysis was carried out. These results provide an increased understanding of how to better implement QM in the software industry, and provide managers with improved guidelines for identifying the most important factors that will lead to success. Indian software companies are leading exporters to Europe and the USA. Considering the growth of the Indian software industry and increased inclination towards acquiring quality certifications and quality improvement techniques, a better understanding of the implementation of QM can provide companies with a stronger competitive advantage.

Performance analysis of vehicle assembly line using discrete event simulation modelling

The purpose of this paper is to utilise simulation as a decision making tool in a complex manufacturing setup. A vehicle assembly line at an automobile company in India is modelled and analysed to help managers to identify the criticality of different parameters. Conveyor speed, operator fatigue and incoming material quality were selected from a pool of parameters which affect the line output. On the basis of design of experiments (DOE), experiments were carried out to capture the effect of input parameters on the line output. The results from these were further analysed using response surface methodology (RSM) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The line output was found to be most sensitive to operator fatigue followed by incoming material quality and conveyor speed. This paper provides a structured approach to analyse the vehicle assembly line in an automobile company and provides a suitable tool to the management to analyse the complex functioning of a manufacturing system.