Overcoming Obstacles Of Lean Operations

How does Lean Operations and Supply Chain differ from traditional approaches? Describe the main characteristics of each approach and their strengths and weaknesses then discuss the main issues involved in managing the transition from traditional to lean operations.

“Lean is a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste (non-value-added activities) through continuous improvement by flowing the **product at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection.” Lockwood [24].

The application and implementation of lean principles or thinking is a process that requires commitment from every stakeholder in the organization. This process entails commitment to the organization's workers and to the system itself in order to make changes towards improvement. Generally, the implementation of lean thinking is geared towards continuous improvement through the elimination of waste. However, lean management or implementation of the principles sometimes incorporate mistakes that are made by leaders in the execution process. This is mainly because lean leadership appears to be simple though its complex because of the costs associated with it. The mistakes usually occur because of intrinsic complexities of exploring deeply into organizational philosophies, business strategy, psychology, and macroeconomics.

Identify the main mistakes that tend to weaken or derail lean initiatives in companies. Assess the authors' suggestions for improving lean implementation.

Lean is defines the manufacturing philosophy that reduces the time between the shipping and customer demand, which based on the systematic method by eliminating waste, that means giving the customer what they want when they want it, and don 't waste whatever. Rahmana, Sharif and Esa (2013) suggested lean production is mentioned to improve the company 's performance from the philosophy in reducing waste in order. That means, lean system destination is the decrease cost by removing the non-value activities, which they are applying a category of tools and techniques for checking and eliminating defective in the production process. In the Evenort Company should emulate the five overriding principles of lean thinking in terms of implementing lean that there is guarantee the company has been driving correctly in the lean manufacturing (Cardiff 2015) as can show in table 1.

Your organization, a company that manufactures automobile brake pads, is about to introduce lean concepts into its operations in order to be more competitive with foreign manufacturers. The lean project manager does not understand why you, the safety manager, want to be a part of the process. Provide a convincing argument about what you can contribute if you are included.

Becoming Lean and implementing an action plan for it is not easy; it involves the commitment of time and assets. Companies ought to know what their client need and be dedicated to providing that. To know what a good implementation plan is, one must observe the BAE Systems, York, Pennsylvania, Assembly, Test, and Integration Plant to discover an excellent benchmarking instance of how to implement Lean production and the enhancements that can be achieved as a consequence. The subsequent dissertation is our journey, our plan to implementing Lean. It may be suitable for your company or it may not. The position here is straightforward. There is not a one-size-fits-all modus operandi for implementing Lean. What works for one organization might not work for a different company. It is not a cookie-cutter method (Upadhye, et al. 2008).

The next principle is pull. This is the “first visible effect of converting from departments and batches to product teams and flow” in which the amount of time that was needed for a product that would ordinarily take years to design. (Womack and Jones, 1996) With the concept of pull, customers are only delivered what they want, when it is asked for, instead of pushing the products at the customers and hoping for the best as they had previously done. By this logic, “no one upstream should produce a good or service until the customer downstream asks for it.” (Womack and Jones, 1996)

Lean Principles have been essential to numerous organisations all over the world for achieving outstanding results in terms of efficiency, quality and manufacturing times. Large organisations are especially acknowledged to implement lean principles successfully. However, in recent years small and medium sized enterprises have been in emphasis due to their flexibility and capabilities that provides the necessary robustness in the global economic crisis (Matt , 2007). Therefore, this paper will critically appraise and assess two separate case studies by authors Matt and Rauch (2013) and Kumar et al. (2006) respectively.

As a startup company, JikoPower has the luxury of conducting extensive evaluation of production needs including capacity planning and facility layout prior to expanding their physical infrastructure. In order to plan for facilities that will support growing demand for "The Spark," the company should accurately estimate production cycle time for the product, as well as determining any potential bottlenecks in the fabrication process. Application of lean management techniques can help aid in assessment of necessary inputs (labor, materials, equipment etc.) and development of an effective plan for development.

The report begins with introducing the lean then presents the theories associated with it further elaborates on the principles, tools, processes and application.

One of the most important things in a manufacturing company in order to obtain profit is to have a high level of quality and a minimum level of investment. This is the key that every company wanted to find during the years. In order to maintain a high position on the market and a competitive advantage, the implementation of a manufacturing strategy is very important.

In an era where companies compete in global context to provide the best solutions, products or services in order to gain loyal customers, every detail in the processes within the organisation contributes massively to its success or failure. Every organisation’s desire is to match supply and demand in a timely manner with the most efficient use of resources. Meanwhile, the key component of success is to understand customer’s needs and to translate them into value, and eventually into products. In order to meet both the above, the organisation desires its internal processes to have a clear and adequate mechanism that will link all departments and ensure high quality and trust.

Higher standards are being raised every day. Now, customers expect more product and efficiency for what they pay for. They expect products and services to be quicker, better,

The Lean Manufacturing approach is meant to transform non-value added activity into value added activity. Lean Manufacturing technology has its impetus and focus on whole operation. Lean Manufacturing methods are inclusive of all employees and involve a major change in the embedded attitudes of the individuals that make up the organizations. In today 's highly competitive world, the Indian organizations are striving hard to