5.3 LEAN PRODUCTION AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT Flashcards
Lean Production
An approach to operations management that focuses on cutting all types of waste in the production process (such as waste of time) with one aim: greater efficiency.
The production process gets rid of all the elements that do not directly add value.
Lean production can include waste
- Time
- Transportation
- Products
- Space
- Stock
- Energy
- Talents
Cutting waster is directly linked to greater efficiency. How?
- Physical Resources: Used more efficiently and amount of space for storage is reduced, which is doubly expensive. (rent, lighting, heating of a warehouse)
- Human Resources: Can be deployed more efficiently. Example: reduce unproductive travel times between venues.
- Financial Resources: Used more efficiently. Example: Holding stock tie up working capital, meaning that money cannot be used elsewhere in the organization.
Methods of lean production
Managers will choose the lean production that best suits their context:
- Continuous improvement (kaizen)
- Just-in-time (JIT)
Continuous improvement (kaizen)
Strategy focused on making small, incremental changes regularly to improve efficiency and quality. It encourages all employees to contribute ideas and participate in the ongoing process of improving manufacturing, engineering, and business processes. The goal is to reduce waste, enhance productivity, and ultimately deliver greater value to customers.
Continuous improvement (kaizen) Principles
- Must be inclusive in all hierrarchy levels, thw whole organization must adopt this philsophy.
- No blame should be attached to any issues raised, or else employees will be hesitant to make suggestions.
- Has to consider the whole production process, not just stages
- Focuses on the process and not just some parts of it.
Problems with Kaizen
- Difficult to mantain te necessary momentum over long periods of time. Requires high levels of commitment and loyalty.
- Doesn’t work with all leadership styles: Unlinkely to ork undern an autocratic leadership or a bueraucratic corporate culture.
Just in Time (JIT)
Aims to reduce waste and improve efficiency by minimizing inventory levels. It achieves this by coordinating the arrival of materials from suppliers only when necessary for production and initiating manufacturing processes only in response to customer orders. This approach avoids the need for holding large volumes of stock by ensuring that components and raw materials are acquired just in time to be used in production, and finished goods are produced just in time to meet customer demand, thereby significantly reducing the costs associated with storing and managing inventory.
Just in Case (JIC)
Traditional method of stock control. Holding reserves (buffer stock) for both raw materials and finished products in case of a sudden increase in demand or issue in the supply chain.
Downsides of JIT
- Vulnerability to Supply Chain Disruptions: JIT relies heavily on timely deliveries; any delay from suppliers can halt production.
- Limited Flexibility for Unexpected Demand: Sudden increases in demand can be difficult to meet due to minimal inventory levels.
- High Dependency on Suppliers: Requires strong, reliable relationships with suppliers, making operations vulnerable to any changes in supplier performance or stability.
Cradle-to-Cradle design and manufacturing
Approach to design and manufacturing based on principles of sustainable development, especially recycling.
To revieve the cradle-to-cradle certifiction, products must fufill several criteria:
- Reutilization of the material itself (recylcing, strictly speaking)
- The amount of energy needed for the recyclig process (ideally renewable energy)
- The amount of water needed as part of the recylcing process.
- Corporate social responsibility
Cradle to crade is still in its infancy. This means that the criteria features will become more defined and refined over time.
Importance of quality for a producer
- Increased sales
- Repeat customers (brand loyalty)
- Reduced costs
- Premium pricing
The term quality suggests that the product is
- Reliable - Won’t breakdown and fail
- Safe - Not dangerous for its users
- Durable - It is going to last
- Innovative - Leading the way in terms of functionality or design
- Value for money - You get what you pay for
Quality Control
- Quality is controlled by one person carrying out an inspection after the production run has been completed.
- Maximum percentage of rejects is set
- Wasteful production
- Rare to stop production, it is costly
- Quality stops with the job;; the focus is only on the job at hand
- Quality is the responsibilty of one person
- Role culture
- Autocratic leadership
- Top-down, one way communication
Quality Assurance
- Quality assured through the organization. The whole business focuses on it, not just one person.
- Zero rejects are expected
- Lean production
- Company expects to stop production to fix errors
- Quality includes suppliers and after-sales servicing
- Quality is the responsibilty of the team
- Total quality culture
- Democratic consultative leadership
- 360 Communication
