Problem Description covered in the article
The organizations in the automobile industry face a cut-throat competition on the International level. Every Industry resides in an echo system that has many contenders competing to cut cost, increase productive efficiency and reduce cost of products and services. Thus they are determined in offering attractive prices and rates to their consumers, customers and clients.
Problem’s Background Summary
Being part of the manufacturing industry a Tyre (and auto component) manufacturer is under tremendous pressure to from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to
- Reduce production cost
- Terminate activities that does not add value
- Become more responsive to customer demands and requirements
- Schedule shop floor effectiveness
- control inventory
Discussion of Major Points
This article is based on a tyre manufacturing company where Kanban system is being implemented. The Kanban is a method that lies in the heart of Just-In-Time (JIT). JIT was first conceived in the TOYOTA car manufacturing JIT has found its way in a host of manufacturing facilities and has become a standard in different industry to reduce the cost. The reduction of waste through acquisition of the right material at the right time and right place is the goal of JIT system. The theoretical concept and the practical implementation revolves around Kanban. Kanban is said to the most effective and inexpensive system that allows inventory and production control. All most all manufacturing facilities widely use it. The major points of Kanban implementation is as follows.
Adverse response of the workers and managers to Kanban System: Production system efficiencies are brought by the Kanban system. It brings some changes with it as the decentralization of production that can make many workers and managers feel spectacle about the Kanban system. Many managers may falsely believe that this is a pure production method that has nothing to do with the surrounding environment. In order to implement Kanban system, the managers have to be convinced. There can be more expectations and demands that may emerge from workers in this context; they are required to share their skills, learn additional skills and may face additional responsibility therefore modifications have to be done to their existing wage plans. In many cases, the workers are offered incentives when there are organization gains. The results of a properly implemented Kanban system are most cases outstanding. It is a common practice that a demonstration of Kanban system is presented to gain the confidence of the managers and the workers.
Training and kick-off: The initiation of the demonstration is done by creating a team of experts like Industrial engineers, production officers and operating crews and other professionals. The workers are provided group and individual training without disturbing the daily work routine.
(MUKHOPADHYAY and SHANKER)
The Prominent Kanban Activities are 5S, SMED: The 5S are five simple steps that are as follows.
- Cleaning
- Organization
- Clean to shine
- Standardization
- Sustenance
(Finker)
SMED stands for “Single Minute Exchange Die.” Some of the benefits it brings are in the following
- Reduced setup time
- Higher efficiencies
- Increased capacity
- Reduced (Work in Progress) WIP’s
(Haley, Tulk and Farrell)
The Kanban Board: The Kanban board has three zones represented by three colors. The three zones with color Red, Yellow and Green and represented processes that are critical, moderate and safe respectively. The sizes (A,B,C,D.) are also written on the Kanban board. The Red zone represented the least WIP (Work In Progress), The Yellow zone represented moderate and the Green zone is with the highest WIP.
The implementation of the Kanban system yields very positive results on the overall system by reduced WIP, reduced inventory, reduced loss of time, decentralization of Machine scheduling etc.
(MUKHOPADHYAY and SHANKER)
Conclusion and Synopsis
Impact of Suggestions in the article: Kanban is an idea that lies at the core of JIT, and as it has been applied to the Tyre manufacturing plant, it has given appreciable results by providing inventory reduction, customer satisfaction and dramatically increasing efficiency of the production processes. The metrics have shown that the quality of service has also increased.
The study has provided step by step guidelines and has successfully derived custom rules from abstract ones for the application on everyday processing and timing of components.
There has been a significant reduction of production cost contributes by decrement in Work in Process (WIP). There has been a lessening of lead time also which is reported to be 14 hours.
Opinion, will the suggestions have value in the industry?
Yes, the application of Kanban has a tremendous value in the production processes of almost all the industries. The rising competition in different industries is extremely severe. There has always been a search for skilled professionals and processes that can streamline and reduce production cost and increase profit margins. At the same time reduction in WIP and lead-time of production is highly sought after element to deploy efficiency to a production system.
Article Rating
The Article is “Good.”
References
MUKHOPADHYAY, S. K., and S. SHANKER. Kanban Implementation At A Tyre Manufacturing Plant: A Case Study. 1st ed. Chetpet, Chennai: Taylor and Francis group, 2005. Print.
MUKHOPADHYAY, S. K., and S. SHANKER. Kanban Implementation At A Tyre Manufacturing Plant: A Case Study. 1st ed. Chetpet, Chennai: Taylor and Francis group, 2005. Print.
Haley, Colin, Mike Tulk, and Jon Farrell. 'Principles And Practices Of Lean Manufacturing'. Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED). Web. 3 Jul. 2014.
