International Conference on Technology and Business Management

March 26-28. 2012

The Lean Ahead For Continuous Improvements

Muzammil M. Bepari B. E. Narkhede muzammil.bepari@gmail.com benarkhede@vjti.org.in VJTI Matunga, Mumbai Nilesh Vedak nilesh.vedak@siemens.com Siemens Ltd., Thane
Lean is the relentless elimination of waste to the manufacturing activities. The article shows the introduction to the lean manufacturing concept. The study shows the execution of assembly line with lean concept. To obtain the long term demand forecast for the product bullwhip effect analysis is done. Design and flow of material analysis is done with lean tool VSM and process map is with swim lane. Pareto analysis results in the continuous improvements in the process flow and combine the operations. Keywords: Lean Manufacturing, Waste, Execution, Forecast, Process Map

1. Introduction
Lean manufacturing is the relentless approach to the removal of waste in the process. Taichi Ohno adopts Leanmanufacturing concept in the Toyota as Toyota production system in between the 1948 and 1975. In the 1990s, many manufacturing firms around the world adopted lean production as a strategy to increase their global competitiveness. Some firms have made much progress in implementing lean production in their factories while others have found it to be very difficult and are still struggling with implementation, or in some cases, given up the attempt. Some of the companies that have been successful in converting their manufacturing facilities to lean production have begun to spread lean principles to other business activities (e.g. product design, payments processing, order taking) or in to their supply chains. They are attempting to move beyond lean manufacturing to become lean enterprises. Traditional manufacturing systems are built on the principle of economies of scale. Here, the large fixed costs of production are depreciation-intensive because of huge capital investments made in high volume operations. These fixed costs are spread over large production batch sizes in an effort to minimize the total unit costs of owning and operating the manufacturing system. Large work-in-process inventories are also characteristic of traditional manufacturing. The resultant batch and queue operation produces large numbers of a particular product and then shifts sequentially to other mass-produced products. The purpose of this paper is: (1) to provide a roadmap to illustrate how value stream mapping (VSM) and its associated tools can used to design a desired future state aligned with lean manufacturing principles and (2) To provide the continuous flow of material Bullwhip analysis is done to control the fluctuation in demand. 3) Swim lane diagram provide the richer information on who does what at particular manufacturing cell. 4) Pareto analysis gives the results in the continuous improvements in the quality and combines the operations. We begin with the introduction to lean and then why lean should be adopted for the industry and list the different lean tools. Next is the VSM to analyze the design and flow of material throughout the assembly line. We then go to the bullwhip effect analysis to analyze the fluctuation demand, and swim lane diagram gives the assigned activity information. We analyze the requirement of the industry and Pareto analysis is done to obtain the continuous Improvements in the process flow and combine the operation. The manufacturing cell combines operation and provide the smooth and single flow of material throughout the line.

2. Lean Manufacturing
A Lean phenomenon is begun in the manufacturing sector and it widely used yet in different manufacturing organizations. The creator of lean Taichi Ohno wrote a great deal about the lean implementation in the Toyota. Lean manufacturing is comprehensive set of techniques that when combined and matured will allow you to reduce and then eliminate the seven wastes this system will not make your company Leaner but subsequently more flexible and more responsive by reducing waste. However, lean thinking (Womack and Jones, 1996) helps us to understand the principles of lean: i) The identification of value ii) The elimination of waste and iii) The generation flow. 510

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Seven wastes of the lean manufacturing: Transportation: This is unnecessary motion or movement of materials, such as work-in-process (WIP) is being transported from one operation to another. Waiting: Also known as queuing, waiting refers to the periods of inactivity in a downstream process that occur because an upstream activity does not deliver on time. Overproduction: Overproduction occurs when operations continue after they should have stopped. Defective Parts: These are products or services that do not conform to the specification or Customers expectation, thus causing Customer dissatisfaction. Inventory: This refers to inventory that is not directly required to fulfill current Customer orders. Inventory includes raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods. Inventory all requires additional handling and space. Movement: This term refers to the extra steps taken by employees and equipment to accommodate inefficient process layout, defects, reprocessing, overproduction or excess inventory. Motion takes time and adds no value to the product or service. Excess Processing: This term refers to extra operations, such as rework, reprocessing, handling, or storage that occurs because of defects, overproduction or excess inventory. Further addition to all these wastes or muda, most operations often suffer one or all of the six big losses. Many a times, such losses not even known or monitored, and they assumed as intrinsic to the process. These losses may be in form of: i) Equipment failure ii) Changeover iii) Idling/ Minor Stoppages iv) Reduced speed v) Process Defect vi) Reduces Yield. The five steps of the lean manufacturing are such as: Perfect order delivery Decrease in inventory carrying cost Decrease in customer lead times Decrease in inventory write off Decrease manufacturing cycle time In 1990 Womack, Jones, and Ross created the term lean production as a lean manufacturing concept. Since then, it has become common to use the word lean as shorthand for lean production. They define lean as a way to create new work rather than simply destroying jobs in the name of efficiency. In their definition, lean is a thought process and a philosophy, not a tool, used to look at a business whether it is manufacturing, service or any other activity with a supplier and a customer relation with the goal of eliminating non-value added tasks (Womack, Jones, Ross 1990). The principles of lean production include teamwork, communication, and efficient use of resources and continuous improvement by using lean tool Kaizen. It can say that they pioneered the idea of applying the concepts outside of manufacturing environments. Lean manufacturing is a systematic discipline or application of philosophy to have a process that is optimized with lesser wastes and lesser potential losses. Application of Lean Manufacturing requires a clear focus on all components and functions within an organization. We will take a holistic view on Lean application in execution of assembly line for the switchboard manufacturing plant. Principles of LEAN Womack and Jones (1996) stressed five lean principles, which form a sequence of implementation. (1) Specify what does and does not create value from the customers perspective. (2) Identify all the steps necessary to design order and produce the product across the whole value stream to highlight non-value-adding waste. (3) Make those actions that create value flow without interruption, detours, backflows, waiting, or scrap. (4) Only make what the customers pulls just in time. (5) Strive for perfection by continually removing successive layers of waste, as they are uncovered.

3. Review of Literature
As these words are written, Toyota, the leading lean exemplar in the world, stands poised to become the largest automaker in the world in terms of overall sales. Its dominant success in everything from rising sales and market shares in every global market, not to mention a clear lead in hybrid technology, stands as the strongest proof of the power of lean enterprise. As Kiichiro Toyoda, Taiichi Ohno, and others at Toyota looked at this situation in the 1930s, and more intensely just after World War II, it occurred to them that a series of simple innovations might make it more possible to provide both continuity in process flow and a wide variety in product offerings. They therefore 511

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revisited Fords original thinking, and invented the Toyota Production System. The lean manufacturing concept is implemented in Toyota and today it is known as the Toyota Production System. Lean Manufacturing has been a great interest for manufacturers all over the world. It is because this principle affects companies of all sizes. Numerous companies are applying Lean technologies and seeing dramatic improvements in quality, production, customer service, and profitability. Lean is nothing but removal of waste by using different tools and techniques. Lean is framework of principles, methods, and tools have been developed to fight waste, see Arnout Pool, Jakob Wijngaard and Durk- Jouke van der zee (2011). Lean manufacturing has been increasingly adopted as a potential solution for many organizations, particularly within the automotive (Womack JP 1990) and aerospace (Womack JP 1999, Womac JP 1990) manufacturing industries. Although a number of principles and tools appear to be derived from Just-in-Time, cellular manufacturing, and World Class Manufacturing, lean manufacturing has emerged relatively recently as an approach that integrates different tools to focus on the elimination of waste and produce products that meet customer expectations. Womack and Jones used the term lean thinking to label the thinking process of Taiichi Ono and the set of methods describing the Toyota Production System. James-Moore and Gibbons (1997) define key areas of focus, each with associated principles, within the lean manufacturing approach: flexibility, waste elimination, optimization, process control, and people utilization. These areas of focus and principles can be operational using specific tools and techniques. A number of authors have defined the portfolio of tools/techniques to implement lean manufacturing. Lean production not only successfully challenged the accepted mass production practices in the automotive industry, significantly shifting the trade-off between productivity and quality, but it also led to a rethinking of a wide range of manufacturing and service operations beyond the high-volume repetitive manufacturing environment (Matthias Halweg 2007). Value stream mapping was the main tool used to identify the opportunities for various lean techniques, which is used to map the process plan by reducing the wastes in the process. Reliability-based and risk-informed design, operation, maintenance, and regulation lead to multi- objective (multicriteria) optimization problems (E. Zio and R. Bazzo, 2011). Pareto analysis is a tool to the quality improvement and analyzes the customer problems regarding the product and the service provided by the organization.

4. Why LEAN?
Lean manufacturing is a logical collection of practices, methodologies, and tools, which will lead any company to grater, cost reductions, and efficiencies improvements. If lean manufacturing implemented correctly companies, expect continuous improvements in the process and always in cost improvements. The main source of lean manufacturing process is different tools and techniques such as Continuous improvements, Cellular manufacturing, JIT, JIT Distribution, JIT Production, and JIT purchasing. The lean concept is works on the two main pillars Just-in-time (JIT) and Jidoka i.e. automation.

Figure 1 Lean Process

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Manufacturing processes are driven by three controls cost, quality and delivery Figure 1 shows the Lean process. Any intervention that can add value to one or more of these can take some burden off from the management system. This boils down to optimization of turnaround time or cycle time, greater product variety and quality and the most economical output. If one can achieve the stated, the competition would be viewed as co-existence, profits would soar, and the expansion plans would turn into a reality. But the question that itself is how? They may have already tried a hand at various systems to ease out the flow and add the required dimension, but nothing other than the unnecessary administrative and financial burden would have been added. Lean touches the following aspects of an organization. Lean as a manufacturing philosophy aims at the following benefits: i) It creates a robust inter-dependent support system for all components of operations. ii) Reduces the administrative costs entailed in other popular methods. iii) Focuses on waste reduction iv) Specially emphasizes on unnecessary cost generating points. v) Imparts a better control over day-to-day activities vi) Reduces the cycle time. vii) Implements socially answerable techniques viii) Promotes environment friendly practices. ix) Potentially acts as a powerful tool for competitive co- existence. Lean manufacturing concepts works on the following tools: i) 5S ii) Kaizen iii) Value Stream Mapping (VSM) iv) Quick changeover (SMED) v) JIT vi) Poka Yoke & mistake proofing vii) Total productive maintenance. Lean thinkers are aiming for perfection and in doing so; the improvement cycle is never ending. For many in the process industries this culture change is the hardest change of all.

5. Bullwhip Effect
The bullwhip effect is the magnetic fluctuations in demand not the magnification of demand. The bullwhip effect is evident in a supply chain when demand increases and decreases. The effect is that these increases and decreases are exaggerated up the supply chain. The bullwhip effect is most important during the setup of new assembly line. The case study gives the considerations of bullwhip effect during the assembly line design of the circuit breaker panels. The demand for the panels is vary as per the requirement of the customer and the structure of panel. The line designed for the new product having demand fluctuation i.e. the demands is not fixed for the particular period. For this, we have done the bullwhip effect analysis for new executed assembly line, which is working on the lean concept. The panels is varying with customer requirement i.e. the panels, are not one fixed model it changes with the change in the customer order. So the line executes we can called as mixed model assembly line.

Figure 2 Demand Fluctuation

The figure 2 shows the graphical representation of bullwhip effect for the circuit breaker panels between the customer and the factory. It can be seen that the demand is not fixed, to fulfill the demand of the customer the factory built assembly line for the same product on the lean concept i.e. to reduce the wastes in the process. It obtains the productivity improvement and reduces the unproductive value, which does not any value to the product. The takt time of the line is depends upon the customer and it decides how to complete the order of the customer. The factory works on the make to order concept so the productivity varies with the demand of the customer. The focus is on the continuous improvement in the process with the help of kaizen the tool of lean 513

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manufacturing, by reducing the waste in the process without increasing the work force. The demand fluctuation is occurs in between the customer and the factory, eventually, the production decisions made by the assembly line, pull production from the Upstream Supply chain (USC). Often because of constraints due to scheduling or scale economies, the size of the batch/order also plays an essential part in explaining the bullwhip effect. The bullwhip effect depends partly on the periodicity of the order and the size on batch. Therefore, to minimize this effect, for the circuit breaker panel assembly line we introduce the lean concept by reducing waste and increasing the intervals between orders to reduce the variability of the request to the supplier. The one of the best strategy is the built to Order Supply chain (BOSC) strategy, which exemplified by the automotive industry, differentiation results from the combination of n optional components or alternative components. The same concept we are using for the assembly line of circuit breaker panels, which are having not fixed model, i.e. the variation in order as well as in the model of the panels it depends on the customer requirements. Fluctuations mainly triggered by decisions made by the company, which lead to a BOSC strategy. Cracking the Bullwhip Effect Essential to minimizing the Bullwhip Effect is to first, specifically understand what drives customer demand planning and inventory consumption, as they are the triggers for replenishment order quantities at various points in the supply chain. The most effective process for smoothing out the oscillations of the Bullwhip Effect will be customers and suppliers understanding what drives demand and supply patterns and then, collaboratively working to improve information quality and compressing cycle times throughout the entire assembly line process of panels. To minimize the bullwhip effect following are the actions to be take and improve the business performance, i) Minimize the cycle time in receiving projected and actual demand information. ii) Understand product demand patterns at each stage of the supply chain. iii) Increase the frequency and quality of collaboration through shared demand information. iv) Eliminate inventory replenishment methods that launch demand lumps into the supply chain. v) Minimize incentivized promotions that will cause customers to delay orders and thereby interrupt smoother ordering patterns. vi) Identify and preferably, eliminate the cause of customer order reductions or cancellations.

6. Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

A value stream is a collection of all actions that are required to bring a product through the main flows, starting with raw material and ending with the customer. A value stream is also defined as all the value-added and nonvalue-added actions required to bring a specific product, service, or combination of products and services, to a customer, including those in the overall supply chain as well as those in internal operations. VSM is an enterprise improvement technique to visualize an entire production process, representing information and material flow, to improve the production process by identifying waste and its sources (William G. Sullivan 2002). The ultimate goal of VSM is to identify all types of waste in the value stream and to take steps to try to eliminate these. A VSM, both current and future state, is created using a pre-defined set of icons for the switchboard manufacturing plant. VSM creates a common language about a production process, enabling more purpose decisions to improve the value stream. A value stream map provides a blueprint for implementing lean manufacturing concepts by illustrating how the flow of information and materials should operate. VSM is divides into two components: big picture mapping and detailed mapping. Before starting detailed mapping of any core process, it is useful to develop an overview of the key features of that entire process. The overview will help accomplish the following: i) Visualize the flows ii) Identify where waste occurs iii) Integrate the lean manufacturing principle iv) show relationship between information and physical flows. To describe and create an overview of a production process, big picture mapping is used. Figure 3 is a generic example of a big picture map for manufacturing of switchboards. It encloses the five basic phases in the big picture mapping exercise. i) Define customer requirements ii) Map information flows iii) Map physical flow iv) Link physical and information flow v) Complete the map by making the above information and it shows the total flow of material throughout the cycle. In figure 3, the information concerning product family, customer demand (when, where, how many, and how often) parts to be manufactured, packaging requirements, and customer stock to be held are gathered during the customer requirements phase. The information flow phase gathers data on the customer forecast and how this information is processed within the organization as well as forecast information given to suppliers. Physical flows are concerned with in bound raw materials/ components and internal processes. For incoming raw materials information on demand, number of deliveries, delivery quantities, packaging, and lead-times is collected. Internal processes use information concerning the key steps within the organization, processing time of each step, machine downtime for each process, inventory storage points, inspections, rework loops, cycle 514

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time, set-up time, number of workers, and operation hours per day. Linking the physical and information flows is concerned with the type of scheduling information used, work instructions, and what is done when problems arise. To complete the map, we can also show the time line for the project to be complete.

Source Switchboard Factory Figure 3 VSM for Lean Production Line Table 1 Detailed VSM Tools Detailed VSM Tools Description of Tool Classifies process as operations, transports, inspections, delays and Storages. In addition, where communications occur. Attempts to eliminate unnecessary activities simplify and combine activities sequence operations for reduced waste Evaluate and Portrays inventory levels and critical lead-time constraints, Evaluates the need to maintain stock within the context of short lead time replenishment by identifying large sectors of time and inventory Visual mapping technique that plots the number of variants at each stage of the manufacturing process Identifies where quality problems exist Classifies defects as product, service, or internal scrap Each defect is map along the supply chain Establish both internal and external quality levels. Key Parameters of Waste Targeted

1. Process Activity Mapping

Waiting, Transportation, inappropriate, processing, unnecessary motion, unnecessary Inventory

2. Supply chain Response Matrix

Waiting Unnecessary inventory, Over Production

3. Production Variety Funnel

Inappropriate processing, unnecessary inventory

4. Quality Filter mapping

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5. Demand Amplification Mapping

Graph of Quantity against Time

Unnecessary inventory, overproduction, waiting

6. Decision Point Analysis

Determines where the point at which the value stream goes from pull to push

Overproduction, Waiting, unnecessary waiting.

7. Physical Structure mapping

Provides an overview of the value stream Source Sullivan and McDonald 2002

Transportation, Unnecessary Inventory

The standard seven tools defined as part of detailed VSM are outlined in Table 1. These tools are helping to identify waste in any system or process. These tools are helps to find out the wastes in the assembly process of switchboard.
Table 2 Guiding Questions for Future State Map Future State Questions Basic What is the takt time? Will production produce to a finished goods supermarket or directly to shipping? 3. Where can continuous flow processing be utilized? Is there a need for a supermarket pull system within the value stream? What single point in the production chain will be used to schedule production? Heijunka Kaizen How will the production mix be leveled at the pacemaker process? What increment of work will be consistently released from the pacemaker process? 8. What process improvements will be necessary? Source Sullivan and McDonald (2002)

The eight questions that must be answers to construct the future state map are listed in Table 2. The first five questions are concerned with basic issues related to the construction of the future state map. The next two questions deal with technical implementation details such as the details of the control system. Heijunka means the production leveling or smoothing the flow of process. They help define non-mapping details such as production mix, order release time, etc. Finally, the last question in Table 2 is related to the definition of effort or actions needed (kaizen) to migrate from the current to the future situation with the continuous improvements in the process. The focus is on to obtain the continuous improvements in the entire process. The final step in the VSM process is to develop an action plan to implement the future state.

7. Swim Lane Diagram

A swim lane diagram is a figure to represent the sequence of tasks and decisions in a process. A activity represents each task with the tasks brief name in it. The horizontal dimension of the swim lane diagram is time. The vertical dimension consists of bands or lanes, where each lane is an organization or specific role. The tasks described by each activity are performed by the organizations (lanes) that activity occupies. The purpose of the swim lane diagram is to assist teams in understanding how the process is completed, identify individuals or groups who are responsible for specific tasks, and help them identify opportunities for improvement. A swim lane diagram, sometimes called a cross-functional diagram, is a process flowchart that provides richer information on who does what. It can also expand to show times when tasks are done and how long they take. The case study is done for the execution of assembly line with the lean concept and the swim lane diagram gives the detailed information about the planning activity from start to end. It can be used to find out the times for each task, which are going to done for the execution of the assembly line. The focus of swim lane diagram is to estimate the total time for the project, which gives the overall timeline to complete the project. Figure 4 shows the swim lane diagram for the switchboard manufacturing plant. The first task of any project involves the process planning; it gives the details of task assigned to each member of the team. The vertical lane shows the different departments involves in the entire process. The swim lane diagram helps to find out the total 516

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time required to complete the project and the sequence of plan.

Keywords from Figure 4 TOP- Technical Order processing, FAT- factory Acceptance Test, GRN- Goods Receives note, PIDI- Performa Invoice Delivery Intimation Source Switchboard Factory Figure 4 Swim Lane Diagram for Switchboard Plant

8. Pareto Analysis
Pareto analysis is an improvement tool to any work. Dr Joseph M Juran developed the quality trilogy, quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. Good quality management requires quality actions to be planned out, improved, and controlled. The process achieves control at one level of quality performance, and then plans are made to improve the performance on a project-by-project basis, using tools and techniques such as Pareto analysis. This activity eventually achieves breakthrough to an improved level, which is again controlled, to prevent any deterioration, as shown in figure 5.

Figure 5 Pareto Analysis

The Pareto analysis is done to combine the big problems and it is based on a bar graph and a line chart. The bar graph lists in descending order the problems affecting a process. The line chart accumulates the percentage of the total number of occurrences for each problem area. The other name of this tool is the 80-20 rule, indicating that 80 per cent of the problems stem from 20 per cent of the causes. It helps to identify the most important area to work to solve the problem. The case study shows the Pareto analysis for the switchboard manufacturing plant, which received the problems from the customer regarding the quality of the product. The figure 6 shows the customer quarries and the overall issues find out during the project.

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Figure 6 Pareto Chart for Switchboard Panel

The Pareto analysis gives the key features to countdown the problems from the customer as well as it helps to organization for continuous improvement. The Pareto analysis we can use with the combination of lean manufacturing concept. The lean tool Kaizen works as for continuous improvement in the overall process and the Pareto will helps continuous improvement in the Quality of the product. The analysis helps to improve the quality and better communication between customer and the organization.

9. Results and Discussion

Lean is the concept, which can implement to manufacturing as well as the operation management activities to obtain the continuous improvement and improve the factory culture. The study does for the switchboard factories, which are manufacturing the electrical circuit breaker panels. The purpose was to improve the productivity with the continuous improvements in the process. The factory executes the assembly line for assembly of panels with lean manufacturing concept. The results obtained in the productivity increases with the change in working environment as well as the views to the work have changed. The VSM is plays an important role in the implementation of lean it gives the new way to design and analyze the process flow throughout the project and gives the smooth flow to the process. The benefits of lean are achieved for the Assembly line executed for the switchboard plant. The focus is to reduce the wastes in the process and it obtains by implementing the lean and lean culture to the factory.

Figure 7 Continuous Improvement Results

The figure 7 shows the continuous improvements results for the newly implemented assembly line for the assembly of switchboards. The graph shows the initial baseline for the pre intervention situation before the line is started. The step change gives the intervention results of new assembly line with the lean manufacturing 518

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concept. In addition, it shows the continuous reduction in the cycle time of the assembly line during the working weeks.

10. Conclusion
In this article, we present an approach to the lean manufacturing concept to obtain the continuous improvement in manufacturing organization. The approach highlights the different tools and techniques of lean, which can use in the implementation of lean. The focus of this article is on the VSM to obtain the smooth flow of data. Other than this, the swim lane diagram shows the activities allocated to each member of the lean team. The Pareto analysis is helps to obtain the direct communication with customer and collect the problems regarding the product. It helps to organization minimize the chances of failure in the quality of the product and also continuous quality improvement. The paper gives the combination of lean to obtain the continuous improvement and the Pareto to obtain the Quality improvement. The study gives the opportunity to execute the lean for the assembly process in switchboard factory. We understand that the lean phenomena will helps to reduce the wastes in the process and reduce the cost. The lean manufacturing gives the greatest deals with the manufacturing processes by achieving the continuous improvement. Its simplicity and coordination between the lean team members helps to work together. However, for assured sustainability the organizations who are truly lean will invest the time and effort to support a change in culture, the way we do things around here. The case study attempts to highlight some of the ways in which culture can be impacted. We can say that for obtain the continuous improvement execute with the LEAN.

11. Scope for Further Research

The lean manufacturing concept can be applied for any manufacturing organization having batch production and mass production. The Lean concept not only for this industry it can be applied for the other process industries and operation management. The authors felt that there is a scope for further research on lean manufacturing implementation to various manufacturing sectors. The comparative study observes that companies doing the manufacturing processes without lean manufacturing concept.

12. References
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