P.G. Saleeshya

A model to assess the lean capabilities of automotive industries

Changing customer and technological requirements force manufactures to develop lean capabilities. Many organisations have adopted lean thinking paradigm in their drive to optimise performance and improve competitive position. In this paper, the application of lean production systems is described in an automotive context. The results reported are based on the data collected from a survey covering around 15 manufacturing companies in India using a standard questionnaire. The study was driven by a conceptual model which relates lean practices to competitive objectives. The method of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to analyse and identify which among the various lean production tools and enablers are likely to have greater impact on realising a lean production system.

Lean manufacturing practices in textile industries - a case study

Lean manufacturing is a philosophy of eliminating waste through continuous improvement. This paper is an outcome of a case study conducted in a textile industry in south India. Though the concept of lean manufacturing has shown good results in continuous process industry, it has not been extensively used as compared to discrete manufacturing industries. Process industries, especially textile industries, have automatic machinery which are highly inflexible and have high volume/low variety products. This nature of the textile industry makes implementing lean manufacturing techniques a challenge; hence implementing lean techniques in a textile industry has been taken up as a challenge. We have chosen a combination of value stream mapping (VSM), 5S, kanban, kaizen, poka-yoke, and visual controls to improve the processes. The achievement potential scores before and after lean implementation has been highlighted using radar diagrams. The findings of this study reveal that a thorough analysis of the process, setup, and changeover time (CO), use of colour coding for identification of volume-mix, use of kaizen and quality circles which empower the workforce, are some of the various keys to a successful lean implementation in a textile industry.

A combined AHP and ISM-based model to assess the agility of supply chain – a case study

An agile supply chain corresponds to the quick responsiveness of an organisation to ever changing market demands without compromising on cost and quality of the product. The textile industry is one such industry having a volatile market demand. This paper is an outcome of a case study conducted in a leading spinning industry in South India. Various enablers and determinants of agility were identified through literature review, field study and industry study. Based on the findings of these studies a multi-level model was developed and the suitability of this model to improve the agility of supply chain was tested. For this, two methodologies - analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and interpretive structural modelling (ISM) were identified as suitable tools. The analysis of the results of AHP and ISM methodologies provide the industry an insight on how the supply chain can be made more agile. Further, the model provides the top management a clear vision of the practices to be implemented and the improvement methods to be adopted by the company for an effective management of supply chains in spinning industries.

Agility in Indian manufacturing industries: an empirical investigation

This paper reports the salient details of a study carried out with the objectives of identifying what makes an organisation agile, identifying various enablers of agility by field study, developing a modelling framework for assessing agility and assessing agility in Indian manufacturing industries. For this purpose, data were collected from Indian manufacturing industries with the help of a questionnaire. The method of analytic hierarchy process was used to analyse and identify which among these factors are likely to have greater impact on realising an agile organisation. This study revealed a number of interesting observations, which are reported in this paper.

Lean practices in machinery manufacturing industries – a case study

Lean manufacturing is an emerging concept in the Indian manufacturing scenario. Many small and medium scale enterprises in the country are aiming at becoming lean and thereby improving their productivity. This paper is an outcome of a case study in one such enterprise that deals with the manufacturing and assembly of offset printing machinery in India. Being a vendor-based organisation, part shortage due to delays in the process was a major problem faced. A thorough analysis of the various vendors and processes that the product goes through was done and the process flow was mapped to obtain a clear picture of the entire system, and software modelling helped arrive at quantitative results. Lean tools like Pareto analysis, five-why analysis, source inspection, etc., were used to identify and eliminate the various factors that led to delay. Proper scheduling of jobs is also essential to reduce waiting time, and therefore an algorithm has been developed to help arrive at an optimum scheduling sequence. The results from this case study have proved successful in reducing the lead time of the component under study.