Lean Production in UK Automotive Industry

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of lean production within the UK automotive industry. It explores the history, principles, and techniques of lean manufacturing, including cellular manufacturing, continuous improvement, just-in-time production, and total productive maintenance. The report also examines the effectiveness of lean production in the UK automotive sector, its benefits, and challenges. The research methodology, data analysis, and findings are discussed in detail, concluding with recommendations for further work and improved implementation of lean practices. The report also includes primary research findings from interviews with employees in the UK automotive industry.

The Lean Production in the automotive industry of UK
Dissertation Report
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Abstract
The ‘Lean Production’ is a practice to reduce the inventory of the shop floor in a manufacturing
firm. It aims to zero down the defects, setup time, breakdowns, handling, lead time and surging.
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. This research is descriptive as it describes
the characteristics of the variable which is being studied i.e. the lean manufacturing. It will help
in studying the topic in depth, and it will also be able to describe the process of lean
manufacturing in the automotive industry of UK. The data has been collected using the
secondary sources only. There is immense literature available on this topic which will be studied
in this case. The literature on the process of lean manufacturing, its principles, application, etc.
has been studied, and hence the project has been done. The data will be analyzed with the help of
comparing and contrasting the information collected from the secondary sources. The
understanding level of the researcher will be used to analyze the data and hence draw the
conclusions for this project. The data has been analyzed with the help of comparing and
contrasting the information collected from the secondary sources. The understanding level of the
researcher will be used to analyze the data and hence draw the conclusions for this project. It has
been found and concluded that ‘Lean Production’ is a practice to reduce the inventory of the
shop floor in a manufacturing firm. 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. The specific tools and
techniques that help in the production and implementation of lean manufacturing are cellular
manufacturing, continuous improvement, just in time, production smoothing, work
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standardization and total productive maintenance. Apart from initial cost of installing, there is no
other drawback that has been identified related to the lean manufacturing. Hence, the system has
more advantages than the disadvantage.
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Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................5
1.1 Aim.........................................................................................................................................7
1.2 Objectives...............................................................................................................................7
1.3 Research Questions................................................................................................................8
1.4 Research scope.......................................................................................................................8
1.5 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................8
1.6 Research rationale..................................................................................................................9
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................11
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................11
2.2 History of lean manufacturing.............................................................................................12
2.3Review of the concept of the lean production system..........................................................16
2.4 The models and techniques of lean in the automotive industry of UK................................20
2.5 Effectiveness of lean production in automotive industry of UK.........................................26
2.6 Process of lean production...................................................................................................30
2.7 The pros and cons of lean production system......................................................................34
Chapter 3: Research methodology.................................................................................................38
3.1 Type of research...................................................................................................................38
3.2 Data collection.....................................................................................................................40
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3.3 Source of data collection......................................................................................................41
3.4 Data Analysis.......................................................................................................................44
3.5 Supervision...........................................................................................................................45
3.6 Support used.........................................................................................................................46
Chapter 4: Analysis of data............................................................................................................47
Chapter 5: Discussion and interpretation of Results.....................................................................53
Chapter 6: Conclusions..................................................................................................................58
6.1 Recommendations and proposals for further work..............................................................59
References......................................................................................................................................61
Appendices:...................................................................................................................................69
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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
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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
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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 UK of the UK, the models, and techniques of lean in the automotive industry of UK
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 identify the condition of UK’s automotive industry before and after implementation of
lean production practices.
 To identify and study the models and techniques of lean in the automotive industry of
UK.
 To identify the process in which lean production works for automobile industry of UK
 To appraise the pros and cons of lean production system on the automotive industry of
UK in the UK
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 To recommend ways in which implementation of lean production practices can be
enhanced
1.3 Research Questions
The research will help in answering the following questions:
• What is the effectiveness of lean production system in increasing competition and improving
production in automotive industry of UK?
1.4 Research scope
This research topic selected by the researcher is vital and it helps the readers and researchers to
understand the importance of lean production practices in automobile industry of UK. This
research study provides effective knowledge associated with background of UK’s automobile
sector and its improvement since implementation of lean production practices. This study further
helps in gaining knowledge about working of lean production towards enhancement of
productivity and reduction in time for production. The selected topic is very wide and it provides
ample future scope to researchers to carry forward the study. Ideas in relation to reasons for lack
of lean production practices in industries are also provided in this research. There are several
challenges that are faced by lean production which the readers will get to know through this
study.
1.5 Problem Statement
The main problem associated with lean production practices deals with lack awareness with
regard to its benefits. Many organizations fail recognize the benefits which are associated with
lean production and opt for their old traditional business practices. Apart from this another
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problem which engulfs lean production practices in automobile industry of UK is presences of
resistance in implementation of lean production practices.
1.6 Research rationale
What is the issue?
On the basis of study, it has been observed that basic issue related to lean production practices in
automobile industry of UK deals with lack of awareness among people about the benefits. This
lack awareness is preventing UK automobile industry to bring innovation and enhance
competition in its market. This is only possible after reduction in time of unit car production
occurs and performance of employees improves.
What is the issue now?
Improper lean production practices are an issue because most people lack proper knowledge in
relation to its application. It is due to this reason they are unable to incur maximum benefits from
its implementation in automobile industry. It also faces several restrictions from employees; this
is one of major reason which is affecting proper implementation of lean production practices
which in turn will increase growth of profit and production of cars.
Why is it an issue?
This is an issue because it is very vital to implement lean production practices in automobile
industry of UK. It is evident from past that automobile industry of UK has been suffering to get
skilled and adequate labour in order to improve production as well as competition. It is only
through lean production practices that cost of production can be reduced and rate of
manufacturing can be enhanced. Hence lack of opportunities for proper implementation is
making it an issue.
What does research sheds light on?
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This research study sheds light on understanding the effectiveness of lean production system in
automotive industry of UK. It also throws light on ways through which implementation of lean
production can be improved.
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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.
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