When does lean hurt? – an exploration of lean practices and worker health and safety outcomes

This research takes a first step toward a more complete understanding of the effects of lean production on both operational and worker health and safety performance. Previous operations management literature considered only the operational performance implications of lean while previous safety literature considered only the worker health and safety implications of lean. This research considers both perspectives by providing empirical evidence on the impact of lean on operational and health and safety performance. Results from 10 case studies show that the adoption of lean practices and or an overall lean philosophy has a positive impact on operational and health and safety performance. However, there are some nuances in the role of individual practices associated with lean. The plants with the worst operational and health and safety performance in the sample were those that adopted just-in-time practices without human resource and prevention practices. The results show how both the social and technical components of lean are required for lean to have positive operational and health and safety impacts.     

Optimal investment strategies for flexible workers under uncertain demand

Abstract

Skill chaining (SC) has proven to be an effective way to balance the workload and elevate the capacity of a serial production line. However, SC training is costly. Therefore, the costs and benefits of investment in cross-training must be weighed. To save costs, we propose a partial skill chaining (PSC) strategy to save cross-training investment costs in an assemble-to-order (ATO) system. First, we build a chain segment model to describe the PSC. Then, we provide a heuristic algorithm with which to determine the optimal path for cross-training. We also examine the efficiency of several training schemes from the perspective of flexibility structure. Second, we find that the costs of both overproduction and delivery delay in an ATO system with uncertain demand can be reduced after obtaining the capacity. The problem is then transformed into a trade-off between investments and benefits. Finally, we identify the relevant decision-making criteria for both flexibility capacity maximization and profit maximization.     

对精益企业制造和维修的要求

维修是为制造业服务的。它保证达到产品的数量和质量，并为保障制造设备和环境保护服务。在精益企业中，必须将制造和维修融合在一起。人们必须考虑维修的不同投入部门和不同行业的结构。本文对要求和方法进行了描述。     

Application of interpretive structural modelling for analysis of factors influencing lean remanufacturing practices

The contemporary manufacturing scenario witnesses the adoption of lean remanufacturing concepts in a concerted manner. Lean remanufacturing is a newly evolved manufacturing process concerned with manufacturing and remanufacturing of products to effectively utilise available energy and resources, while reducing wastes in the process and thereby increasing efficiency. The advantages include process streamlining coupled with end-of-life decisions. A structural model needs to be developed to clarify the interrelationships among factors influencing lean remanufacturing practices. In this study, interpretive structural modelling method has been used to develop the structural model depicting interrelationships and most dominant and least dominant factors. Twenty factors are being identified based on expert opinion from 35 Indian automotive component remanufacturing organisations. The identified most dominant factors include a strong top management commitment with proper strategy selection, long-term vision and participation and a strong understanding of the current product and process designs. MICMAC analysis has been conducted to categorise the factors. The inferences based on the study have been derived. The novel aspect of this study is that it presents the development of structural model to identify the most dominant factors influencing the implementation of lean remanufacturing principles.     

Lean manufacturing as a high-performance work system: the case of Cochlear

This paper addresses the Special Issue call for Australian examples of innovative management systems that enable the production of successful products by drawing on a single case study: medical device manufacturer Cochlear. Through qualitative case study methodology, we examine the human resource management practices that complemented the implementation of lean manufacturing principles. We argue that in their implementation, Cochlear’s management team enriched the traditional understanding of lean and its focus on waste reduction, low cost and quality assurance by adopting people management practices as an integrated component of the overall management capability which allowed their people to grow and develop. The combination of lean and HR practices transformed Cochlear to a high-performance work system and positively impacted production processes and output. By examining a medical device manufacturer, an under-researched sector, our paper expands existing literature on lean manufacturing and provides implications for practitioners.     

我国制造业应如何有效实施精益物流

在介绍了我国制造业的发展现状和存在问题的基础之上,阐述了精益物流的内涵和特征,并针对如何通过有效实施精益物流来推动我国制造业实现跨越式发展这一极具重要意义的命题,进行了系统而全面的探讨.     

Industry 4.0 and lean manufacturing practices for sustainable organisational performance in Indian manufacturing companies

The current literature claims the direct effects of industry 4.0 technologies (I4?T) on lean manufacturing practices (LMP) and sustainable organisational performance (SOP). LMP are also found to have a positive influence on SOP. However, the integrated effect of I4?T and LMP on SOP has not been empirically investigated. To address this gap, this research study investigates the indirect effects of I4?T on SOP with LMP as the mediating variable; furthermore, it aims to confirm or not the direct effects of I4?T on LMP and SOP. The study is based on data collected from 205 managers, working in 115 manufacturing firms. The findings suggest significant direct and indirect effects of I4?T on SOP and confirm the presence of LMP as a strong mediating variable. The results of the study extend the literature on I4?T by identifying I4?T as an enabler of LMP, leading to enhancement of the SOP. Implications and future research directions for academicians, practitioners, and consultants are provided.     

A two-phase variable neighbourhood search algorithm for assembly line worker assignment and balancing problem type-II: an industrial case study

The assembly line worker assignment and balancing problem type-II (ALWABP-2) occurs when workers and tasks (where task times depend on workers’ skills) are to be simultaneously assigned to a fixed number of workstations with the goal of minimising the cycle time. In this study, a two-phase variable neighbourhood search (VNS) algorithm is proposed to solve the ALWABP-2 due to the NP-hard nature of this problem. In the first phase of the algorithm, a VNS approach is applied to assign tasks to workstations with the aim of minimising the cycle time while in the second phase, a variable neighbourhood descent method is applied to assign workers to workstations. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested on well-known benchmark instances. In addition, the proposed algorithm has been used to solve a real case study from a consumer electronics company that manufactures LCD TVs. The results show that the algorithm is superior to the methods reported in the literature in terms of its higher efficiency and robustness. Furthermore, the algorithm is easy to implement and significantly improves the performance of the final assembly line for the investigated LCD TV real case study.