Lean Product Development as a System: A Case Study of Body and Stamping Development at Ford

Abstract:

A systems view of lean product development is presented integrating people, process, and tools. This systems approach was derived from intensive study of Toyota's product development system. Principles and methods based on this systems model of lean product development were applied with great success at Ford Motor Company helping to bring to market a record number of products that helped fuel a rebuilding of the company to financial success and award winning world-class product quality.     

A Multilevel Framework for Lean Product Development System Design

Abstract:

Organizations today face intense and growing pressure to reduce cost, decrease time to market, and maximize stakeholder value in product development (PD). Many organizations have adopted lean product development (LPD) methods in an attempt to improve their PD systems; however, despite two decades of research, there is still much less understanding of the characteristics of effective LPD systems than of effective lean manufacturing systems. LPD systems are complex systems involving multiple organizational levels; however, most LPD research to date has focused only on a single level. There is currently a lack of understanding of the interactions between levels and effective means for managing these interactions. In this article, we propose a multilevel framework designed to capture key LPD system principles at the functional, project, and portfolio levels; tools and practices for implementing principles at each level; and approaches for managing the interactions between levels. A longitudinal case study is used to expand and refine a conceptual framework developed through literature review. Future research should focus on further validating the framework and applying the framework to improve LPD system design.     

A Conceptual Map of the Lean Nomenclature: Comparing Expert Classification to the Lean Literature

Abstract

Although the implementation of lean can yield improvements in organizational performance, the literature suggests that most organizations are unable to effectively sustain the results from lean implementation efforts. The lack of clarity related to lean concepts may be a cause of unsuccessful implementation. In this work, we seek to clarify conceptual ambiguity in the lean nomenclature. Using an extensive literature review, we document lean principles, practices, and performance measures. Results from a survey of lean experts were used to investigate the relationship between lean principles and practices. Findings from the literature and from the expert survey were synthesized to develop a visual representation of the lean nomenclature. This conceptual map is intended to aid practitioners by increasing clarity of important lean concepts and thus, the probability of successful implementation.     

Investments for New Product Development: A Break-Even Time Analysis

Abstract

Combining the product-process matrix and cost-volume-profit analysis, we identify a pattern of annual cash flows for new product development (NPD) and name it the New Product Investment Curve (NPIC). A sample of 411 firms provides confirming evidence for the NPIC. On average, firms needed 12 years to recover their initial and subsequent investments for NPD. The break-even time, however, exhibits significant differences across industries depending on the speed of innovation and the cost structure of each industry. Engineering managers in an industry with high R&D and high fixed costs need to prepare for longer break-even times than those in other industries. This article provides implications for the value of cooperation between engineering managers and financial managers in NPD.     

Dynamic Systems-Engineering Process: The Application of Concurrent Engineering

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the traditional systems engineering and project management approaches used by the U.S. Government have been ineffective in incorporating complete life cycle impacts and rapidly evolving technologies and operations concepts into large system developments or upgrades. This is particularly true for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Although this article concentrates on large government systems, these shortcomings also apply to the industrial product development process. Solving this problem will strengthen manufacturing competitiveness for any international competitor.

This article addresses the problem and describes a systems engineering methodology, dynamic systems-engineering, which enables users to accommodate changing needs; incorporate emerging technologies; identify, quantify, and manage system risks; manage evolving functional requirements; track the changing environment; and reduce system life cycle costs.     

Examining the State of Risk Management Research in New Product Development Process

New products are major sources of competitive advantage and success for a manufacturing enterprise. However, not all new product development (NPD) initiatives result in a successful product and are therefore a major cause of wasted resources. Furthermore, NPD processes are becoming increasingly complex and risky due to today’s globalized market and customers’ desire for technologically advanced products. While there has been a significant interest in academia about NPD risks, the existing literature is spread across multiple outlets, making it difficult for any practitioner or researcher to synthesize the current work. This article aims to minimize that gap by providing a comprehensive overview of current research activities in the field of risk management in NPD process in one place. The research design is based on mapping and classification of the existing body of knowledge into the domains of NPD risk analysis and management. The article analyzes the contemporary NPD risk analysis methods on three fronts: risk identification, risk assessment, and risk mitigation. Based on the review, the article then identifies and discusses several key areas for future research significant to engineering management practices. Finally, an integrated framework is presented to provide a holistic approach toward risk management in the NPD process, followed by the practical implications for engineering managers and practitioners.     

Adopting an Open Innovation Program with Supply Chain Management in China: A Case Study

This study examines how an open innovation program can be implemented in practice by a foreign company operating in China with due consideration of traditional supply chain management practices. A case study of an open innovation initiative in a renowned global electrical appliance company in China is explored. The study has found that supply chain managers can play an important role in innovation sourcing, provided an open innovation perspective is adopted. In addition, an open innovation framework complemented by an open innovation funnel is presented. The framework provides new practical insights for engineering managers seeking to implement open innovation programs. The study bridges the gap between academic studies and industrial practice regarding the roles of different functional units in an environment of open innovation.     

Failure of components and products by ‘engineered-in’ defects: Case studies

Manufacturing necessitates the transformation of raw materials from their initial form into finished, functional products. This change is achieved by a variety of processes, each of which is designed to perform a specific function in the transformation process. Implicit within the design and operation of such processes is a required understanding of the properties of engineering materials and their specific response to such manufacturing methods. The design or process engineer will endeavour to positively utilise these properties during different stages of the manufacturing process. However, various defects can be ‘in-built’ during the transformation cycle, dependent on factors such as materials, part design, and processing techniques. It must be said that manufacturers do not intentionally set out to make faulty or dangerous products and almost always operate rigorous quality control and ‘burn-in’ procedures at the production line. It is therefore unusual for faulty products to enter service. However, on occasion faulty products do manage to slip through the most rigorous of checks and enter service. While some inherent defects affect only the appearance of parts, others can have major adverse influence on structural integrity and/or service lifetime of the component or product in question. At this point, the forensic (or failure) engineer may well be instructed to determine the cause or causes of such product demise. With potential litigation ever present, the focus of such investigation may well centre on foreseeability of the event, requiring sound findings and a conclusion that clearly describes what happened and why.

To this end, a review of the major routes in the production of engineered components will be presented, highlighting the possibilities of introducing defects at each stage. Typical defects are freely illustrated by appropriate inputs taken from the author’s forensic casebook.     

A Case Study in Design of Expermints: Improving the Manufacture of Viscose Fiber

This case study illustrates how statistical techniques help improve the quality of a manufacturing process. The study shows how well designed experiments advance one's understanding of the underlying process, and it emphasizes the importance of experimentation for attaining knowledge. The investigation involves the production of a certain viscose fiber. The results of a simple fractional factorial experiment with ten factors in 32 runs point to useful strategies for improving fiber strength and fiber elongation. The study also investigates the relationship between the strength and the thickness of the fiber.     

Managing Technical Advancement: A Prerequisite for Competitive Advantage

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a method for acquiring precursory technology knowledge (PTK) and details how managing the technological advancement of PTK is a prerequisite for capturing a competitive technical advantage. Acquired precursory knowledge in technology is simply the requisite knowledge a technologist must have to take rapid, intelligent, and informed approaches to solving technological problems. The research data was gathered at SMU-sponsored engineering management seminars and workshops from more than 200 engineers representing several of the best U.S. high-technology firms. Very specific recommendations are outlined for acquiring PTK and for managing this knowledge to assist corporations in becoming more competitive. The conclusions delineate several reasons for corporations to implement these findings.     

Designing New Housing at the University of Miami: A “Six Sigma” DMADV/DFSS Case Study

The “Six Sigma” management DMADV model is used in this paper to design a new dormitory concept at the University of Miami. It is intended to provide a roadmap for conducting a Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) project.     

企业过程再造：一个案例研究

企业过程再造是为了实现企业经营业绩的突破而对企业经营过程进行的根本性改造。实施过程再造常见的方法就是对企业现有经营过程进行分析和重新设计。但是这个出发点实际上极大地限制了对问题的解决,与过程再造的“根本性”的特点相矛盾。通过分析一个科技书店再造的案例,指出了实施过程再造时,既要从企业现有经营过程出发,又要超越这个范畴,从更广阔的视野寻找解决问题的方案。在案例分析的基础上,对企业过程再造理论进行了一     

How Can Lean Manufacturing Lead the Manufacturing Sector during Health Pandemics Such as COVID 19: A Multi Response Optimization Framework

Lean manufacturing has been used for the last few decades as a process and performance improvement tool. Initially known as Toyota production system (TPS), lean is now used in almost all service and manufacturing sectors to deliver favorable results such as decreased operational cost, increased customer satisfaction, decreased cycle time, and enhanced profits. During the coronavirus disease (COVID 19) pandemic, the manufacturing sector struggled immensely and could not function well even after lockdown was eased in many countries. Many companies found out there are not ready to conform with new regulations made by authorities in many countries. This paper proposes the use of simulation and multi response optimization in addition to other typical lean tools in order to arrive at optimum performance at the end of each project through an established optimization framework. The framework is used in a real case study performed at an aluminum extrusion factory. Lean manufacturing helps organizations to operate with smaller number of resources. It standardizes all processes so that most of the jobs can be done by most of the workers, but this is not enough to create a healthy, sanitized work place. Our framework utilizes the strengths of lean tools and adds pandemic readiness factor to them to ensure improvement in performance and health pandemic readiness. Implementation of the framework in the case company resulted in 50% reduction in labor, $730000 in expected annual cost savings, reduction in inventory levels, improved employee morale and the achievement of pandemic ready status.     

Design and Analysis of Storing Experiments: A Case Study

In order to achieve robust and stable food products of desired quality and characteristics, all stages of the food production process, including storage conditions, should be considered during product development projects. This article describes a multistage production development project on low-fat mayonnaise, where experimental design was used to set up a pilot plant study involving ingredient factors, processing factors, and storage factors and their effect on mayonnaise viscosity. The article discusses three alternative empirical modeling approaches to analyze the data—namely, a simple graphics approach, a robustness approach, and a mixed models approach—considering their multistratum (split-plot) structure and repeated measurements of each subsample. In the case study, all information relevant for business decisions was obtained through the combination of graphical analysis and the robustness approach. This information could also be extracted by a practitioner, while the mixed model analysis clearly requires a graduate statistician. In order to obtain valid and useful information for the practitioner in an efficient way, the authors believe that, usually, the first two approaches would be sufficient. The more complex mixed model strategy might be advisable if a deeper understanding is required or desired.     

Paper Organizers International: A Fictitious Six Sigma Green Belt Case Study. I

“Six Sigma” management is in vogue in many of the world's largest and most successful corporations. However, for all of its popularity, there is much confusion as to the exact structure of a Six Sigma project. The purpose of this article is to present the first part of a detailed, step-by-step case study of a simple Six Sigma Green Belt project. This part of the case study presents the Define and Measure phases of the define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) method for improving a process.     

Improving the Quality of Information Flows in the Backend of a Product Development Process: a Case Study

Considerable research has gone into designing effective product development processes. This, coupled with the increasing need for products that are able to deliver reliable, complex functionality with a high degree of innovation, presents a major challenge to modern day industries in the business of developing products. In order to incorporate relevant field experience in the design and manufacturing of new products, increasingly detailed information needs to be retrieved from the market in a very short amount of time. In one particular consumer electronics industry, business process models describing the information flow in the backend of the product development process indicated massive data loss and also serious data quality degradation. This paper attempts to show how such losses can be mitigated and also proposes a business model that can adequately capture information of a higher quality and in a more structured manner. The end result will be a product development process that provides better feedback on current product performance and is more responsive to future market needs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Case Study: Color Control in the Automotive Industry

Numerous manufacturers are concerned with ensuring the homogeneity in the colors of different parts that compose their products. This quality objective of primary importance is especially challenging when the parts are sourced by different suppliers. The technical difficulties are accentuated when metallic or pearly paints are used since the presence of metallic chips in the paint causes a variation in the color according to the angle of observation. Also, the development of metametric colors increases these difficulties even more, as these colors are sensitive to different illumination sources. The present study relates to the production of colored car bumpers. By using a spectrocolorimeter and color samples, the process is improved to better respect the customer specifications. To achieve this, critical colors and significant parameters affecting colors are identified, design of experiments is used to optimize the process settings, and a correlation study allows further process improvement. The results achieved are impressive: the quality index used has been improved by 67% in only 6 months. This case study therefore illustrates how simple quality tools can be used in a rigorous search for process improvement toward total color mastering with zero defect objective.     

Process Optimization for the Improvement of Brake Noise: A Case Study

This study improves brake noise by optimizing the manufacturing processes of brake discs and pads. Taguchi techniques and designed experiments were used for the optimization. The signal-to-noise ratios of the key output responses, such as runouts of brake discs and compressibility of brake pads, were maximized to optimize the mean and variation. Analysis of the variance was performed to obtain the influence percentage. Fine adjustment of the mean was performed using designed experiments and regression analysis. The improvement was verified by process capability analysis, control charts, and confidence intervals.     

Paper Organizers International: A Fictitious Six Sigma Green Belt Case Study. II

The purpose of this paper is to present the second part of a detailed, step-by-step case study of a simple Six Sigma Green Belt project. In the last edition of Quality Engineering, the first part of a Six Sigma Green Belt case study was presented. That paper showed the Define and Measure phases of the DMAIC method. This paper presents the rest of the case study, or the Analyze, Improve, and Control phases of the DMAIC method.     

Offshore Software Maintenance Outsourcing Process Model Validation: A Case Study Approach

The successful execution and management of Offshore Software Maintenance Outsourcing (OSMO) can be very beneficial for OSMO vendors and the OSMO client. Although a lot of research on software outsourcing is going on, most of the existing literature on offshore outsourcing deals with the outsourcing of software development only. Several frameworks have been developed focusing on guiding software system managers concerning offshore software outsourcing. However, none of these studies delivered comprehensive guidelines for managing the whole process of OSMO. There is a considerable lack of research working on managing OSMO from a vendor’s perspective. Therefore, to find the best practices for managing an OSMO process, it is necessary to further investigate such complex and multifaceted phenomena from the vendor’s perspective. This study validated the preliminary OSMO process model via a case study research approach. The results showed that the OSMO process model is applicable in an industrial setting with few changes. The industrial data collected during the case study enabled this paper to extend the preliminary OSMO process model. The refined version of the OSMO process model has four major phases including (i) Project Assessment, (ii) SLA (iii) Execution, and (iv) Risk.