Production Management

Kaizen and Kanban in Lean Manufacturing

Kaizen

Kaizen is broadly interpreted as the Japanese term for continuous improvement, although it is perhaps more accurately translated as a form of control.   It applies to all aspects of organisational output, and can thus be linked to both Toyota Production System (TPS) and types of waste, as well as the means of introducing and managing basic employee working conditions.   One of the most popular tools of Kaizen is a Kanban, which of itself translates to differing types of organisational process control, which collectively lead to greater organisational production efficiency.

The overarching principle of Kaizen, and Kanban within that, is to create a ‘pull through’ organisational process, as opposed to push through.… Read the rest

Abey Francis

Lean Thinking

Concept of  Lean Thinking

Lean Thinking originated from manufacturing methods used by Japanese automotive manufacturers, especially from Toyota.  Lean thinking is basically about getting the right things, to the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity while minimizing waste and waiting time and being flexible and open to change.

A term coined by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones in their book “Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation”  to describe an exceptionally focused, efficient, agile and  successful organisation. Lean thinking provides a way to specify value, sequence value-creating actions in the best way, conduct these activities without interruption whenever someone requests them, and perform them more and more effectively.  … Read the rest

Abey Francis

Location Strategy in Operations Management

The location of a plant or facility is the geographical positioning of an operation relative to the input resources and other operations or customers with which it interacts. Three main reasons are identified why a location strategy is required. The first reason is that a new company has been created and needs a facility to manufacture products or deliver a service to its customers. The second reason is that there is a decision to relocate an existing business due to a number of factors such as the need for larger premises or to be closer to a particular customer base. The third reason is relocate into new premises in order to expand operations.… Read the rest

Abey Francis

How Logistics Productivity Improvement Affects the Economy as a Whole as well as the Position of Individual Consumer?

Generally logistics refers to the inbound and outbound flow and storage of goods , services, and information within and between organisations. The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), which is the pre-eminent professional organisation for academics and practitioners in the logistics field, formed in 1963, defined logistics management as ” that part of supply chain management that plans, implements and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods ,services, and related information between the point of origin and the the point of consumption in order to meet customers requirements “.

Logistics Productivity Improvement and the Economy

Logistics has become an enormously important component of the gross domestic product (GDP) of industrialized nations and thus affects the rate of inflation, interest rates, productivity, energy costs and its availability and other aspects of the economy as well.… Read the rest

Abey Francis

Line Balancing in Production Management

A production line is typically associated with continuous or flow production  system. Production lines are particularly appropriate for high volume operations. In a  production line work is divided into individual tasks and assigned to consecutive  workstations on the line. In mass production on progressive assembly line the workload  between various machines or workstations should be balanced. The need for balancing  the line becomes obvious when it is considered that the output to be received from the  line is determined by the maximum time involved in the performance of work at one  particular workstation. The imbalances existing in the line would lead to wastage of  time at all other work stations when one work station holds up the total output rate.  … Read the rest

Abey Francis

Features of an Ideal Plant Layout

Plant layout and design is an important component of a businesses overall operations, both in terms of maximizing the effectiveness of the production process and meeting the needs of employees. Plant layout refers to the arrangement of physical facilities such as machinery, equipment, furniture etc. within the factory building in such a manner so as to have quickest flow of material at the lowest cost and with the least amount of handling in processing the product from the receipt of material to the shipment of the finished product. It may be defined as a technique of locating machines, processes and plant services within the factory so as to achieve the right quantity and quality of output at the lowest possible cost of manufacturing.… Read the rest

Abey Francis