National Institute of Technology Calicut

Department of Mechanical Engineering

WORLD CLASS MANUFACTURING What is World Class Manufacturing? Until the 1970s, there was a widely accepted view of best practice in manufacturing. Firms which had grown on the back of post-war reconstruction, sold into stable and relatively undemanding markets. Supply-shortages meant that as long as firms could provide the volume at a reasonable price and quality, they would continue to thrive. Given these stable and favourable market conditions, the "model" which firms generally strived to achieve was based on the following main characteristics: Logistics were organised around the principle of mass production. Low cost was to be achieved through high volume. Machinery was thus designed to produce specialised products, and machine changeovers were to be minimised. This led firms to hold large inventories of incoming materials, work-in-progress and finished products, just-in-case anything might go wrong and interrupt the flow of production. Quality procedures were designed so as not to get in the way of production-flow. So quality inspection was placed at the end of the production line, and faulty products were reworked before delivery. Work organisation was designed to support this system. Highly-skilled workers concentrated on management, design, quality, marketing and supervision, and unskilled workers followed the instructions they were given, often being paid on a piece-work basis in order to maximise production. These principles of mass production were appropriate as long as markets were stable and undemanding. But once final markets became more heterogeneous and changeable, new principles of production had to be established. In Europe, North America and Japan, these market conditions began to change in the 1970s - customers wanted increasing variety and quality, and were unwilling to trade-off quality against price. This led producers in these countries to adopt new organising principles for their production processes. Producers in India and other developing countries were until recently insulated from more demanding markets and continued with outdated forms of manufacturing

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National Institute of Technology Calicut

Department of Mechanical Engineering

organisation. But now, with trade liberalisation, this head-in-the-sand attitude is no longer viable. The new principles of production – World-Class Manufacturing - are in sharp contrast to the inherited pattern of mass production, namely: logistics are designed so that flexibility can be ensured. This means producing in small batches to satisfy varied and volatile markets. Inventories are organised on a “just-in-time” basis, and production flows through the plant as single units rather than in large batches. Attention is paid to rapid machine changeover and simpler and more flexible machinery is often used. Instead of checking quality at the end of the line, quality is assured at each stage of the production process, so that no defects are allowed to pass through the plant. Work organisation becomes much more flexible, and the boundaries between “skilled” and “unskilled” workers are narrowed. A key task is to develop an organisation, which focuses on learning and continuous improvement, involving all of the labour force rather than just the “skilled” engineers and managers. Table 1. Contrasting Mass Production and World Class Manufacturing Critical Control Points

Mass Production

Logistics

• •

Large batch production Just-in-case inventories Specialised machinery

Quality

• •

End of line inspection Reworking of defects

Work organisation

•

Division of labour between skilled and unskilled workers Specialised R&D and product development

•

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World Class Manufacturing • Single unit flow production • Just-in-time inventories • Flexible machinery and rapid machine changeover • Quality-at-source at each part of production process • Multi-tasking and multiskilling • Continuous improvement in green areas as well as specialized staff

March 2013

National Institute of Technology Calicut

Department of Mechanical Engineering

How is World Class Manufacturing Achieved? There are a large number of "tools" which can be used to realise these objectives with regard to production control, inventory and work-organisation. Some of these are to do with factory layout; others affect production scheduling, machine changeover, quality assurance and work-organisation. There is no universal toolkit that all firms need to adopt in all circumstances. Which tool is relevant depends upon the particular Critical Success Factors in the market in which the firm is operating. In making the transition to WorldClass Manufacturing, the firm needs to address three primary challenges, namely to: Develop the awareness of the need to make the transition to World-Class Manufacturing. Develop the ability to search for relevant tools and to apply them effectively. Monitor progress so that an improvement programme can be systematically utilised. Typical Critical Success Factors, which operate in open markets, are listed in the Table 2, which also identifies which tools are relevant to make an effective response to these market challenges. Moreover, improvement depends on knowing how the firm is doing, and thus it is also important to determine how progress might be measured. Table 2. Implementing World Class Manufacturing: Tools to Measure and Record Progress Critical Success Factor 1. Cost control

World Class Manufacturing tool Just-in-time logistics, quality at source and supply chain management tools

Measurement Indicators • • •

2. Quality

3. External flexibility

Statistical Process Control, foolproofing to prevent errors, Pareto analysis of types and causes of production defects

• •

Just-in-time logistics, quality at source and supply chain management tools

•

•

• •

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Inventory holdings Absence of defects and rework Cost of incoming materials Customer return rates Internal reject, rework and scrap rates Supplier quality performance Time from customer order to delivery Delivery frequency and reliability to customers Delivery frequency and

March 2013

National Institute of Technology Calicut

4. Internal flexibility

5. Capacity to change (Human resource development)

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Cellular layouts, single unit flow, production pulling, kanban signalling system, single-minute exchange of dies for rapid machine changeover, supply chain management

•

Multi-tasking, multi-skilling, quality circles, kaizen groups, training, incentive schemes.

• •

• • • •

• • • •

6. Innovation capacity

Concurrent engineering, new product development techniques

• •

reliability of suppliers Machine changeover times Batch and lot sizes Inventory levels Throughput time through factory Machine utilisation levels Literacy levels Labour/management turnover levels Absenteeism rates Training expenditure and types of training Employee development Suggestion schemes/continuous improvement R&D expenditure Proportion of sales from new products

World Class Manufacturing and Organisational Restructuring World Class Manufacturers are those that demonstrate industry best practice. To achieve this companies should attempt to be best in the field at each of the competitive priorities (quality, price, delivery speed, delivery reliability, flexibility and innovation). Organisations should therefore aim to maximise performance in these areas in order to maximise competitiveness. However, as resources are unlikely to allow improvement in all areas, organisations should concentrate on maintaining performance in 'qualifying' factors and improving 'competitive edge' factors. The priorities will change over time and must therefore be reviewed. Achieving World-Class Manufacturing standards is an essential step in enterprise restructuring. But it is only one of a number of challenges facing the firm. The prime step is to develop a realistic business strategy in which the firm matches its core competences with the opportunities in the market. This business strategy will have identified the key Critical Success Factors in the final markets. And it is from these Critical Success Factors that the priorities in adopting World-Class Manufacturing will be identified. If, for

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National Institute of Technology Calicut

Department of Mechanical Engineering

example, it is quality, then emphasis will have to be given to the use of those organisational tools, which will best deliver high quality at a low cost. Similarly, if leadtime to satisfying customer orders is critical, then the emphasis will be placed on altering production-flow, and reducing batch sizes and inventories. Many of these changes will diffuse naturally as a consequence of the operation of the market. Firms will be forced to innovate or to die. Diffusion may also happen as a consequence of the demands of the lead-firms who are forcing change on their suppliers. But international experience suggests that it would be unwise to rely on these two mechanisms alone. The natural operation of market forces may have forced into bankruptcy some firms which might have survived had they been able to make the necessary changes first. And lead-firms may make demands of their suppliers, but the suppliers may not know how to achieve these demands. They will thus be delisted and be unable to thrive. A helping hand can come form the Government of the country which can adopt suitable measures that help to promote the diffusion of World Class Manufacturing. Bibliography 1. School of Development studies, University of Natal, Enterprise Restructuring: Implementing World-Class Manufacturing, Policy Brief: Industrial Restructuring, October 2002, Issue 2. 2. Steudel, H. J. and Deruelle, P., Manufacturing in the Nineties: How to Become a Mean, Lean, World-Class Competitor, 1992, Competitive Manufacturing Series, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York QUESTIONS 1. What is world-class manufacturing? 2. What are the characteristics of world-class manufacturing systems? 3. List the tools in the context of ‘critical success factors’ required for a manufacturing firm. 4. Compare and contrast mass production and world-class manufacturing. 5. Compare the logistics of world-class manufacturing and mass production. 6. What is internal flexibility for a manufacturing organisation? What are the tools available to achieve this? How do you know that these tools are implemented?

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