Jorge Limon-Romero

Supply chain performance: how lean practices efficiently drive improvements

The purpose of this paper aims at investigating which lean supply chain management (LSCM) practices efficiently improve the supply chain performance.,To achieve that, a cross-sectional survey was carried out with 113 manufacturing companies undergoing a lean implementation. The proposed method combines complementary methods of multivariate data analysis in order to determine which bundles of LSCM practices more efficiently entail improvements on supply chain performance.,The findings justify why some LSCM initiatives may find larger barriers than others, compromising their success due to misguided implementation efforts according to the desired performance improvement.,The empirical examination on the efficiency of LSCM practices with regards to a certain set of performance indicators provides guidelines with respect to LSCM implementation depending on which performance indicators are envisioned for improvement.

Assessment of Ergonomic Compatibility on the Selection of Advanced Manufacturing Technology

This paper proposes the development of an expert system for ergonomic compatibility assessment on the selection of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT). Actual models for AMT assessment neglect Human Factors and Ergonomic (HFE) attributes and present deficiencies such as high time consumption and complexity. This approach proposes a novel axiomatic design methodology under fuzzy environment including two stages: the generation of fuzzy If-Then rules using Mamdani’s fuzzy inference system and the development of the system by mean of experts’ opinions. A numerical example is presented for the selection of three CNC milling machines using the Weighted Ergonomic Incompatibility Content (WEIC). The expert system leads to the selection of the best alternative containing the minimum WEIC, as the one that better satisfies ergonomic requirements. Development and application of the system may help provide an easier, faster, single or group ergonomic assessment on AMT selection by promoting safer and more ergonomic workplaces in manufacturing companies.

Critical Factors of Lean Healthcare: an Overview

Efficiency is a main goal in healthcare because it has an impact on safety, quality and waste reduction. To increase efficiency, hospitals and laboratories around the world have implemented Lean Healthcare (LH) in their processes. Reports of case studies, critical factors and benefits have been increased in literature. However, the recent scientific literature review addressing the evolution of LH, the status of critical factors and its impact on healthcare is scarce. Therefore, this paper is intended to provide insights of the LH phenomenon and its evolution in recent years by: (1) examining critical success factors of LH and (2) outlining LH benefit patterns. A total of 218 papers were included in a review of the literature following an adaptation of PRISMA methodology from 2002 to 2016. Ten critical success factors (CSFs) of LH implementation were identified and described.

An Alternative to Multi-response Optimization Using a Bayesian Approach

This chapter proposes the modification of a technique of simultaneous optimization of multiple response variables that works using a Bayesian predictive distribution to incorporate different weights to the response variables according to their importance in the cost or functionality of products. To achieve this, the desirability function has been incorporated into the original proposal. This research shows through the simulation of different scenarios in a case study taken from literature that the proposed optimum process operating conditions always moved towards regions where the response variables with the highest weights had the best results, at the expense of performance in variables with the lowest weights.

Process Improvement: The Six Sigma Approach

This chapter presents information for both practitioners and academicians about Six Sigma (SS) methodology. Main goal is to provide an overview of Six Sigma, from its beginning until nowadays, giving a description of its phases. A literature research was conducted to determine the Critical Success Factors (CSF) and Tools and Techniques (T&T) more frequently used by practitioners around the world. In order to illustrate the five phases development, a case study of six sigma implementation in an electronic manufacturing company is presented, obtaining a successful implementation taking into account defects rates and their impact on saving and customer satisfaction. Findings support congruence between theory and practice through the use of some CSFs and T&T. It is important to remark that the use of correct T&T plus a consideration of CSFs may considerable increase chances to obtain benefits implementing SS. Finally, is also mentioned the relevance of integrate methodologies for process improvement like six sigma and lean manufacturing, named Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in order to obtain optimal results.