IMPLEMENTATION OF LEAN THINKING IN...

International Journal of Lean Thinking Volume 8, Issue 2 (December 2017)

Surabhi Lataa*, Kshitij Mohan Sharmab

a Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Faculty, Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, Rohini, Delhi

– 110086, India

b Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Scholar, Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, Rohini, Delhi

– 110086, India

* Corresponding author: Surabhi Lata

E-mail: [email protected], Tel.: + (91) 9210055994

IMPLEMENTATION OF LEAN THINKING IN MANUFACTURING

AND NON-MANUFACTURING SECTORS: A REVIEW

A B S T R A C T K E Y W O R D S

A R T I C L E I N F O

Received 11 June 2017

Accepted 25 December 2017

Available online 31 December 2017

Today’s ever-growing market demands various organizations to

have a plethora of choices when considering approaches to both

their tactical and strategic pressures and challenges. Among all

the approaches the “Lean” approach is increasingly becoming

popular as it offers the firms sensible, proven, and accessible path

to long-term success. Lean means less of many things — less

waste, shorter cycle times, fewer suppliers, less bureaucracy. But

Lean also means more — more employee knowledge and

empowerment, more organizational agility and capability, more

productivity, more satisfied customers, and more long-term

success. The concept of lean manufacturing and the continuous

improvement methodologies have been developed for enhancing

the resource utilization along with elimination of waste. In this

paper an exploratory study of various types of tools and

techniques of the lean manufacturing has been elucidated, which

are widely implicated throughout the world of business whether

they are manufacturing sector, processing sector or the service

sector. Lean manufacturing is a worldwide approach which is

being implemented in the countless industries. Also it is one way

to define Toyota's production system, as lean manufacturing was

developed and implemented in Toyota first. Another definition

that describes lean manufacturing is waste free production or the

elimination of waste from the system. An attempt has been made

to analyse the survey results and summarise the implementation

of lean elements and their effectiveness in the manufacturing and

non-manufacturing sectors.

Lean Manufacturing,

KAIZEN, KANBAN,

Wastes, Value Stream

Mapping

mailto:[email protected]

Surabhi Lata, Kshitij Mohan Sharma / International Journal of Lean Thinking

Volume 7, Issue 2 (December 2016

50

1. Introduction

Today’s global market demands new manufacturing strategies in order to improve the firm’s efficiency

and production. In order to overcome the modern day challenges manufacturing firms are taking in to

account the management tools and techniques in different forms and names. The most widely accepted

and adopted management tool is the lean manufacturing system. It is considered as the best

manufacturing practice across countries and industries because of its global superiority in cost, quality,

flexibility and quick response (M. Holweg, 2007). Lean manufacturing was coined in 1989 by the

researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It was defined by James P. Womack

and Daniel T. Jones as doing “more and more with less and less – less human effort, less equipment,

less time and less space – while coming closer and closer to providing customers with exactly what they

want (James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, 2003).” Lean manufacturing evolved from Toyota Motors

after World War II as a business strategy due to the limited resources available in Japan. It was a

manufacturing strategy in contrast with the manufacturing in the United States of America. Its principles

apply to nearly all business operations, from administration and product design to hardware productions.

The ultimate aim of a lean organization is to create a smooth and high quality organization which is

capable of delivering manufactured products concerning the customers demand in the quality looked-

for with no waste (Norani Nordin et al. (2010)). Lean manufacturing is a way of thinking, a culture of

systematic elimination of waste and a technique of performing work without bottlenecks and delays

(Roman Bednár, 2012). Hence, it is of utmost importance to carry out extensive research to identify the

approaches and processes involved in the LM implementation so that primary goals of LM are achieved

(Rasli Muslimen et al. (2011)).

There are various methods, tools and techniques which are used by different firms to implement the lean

production systems. The core lean methods frequently used for the LM implementation are Kaizen

Rapid Improvement Process; 5S; Total Productive Maintenance (TPM); Cellular Manufacturing / One-

piece Flow Production Systems; Just-in-time Production / Kanban; Six Sigma; Pre-Production Planning

(3P) and Lean Enterprise Supplier Networks (Ross and Associates Environmental Consulting, Ltd.,

2003) The use of such tools leads to greater productivity, shorter delivery times, low cost, improved

quality, and increased customer satisfaction. The LM system principally minimizes the waste along with

complete value streams thereby creating more value for customers. The wastes coined by Ohno in 1988

during the lean manufacturing initiatives were (1) defects (activities involving repair or rework), (2)

overproduction (activities that produce too much at a particular point in time), (3) transportation

(activities involving unnecessary movement of materials), (4) waiting (lack of activity that occurs when

an operator is ready for the next operation but must remain idle until someone else takes a previous

step), (5) inventory (inventory that is not directly required to fulfill current customer orders), (6) motion

(unnecessary steps taken by employees and equipment), and (7) processing (extra operation or activity

in the manufacturing process) (Ohno, Taiichi. 1988).



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As researched by Russel and Taylor in 1999 the need to use of LM was to increase productivity, improve

product quality and manufacturing cycle time, reduce inventory, reduce lead time and eliminate

manufacturing waste simultaneously. To attain these, the philosophy of LM used concepts like one-

piece workflow, takt time, pull system, kaizen, cellular manufacturing, synchronous manufacturing,

inventory management, poka-yoke, standardized work, work place organization, and scrap reduction to

reduce manufacturing waste (Russell, R.S. and Taylor, B.W, 1999). Therefore, the lean manufacturing

or lean thinking can be summarized into five principles as:

(1) Precise specification of value by product.

(2) Identification of value stream from each product.

(3) Formation of value flow without interruption.

(4) Letting the customer pull from the manufacturer/producer.

(5) Striving for perfection.

According to lean principles, any use of resources that does not deliver consumer value is a target for

change or elimination. It identifies the bottlenecks in design and development processes that add

unnecessary delays and cost. The examples of waste in manufacturing include overproduction, over

processing, waiting, unnecessary part movement, excess inventory and defects, as applied to hardware

production. Lean is primarily applied in the manufacturing sector but now-a-days, it is also applied in

the process industries as well as in the service and hospitality sector, i.e. the non-manufacturing sector.

The few of the above described tools and techniques of LM are briefly discussed below:

(1) TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM): TQM philosophy is totally based on the

satisfaction of the customer. It abides by the slogan “SATISFYING CUSTOMER FIRST TIME

EVERYTIME”.

(2) VALUE STREAM MAPPING (VSM): VSM is a graphical representation of all the steps involved

in any process line up to produce a product or service, as well as the flow of information that triggers

the process into action.

(3) 7-QUALITY CONTROL (QC): These quality tools are used to solve the problems within the

industry. They are functional in four stages as shown below:

Figure 1. Stages of Quality Control



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(4) JUST IN TIME (JIT): It is exclusively based on the pull system model. Production is restored

when the demand is laid.

(5) POKA-YOKE: It is a technique used for mistake proofing in the system through the innovations.

(6) KAIZEN: “Kaizen” is a Japanese word meaning continuous improvement. It is used to decrease

the risk in the processing. It is scheduled, planned and controlled keeping a check that it rigorously

follows Dr. Deming’s work cycle of PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act).

(7) 5S: It is a philosophy of LM using five Japanese termed processes namely as SERI (sorting and

elimination of unwanted item), SEITION (organizing), SEISO (cleaning), SEIKETSU

(standardizing), and SHITSUKE (discipline).

(8) KANBAN: It is the technique of cards and post-it notes which visualize “leveled” activity at the

process. It is the practice to reveal all the misfits between today’s ongoing activities and market

behavior. It constantly challenges assumptions regarding market behavior and its own flexibility.

2. Review of Lean Management

Lean manufacturing or lean thinking depicts one of the newer schools of thought in the sector of

manufacturing (Annalisa L. Weigel, 2000). It is described as the comprehensive set of techniques which

when combined reduces and eliminates the wastes. Hence, qualifying the company on the terms of being

lean, more flexible and responsive. Lean is the systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste

through continuous improvement by flowing the product or service at the pull of the customer in pursuit

of their satisfaction and perfection (M. Shabeena Begam et al. 2013). Concluding lean in the words of

Womack and Jones as:

“We are putting the entire value stream for specific products relentlessly in the foreground and

rethinking every aspect of jobs, careers, functions, and firms in order to correctly specify value and

make it flow continuously along the whole length of the stream as pulled by the customer in pursuit of

perfection” (Annalisa L. Weigel, 2000).

This literature review discusses the use and implementation of LM tools and techniques in

manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors.

Norani Nordin et al. (2010) conducted an exploratory study of lean manufacturing which is implied in

the Malaysian automotive industries. It is a questionnaire survey study which is done to explore the

extent of the lean manufacturing as well as the barriers in the implementation of the LM concept. The

database for the survey was obtained from the 2008 Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and

SME Corp Malaysia directories. This list of the manufacturing firms consists of electrical, electronic,

metal, plastic, rubber and other automotive components. The industries were medium to large industries

with more than 50 full time employees. The parts that constituted the questionnaire survey were:

(1) The background information of the organization.

(2) The lean manufacturing implementation.

(3) The respondent information.



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The questions were set up on a five-point Linker scale to measure the extent of implementation described

by each of the items. The scale was read as: 1 = no implementation, 2 = little implementation, 3 = some

implementation, 4 = extensive implementation and 5 = complete implementation.

In the case of reliability test, Cronbach’s alpha was employed to measure the internal consistency of the

research instrument. Reliability measurement is an indication of the stability and consistency of the

instrument. The generally agreed value of the lower limit for Cronbach’s alpha is 0.70. The more the

value of the Cronbach’s alpha, the more the reliability. The test results are tabulated in Table 1.

The questionnaire specifically enquired about the LM tools and techniques used in their

organization/firm or in their department. Among the various LM tools implemented, the KAIZEN

system topped the chart with an average score of 3.97 while Supplier relationship had the lowest average

score of 3.29.

The problems during the implementation of the lean manufacturing were also analyzed and it was

concluded that there were two main barriers which are as follows:

(1) Lack of lean understanding.

(2) Lack of senior management and middle management attitudes.

Table 1. Reliability Test Results for Lean Practices and Barriers

Description No. of

Items

Alpha

Value

Items for

deletion

Alpha if item

deleted

Lean Practices

1. Process and equipment 9 0.871 - 0.890

2. Manufacturing planning

and control

5 0.865 - 0.865

3. Human Resources 5 0.878 - 0.878

4. Supplier relationship 5 0.791 - 0.791

5. Customer relationship 3 0.809 - 0.809

Lean Barriers 10 0.900 - 0.900

In conclusion, the respondents industries considered have already implied the concepts of lean

manufacturing up to some extent. Because of having moderate mean values for each of the five variables

majority of the respondent firms are classified as in-transition towards lean. The study also reveals the

factors that hinder or delay the LM implementation process. Roman Bednar (2012) in his research work

tries to imply the concepts of lean manufacturing to those industries which are exclusively dealing in

the mass production. A questionnaire was created for the survey for approximately 600 respondents

from which 161 organizations took part in answering it. 39% of them were large companies with a staff

of more than 250, 35% were small companies employing up to 50, and 26% were medium-sized

companies, where the number of employees ranged from 51 to 250. The utilization of fundamental



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concepts of LM were evaluated. These concepts included Kaizen, teamwork, bottleneck management,

Kanban, visual management, VSM (Value Stream Mapping), 5S, production cells, TPM (Total

Productive Maintenance), SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die), and EPE (Every Part Every day).

The results of the survey conducted in different mass producing industries is depicted in the Figure 2.

Figure 2. Utilization of lean methods in mass production

The blue region shows the methods useful for the mass production while on the other hand the red region

displays the methods not useful for the mass production. It is concluded that the lean concept supports

mass production and is greatly beneficial. It can further improve the efficiency and can save “relatively

higher cost” but it may take up the significant time of a few years. Rasli Muslimen et al. (2011) presented

a case study of lean manufacturing implementation in a Malaysian automotive industry which

manufactures automotive parts. A semi-structured questionnaire was created and a series of open-ended

interviews with the management of the industries were carried out. The interviews were tape recorded

so to avoid any sort of miscommunication or the loss of data. The information collected was pertaining

details of the industry such as the background of the company, efforts in past for the implementation of

the lean manufacturing, etc. The observations and findings were further verified by the interviewees.

The first attempt to implement lean was carried out in 1996 but couldn’t implement it completely. In the

re-implementation process, the concept was formulated for the industry as shown in the Figure 3 below.

Figure 3. LM implementation approach

The project based approached in the industry showed successful application of LM tools and techniques.

Continuous improvement effort was continued until a saturated level of major improvement is made and

the industry had reached the stable condition of the model line. The company has become a reference



55

and role model in implementing LM for other manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Nor Azian A

Rahman et al. (2013) researched the working of the LM tool “KANBAN”. They tried to determine how

the Kanban system works effectively in multinational organization and identified factors that are

creating difficulty in application of Kanban in small and medium enterprises (SME).

According to the authors Kanban system is one of the tools under lean manufacturing that can achieve

minimum inventory at a time. The figure 4 above explains the Kanban flow based on the several

observations at the manufacturing company.

Figure 4. Kanban Flow at a manufacturing firm

The Kanban system in the manufacturing company starts with the production worker. When inventory

is being used in the production line, the Kanban card, attached at the inventory, is put in the child post,

which is provided to locate the card. Hence, the production worker delivers the card to the mother post,

a centre point located at the end of the production line. At the mother post, the Kanban boy is responsible

for collecting the card and sending it to the Kanban sorter room for sorting the Kanban cards by using

Kanban sorter machine. During the sorting process, all information required regarding the materials or

inventory is stored in an electronic system which are easily identified by the production workers and the

vendors in their production line. After completion of the sorting process, the Kanban card is placed in

the shopping bag according to the serial number stated in the Kanban card and finally the bag is placed

at the logistics rack. The firm provides different shopping bags for different suppliers which are put in

the mini truck and driven to the loading bay outside the factory.

In their findings they concluded that Kanban system is an apt system to achieve minimum inventory and

also surfaced out the difficulties in implementation of the above system in SME’s as ineffective

inventory management, lack of supplier participation, lack of quality improvements and quality control,



56

lack of employee participation and top management commitment. Akhil Kumar (2014) investigated the

barriers on lean manufacturing putting more emphasis on the Indian manufacturing industries. Surveys

and studies were conducted in some of the Indian industries in order to identify the barriers on the LM

techniques. These barriers were identified as (1) Lack of Planning, (2) Lack of top management

commitment, (3) Lack of Methodology, (4) Unwillingness to learn and see, (5) Misunderstanding of

lean Production, (6) Lack of Contingency, (7) Human Aspects, (8) Lack of Strategic Perspective, (9)

Lack of organizational structure, (10) Lack of technological Infrastructure, (11) Widening Customer

Requirements, (12) Personal Training, (13) High Cost of Advance Technology, (14) Reduced

Manufacturing Lead time, (15) Social Factor, (16) Resistance to change, (17) Coping with variability,

(18) Technological Advancements, (19) Integration And pro-activity and (20) Requirement of alteration

in Process Methodology.

The main aim of this questionnaire-based survey was to facilitate industry experts in developing a

relationship matrix as a first step towards developing an ISM-based model. About 30 companies were

surveyed on a five-point Linker scale for 20 above listed barriers. This five-point scale indicated 1 as

“very low importance” and 5 as “very high importance”. On extensive analysis it was concluded that

among all the 20 listed barriers “Lack of Planning, Lack of top management commitment, Lack of

Methodology, Unwillingness to learn and see and Human Aspects” were the most important problems

faced during implementation of lean manufacturing.

The interpretive structural modeling (ISM) methodology is effectively used to evolve mutual

relationship among the barriers. It distinguishes those barriers which support other barriers (driving

barrier) and those barriers which are most influenced by other barriers (dependent barriers). In a nutshell,

the paper elucidates about the problems and the barriers on the implementation of lean manufacturing

in the Indian manufacturing system. B. Vijaya Ramnath et al. (2010) elucidated on the implementation

of the lean concept in an industry where manufacturing of the engine valve machining cell is carried

out. The tools used were the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to map the current state, Kanban system for

the reduction of waste in pre machining and single piece flow in the machining process. The

methodology consists of five steps depending on the study of the industry. These are as follows:

(1) Choosing a product or product family and study of manufacturing methods and sequence of

operations.

(2) Study of layout and Construction of Current State Value Stream Map.

(3) Identification of Wastes and looking out for the methods to eliminate these wastes.

(4) Construction of Future State Value Stream Map and Implementation of the proposed concept.

(5) Analysis of economic benefits associated with proposed concept.

The process map was generated for the current state of the manufacturing firm. Following this the lean

concepts described above were implemented which yielded the following result:



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Table 2. Comparison between current and future state

Benefits Current State After implementation of

future state

O/P per shift 2000 2000

No. pf operators in machining 9 5

Productivity per operator 222 400

Transportation of material b/w Manual Automatic

Machining section layout Straight Layout “U” Layout

Loading and unloading Manual Automatic

Inventory at pre machining section 12000 (3 days of demand) 4000 (1 day demand)

Inventory at machining section 12000 (3 days of demand) Single piece flow

In conclusion, after the implementation of the future state value stream mapping the productivity was

increased, waste was reduced, automation was installed, less labour was utilized and the inventory was

reduced. Gundeep Singh et al. (2012) started their research to identify the bottlenecks in the assembly

shop of the tractor manufacturing company as these were the main reason for low productivity of the

industry. The problem was identified in terms of increased cycle time at different machines. During the

auditing phase of sub-assemblies that are manufactured in the assembly shop, gear box assembly was

discovered to be the major bottleneck station. Once bottleneck station was detected, initial process flow

map was generated followed by analysis through possible causes (brainstorming) and possible cause

and effect diagram and actions taken to eliminate each root cause with LM tool i.e. KAIZEN technique.

The reasons for increased cycle time were found to be (1) Available time not utilized properly by the

machine operators, (2) Number of operations involved, (3) Abnormal absenteeism by the machine

operators, (4) Machine breakdown problem, (5) Late start of work by the machine operators, (6)

Metallurgical problem in the material to be machined, (7) Programming not correct, (8) Multiple cutting

tools being used for same type of operations, (9) Number the of quality parameters to be inspected and

(10) Inspection stage far from work station.

Figure 5. Initial Process Map



58

After the implementation of LM technique new process map was created which is shown below in the

Figure 6.

Figure 6. Modified Process Map

Hence, it can be concluded that implementation of lean manufacturing increased productivity of gear

box assembly, reduced cycle time of the machines along with negligible work-in-process inventory and

reduction in all types of wastes. As the complexity of the manufacturing process increases the lean

manufacturing concept, tools and techniques prove to be highly beneficial for any manufacturing firm.

Ripon K Chakrabortty et al. (2010) implemented the concept of lean manufacturing in a garment

manufacturing company of Bangladesh. As LM significantly eliminates the problems associated with

poor production scheduling and line balancing, it becomes more important in Private companies of

Bangladesh where companies are operating below their potential capacity, or experiencing a high level

of late-deliveries. This research work provides a roadmap to overcome these existing problems.

The lean practices used in the work were (1) Process focus, (2) Pull production, (3) Quality programs,

(4) Increase in equipment efficiency, (5) Form of lean organization and (6) Continuous improvement.

A process flow map was created for the current state which is shown below in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Initial Process Flow Map



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Lot of problems and limitations were encountered in the process flow map shown above. These problems

are listed below and were taken care of through the tools and techniques of LM.

(1) High level of in-process inventory.

(2) The flow of garments from sewing is not uniform as a result the ratio of packaging is difficult to

maintain.

(3) Low level of coordination and integration.

(4) Accessories are not available all the time, as a result sewed garments are stacked throughout the

flow.

(5) Ineffective record keeping procedure and daily Target is set based on experience.

(6) Inefficient use of manpower which is not uniformly distributed.

(7) Processed are not broken down properly.

A plan was proposed for the implementation of the lean concepts which included Clusters for Different

Buyers, Process Flow Diagram and Layouts. The successful implementation of LM techniques resulted

in significant increase in through proposed layouts. The better utilization of manpower and factory floor

space was also ensured through these new layouts. Improvement in productivity of PUMA, M&S and

G-Star were recorded as 46%, 10.34% and 14.4% respectively. Preetinder Singh Gill (2012) proposed

the implication of the LM tool “value stream mapping” into the service sector i.e., the hospitality sector

defining it in an emergency room of a hospital. An extensive research was carried out along with the

conduction of studies on U.S. healthcare system. The report Boston Globe, in 2008, reported that waste

in health care was close to $760 billion a year. The waste among other factors has been attributed to:

(1) Misuse, overuse, underuse, of services and equipment.

(2) Errors and mistakes along with associated rework.

(3) Lack of communication and coordination.

(4) Other special cause variation.

These all are accounted in the seven types of wastes described in the context of lean manufacturing. The

work describes in detail the application of a VSM in an emergency room environment where emphasis

is on: a) Identifying the target system – families – which needs to be improved, b) constructing current

and future state VSMs by using standard set of symbols etc. or with a continuous Plan-Do-Check-Act

(PDCA) cycle. During the review of literature various types of wastages were identified like the waiting

time for the patient (usually the half of the 5 hours spent in the ER), etc. Once these wastes were

identified the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) concept was adapted to reduce/eliminate them in the ER

of a hospital. This adaptation includes construction of a process flow chart to properly understand the

scope of their VSM related activities. Methods were elucidated to calculate cycle time, change over

time, inventory time, etc. A list of suggestions were provided which are discussed below:

(1) Entire organization should recognize that a problem exists and a solution is needed.

(2) Lean approach should be human-centered.

(3) Expertise in application of lean principles and work responsibilities is an absolute must.



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(4) Top management should support the lean activities and should allocate any needed resources

(5) Install lean champions who are well respected socially and who can motivate others to join in.

(6) Adapt lean to local context and culture.

(7) Learn from past experiences.

(8) Focus on continuous improvement.

(9) Lean requires a holistic systems approach.

The conclusion drawn from this study is that Lean and VSM can be applied to the healthcare system

successfully if the top management understands that lean is a continuous approach, it is not an event and

should ratify that these changes are being followed by the staff. William M. Goriwondo et al. (2011) try

to apply the value stream mapping LM technique in a bread manufacturing industry situated in

Zimbabwe. This is a case study shows how the VSM tool was used to identify, quantify and minimize

major wastes in a bread manufacturing industry. A series of interviews with managers was conducted

which was followed by the generation of a value stream map which was further followed by a table. The

table displays the overall structure of the seven wastes and the appropriate tools to be used for the

analysis work.

Table 3. Overall Structure of Seven Wastes

Wastes/Structure Mapping Tools

Pro

cess

Act

ivit

y

Map

pin

g

Su

pp

ly C

hai

n

Res

po

nse

Mat

rix

Pro

du

ctio

n

Var

iety

Fu

nn

el

Qu

alit

y F

ilte

r

Map

pin

g

Dem

and

Am

pli

fica

tio

n

Map

pin

g

Dec

isio

n P

oin

t

An

aly

sis

Ph

ysi

cal

Str

uct

ure

(a)

Vo

lum

e

(b)

Val

ue

Overproduction L M L M M

Time Waiting H H L M M

Transport H L

Inappropriate

Processing

H M L L

Unnecessary

Inventory

M H M H M L

Unnecessary

Motion

H L

Product Defects L H

Overall

Structure

L L M L H M H

Origin of Tool Industrial

Engineering

Time

compression/

Logistics

Operations

Management

New

Tool

Systems

Dynamics

Efficient

Consumer

Response/

Logistics

New Tool

Notes: H – High correlation and usefulness

M – Medium correlation and usefulness

L – Low correlation and usefulness

This table led to the development of the manufacturing process flow mapping shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8. Process Flow Map



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In the further processing through the LM tool the wastes described above were eradicated and a future

state value stream map was created. The table below shows the comparative analysis of current and

future state maps.

It was concluded that the VSM tool identified and reduced defects by 20%, unnecessary inventory by

18% and motion by 37%. It also revealed that VSM tool is not limited to manufacturing organizations

but can also be applied to service industries like banks, hospitals, and the transport sectors with necessary

adjustments.

Table 4. Comparison of State Maps

Current State Map Future State Map

Non Value Adding Time 43.2 min 10.56 min

Value Adding Time 231.13 min 193.98 min

% of NVA/VA Time 18.7% 15.2%

Increased Throughput - 16%

Average Takt 9.90 min 10.56 min

Standard Deviation from Takt 3.79 min 0.97 min

Table 5. Summary of Data Surveyed

Company 1 Company 2 Company 3 Company 4 Company 5

Title of

Interviewee

Quality

System

Coordinator

Control and

Business

Service

Corp. Strg &

Development

Mgr.

Internal

Consultant

Supt. Qual.

And Process

Tech

Driving Force Customer

pressure,

reduce cost

Become Cost

competitive

Liquidity Losing Money Economics,

Save Money

Lean Tools used JIT, TPM JIT, TQM,

TPM

JIT, TQM,

TPM

TPM, TQM,

5S, Cell Mfg.

JIT, TPM,

Setup

reduction cost,

TQM

Implementation

%

0-25% 51-75% 26-50% 26-50% 0-25%

Expectation from

lean

Improve cost Better

customer

service, lower

cost, higher

cash flow

Cost

competitive

Clean & safe

workplace,

better planning

Lower cost,

reduce

inventory

Results obtained

from lean

Reduced

machine

downtime

Improvement

in cost

Process

improvement,

cut cost

significantly

Improved

profit, clean &

safer

workplace

Save some

money

Challenges faced N/A Changing

historical rules

Union issues,

automation

issues

Internal

Consultant

Inflexibility of

Union

Support of Top

Management

Neutral Very

supportive

Very

supportive

Very

supportive

Neutral



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Neha Sharma et al. (2013) conducted the survey in those industries which already have embraced the

concepts of lean manufacturing and also the other operations management tools and techniques such as

Kaizen, Minute exchange of dies (SMED), Six Sigma, Kanban, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), 5S,

Total Quality Management (TQM), Theory of constraints (TOC), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM),

Business Process Management (BPM), Visual Management, etc. The result of the survey for selected

five companies was tabulated in Table 5.

A level of lean implementation which is currently in use in the industries has been examined thoroughly.

It was concluded from the surveyed research that major manufacturing industries have been trying to

adopt manufacturing initiatives in order to stay alive in the new competitive market place, and lean

manufacturing is one of the most efficient initiatives.

3. Conclusion

Day by day changing technologies and upcoming challenges have forced the manufacturers to search

new ways to deal with these problems. Few of the challenges to be dealt are reduction in production

cost, mitigation of several types of wastes, high customer satisfaction, and increase in production rate,

reduce cycle time, eliminate inventory, etc. The traditional method of manufacturing proved to be

insufficient in overcoming the above said problems. Hence, a new method was introduced i.e. lean

manufacturing comprising of number of tools and techniques.

Continuous improvement is a management philosophy based on employees' suggestions developed by

the US in nineteenth century. Though within the business environment, Japan has contributed

significantly to the language of business with number of concepts and techniques that represent

continuous improvement tools (kaizen tools) and with production philosophies such as just-in-time (lean

manufacturing) (Javier Santos et al. 2006). Lean is a business strategy based on satisfying the customer

by delivering quality products and services that are just what the customer needs, when the customer

needs them, in the amount required, at the right price, while using the minimum of materials, equipment,

space, labour, and time. Lean is a continuous, evolutionary process of change and adaptation, not a

singular, idealized vision or technology-driven goal state (Natalie J. Sayer and Bruce Williams, 2007).

In this paper the various concepts, tools and techniques of lean manufacturing have been studied

thoroughly vide reference to the research papers discussed above. Though the progress of lean

manufacturing is snail-paced but it has been successful and efficient in the manufacturing sector (M.

Shabeena Begam et al. 2013). The investigation of status of LM was carried out in various

manufacturing and non-manufacturing sector and also to check their applicability in the defined sector.

It was shown that lean manufacturing is not only applicable in the manufacturing sector but also to the

healthcare system and process industries. The reasons were identified for not transferring to the lean

management so easily and few of them were anxiety in changing the attitude of workers, lack of

awareness, and training about the LM concepts, cost and time involved in lean implementation.



63

Therefore, it can be concluded that the manufacturing industry needs to give more time to implement

lean management in all the key areas in order to meet the modern day challenges.

References

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Indian Context (Delhi NCR region). International Journal of Engineering and Science. Vol. 3,

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64

Ripon K Chakrabortty and Sanjoy K Paul. (2010). Study and Implementation of Lean Manufacturing in

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