The Major Goals of Lean Manufacturing Process

Different kinds of business industries can be seen.  One of the major business industries are the manufacturing industry as the production or manufacture of every kind of products are done in this industry. In this regard, it needs to be mentioned that the main motive or objective of the manufacturing managers or the production managers is to increase the productivity of the companies while reducing the overall costs of the production or manifesting process (Carlsson 2012). An important tool to achieve this is the implementation of the strategy of Lean Manufacturing process or the Lean Principles. Lean manufacturing refers to the process of increasing the productivity of the manufacturing organizations while minimizing wastes or other constraints in the process of production. This can be considered as an important principle of lean manufacturing process. In additional, other benefits are there in the lean manufacturing process. The lean manufacturing process assists the manufacturing organizations in improving the quality of products while minimizing the manufacturing costs (Kumar 2013). In addition, the lean manufacturing process helps the manufacturing managers to manage the employees in the process of manufacturing. With the assistance of lean manufacturing process, the organizational managers take effective decisions regarding the organization of goods and services in the plant and this part plays an important role in the selection of process and design of production or manufacturing. Thus, the lean manufacturing process helps the organization in improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the manufacturing organizations (Das, Venkatadri and Pandey 2014). The main objective of this report is to analyze and evaluate the extent to which the lean manufacturing process can be implemented in the manufacturing organizations. For this reason, the major luxury car manufacturer of United Kingdom, Jaguar is taken into consideration.

Lean manufacturing is the most basic form of eliminating the wastes from the manufacturing process so that the process of manufacturing can be more effective and efficient. As per the theory of lean manufacturing, the wastes from the manufacturing process are considered as the business losses (Rahani and Al-Ashraf 2012). Thus, it is crucial to reduce the wastes from the manufacturing process. This is the crucial reason of the implementation of lean manufacturing strategy in the organizations. In addition, there are some major objectives of the lean manufacturing process. Some of them are discussed below:

• The lean manufacturing process helps to decrease the defects in the manufacturing process and physical wastage. In addition, it prevents the use of extra raw materials in the manufacturing process (Wahab, Mukhtar and Sulaiman 2013).
• The lean manufacturing process assists in the reduction of production cycle by reducing the waiting time between the production stages.
• The lean manufacturing process helps in reducing the levels of inventory in all stages of production.
• The lean manufacturing process leads to the maximization of the productivity of the labors of the manufacturing units.
• The lean manufacturing process contributes to the increase in the manufacturing units of the business organizations (Bhamu and Singh Sangwan 2014).
• The lean manufacturing process provides flexibility in the manufacturing process with minimum changeover in costs as well as in time.

From the above discussion, it can be understood that these above are the main goals of the lean manufacturing process in the production organizations. In case of the lean manufacturing process, there are five major principles.

The Five Key Principles of Lean Manufacturing

Value: Value is the need of the customers for a particular product. In this aspect, the manufacturing organizations need to consider some specific aspects like the timeline of the manufacturing delivery, the selection of the price point, major requirement of the manufacturing process and others (Radnor, Holweg and Waring 2012).

Value Stream: This is a major principle in the lean manufacturing process and this is the second stage after the value creation. This stage is about the mapping of the value stream of the production process. This process involves the mapping of all the stages of manufacturing starting from the purchase of raw materials to delivering the product to the end customers. The process of value stream is an eye opening experience that recognizes all the actions for the successful manufacture of the products. The process of value engineering can be considered as the process of re-engineering (Yang et al. 2015).

Creation of Flow: This step in the lean manufacturing process makes it sure that all the steps in the production process run smoothly. This principle takes it care that there is not any interruption in the manufacturing process. In this step, the manufacturing processes are broken down in several sub processes for the ease of manufacturing (Vinodh  and Joy 2012).

Establish Pull: With the assistance of smooth flow in the manufacturing system, the time to market and deliver the products to the customers can be improved. With the assistance of this principle, the manufactured products of the organizations can be delivered to the end customers on a just in time basis. This process leads to the saving of money and time for the organizations (Mostafa, Dumrak and Soltan 2013).

Perfection: This stage is the most important part of lean manufacturing process. It is crucial to include the concept of perfection in the manufacturing process in order to fulfill the demands of the customers. The implementation of perfection leads to the faultless manufacturing process of the business organization. These are the five most important principles of lean manufacturing process and these are the important principles of lean manufacturing process (Stentoft Arlbjørn and Vagn Freytag 2013).

Apart from these five principles, there are some major techniques of using lean manufacturing process in the manufacturing organizations. These techniques are discussed below:

Kaizen Rapid Improvement Process: As per this technique, small and rapid changes are applied in the manufacturing process on a regular basis in order to get significant results in the long term. This process involves employees from different functions to work together to address the manufacturing issues (Knechtges and Decker 2014).

Techniques for Implementing Lean Manufacturing

5S: With the assistance of the strategy of 5S, the manufacturing organizations reduce the organizational waste to increase the productivity of the organization. 5S refers to sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain. The proper implementation of the 5S strategy assists the manufacturing organizations in reducing the square footage of space needed (Myerson 2012).

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM): With the assistance of this technique, the manufacturing managers engage the employees from all levels in order to maximize the productivity of the business organizations. This technique tunes up the existing business process after the reduction of accidents and mistakes in the manufacturing processes (Heizer and Barry 2013).

Cellular Manufacturing/One-Piece Flow Systems: In this particular technique, the manufacturing equipments and the production workstations are aligned in such a manner so that the smooth flow of materials and components are maintained in the manufacturing process (Rahani and Al-Ashraf 2012).

Just-in-time Production Systems/Kanban: There is a close relation between the just in time technique and cellular manufacturing technique as both the techniques help to fulfill the demands of the customers. This particular technique helps to retain the smooth flow of manufacturing process. In this aspect, the process of physical inventory system is applied (Agus and Shukri Hajinoor 2012).

Six-Sigma: The technique of six-sigma includes well structured, data-driven systematically methods in order to reduce the variation in the manufacturing processes. This technique provides proper guidance to the organizational continual improvement activities. Apart from this, the technique of six-sigma is used to increase productivity and quality in the manufacturing process (Pyzdek and Keller 2014).

3P of Pre-Production Planning: With the assistance of this technique, Greenfield product and redesign is used for the management of wastes. This is considered as the most powerful and transformative manufacturing equipments in order to increase the organizational productivity (Mehta, Mehta and Mehta 2012).

Lean Enterprise Supplier Networks: With the help of this technique, the manufacturing managers are able to adopt an aggressive strategy of manufacturing. The main objective of this technique is to design the products with right design and quality to the right customers (Mehta, Mehta and Mehta 2012).

From the above discussion, it can be said that lean manufacturing process uses the smallest amount of resources in the manufacturing process. On a more precise note, it can be said that the lean manufacturing process improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the business organizations by reducing the wastes and improving the aspect of customer service. Many companies all over the world have adopted the lean manufacturing process for their manufacturing processes. There is not any exception of this fact in case of the manufacturing companies of United Kingdom. One of the major industries of United Kingdom is the automobile industry. It has been seen that many automotive companies in United Kingdom have adopted the strategy of lean manufacturing process. One of such automobile companies is Jaguar. Jaguar is a British Multinational luxury car manufacturer. People all over the world consider that Jaguar is the perfect example of the implementation of lean manufacturing process. The manufacturing managers of Jaguar have been successful to implement lean manufacturing process in their manufacturing operations. Jaguar had to face immense international competition due to the presence of the other car companies. For this reason, Jaguar needed to reduce both the cost and wastage of the company. In this kind of situation, the company decided to adopt the strategy of lean manufacturing process in their manufacturing processes.

Jaguar: An Example of Successful Implementation of Lean Manufacturing

It can be seen that Jaguar has established the production of new S-Type plant and the company has adopted the lean manufacturing strategy for the production of S-Type. The company has implemented the lean manufacturing process in the manufacturing plant of Castle Bromwich. The main motive of Jaguar in implementing of lean manufacturing process is to guarantee quality and ensure efficiency in the production process. Thus, the lean manufacturing process of Jaguar involves the standardization of various manufacturing processes in the reduction of the amount of waste. The crucial factors of the lean manufacturing process of Jaguar are to recognize the various manufacturing processes of Jaguar and to add value in them. Jaguar uses to cut down those manufacturing operations that cannot be reduced. As per the lean manufacturing process of Jaguar, there are four aspects of it. They are the change process, just in time, visual management and ownership of work. All these aspects are discussed below:

The Change Process: For the implementation of the strategy of lean manufacturing process in the manufacturing operations of Jaguar, the employees of the company are required to work with the outside consultant. For this purpose, the employees of the company worked with RWD Technology UK Ltd in order to create a climate of change in the organization. Jaguar already had culture of quality within the organization (Bhasin 2012). However, it was needed to develop new ways in order to bring improvement in the quality of the products of the company. It was needed to change the working relationship pattern of the company. Previously, the leaders used to take the responsibility of large number of employees. However, after the implementation of lean manufacturing process, the leaders have started to work with the small group of employees. The previous approach used the strategy of ‘tell and do’ where the instructions were delivered to downward. However, after the adoption of lean manufacturing process, the group members use to take their own job responsibilities and they use to share their responsibilities with the organizational leaders. It has been seen that the workers of Jaguar have been vastly enthusiastic to adopt the changes as it provides them the opportunity to get involved with the operations of the businesses. Jaguar’s tactics of dividing the workforce in the small groups is called the process of Cellular Working. In this process, the employees are introduced with different working approaches that make them more efficient. The aim of this strategy is to make the employees more comfortable in the workplace.

Just in Time: Another crucial strategy of lean manufacturing process is just in time. With the help of this strategy, there has been a continuous flow of production in the Jaguar plant. Previously Jaguar used the strategy of batch costing at the time of manufacturing the car parts. This process required large areas and it resulted in cramping working environment. After the implementation process of lean manufacturing, the manufacturing managers of Jaguar use to cut down the stocks of components among the employees to the required numbers. This is done in order to maintain the smooth flow of production in the manufacturing plant of Jaguar. In case the manufacturing team needs fresh stock, they use to press a button (Rehg and Kraebber 2012). The response of the central stores ensures the arrival of the new stocks to the manufacturing units at the correct time. This process is called the process of just in time. This is an effective strategy to cut out the amount of wastes from the organization. This process required fewer floors in the company. With the help of this strategy, the manufacturing units are able to effectively work in the uncluttered work areas. In addition, the implementation of this technique reduces the amount of damaged components due to the absence of batches. It has been seen that with the help of this strategy, Jaguar becomes able to match the demand of the cars. With the help of this strategy, the organizational managers are able to calculate the number of cars that needs to be come off the line of production in a particular period (McCarthy and Rich 2015).

Visible Management: One of the major steps of Jaguar regarding lean manufacturing process is the implementation of visible management in the Castle Bromwich plant. The main objective behind the implementation of this strategy is to make all the employees know about the performance of the individual plants so that they can contribute in meeting the requirements of the company. The use of Control Board is a crucial initiative of this strategy as the employees are able to check their performance with the help of Control Board. Jaguar has adopted the Japanese strategy named ‘Gemba’ and the main motives of this strategy are to see, to develop new approaches for production management and to supervise. It has been seen that the manufacturing managers of Jaguar have become more enthusiastic to their job responsibilities with the help of this strategy. The manufacturing managers of Jaguar are using the strategy of Control Board as a visual tool to monitor the different kind problems in the production process (Chiarini 2012). In the production process of Jaguar, the manufacturing employees make all the cars in a sequential pace. In case a workers is having problems, he/she immediately pull a cord to alert the team supervisor and the supervisor will be there to provide assistance to him/her. Another crucial aspect of visual management of Jaguar is the use of open Information Centers in the production factory. These Information Centers work on a quick three minutes basis. With the help of these Information Centers, the employees are able to know about the mission, vision and objectives of Jaguar. The Information Centers communicate with the employees of Jaguar by using simple graphical pictures, chars, simple statistics and others.

Ownership of Work: Under the new lean manufacturing strategy of Jaguar, the employees are encouraged to take the responsibilities of their own works. All the works are standardized in such a way that the employees have the idea that they are accountable for their own work. In this strategy, the employees need to write the details of their own works in the work sheets. Jaguar has been using this strategy in order to discuss with the employees the ways by which the time spent and non-value added activities could be reduced (Chiarini 2012). The lean manufacturing process requires thinking from all level of employees. Jaguar has been generating seven key opportunities in order to reduce the wastes from their manufacturing operations. They are to remove over production, to cut out the waiting time for the arrival of the parts, to reduce conveyance, to eliminate over processions, to cut the extra inventories, to cut down wasteful manufacturing movements and to eliminate the need for repair. With the help of these seven strategies, Jaguar has been able to reduce the amount of wastes from the manufacturing process of their plants (R. Jadhav, Mantha and B. Rane 2014).

Conclusion

The above study is about the analysis and evaluation of the various aspects of lean manufacturing process in the manufacturing industry. For this reason, Jaguar is taken into consideration. As per the above discussion, five major principles are there in the lean manufacturing process; they are identification of value, mapping of value stream, creation of flow, establishment of pull and inclusion of perfection. Apart from these principles, there are some major techniques of implementing lean manufacturing process in the manufacturing organizations; they are Kaizen rapid improvement process, 5S strategy, Total production maintenance, Cellular manufacturing process, Just in time strategy, Six sigma, 3P of pre-production planning and lean enterprise suppliers network. After that, the lean manufacturing process of Jaguar is analyzed and evaluated in order to know the extent by which lean manufacturing process can be used in the manufacturing process. According to the above study, it can be seen that Jaguar has implemented the strategy of lean manufacturing process in their manufacturing plant of Castle Bromwich. Jaguar has been using four major strategies in the lean manufacturing process. They are the change process, just in time strategy, visible management and Ownership of work. With the help of the strategy of change process, Jaguar has made a climate of change in the organization where the employees are enthusiastic to adopt the lean manufacturing process. The just in time strategy allows the uninterrupted flow of resources in the manufacturing process. With the help of the strategy of visible management, the employees are able to measure the performance of their own works. Lastly, ownership of work strategy has made the employees of Jaguar more responsible as well as accountable towards their job responsibilities. Thus, from the above analysis, it can be concluded the principles of lean manufacturing process can be applied in all of the manufacturing processes of Jaguar starting from resource management to product delivery to end customers. 

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