Hybrid lean–agile manufacturing system technical facet,in automotive sector

In the automotive sector, planners have a difficult balancing act. They benefit from commonality of vehicle parts, yet they must meet more niche demands. The challenge is to strike a balance between these extremes in a cost-effective way without compromising quality. Lean strategies could increase competitiveness and profitability by reducing manufacturing costs. Concurrently, agile strategies could enable enterprises to cope with fluctuations. A hybrid lean–agile approach can be an optimal strategic blend for a manufacturing enterprise to meet this challenge. Flexible focused factory, globalized fractal E-manufacturing, innovative value chain strategies, and designing dynamic manufacturing strategies are the four technical pillars of the proposed hybrid lean–agile manufacturing system technical facet. The study shows that hybridizing the lean and agile systems together is technically valid and can be implemented in an industrial setting. It shows how strategically a hybrid lean–agile system can be implemented. It also shows that about one third of the variation in successfully dealing with the sources of competitive advantage in automotive industry can be explained by adopting the technical facet of the hybrid lean–agile manufacturing system.     

精益造船辅助系统的设计

本文在总结精益制造的发展与应用基础上,通过企业的实地调研分析,结合管理和生产诸多方面的因素,针对当前企业内用于套料的材料信息管理,与优化套料,设计与开发了将零件信息、材料信息与套料板信息集成化管理的精益造船辅助系统。     

Human factors in agile manufacturing: A brief overview with emphasis on communications and information infrastructure

Agile manufacturing has been promoted as a national strategy for improving industrial competitiveness. Agility refers to the capability to very rapidly go from a set of unique customer requirements to a quality, finished product. An appreciation of the human factors inherent to agile product development is pivotal to the successful integration of agility-enabling technologies, as well as the coordination of personnel working within a concurrent engineering environment. This article briefly summarizes human factors contributions to: (1) development of agile business practices; (2) design of enabling technologies; and (3) management of the introduction and fielding of new technologies and business practices. More detailed discussion is offered for human factors related to the communications and information infrastructure essential to an organization making the transition from traditional to agile product development. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

信息化造船中的优化套料方法设计

本文在总结精益制造与敏捷造船的发展与应用基础上,通过企业的实地调研分析,结合管理和生产诸多方面的因素,针对当前企业内用于套料的材料信息管理,与优化套料,提出了将零件信息、材料信息与套料板信息集成化管理的思想,并且以套料工作为核心,在系统内完成所有套料工作,并且可对套料的数据进行查询统计分析,同时对特殊的需求进行了关键技术研究。     

Designing an effective management system for enterprises: Concepts and verification

In this article lean and agile manufacturing are considered as separate organizational strategies of enterprise management. Therefore, a model of these strategies for business situations as well as assigning modern concepts and methods of management to these strategies and business segments has been proposed. This model, called LABDM (lean agile business development model), has been provisionally verified in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises from the gas engineering industry in the Wielkopolska province in Poland. In 17 enterprises of this industry the use of modern concepts and methods of management have been studied. With the help of the rough sets theory, a set of concepts and methods that are crucial for the effective enterprises has been identified. By comparing these concepts and methods to the LABDM, the model's rationality is proven. In conclusion, the LABDM can be used as a tool when considering a lean or agile strategy, and modern concepts and methods that are associated with these strategies. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Lean job design and musculoskeletal disorder risk: A two plant comparison

This study examined the relationship between lean job design and work‐related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD) risk factors. Repetition, force, and posture were assessed for a sample of 56 production jobs across departments at a lean automobile‐manufacturing plant and compared to 56 similar jobs at a traditional automobile‐manufacturing plant. The results showed greater productivity in the lean plant: less waiting (p = .006) and walking (p < .001); and greater repetition exposure (p = .001). The mean rating for repetition was 5.5 in the lean plant, compared to 5.0 in the traditional plant based on the Latko (1997) hand activity level scale. However, the lean plant had significantly lower peak hand force ratings (p = .01). When examining force and repetition combined, the lean plant had a lower percentage of jobs above the American Conference for Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)‐recommended Threshold Limit Value (TLV^®). The findings suggest that lean manufacturing does not necessarily increase workers' risk for WMSD injuries. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Moving from lean manufacturing to lean construction: Toward a common sociotechnological framework

Since the early 1990s, the construction industry has taken some interest in the application of lean production to its own case. A new body of research led by the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) has been exploring new techniques for the industry. In this article the techniques developed for lean construction are compared with those of lean manufacturing. Differences between the manufacturing and the construction cases showed why lean production does not fully suit the construction industry. Although some elements are in an embryonic state, lean construction has built a set of techniques that are transferable to any constructor. Lean manufacturing and lean construction share many common elements despite their different techniques. The need for a joint combination of technical and human elements shows that both approaches conform to a common sociotechnological design. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 15: 233–245, 2005.     

Identifying the cause and effect factors of agile NPD process with fuzzy DEMATEL method: the case of Iranian companies

Although the New Product Development (NPD) process is dynamic in nature, with the dawning of the new millennium the rate of the changes in this process has been increased. Individual customer needs, pressure of global competition, fragmentation of markets into smaller segments, rapid and never ending changes in technological aspects and flexible production, force the NPD teams to introduce new products to the markets as rapidly as possible. In response to these dynamic and unanticipated changes agile NPD is a focus to manufacturing enterprises. Identifying the cause and effect factors of this kind of system can help the NPD managers to show a good view of this process and improve their decision making quality. In this paper first among 32 main items related to agile NPD process, 6 critical success factors are extracted by using the explanatory factor analysis method done on the NPD projects in Iranian companies and then to compensate the vagueness in the complex and dynamic environment of agile NPD and also the uncertain human judgment about the factors affecting this process, Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method is proposed to divide these critical success factors into cause and effect groups.     

船体套料信息系统的设计

船体套料是船舶设计制造的一个重要环节,船体数据在套料过程中得以集中体现,套料结果的优劣,直接影响到船舶制造原材料的利用率,更会影响到产品的制造成本,以及企业的效益。本文以某船舶企业的实际套料工作为背景,通过集成零件、材料以及套料的方法和数据开发系统,实现了船体套料工作的集成信息化,提高了工作效率,缩短了生产周期,更接近了精益制造和敏捷造船的目标。     

大型套料系统的切割任务管理

船体套料是船舶设计制造的一个重要环节,船体数据在套料过程中得以集中体现,套料结果的优劣,直接影响到船舶制造原材料的利用率,更会影响到产品的制造成本,以及企业的效益。本文以某船舶企业的实际切割任务管理为背景,通过集成零件、材料以及套料的方法和数据开发系统,实现了船体套料工作的集成信息化,提高了工作效率,缩短了生产周期,更接近了精益制造和敏捷造船的目标。     

基于分形理论的制造系统建模方法研究

通过新的技术条件下制造企业系统化、复杂化和非线性等特性的分析,给出了一种基于分形理论,适应敏捷化集成化、系统化要求的新型制造企业组织体系,阐明其层次性、自相似的结构特点,分析了其“授权自制”的运行模式。     

The relationship between work organization and workforce agility in small manufacturing enterprises

Organizational agility requires development of an adaptable workforce that is able to deal with unexpected and dynamic changes in the business environment. However, little research has been done on the attributes and characteristics of workforce agility. Even less is known about what organization characteristics are conducive to the agile performance of employees. The main goal of this study was to explore the effect of agile strategies on work organization and employees' performance. A total of 41 managers, 82 office workers, and 52 production workers from six small manufacturing companies participated in the study. Three questionnaires, including Agility Strategy Scale, Work Organization Scale, and Workforce Agility Scale, were used for the purpose of data collection. The results support a hypothesized relationship between management strategies focused on agility development, work characteristics, and workforce agility. The results also reveal that autonomy at work is one of the most important predictors of workforce agility. A combination of job demands and job uncertainty had a significant effect on workforce agility. The study also suggests that developing strong cooperative relationships within an organization and with customers and suppliers promotes workforce agility in small manufacturing enterprises.     

Human factors of it‐based solutions for worldwide manufacturing web

Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) is a regional technology hub and a launch site for companies developing or using multimedia technologies to enhance their Asian presence. MSC makes it possible to provide value‐added products and services to customers in various so‐called flagship applications, including Worldwide Manufacturing Web (WMW). The latter can be conceived of as a multisite agile manufacturing where companies—both real and virtual—contribute to the various activities in the life cycle of product development and manufacturing through distributed functions. Several manufacturing functions—including design integration and testing, production planning and control, engineering support, marketing, and sales—may be performed within the MSC by various companies, domestic as well as international. This article, based on a keynote address at HAAMAHA '98, describes some of the features of WMW in accordance with agile, distributed, and virtual manufacturing paradigms. It also addresses human factors issues in implementing IT‐based solutions in the WMW, with reference to existing models. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Manufacturing Enterprise Control and Management System Engineering: paradigms and open issues

Over several decades, control theory has developed its own set of more or less formal modelling techniques designed to automatically control the dynamic behaviour of complicated manufacturing systems and processes. The emerging Internet society is addressing new enterprise control and management integration (ECMI) challenges for agile business to manufacturing (B2M) purposes which enlarge the traditional setting of Automation Engineering to the systems engineering (SE) approach. In order to cope with the increasing complexity of integrating intelligence/information-intensive manufacturing automation within the networked manufacturing enterprise, Automation Engineering should be integrated into the systems engineering approach to achieve a holistic approach that treats in fine the technical operational manufacturing system emerging from the deployment of an ad hoc combination of formal and informal partial models. This paper emphasises that a Holonic Manufacturing Execution System Engineering (HMESE) approach should be a relevant B2M SE approach along with other relevant scientific, industrial and educational areas dealing with information and intelligence control and management issues in agile automation.     

A Kind of Lean Approach for Removing Wastes From Non-Manufacturing Process With Various Facilities

It is important to identify and remove the wastes not only from manufacturing process, but also from nonmanufacturing process. In the last several decades, significant research achievements and practice benefits have been achieved about removing wastes from manufacturing process. Since the 1990s, some researchers and lean practitioners have paid more attention to removing waste from non-manufacturing process. Based on the authors' research work and industrial practice, the paper introduces a kind of lean approach for removing waste from non-manufacturing process. In its case study, the order handling process in a value chain is described with respect to a factory and its downstream distribution centers (DCs). The paper proposes a lean approach solution for creating the improved order handling process, and analyze how great improvements in performance can be achieved. As a result, the significant achievement has created a win-win scenario for both the nonmanufacturing process in a factory and non-manufacturing facilities (like DCs) across the value chain. It demonstrates that improvements have been made by removing waste from the non-manufacturing process that takes place within a factory as well as with external participants through the whole value chain. Likewise, the proposed lean approach has helped the case companies to achieve greater levels of efficiency and more benefits. Finally, some conclusions are drawn.      

“Leagile” software development: An experience report analysis of the application of lean approaches in agile software development

In recent years there has been a noticeable shift in attention from those who use agile software development toward lean software development, often labelled as a shift “from agile to lean”. However, the reality may not be as simple or linear as this label implies. To provide a better understanding of lean software development approaches and how they are applied in agile software development, we have examined 30 experience reports published in past agile software conferences in which experiences of applying lean approaches in agile software development were reported. The analysis identified six types of lean application. The results of our study show that lean can be applied in agile processes in different manners for different purposes. Lean concepts, principles and practices are most often used for continuous agile process improvement, with the most recent introduction being the kanban approach, introducing a continuous, flow-based substitute to time-boxed agile processes.     

浅谈人机工程分析软件在虚拟制造中的应用

在当今经济全球化、贸易自由化和社会信息化的形势下,制造业的经营战略发生了很大变化,在30-60年代企业追求的是规模效益,70年代更加重视降低生产成本,进入90年代新产品开发厦交货期成为竞争的焦点。由此产生了多种多样的制造哲理,如：精益生产、并行工程、敏捷制造和虚拟制造等,它们各有侧重,从不同角度研究如何增强企业的竞争力。而虚拟制造技术是制造技术与仿真技术相结合的产物。     

Performance obstacles in cellular manufacturing implementation— empirical investigation

Performance obstacles are factors in the work environment that restrict productivity by inhibiting workers in the execution of task responsibilities. It is thus crucial to identify and reduce those obstacles for more effective cellular manufacturing implementation. This article describes research carried out in 4 Korean manufacturing plants to investigate performance obstacles in cellular manufacturing implementation. The results of the research reveal several important factors in cellular manufacturing implementation: training and education, information, teamwork skill, supervision, and scheduling. This research discusses human and organizational factors in new manufacturing system implementation and reveals that those factors play a central role in the implementation. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Modeling of agile intelligent manufacturing-oriented production scheduling system

Agile intelligent manufacturing is one of the new manufacturing paradigms that adapt to the fierce globalizing market competition and meet the survival needs of the enterprises, in which the management and control of the production system have surpassed the scope of individual enterprise and embodied some new features including complexity, dynamicity, distributivity, and compatibility. The agile intelligent manufacturing paradigm calls for a production scheduling system that can support the cooperation among various production sectors, the distribution of various resources to achieve rational organization, scheduling and management of production activities. This paper uses multi-agents technology to build an agile intelligent manufacturing-oriented production scheduling system. Using the hybrid modeling method, the resources and functions of production system are encapsulated, and the agent-based production system model is established. A production scheduling-oriented multi-agents architecture is constructed and a multi-agents reference model is given in this paper.