G. Anand

Benchmarking the benchmarking models

Purpose – A review of benchmarking literature revealed that there are different types of benchmarking and a plethora of benchmarking process models. In some cases, a model has been uniquely developed for performing a particular type of benchmarking. This poses the following problems: it can create confusion among the users as to whether they should use only the unique benchmarking model that has been developed for particular type or they can use any model for any type of benchmarking; a user may find it difficult when it becomes necessary to choose a best model from the available models, as each model varies in terms of the number of phases involved, number of steps involved, application, etc. Hence, this paper aims to question the fundamental classification scheme of benchmarking and thereby the unique benchmarking models that are developed for each type of benchmarking. Further it aims to propose a universal benchmarking model, which can be applied for all types of benchmarking.Design/methodology/approa...

Selection of lean manufacturing systems using the PROMETHEE

Purpose – In recent years, many manufacturing companies are attempting to implement lean manufacturing systems (LMS) as an effective manufacturing strategy to survive in a highly competitive market. Such a process of selecting a suitable manufacturing system is highly complex and strategic in nature. The paper aims to how companies make a strategic decision of selecting LMS as part of their manufacturing strategy, and on what basis such strategic decisions are made by the managers.Design/methodology/approach – A case study of a small‐ and medium‐sized enterprise is presented, in which the managers are contemplating on implementing either computer integrated manufacturing systems (CIMS) or LMS. To supplement the decision‐making process, a multi‐criteria decision making (MCDM) model, namely, the preference ranking organisation method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) is used to analyse how it will impact the stakeholders of the organisation, and the benefits gained.Findings – An extensive analysis of P...

Selection of lean manufacturing systems using the analytic network process – a case study

Purpose – Lean manufacturing (LM) has attracted the attention of industries all over the world. Many operation managers have implemented or will be implementing LM because of the benefits reported by other companies or because their customers have demanded it. This paper aims to present a case study of a medium‐sized valve manufacturer in which the decision of implementing LM is made by analyzing the capabilities, practices, tools and techniques of alternative manufacturing systems apart from understanding its effect on the decision areas of the operations department.Design/methodology/approach – A multi attribute decision making (MADM) model, namely, the analytic network process (ANP) has been used for this purpose, which structures the problem related to selection of alternative manufacturing systems in a hierarchical network form. In this problem, it links the performance measures or competitive priorities, decision areas, and the elements with alternatives available to the decision maker and provides ...

Development of a framework for lean manufacturing systems

Researchers worldwide have proposed various frameworks for Lean Manufacturing (LM), which act as a guide and provide direction to managers. A review of these frameworks revealed that they suffer from various shortcomings. Hence, in this paper, an attempt has been made to resolve some of the drawbacks by developing a new framework. To accomplish this, a comparative analysis of the existing literature is carried out to identify a comprehensive list of about 65 LM elements for the proposed framework. The main feature of the proposed framework is that these 65 elements are categorised according to the decision levels and the stakeholders, apart from classifying them with respect to the competitive priorities and business functions of an organisation. A case study is presented in support of the proposed framework. Hence, it is believed that this framework can rectify the problem of improper understanding by both the management and employees.

A conceptual framework for lean supply chain and its implementation

The field of Supply Chain Management (SCM) is growing rapidly. Since its introduction, two paradigms have emerged, called the Lean Supply Chain (LSC) and Agile Supply Chain (ASC). Researchers are heading towards developing a third paradigm, called the LeAgile Supply Chain (LASC). But it is our opinion that the theoretical concepts of earlier paradigms (such as LSC) are not yet fully developed. Hence, in this paper, the theoretical basis of LSC is revisited, apart from proposing a conceptual framework and an implementation framework, to assist organisations in transforming their existing Supply Chain (SC) into an LSC. To accomplish these objectives, a literature review is undertaken to support our arguments, which were developed using the judgemental process and domain knowledge. One of the drawbacks of the proposed frameworks for LSC is that they are highly conceptual and need to be validated empirically by conducting a survey or a clinical approach through case studies to study their acceptability.

Justification of world‐class maintenance systems using analytic hierarchy constant sum method

Purpose – In recent times, many organizations implementing total productive maintenance (TPM) have been failing in their attempts. Researchers attribute these failures to the shortcomings of TPM and of the implementing organizations. This paper aims to conduct a detailed study in order to understand these shortcomings and seeks to propose various solutions in the form of “best practices”, which leads to the development of world‐class maintenance systems (WMS). However, development of such alterative maintenance systems raises the following question: if an organization is planning to implement and improve their existing maintenance system then how can the manager make a decision between choosing alternative systems such as traditional maintenance systems, TPM and WMS? In the case of TPM or WMS, top management should be involved from the beginning to implement and follow up, as these decisions are complex and involve huge investment in the long term. Before starting implementation, top management should be ...

Performance measurement system for lean manufacturing: a perspective from SMEs

Many organisations – be it small or medium or large-scale enterprises – are attempting to transform their organisation using the principles and philosophies of World-Class Manufacturing (WCM), such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Theory of Constraints (TOC). Managers in some of these organisations feel that they have not achieved the desired benefits after the implementation. One of the most commonly quoted reasons in the literature is improper understanding of Performance Measurement Systems (PMS) and its corresponding metrics by them. To resolve such issues, researchers have proposed various PMS for TQM, TOC, etc. But very little research has been carried out to understand the performance measures and PMS for an organisation under a Lean Manufacturing (LM) environment. Hence, in this paper, an attempt has been made to propose a conceptual PMS framework for LM. One of the distinctive features of the proposed framework is that it can be suitably customised even for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis for frameworks of world-class maintenance

Abstract The term ‘world-class maintenance (WCMt)’ is being used frequently nowadays and refers to the collection of best practices in maintenance. Different researchers and consultants have proposed several frameworks of WCMt representing these best practices. If an organization or a maintenance manager wants to implement a framework, it may not be easy for him or her to identify a single framework from a variety of frameworks that are reported in the literature. Thus the task of choosing a particular framework has become a major issue for the managers. Hence in this paper, an attempt has been made to perform an analysis for comparing different WCMt frameworks based on their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). In addition to this, a comparative study of WCMt with other maintenance systems has been carried out to understand the similarities and differences. The SWOT analysis of frameworks revealed a list of best practices in maintenance to be considered by an organization, when it attempts to achieve a world-class status in maintenance apart from the weaknesses and threats associated with each framework. Such an analysis can prove valuable as a decision aid for the operations or maintenance manager while making a decision of choosing a suitable framework of WCMt.

A mathematical model for the evaluation of roles and responsibilities of Human Resources in a Lean Manufacturing environment

A review of literature relating Human Resources (HR) and Lean Manufacturing (LM) revealed that none of the papers have provided a clear-cut description regarding the roles and responsibilities of the internal and external stakeholders of an organisation while implementing LM. Apart from this, no papers have described a methodology to quantify the roles and responsibilities of HR. Hence, this paper attempts to fill in these gaps by establishing the taxonomy for LM elements by proposing a conceptual framework from the perspective of HR. Finally, a mathematical model based on the Graph Theory (GT) is developed to quantify their roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders of HR in a LM environment.

A SWOT analysis of total productive maintenance frameworks

In the literature of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), a large number of frameworks have been proposed by different authors and consultants. If an organisation or a maintenance manager has to make a strategic decision of implementing TPM, it may not be easy for them to identify a suitable framework from a plethora of frameworks that are available in literature. Hence, in this paper, an attempt has been made to perform a comparative study of these frameworks using a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis. In addition to this, the SWOT analysis helped us consolidate a list of critical success factors for TPM apart from identifying the potential weaknesses and threats. Further, it can be concluded that implementation of TPM is by no means an easy task, as it is heavily burdened by weaknesses and threats. However, if an organisation implementing TPM gives due considerations to these weaknesses and threats, it can utilise the significant strengths and opportunities offered by TPM to achieve a competitive advantage.