1,721,149 research outputs found
The critical role of sensei in developing lean leaders
Full text linkThe aim of this paper is to illustrate how lean training initiatives developed through the intervention and support of a sensei can contribute to the development of lean leadership traits in team managers. The study is carried out on a single case study conducted in an Italian SME that recently implemented lean via 10 team managers. The assessment of the leadership was carried out at different stages of the project development, through direct observation and interviews conducted by three scholars and concerned the evaluation of a set leadership skills identified in literature. The results showed that mentoring actions of the sensei increase leadership abilities of people, stimulating them to teach others only when they are promoted with the top management sponsorship and endorsement. On the other hand, the study suggests that people show different propensity to improve their leadership skills, depending on their technical background and personal experiences
Investigating ERP Support for Lean Production
Full text linkThis thesis presents work from a three-year PhD project within the research program SFI Norman: Centre for Research-based Innovation – Norwegian Manufacturing Future. SFI Norman is an eight year research program with the vision to develop new and multi-disciplinary research on next-generation manufacturing, and create theories, methods, models, and management tools that enable Norwegian manufacturers to thrive in global competition. SFI Norman has two main research partners – NTNU and SINTEF – and also consists of a number of industrial partners, including Kongsberg Automotive, Benteler Aluminium, and Pipelife Norway.
This research project began in 2009 as part of the SFI Norman research area “Demand Driven Value Chains” (DRIVE). After the mid-term evaluation of Norman, the research areas were reclassified, and in 2011 this project became part of the new research area “Operations Management in Norwegian Manufacturing”. A major research topic in this research area is the relationship between lean production and information technology (IT). For example, though the lean principles are nowadays well understood, the relationship between IT and lean production remains a controversial and far less explored topic. Some would even suggest that the two approaches are contradictory in nature, stating that whilst lean is often characterized by decentralized coordination and control, IT is typically best suited to support centralized production planning. This thesis aims to provide illustrative frameworks in order to explore the topic in more detail.
Lean production and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have for many years been recognised in the scientific literature and industrial trade journals as enablers of world-class manufacturing operations. Though many companies have undertaken the implementation of either or both of these approaches in order to achieve greater competitive advantage; in the traditional sense, IT such as ERP has often been viewed as a contributor to waste within lean production, for example through the generation of excessive data and unnecessary transactions, and by encouraging overproduction and excessive safety stocks, resulting in high inventory levels. However, as the business world changes and competition from low-cost countries increases, new models must be developed which deliver competitive advantage by combining modern-day technological advances with the lean paradigm.
This PhD project set out to investigate the “contradictory” nature of ERP systems and lean production. Having first carried out an extensive literature review, it was identified that contrary to the traditional view, there appeared to be a potential synergy to be realised in combining both approaches. Therefore, the support functionality of ERP systems for lean production was subsequently evaluated by closely examining the capabilities of a contemporary ERP system in the context of lean production principles. This work was carried out by applying an action research methodology over a twelve month period at a Norwegian SME located in Trondheim, Norway. The company was involved in a concurrent implementation process – applying both a new ERP system and lean production practices. This resulted in two outcomes for the project – a framework for ERP support for lean production; and a model for an ERP-based lean implementation process.
One of the fundamental reasons for the contradictory view of lean and ERP has been the discussion of pull vs. push. Whilst it is common knowledge that lean manufacturing intends to function as a pull system, environments which use ERP- and its associated material requirements planning (MRP) logic have typically been classed as push systems. Therefore, in order to strengthen the validity of this research and to mitigate any bias from the action research, the real-time, participatory research was supplemented by retrospective case study research, and four case studies were carried out in the Netherlands in order to investigate specific ERP support for pull production. This resulted in the development of a capability maturity model (CMM) for ERP support for pull production, which not only identifies the support mechanisms of an ERP system for pull production, but categories them into various levels of maturity.
The outcomes of this project have implications to both theory and practice. The results of the investigation indicate a trend towards the combination of lean and ERP in manufacturing organisations. This has led to a number of contributions to theory and to practice. For example, the framework for ERP support for lean production can be used by researchers and practitioners in applying ERP systems and lean production together in order to increase the competitiveness of manufacturing companies. Secondly, the capability maturity model for ERP support for pull production makes a contribution to knowledge in that it identifies the functionality of ERP systems that can be applied to support pull production, and to practice, allowing manufacturers to benchmark the level of integration between its ERP- and pull systems, providing incentives to continuously improve. These contributions suggest a movement away from the traditional viewpoint of the contradictory nature of lean and ERP, and offer a solution to the recurring debate in the scientific literature as to whether or not lean and ERP are complementary technologies. Thirdly, the framework for an ERP-based lean implementation process also contributes to the field of knowledge within lean and ERP, and can be used by practitioners for the concurrent and synergetic application of lean and ERP.PhD i produksjons- og kvalitetsteknikkPhD in Production and Quality Engineerin
Intelligent Poka-Yokes: Error-Proofing and Continuous Improvement in the Digital Lean Manufacturing World
No full textPoka-Yoke devices have always been regarded by lean manufacturing companies as essential quality control and assurance tools to support efficient and effective manufacturing processes and procedures. Thanks to their ease of use and low cost, these devices help maintain high-quality standards and also encourage organisations to undertake Kaizen continuous improvement activities. With the advent of new digital and analytical technologies, these devices have undergone significant transformations. Based on a study of the scientific literature and the results of brainstorming sessions conducted with factory managers and lean experts, this paper analyzes how and to what extent digitalization changes the definitions, functions, approaches, and perspectives of traditional Poka-Yokes. Furthermore, it examines how the change in data collection, sharing, analysis, processing, and feedback (interpretation) approaches brought by the digitalization and smartification of Poka-Yoke devices affects the operational performance of modern Digital Lean Cyber-Physical Production Systems
A New Set of Principles for Pursuing the Lean Ideal in Engineer-to-Order Manufacturers
Full text linkFor many years, lean production has been successfully applied in large companies producing high volumes of standardized products. However, companies which operate in dissimilar environments have yet to expose a suitable model for pursuing the lean ideal, adapted and fine-tuned to the diverse characteristics demonstrated by producers of, for example, highly customized, engineer-to-order products. The aim of this paper is to examine the evolution of lean principles with the primary goal of converging towards a new set of principles that are more clearly aligned for the deployment of lean in engineer-to-order manufacturers. We take insight in lean production, lean project management, and lean product development in order to develop a set of principles which we suggest is more clearly suited for the deployment of lean thinking in engineer-to- order manufacturers. Firstly, we use literature review in order to examine the most prevalent lean principles in the extant literature, and we apply qualitative content analysis in order to propose a new set of principles. We then adopt a multiple-case study approach in order to validate the derivation of the new principles in the context of two, distinct engineer-to-order environments. Our findings highlight a transition from the traditional lean production model to a more contemporary, innovative approach for pursuing the lean ideal in the context of ETO manufacturers
Leading lean transformations:towards a 3D view of lean leadership
Full text linkThis chapter offers a comprehensive overview and categorisation of the various theories underlying effectively leading lean transformations across organisational levels. In particular, the author distinguishes description, dependence, and development focused lean leadership theories, which are in fact strongly grounded in the general organisational behaviour literature. Driven by key developments in the field – including organisational agility, green transformation, digital transformation, and remote working – a research agenda is drafted that is meant to give rise to the next decade of research regarding the effective leadership of major organisational transformations. Future studies are invited to further develop a true 3D view of lean leadership. A deeper understanding of the three theoretical foci is needed, which calls for more creative, qualitative field research methods to answer societally relevant questions
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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