5.3 Lean production and quality management Flashcards
What is lean production?
Lean production is the process of streamlining operations and processes to reduce all forms of waste and to achieve greater efficiency. Thus, lean production should lead to improved quality and reduced costs.
What principles are important in the pursuit of lean production?
Waste minimisation Right first time approach Flexibility Continuous improvement Supply chain management
What is meant by kaizen? How is it a method of lean production?
Kaizen is the Japanese word for a philosophy of continuous improvement. It aims to eliminate waste by looking at ways to improve the productivity and efficiency of the firms operations.
What is meant by just-in-time? How is just-in-time a method of lean production?
lust-in-time (JIT) is an inventory management system based on stocks being delivered as and when they are needed in the production process. As stocks are delivered just before they are used, there is no need to have a stock control system as buffer stocks are not required
What is kanban? How is it a method of lean production?
ensure that inventory is based on actual customer orders rather than sales forecasts.
kanban uses a card system with an inventory number attached to each component in the production process. Kanban is Japanese for visual card. The system starts when a customer places an order - a part (component) is only used (or ordered) if there isa kanban card for it. A kanban must accompany each item or component at all times in the production process and no item is used or moved on without a kanban card. Any defects are identified to prevent it being moved on to the next process.
What is Andon?
Andon is a Japanese visual control system used to indicate the status of an aspect of the production process.
Why is Andon an important method of lean production?
brings instant attention to production problems
provides a consistent and simple communication tool
encourages workers and supervisors to take immediate action
improves the ability of supervisors to identify and resolve production issues
What is cradle-to-cradle design and manufacturing?
sustainable model of
production based on natural processes, thus benefiting the environment. The underlying principle of C2C is that there is no waste in nature, making it sustainable.
What are the features of cradle-to-cradle design and manufacturing?
production techniques that are efficient (free of waste) and sustainable
recycling
reuse
What is meant by the term quality?
a product fulfils its purpose and meets the expectations of the consumer. Hence, quality is not exclusive to expensive products.
Why is quality important to both consumers and producers?
Products that do not meet the needs or expectations of customers, producers or governments are said to be sub-standard and such products can be very costly to a business
What is quality control? What are its advantages and disadvantages?
the traditional way of quality management that involves inspecting, testing and sampling the quality of work.
+ safeguard firm’s reputation
+ cheaper
+ find issues
- does not prevent mistakes being made yet can be expensive.
- root cause of problem is not dealt with
- individuals are not accountable for the quality of their work
How does quality assurance differ from quality control? What are its advantages?
the management process of guaranteeing (assuring) the consumer of a product’s quality by ensuring that everything is done ‘right first time’, i.e. there are no defects. It informs customers that products have been made to the required specification and that certain quality standards have been met.
QA programmes involve employee participation as
workers have more ownership and recognition for their work, thereby improving staff morale as they feel more
valued.
• Employee participation can also help to generate new ideas for improving the quality of products, operations and processes.
• can help break down a ‘them and us culture between employeesand managers because there is no formal inspection of the work by quality controllers.
• There is less wastage and reworking as products and
processes are checked at every stage of output. This helps to reduce production costs.
What is quality management?
the function concerned with controlling business activities to ensure that products are fit for their purpose.
What are quality circles? What are its advantages and disadvantages?
small groups of people who meet regularly to examine issues relating to the quality of output and make recommendations for improvement.
+ importance of team cohesiveness in managing and improving quality
+ increased efficiency, productivity and profitability
- some individuals remain unmotivated by team-working, extra responsibility or empowerment
