Barbara Lyonnet

Lean manufacturing in the screw cutting sector: assessment of maturity level

This paper describes a methodology developed to evaluate the level of maturity in companies regarding their understanding of lean manufacturing and application. We present the results of a self-assessment questionnaire that we developed for screw cutting sector companies. A strong application of practices connected to the measurement of performance and to standards was observed. On the other hand, a low level of maturity in practices relating to one-piece flow, problem solving and value stream mapping was demonstrated. We also wondered to what extent the high level of a lean practice reflects the level of maturity of the other practices. We then carried out a factor analysis according to the lean practices of the companies studied. The positive correlations which appear in our results show the existing similarity of all of the lean practices. This result can translate the close link between common lean concepts, as the lean being considered a system and not a simple collection of principles.

Towards an adapted lean system – a push-pull manufacturing strategy

Abstract The direct transplantation or imitation of lean production has led to difficulties of applying a number of lean principles and practices. Thus diffusion of one of the main lean principles, just in time production, which refers to producing only “what is really needed, when it is needed, and in the amount needed”, seems to be limited. To date, some of the these companies produce more than their customers really need. This method of production enables them not only to amortize the high changeover costs over a large number of products, but also to benefit from commercial opportunities. However these companies are exposed to financial losses related to storage costs and risks of non-sale. To provide decision elements for determining the best production strategy, we have developed a model for calculating the optimal quantity to be produced. Moreover, we suggest using a fuzzy aggregation system to optimise the consideration of the risk of non-sale. This new approach defines the limits to not be exceed by taking into consideration the drawbacks linked to the risks of non-sale.

A new way to identify critical resources by combining human and machine data

In business management, the identification of high priority resources represents an important issue. In this paper we developed a new method based on a multi-criteria approach to identify critical resources. Eight prioritisation criteria involved in the companys global performance are proposed. The originality of our method is to take into account both material and human resources of company. Accordingly, a human-machine availability including the versatility of machine-operators is developed. We applied our method in a French screw cutting company. One great interest in identifying critical resources is helping managers to focus more effectively on resources that penalise the companys global performance.

Identifying Essential Components of Lean Approach

Any company wishing to implement a Lean approach is faced with the following issue: should Lean be implemented sequentially or simultaneously No consensus on the method for implementing Lean has been established. For this reason we sought to find out if there was an implementation order regarding Lean practices. 25 Lean experts were interviewed. We used a precedence method to identify the potential precedence for implementing certain Lean practices. We considered only the common responses from over 50% of Lean experts interviewed. We showed that five precedence levels could exist. Understanding these levels should contribute to the creation of a deployment standard for Lean, as well as the successful implementation of Lean practices in companies.