Elizabeth A. Cudney

A comparative analysis of integrating lean concepts into supply chain management in manufacturing and service industries

Purpose – This paper aims to present an analysis of the effectiveness of lean techniques and their applications in the supply chain using a survey administered across multiple industries. The objective of this research is to assess the performance of lean based on the specific techniques and implementation methods used, analyze strategies for implementing lean into the supply chain, and to analyze the reasons for both their success or failure.Design/methodology/approach – Through a survey administered across multiple industries to individuals familiar with lean concepts and techniques, lean performance is assessed both within the organization and their supply chain based on the specific techniques and strategies for implementation.Findings – Organizations indicated that training their suppliers in lean methodologies provided significant time and financial benefits.Research limitations/implications – Some implications for deploying lean in the supply chain in a variety of industries are discussed. A more e...

QFD Application in the Hospitality Industry: A Hotel Case Study

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a methodology for capturing and translating the voice of the customer (VOC) into engineering characteristics of products or services. In addition, the process prioritizes and deploys these customer-driven characteristics throughout the product or service development to meet the VOC (that is, customer needs, wants, and expectations). QFD determines effective development targets for the prioritized product and service characteristics. The QFD process has been used and documented extensively in product development. The service industry, however, lacks in the application of this process. The purpose of this paper is to show practitioners and researchers how this process, in its entirety, can be used as a planning process to link customer requirements and service characteristics in the hospitality industry. A case study was developed focusing on a specific hotel to illustrate the application of the QFD process in a five-star hotel.

Incorporating lean concepts into supply chain management

Lean techniques have been implemented in a variety of industries. This paper addresses the effectiveness of specific lean techniques in a variety of industries and their application in the supply chain. The objective of this research is to assess the performance of lean based on the specific techniques and implementation methods used; analyse strategies for implementing lean into the supply chain; and to analyse the reasons for both their success and failure. Data was gathered using a survey distributed to individuals familiar with lean concepts and techniques. The results of this survey were analysed with a variety of statistical techniques.

Identifying Useful Variables for Vehicle Braking Using the Adjoint Matrix Approach to the Mahalanobis-Taguchi System

The Mahalanobis Taguchi System (MTS) is a diagnosis and forecasting method for multivariate data. Mahalanobis distance (MD) is a measure based on correlations between the variables and different patterns that can be identified and analyzed with respect to a base or reference group. MTS is of interest because of its reported accuracy in forecasting small, correlated data sets. This is the type of data that is encountered with consumer vehicle ratings. MTS enables a reduction in dimensionality and the ability to develop a scale based on MD values. MTS identifies a set of useful variables from the complete data set with equivalent correlation and considerably less time and data. This paper presents the application of the Adjoint Matrix Approach to MTS for vehicle braking to identify a reduced set of useful variables in multidimensional systems.

Methods and Considerations for the Development of Emerging Manufacturing Technologies into a Global Aerospace Supply Chain

Global aerospace manufacturing has resulted in a direct need for the development of new manufacturing techniques and machines. These emerging technologies require a specific approach to technology, supplier and enterprise communication development. However, a global strategy for aerospace supply-chains is difficult to develop, specifically for new manufacturing technologies. Within large aerospace companies, it is challenging to assess emerging technologies with respect to manufacturing readiness level and risk. The research provided discusses a technique used to assess risk coupled with manufacturing readiness level maturation for emerging technologies using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Developing customer requirements for a new manufacturing technology is challenging when multiple customers exist for the proposed technology. Technology experts are found within the company and executive champions are solicited to assist in sponsoring the emerging technology. This research covers proven heuristics developed for marketing the emerging technology throughout the aerospace enterprise. Also, the experience level of the supplier to adopt the emerging technology acts as a critical element in defining a deployment strategy within the aerospace company. Once manufacturing technologies are developed, communicating the emerging technology is necessary. Supplier involvement, supply chain flexibility, and enterprise communication strategies are highlighted with respect to a global supply-chain for aerospace.

Model Development of a Virtual Learning Environment to Enhance Lean Education

Abstract Modern day industry is becoming leaner by the day. This demands engineers with an in-depth understanding of lean philosophies. Current methods for teaching lean include hands-on projects and simulation. However, simulation games available in the market lack simplicity, ability to store the results, and modeling power. The goal of this research is to develop a virtual simulation platform which would enable students to perform various experiments by applying lean concepts. The design addresses these deficiencies through the use of VE-Suite, a virtual engineering software. The design includes user-friendly dialogue boxes, graphical models of machines, performance display gauges, and an editable layout. The platform uses laws of operations management such as Littles law, economic order quantity (EOQ) models, and cycle time. These laws enable students to implement various lean concepts such as pull system, just-in-time (JIT), single piece flow, single minute exchange of dies (SMED), kaizen, kanban, U-layout, by modifying the process parameters such as process times, setup times, layout, number, and placement of machines. The simulation begins with a traditional push type mass production line and the students improve the line by implementing lean techniques. Thus, students experience the advantages of lean real time while facing the real life problems encountered in implementing it.

Forecasting consumer satisfaction for vehicle ride using a multivariate measurement system

Consumers perceive quality and performance at the vehicle level. Consumers evaluate vehicle attributes such as ride, handling, roominess, braking and acceleration. Vehicle level attributes are influenced by factors at all levels of the vehicle architecture, and these factors are often correlated. The goal of this research is to efficiently forecast consumer satisfaction measured as a function of vehicle level performance data by developing a multivariate measurement system using the Mahalanobis-Taguchi Gram-Schmidt approach. The Mahalanobis-Taguchi Gram-Schmidt technique is applied to construct the measurement scale and identify a reduced set of useful variables for vehicle ride sufficient to make effective predictions.

Mahalanobis Taguchi system: a review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present and analyze the current literature related to developing and improving the Mahalanobis-Taguchi system (MTS) and to present the shortcomings related to this method for future research. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, articles in the literature are classified to give an overview on the MT strategy. For this purpose, 46 articles are considered for classification from 2000 to 2013 on the basis of: MTS contribution area, description of the issue, and results. Findings – In this paper a review on the concepts and operations of the MTS was provided as a new method in the field of pattern recognition, multivariable diagnosis, and forecasting. A large number of studies were performed in recent years consisting of developing MTS and MTS case studies. The analysis of the articles showed the fields of MTS which had more potential for future studies and developing. The comparison of the MTS to other methods and the selection of the normal group for constru...

A Comparison Study of Mahalanobis-Taguchi System and Neural Network for Multivariate Pattern Recognition

The Mahalanobis-Taguchi System is a diagnosis and predictive method for analyzing patterns in multivariate cases. The goal of this study is to compare the ability of the Mahalanobis-Taguchi System and a neural network to discriminate using small data sets. We examine the discriminant ability as a function of data set size using an application area where reliable data is publicly available. The study uses the Wisconsin Breast Cancer study with nine attributes and one class.Copyright

The application of Kano model in the healthcare industry: a systematic literature review

The critical determinant of success in any industry is the customers’ perception of the products and services offered. Hence, organisations focus on customer satisfaction for service quality improvement, business growth, and sustainability. Although the Kano model has been used widely to elicit customers’ service quality requirements and improve customer satisfaction, the implementation of the Kano model in healthcare remains in its infancy and there is ambiguity in customer needs related to healthcare services. This paper provides a review of the literature on implementing the Kano model in healthcare through a systematic search of databases related to service quality improvement in the healthcare sector. The objective of this paper is to detail how the Kano model can be employed and integrated with other quality methodologies to obtain customer requirements and improve healthcare service quality. It is evident from this systematic review that customer needs and preferences vary with the type of care acquired and services offered by healthcare providers. The findings allow healthcare providers to comprehend customer needs related to service quality and develop sustainable improvement strategies. This article intends to propel further research in service quality improvement of the healthcare industry.