Lean Production Techniques for Improved Productivity

The assignment content discusses two concepts: cellular manufacturing and continuous improvement. Cellular manufacturing is an approach that increases product mix with minimal waste by arranging workstations and equipment in a specific order to maintain smooth material flow. This concept provides great advantages for achieving lean goals, such as one-piece flow and flexibility to accommodate changing customer demands. Continuous improvement is another key principle of lean production, which involves gradual, systematic, and orderly approach through the tool 'Kaizen'. The 5S methodology is also discussed as a tool that helps in ensuring continuous improvement by eliminating waste and standardizing processes. The content concludes with a discussion on business process improvement (BPI) and its importance for reducing costs, shortening cycle times, and improving efficiency.

Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction...............................................................................................................................2
1.1 Aim....................................................................................................................................................4
1.2 Objectives..........................................................................................................................................4
1.3 Research Questions...........................................................................................................................4
Chapter 2: Literature Review.......................................................................................................................6
2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................6
2.2 History of lean manufacturing...........................................................................................................7
2.3 Review of the concept of the lean production system....................................................................11
2.4 The models and techniques of lean in the automotive industry......................................................15
2.5 Process of lean production..............................................................................................................21
2.6 The pros and cons of lean production system.................................................................................24
Chapter 3: Research methodology............................................................................................................28
3.1 Type of research..............................................................................................................................28
3.2 Data collection.................................................................................................................................30
3.3 Source of data collection.................................................................................................................31
3.4 Data Analysis...................................................................................................................................33
3.5 Supervision......................................................................................................................................34
3.6 Support used...................................................................................................................................35
Chapter 4: Analysis of data........................................................................................................................36

Chapter 1: Introduction
The ‘Lean Production’ is a practice to reduce the inventory of the shop floor in a manufacturing
firm (Shah, 2003). The origins of this concept lie in the history of the Japanese who carry out
the manufacturing activities on the policy of tight material control, and thus they aim to achieve
such a production which is "stockless." This means that they aim to reduce the inventories to the
minimum possible level and mainly to the "zero" level. It is also known `as seven zeros. It aims
to zero down the defects, setup time, breakdowns, handling, lead time and surging (Melton,
2005). Thus, the companies that target lean production strive to achieve a zero inventory, and
they do this by production what is required and when it is required. With this, the storage costs
get eliminated along with the possibility of the capital being tied up in the inventory.
The approach of the lean manufacturing is used so that the non-value added activities could be
transformed into the value added activities. The technology that is used in the lean
manufacturing has its own impetus, and it focuses on the entire operation. There are all
employees who are involved with the methods of lean manufacturing, and this concept has the
direct influence on the attitudes of the people that are a part of the company. The business
environment of the companies is very competitive these days, and the companies try very hard to
survive in that competition. They have to remain competitive in the environment no matter what.
In this process, if the companies get an opportunity to cut their cost, then it is very beneficial for
them. With the lean manufacturing methods and technology, the businesses get the golden
opportunity to downsize their costs, the lead time of the customers and cycle time too. there are
many companies in the country UK that are already using the lean technology , but still, there
are some areas that are yet to be permeated by the companies (Detty, 2000). Though the

technology is very useful, but still there are some challenges that are faced by the companies like
the lack of scale, the amount of investment made in the technology and infrastructure etc. to
safeguard the interests of all the people and companies in the economy, the government of UK
must maintain the standards of quality and they must help the companies in implementing the
techniques in the systems of the company.
The projects related to lean management are launched in the companies with great enthusiasm.
The process starts with the appointments of the project leader and then he helps the company in
developing a vision for the future to all the team members. The team has to develop the aims
regarding how they have to make their company a lean factory. The source for these technologies
is no single; there are many techniques for this. For example, this concept has roots from the
days of Taylor and Henry ford. The techniques of lean manufacturing were then improved by the
car manufacturers of Japan. The Japanese developed the systems of Kanban material handling,
and then the same concept was reintroduced in the western world with different terms like the
Toyota production system, the Just –in-Time concept and the Kanban manufacturing.
There are many scientists and researchers who have worked on this topic previously like
Deming, Taylor, Skinner, etc. and hence the principles of the lean production are new, and they
can trace back to the work of these people (Pavnaskar, 2003). The models and the application of
the lean production are understood from this literature which the previous researchers have
given. But, the concept became popular when the study on the Japanese auto industry as carried
out. It became clear after that, and then it got extended to the entire spectrum of activities in the
business and to companies, particularly the automobile industry and the electronic companies.
Though there have been some voices that discontent the lean production because they doubt the

effectiveness of the lean manufacturing, but it has been observed that companies are changing
their methods of production and the management practices to become leaner.
This paper discusses the process involved in the lean production system in the automotive
industry of the UK, the models, and techniques of lean in the automotive industry of the UK and
the prospects and constraints of the lean production system in the automotive industry of UK.
This will help in getting an overview of how this concept has traveled from Japan to the UK and
how much it has helped the automotive industry of UK. For knowing this, the philosophy will
focus on collecting the information for this concept ad developing a pragmatic view that will
help in improving the lean manufacturing activity in the UK.
1.1 Aim
The primary aim of this research is to understand the ‘model of lean production system’ along
with its application in the automotive industry of UK.
1.2 Objectives
The main objectives are as follows:
• To undertake an extensive review of the concept of the lean production system.
• To identify and study the models and techniques of lean in the automotive industry of UK.
•To investigate the process involved in the activities and implications of lean production in the
automotive industry of UK.
•To appraise the pros and cons of lean production system on the automotive industry in the UK.

1.3 Research Questions
The research will help in answering the following questions:
•What is the process involved in the lean production system in the automotive industry of UK?
•What are the models and techniques of lean in the automotive industry of UK?
•What are the prospects and constraints of the lean production system in the automotive industry
of UK?

Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
The rise of Japan to its current economic status is due to the concept of “lean production” which
was pioneered by Eiji Toyoda and Ohno (the people from the Toyota Motor company) in Japan
after the end of World War II. The best way in which the innovative production system of the
company can be defined is by comparing it with the craft and the mass production. In the craft
production, the highly skilled people are involved, and there are flexible tools that help in
making exactly what the customers want. But, the products of the craft method are very
expensive, and they incur a high cost (Sullivan, 2002). Thus, in the beginning, the concept of
mass production was used as an alternative to this system. There were many buffers that were
added by the mass producer because the machinery as expensive too and the disruptions could
not be tolerated. The designs that were kept in the production were standardized because the
changes made again and again were becoming expensive for the company (Meyers, 2002).
Thus, the customers got fewer costs but at the expense of the variety of products of the company.

2.2 History of lean manufacturing
America began as a huge continent that offers unrivaled resources and unlimited opportunities
for development. Between 1700 and 1900, following the first industrial revolution, when the
United States adopted the new factory system, revolutionary concepts, but concepts from the
ancient world borrowed the new, where the needs were different (Hines, 2004). The "scientific
method" was one of the cultural forces that penetrate the American industrial system of the time;
the basic principle was the "reductionist" method. Through this procedure, we have analyzed the
systems division separated them into subsystems or components and analyzed, on the contrary,
the system as a whole. This contrasts sharply with the direction of the eastern end systems that
favor a systemic or holistic approach which ultimately leads to the development of the just in
time (JIT) in Japan) systems (Christopher, 2001). The difference between these processes for the
preparation of systems for analysis can be represented by, answers made by the USA and Japan a

manufacturing problem sample time systems. Preparing time is the time to go to modifying a
machine with one product to another (changing matrices, for example). For decades the
preparation time restrictions were considered as industrial engineering literature. To develop a
number of leading mathematical models to determine the lot size "optimal," the cost / time to
offset it is wasted (because of the configurations in terms of accounting expenses). This view
American reductionist perspective in which the parameters were one considered for a system.
The Japanese, however, saw the manufacturing process systems in a holistic sense recognized
that the installation times are not they could be reduced. In addition, from the point of view of
systems, there was shortening the set-up time, the intelligent use of models, accessories, off-
cycle preparations, etc. One minute exchange was known to die (McCullen, 2001), allowed some
Japanese factories to achieve significantly shorter installation time than US factories. In
particular, the Japanese automotive industry has become one of the Japanese most productive in
the world; these plants have become easier to handle and more flexible than your American
colleagues. Before the first industrial revolution, the production was on a small scale, markets
and labor instead of capital intensive (Da Silveira, 2001). The work in both systems - the system
of the house in which the material was "attracted" by the dealers in houses, in which people
made the necessary surgeries and innings it went from one business to another. The most
important innovation the industrial revolution was the steam engine, developed by James Watt in
1765 and it is said that Adam Smith and James Watt did more to change the world around you no
one else in the time of its history, as it was the modern factory Smith tells us why system, with
its work, was desirable, while Watt showed us how. Vertical integration is the first step in a
typical American style manufacturing (Dangayach, 2001). The second and most important step
was the manufacture of interchangeable parts in the production of the complex. Before the

innovation of interchangeable parts, a complex manufacturing machine was entirely from a
craftsman built and designed every part. American style emphasizes mass production by vertical
integration and interchangeable parts. He began two important trends that have influenced the
nature of manufacturing management (Bhamu, 2014). First, the concept of interchangeable parts
greatly reduces the need for specialized knowledge through the workers. Second, integrate
specialized in machines instead of the American system has a higher premium on the general
intelligence than the given vocational training.
In the early twentieth century, integration, both vertical and horizontal, and he made America the
land of big companies, large series production working together in the process industry, such as
steel, aluminum, oil, chemicals, etc. Mass production of mechanical products such as sewing

machines, typewriters and industrial machines, based on new methods interchangeable metal
parts by the assembly it was booming (Jasti, 2015).
The figure given below shows the Schematic representation of vertical and horizontal integration
in the automobile industry
The nickname "industries industry" by Peter Drucker is almost 60 years old. Auto production
steps as one of the largest manufacturing activity that produces a huge number of passenger
vehicles. Henry Ford stuck to the production of high-speed mechanical products, and he made
this innovation famous by moving the assembly line (Albliwi, 2014). After the end of World
War I, Henry Ford and Alfred Sloan moved the world manufacture from the centuries of the craft
production that was led by the firms in Europe into the age of mass production. The importance
of the throughput velocity was recognized by the company Ford and for speeding up the
production; the practice of the skilled workers was abandoned. The skilled workers did not
assemble the sub-assemblies, and the workers got gathered around the static chassis for

completing the assembly line (Gupta, 2013). The product was brought to the worker in a non-
stop and continuous manner.
2.3 Review of the concept of the lean production system
2.3.1 The philosophy of lean manufacturing
The main philosophy followed by the lean manufacturing is that the producers are able to
provide the products which are superior in quality and available at fewer prices so that a more
prosperous society can be made (Bhasin, 2006). Not only the automotive industry, but all the
industries must work on this principle. According to (Shah, 2003), lean manufacturing has
endeavored to rationalize production as it:
 Eliminates the waste in the production process completely.
 The quality is built in the process of lean manufacturing.
 The improvements in the productivity happen when the costs are reduced.
 A unique approach gets developed with lean manufacturing towards the corporate
management.
 The integrated techniques have developed that help in contributing to the corporate
operations.
This is the concept of lean manufacturing.
2.3.2 The goals of lean manufacturing
(Fullerton, 2013) in his paper has described few of the goals of lean manufacturing which
are as follows:

a. The first goal is to reduce the cost of the company by eliminating the waste. In this
process, the companies put a constant effort for reducing the costs so that they are able to
maintain the profits in the process of manufacturing. The prime way to do this is by
producing the products that are determined by the sales in a timely fashion so that the
excessive manufacturing is restrained and all the waste is eliminated in the methods of
manufacturing. When the waste is eliminated thoroughly, the employee’s self-respect
increases and the costs are reduced in a major fashion as the unneeded loss are prevented
(Fullerton, 2014).
b. The second goal is to create such conditions that guarantee the quality of the product. The
first commandment to any company (be it manufacturing or automotive) is to produce the
high-quality product. The definition of the “high quality” is related to the fact that the
components of the product do not fail and the parts are hassle-free.
There are many ways in which the concept enables the company to build quality into the
process. The quality of the product is checked at every stage of the process, and then the
product is inspected directly into the process so that the flow of the goods is not stopped
in the process and the defects are also extracted at the various points in the
manufacturing.
According to (Piercy, 2015), there are various considerations within this goal, that the
company takes care of:
 The quality comes first ad producing high-quality products is paramount for the
companies.
 The quality is ensured for all the products. This is done by undertaking a random
inspection of the sample goods produced and their quality is judged. The

inspector has the responsibility to discover the defective products before they are
delivered to the final customer.
 Another consideration is that the quality is made to be built into every process so
that the flow of the defective parts downstream is prevented and the further
production process is not affected adversely.
 The work is inspected in which the defects are pointed out along with the analysis
of the cause of those defects. This helps in preventing the recurrence of the errors.
c. Another goal is to take measures so that the employees are able to enhance the value of
the products and this is done by standardization of the work. With the standardization, the
most effective sequential production happens without the creation of any waste as the
work is concentrated around the movement of the operators.
2.3.3 The key aspects of lean production
The leader in the lean production is Toyota, and in the pioneering works of Toyota, different
kinds of wastes were identified so that they can be applied to the operations of the business
(Goetsch, 2014). So, (Kalpakjian, 2014) has talked about the key aspects of lean production
which are important to study:
a. Time-based management- This approach recognizes the importance of time, and it seeks
to reduce the time which is wasted in the process of production. For this, the companies
require having the flexible production facilities that can help it to make the changes in an
easy manner. Along with this, the staff must be multi-skilled, and mutual trust must be
created between the workers and the managers.

b. Simultaneous engineering- It is the approach of project management that helps the
companies in developing and launch the new products in a quick way. The planning of
the areas is done together rather than separately.
c. Just in time production (JIT) - This is a "pull" system of production where the actual
orders help in determining that when the product has to be manufactured. There are
demand pull enablers that help the companies in producing what is required in the
appropriate quantity and at the right time.
d. Cell production- In this, there is flow production line that is split into many self-
contained units. Each of the “cells” is responsible for the significant part of the finished
product and in this, the individual’s do not carry out the specific tasks. The members of a
team are trained to perform many different roles, and they become the expert in doing
many things.
e. Kaizen (Continuous improvement)- In this approach, the small incremental changes are
introduced continuously so that the quality and the efficiency keeps on improving here
the employees re-involved as they are considered to be the right people who can provide
the room for improvement. The changes which are made under Kaizen are small rather
than radical, and they usually arise from research and development.
f. Quality improvement and management- Here, the company is pushed to establish the
culture of quality so that the potential areas cab be prioritized for improvement. Here, the
product goes through various stages of production and at every stage, the quality test
happens so that the product reaches the end user in an effective way. This approach helps
in committing to an ongoing evaluation of the production of the products.

2.4 The models and techniques of lean in the automotive industry
(Chiarini, 2014) has found that the companies need to identify the major source of waste so that
the appropriate tool can be used to eliminate that waste. This helps in guiding the company
regarding the corrective actions that they can take to eliminate the waste. The overviews of the
techniques have been studied in the above-given section, but these will be studied in detail as
follows:
2.4.1 Cellular manufacturing
This is the concept in which the mix of products is increased with the least possible
waste. In the cell, the workstations and the equipment are present that are arranged in
such order that the smooth flow of the materials and components is maintained through
the process (Chiarini, 2014). The operators are assigned to the cells and that are well
qualified and trained to work there.
(Kant, 2014) says that when the people and equipment are arranged into the cells, it
provides the great advantage for the achievement of the lean goals. For example, this
ensures one-piece flow concept in which each of the product is moved through the
process at one time, and there is no sudden interruption in it. Then, the product mix can
be extended in cellular manufacturing, as pointed by (Dixit, 2013). The demand of the
consumers varies, and they demand the variety of the products at the short time. So, the
process must be flexible enough so that the needs of the customers can be accommodated
easily. Thus, (Irani, 2016) points that this flexibility can be achieved when the similar
products are grouped into families that can be processed on the same equipment, in the
similar sequence.

2.4.2 Continuous Improvement
One of the fundamental principles of lean production is continuous improvement, and the
tool which is used to do this is "Kaizen" (García-Alcaraz, 2017). This approach is
gradual, systematic and orderly and it ensures continuous improvement. (Brunner, 2014)
has mentioned that there are many ways in which the companies makes the
improvements like they can reduce the inventory; they can reduce the number of
defective parts etc.
5S is the tool that helps in ensuring continuous improvement. It is comprised of 5 of the
Japanese terms namely, Seiri which means sorting, Seiton which means straighten, Seiso
which means sweep and clean, Seiketsu which means systemize and Shitsuke which
means standardize (Dennis, 2016). This concept looks for the waste and then tries to
eliminate it.
a. In Seiri, the items that are not used currently are moved continuously away from the
items that are used. (Edward, 2015) mentions that this makes the flow of the material
smooth and the movement of the workers and work is also smooth.
b. In Seiton, the right items are put in the right area and (Kanamori, 2015) writes that if
the items do not belong to a particular area, then they must be removed. For example,
if a tool is not used in a particular process, then it must be removed from the vicinity
of that process. (Gupta, 2014) further mentions that when this happens, the tools, jigs,
the noticeable resources, and fixtures become easy to use.
c. In Seiso, the cleaning and the sweeping of the workplace are done in a systematic
way so that when the next shift starts, the workplace is clean and ready to use.

Basically, it ensures the maintainenice of the workplace on a regular basis (Dennis,
2016).
d. In Seiketsu, the high standard of the housekeeping and workplace arrangement is
required to be maintained and (Assad, 2015) mentions that regular audits must be able
so that people become responsible for the maintainence of the high quality of
housekeeping and cleaning. Scores are assigned to the areas of responsibilities.
e. In Shitsuke, the accountability of the management is established so that they train
people for following the rules of the company (Dennis, 2016). This can be done when
the management explains to the people that what they are expected to do and they are
rewarded if they follow the rules (Assad, 2015).
The tool of 5S has been used by (Al-Refaie, 2014) and they have reported showing good
results. The companies can reveal their potential strengths and capabilities that were
being hidden by them.
Business Process Improvement (BPI) is a space where you can help sections, help
businesses reduce costs, shorten cycle times and improve the efficiency of the process.
Automation NV can be used to your routine, eliminate waste, reduce cycle time, improve
quality and capacity to ensure a systematic approach to continuous improvement.
In the blog post, I discussed two methods could be used for business analysts to help
streamline and business partners to improve business processes. Improving the business
processes of all major projects should manually IT. Business process automation without
ever obtaining the solution temperature is performed. The conventional way of cattle in

Texas, may in fact never the most effective line. Both my approach in this blog, 5S and
Kaizen, the Japanese chat.
5S is a method of production; the name comes from the initials of five Japanese words:
roads, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke. Method "was originally scheduled to
organize a work space for efficiency. Before examining each of the" S "and defines the
event. Carpenter - organized. Leaving in place the necessary resources or stay in a remote
area of storage items used less frequently, throw items, Emily.
Seiton - the destruction of the improvement is more realistic conditions. Have a place for
everything and everything in ICT should be there too. Everything put the game should
not be defined or clearly known. Articles will in a way that promotes efficient workflow
with the most commonly used tool is the easiest available ready. Bend over and over
workers' rights without having access materials.
Seiso - clear. Clear the area and all the equipment, and clean, keep it tidy and organized.
After cleaning the first in the implementation of 5S, need daily cleaning to keep
improving. Environment " brilliant "results in a significant increase in productivity.
Seiketsu - standard. Working method of the Convention should be confident. Pdf should
be the identique specific task. All staff should work each season thanks to Sami Sami
used locally for each station. Everyone should "immediately and responsibly sure.
Shitsuke - is stable. Since the S 4 above have been implemented, they will become the
new approach. Keep the focus on this new route will allow a gradual reduction in the old
days. The effect of improving the analysis results (Kaizen) waste less time and deliver
better quality, faster.