Fighting Fit Factories
Content
Making Industry Lean, Agile and
IN THIS ERA OF MASS CUSTOMISATION AND TURBULENT MARKET ENVIRONMENTS, THE GENERAL APPLICATION OF LEAN AND AGILIlY ARE NO LONGER ADEQUATE; TO PROSPER COMPANIES SHOULD AIM TO BE FIT
By Duc Troung Pham and Andrew Thomas
2
ean and, to an extent, agility are two widely acknowledged business process strategies that are being applied in industry today Lean is a strategy for achieving continuous improvement in business performance
! f
c
‘I
rD
U” .4
E
24
IEE ManuiacturingEngineer I April/May 2005
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
that make lean incompatible with the issues of market customer demands and one that is compatible with their internal operating structure. By ensuring companies take volatility and complex product m x scenarios. i However, while this argument continues, the simple account of their overall strategic position in relation to truth is that manufacturing industry is under increasing their technological requirements, ‘fit’ will enable threat of competition from low labour cost countries companies to implement new and advanced technologies throughout the world. The concept of usinglow labourcost continually to support their operationalrequirements well strategies is simple yet highly effective. Product quality is into the future. generally good. However, cost effectiveness is significantly reduced when the market i s volatile, product variety is SO WHAT WACTLY IS ‘FIT’? large and customer demand for a product is low. A simple analogy to describe the lean, agile and fit Faced with this problem, the manufacturing industry strategies can be made to the athletic performance can take solace in the fact that, through the increasing requirements of a professional cyclist competing, say, in mass customisation of products, there exists a realistic the Tour de France. In order for a cycling team to be opportunity to compete directly against low labour cost successful in such a long and arduous competition, the strategies by providing a wide ranging product portfolio at team will have cyclists that have specific performance capabilities. These capabilities will be matched to the mass production prices. pecific requirements of the race where the team In order to compete in this environment, there should be a clear integrated strategy that will normally consist of sprinters, climbers and ‘domestiques’. The domestiques will remain removes the competing issues of lean and the group and provide support to the agility That strategy should combine concepts into one business approach that team leader whose objectivewill be to win the identifies and adopts best practice from both areas to ensure that the company uld expect to develop sustainable and competitive not only n any excess (body fat, also as markets change in the future. muscle tissue, water retention, etc) is maintained at a minimum. This Companies should now look at ’leanness’is required since this cyclist becoming ‘fit’. Fitness levels are must ensure a high power-to-weight individual to each company and leverage over the climbs. The cyclist depend on the market sectors it operates within. Being ‘fit’as opposed will also be expected to cycle at a speed to being purely lean or agile allows a that is closely controlled within precompany to respond quickly to changes defined limits since any significant in future customer demands, since it fig I The foundutiom offitmooufucfure fluctuations in speed or power has at its heart an integrated manufacturinginfrastructure requirements on the ascents will cause premature fatigue. capable of reconfiguring quickly to meet new This can be likened to a manufacturing company that manufacturing requirements. The automotive industry is applies ‘leanness’to its operating structure. In this process currently investing strongly in developing agility within there lies the systematic removal of all waste from a their own production environments as well as their manufacturing operation and to run as leanly as possible. respective supply chains since it has become apparent that By ensuring level demand scheduling, the company aims the drive for lean has leR their systems ‘too lean’and hence to make the same number of components each time so that unresponsive to cope with the demands of mass it stands the best chance of achieving true ‘leanness’. When customisation. This is a typical example of where demand is volatile and unpredictable, however, the companies develop one strategy at the expense of a more company often faces problems with issues such as stockbalanced approach so that, when market demands outs, work in process (WIP) and so on. Therefore, where necessitate changes in their manufacturing strategy, the fluctuating demands such as volatile markets are company is unable to adapt itself quickly and effectively concerned, many companies would find it better to be a Manufacturing fitness combines lean and agility with little less lean, hold a little more stock, maybe have an considerations of sustainability and integrates these optimum rather than a minimum level of staffing and so approaches into a framework that allows the company to on. Therefore, in this case, aglity is a better option. tune its technologicaland operational capabilities with its To return to the cycling analogy, a sprinter would overall strategic vision. This enables companies to essentially have a different body structure from a climber configure their operational strategies to achieve an -one that is more likely to have a higher muscle content optimum level of ‘fitness’that meets current and future with more overall power that is able to react rapidly to
26
IEE Manufacturing Engineer 1 AprIllMay 2005
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Fit manufacturing
Manufaduring fitness combines lean and agility with sustainability and integrates these into an overall strategic vision 99
different demands. The sprinter must respond quickly to sprint situations where explosive power will be required at very short notice. Power is the key issue here and it relates to the latent potential of the cyclist to undertake a wider range of tasks that combine responsiveness and flexibility Due to body size and structure, this type of cyclist wiU fmd it extremely difficult to compete on climbs with pure climbers, as power to weight ratio will work against him. Likewise, the mountain climber is less likely to have the power and agility to compete on sprint stages. Within an agile manufacturing system, this power can be identified as the technological systems that a company h s at its disposal in order to meet the levels of product and a process flexibility’andalso customer responsiveness (Le., new product development, short run production, immediate demand changes). A company operating in this environment cannot compete with a purely ‘lean’ organisation in terms of cost reduction but provides the flexibilityand responsivenessto compete in a fast moving market.
So, what is a fit cyclist? In this case, a fit cyclist would be the team leader The team leader’sobjective is to win the Tour. In winning, however, the leader must first guarantee completion of the race distance, covering all the various terrains in a time that is quicker than anybody else overall. He will therefore be expected to have the power and control when he needs it (during time trials)as well as the stamina and energy release capabilities that will allow him to sustain long periods in the saddle. In order to enable him to achieve these requirements, his body structure must be able to adapt to the various terrains, weather and race conditions. It would not be advisable for this cyclist to become too lean since he wl il need body reserves to go the whole race distance (whereas the climbers and sprinters will normally pull out of the race when their work is done). Neither would it be desirable for the team leader to carry any excess since he will be penalised heavily on the climbs. Therefore, fitness is a measure of a cyclist’ssustainability that is supported by the correct balance of leanness and agility, a wellstructured team organisation and a well-defined race strategy Technology is also key to a cyclist’ssuccess. The latest cycle technology and communications systems will permit him to control the race and shave the necessary seconds off his performance and will enable him to meet the rigours of such a long race. With the emerging requirement of mass customisation, companies now need to reduce product lead times and
IEE Manufacturing Engineer I April/May 2005
27
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
introduce new products more frequently into the market. These requirements must also be achieved while ensuring high product quality and low manufacturing costs. This is the only way that companies will survive the manufacturing race and stay competitive and hence sustainable in the long term. In order to remain competitive, the company must achieve an appropriate level of leanness, agility and sustainability the foundations of ‘fit’manufacture (fig 1). In ‘fit’manufacturing,therefore, the companywill need to have the best aspects of lean and agility combined with the important aspect of reconfigurabilltp The latter requires a company to change its strategic and technical focus quickly to respond to market trends and demands. This calls on a company to have the necessary business process systems i place along with the correct technology n platform and management systems. For any particular manufacturing system,a balance between lean and a a i t y is crucial. In some organisations, leanness may be important, agility less so and vice versa for others, More often than not, however, companies manufacture a range of products where each product line has a different demand profde and, as such,the balance between lean and agitity varies each time, While the level of leanness and agdity will change, the issue that remainsstatic throughout is that of sustainability and the need for a company continually to remain competitive. Fitness can therefore be considered “a company’s ability to survive and prosper in a sustainable manner through the manufacture of high quality products facilitated by an integrated, robust, highly responsive and reconfigurable lean manufacturing system that returns high product quality and reduced internal and external manufacturing costs”. Key to the idea of fit manufacture is that of system integration. Traditionallgi companies have incrementally and systematically implemented various manufacturing paradigms (TQM, lean, agilitx etc) in a sequential manner as they become available. This often leads to an operational environment that is left fragmented as individual systems are bolted onto existing infrastructures, often causing internal conflicts within the company as the demands of one paradigm pull against those for another as system and operational complexity increases. Fit manufacture extends throughout a company,from order placement to product manufacture. Technology is central to the fit strategy concentrating on the technological interfaces between customer and manufacturer. This technology is then dovetailed into an effectivestrategic and operationalmanagement system that leads to the creation of an efficient, sustainable and responsive manufacturingenvironment. Fit integrates key business process strategies together with a company’s
LEANNESS
Lean thinking
Responsive supply chains
Manufacturingstrategy:
Hexibility Eficienry
EfiCdLy
Value stream mapping Waste elimination
Capable
suppliers
Flex!ble
machinery
High productivity
Mass customisability Economic sustainabilty Technology integration Low systems and operational complexity
Lean systems design
Demand led manufachre Levet scheduling High quality manufacture
Capable and
responsive technologies Reconfigurable
systems
Technologicalsystems:
Web-based marketing
Webhased ordering CAD/CAM / C A E ERP
E-commeice €-manufacture
Six Sigma
TPM
Business process techniques:
TQM
I
=>FITMANUFACTURE
1
QCD Development Knowledge management Workforce development
k61e I Some key elements o f f i t manufacture
existing and future technology platforms and support systems (TPM, Six Sigma, ERE supply chain reengineeringetc). This integrationprovides not just a single business approach but an integrated manufacturing system that combines the systemics of a range of business process concepts into one model that has low operational and systems complexity (table 1). Alongside this, fit identifies the need for effective integration of the technologies in order to implement and sustain change. This technology platform includes more than just the machinery and associated systems that convert the raw material into a fmished product. It also covers e-commerce at the front end through to the electronic transfer of
In fit manufacturing the company will need to have the best aspects of lean and agility combined with
reconfigurability
99
28
IEE Manufacturing Engineer 1 Apnl/May 2005
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Fit manufacturing
customer order requests and the complete emanufacturing facility that takes essential customer data, design data and manufacturing data and drives them forward in a simultaneous manner so that a product can be manufactured quickly and cost effectively It is the tight integration of these various electronicplatforms with the strategic and business systems that will provide the seamless cost effectiveness and rapid response required to meet customer demands. In order to provide effective backing for the technology elements in the strategg:support h c t i o n s must exist that can ensure that the systems operate in the expected manner with minimum downtime and maximum efficiency These support functions include self-diagnostic systems, adaptive control systems, and so on.
CONCLUSIONS
Creating a fit manufacturing enterprise calls for strategic considerationof three major operational areas of systems development. These are: the development of a company’s supply chain system to ensure high quality, highly responsive and dependable supply of raw material and sub. contracted products; the development of a lean, technologically driven and highly agile production system that is designed to convert customer requirements to finished products quickly and efficiently; and the development of systems that enhance sustainability by supporting and continuallyimprovingthe performance of the product, the logistics and the manufacturing systems. The requirements of ‘tit’manufacture can thus be split into the threemain areas of lean, a a t y and sustainability These are integrated into a holistic system structure. It is every company’s basic requirement to be sustainable. Sustainability is essentially the ability of a company to stay competitiveby adapting to changes in the market trends and customer requirements. Many companies consider themselves to be in a sustainable condition. However, this is sometimes not a realistic assumption to make since, whilst they continue to survive at present, they may not have the infrastructure to remain competitive i the future. n As an example of this, take a company that currently manufactures products for a niche market. The real advantage of working in this area is that there is little direct competition and therefore the company survives on this basis.However, while the company is essentiallyviable under present monopoly conditions,it is neither a d e , lean nor fit, nor does it possess the necessary attributes to survive when the competition turns its attention to this unique market area. So, as discussed earlier,sustainability is crucial to the ‘fit’strategx the basic features of which are as follows: Manufacturing Strategy: It is critical that a company
develops its manufacturing strategy and its market positioning in line with its technological capabilities, its financial constraints and the ability of its workforce to take on new concepts and systems. Technological Systems: This covers the full remit of technology that is required to operate, maintain and reconfigure the company in line with its strategic position. It is not simply the machinery and equipment required to manufacture products but includes,equallx the technology that allows customers to integrate effectively with the company and to relay their requirements accurately in a safe and error-free environment. Business Process Techniques:As part of the ’fit‘ strategy this area concerns itself with the tools and techniques required to support the functioningof the organisation and hence its competitiveness, continuously increasing productivity t r w defect elimiition, cost reduction and h o throughput enhancement. W
The issues of sustainable manufacture and fit manufacfuring enterprises ore current/ytopics of research within the University’sEPRSC-supported Innovative framework of Cardiff ManufacturingResearch Centre (CU-IMRC), the ERDF-financed Objective 1 Superman project and the EU-fundedInnovative Producbbn Machines and Systems (/*PROMS) Framework 6 Network of Ewcdence.
Professor Duc Twang Pham is director and Dr Andrew
Thomas i a project manager of the Manufacturing s Engineering Centre (MEC) at Cardiff University
IEE Manufacturing Engineer 1 April/May 2005
29
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
IN THIS ERA OF MASS CUSTOMISATION AND TURBULENT MARKET ENVIRONMENTS, THE GENERAL APPLICATION OF LEAN AND AGILIlY ARE NO LONGER ADEQUATE; TO PROSPER COMPANIES SHOULD AIM TO BE FIT
By Duc Troung Pham and Andrew Thomas
2
ean and, to an extent, agility are two widely acknowledged business process strategies that are being applied in industry today Lean is a strategy for achieving continuous improvement in business performance
! f
c
‘I
rD
U” .4
E
24
IEE ManuiacturingEngineer I April/May 2005
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
that make lean incompatible with the issues of market customer demands and one that is compatible with their internal operating structure. By ensuring companies take volatility and complex product m x scenarios. i However, while this argument continues, the simple account of their overall strategic position in relation to truth is that manufacturing industry is under increasing their technological requirements, ‘fit’ will enable threat of competition from low labour cost countries companies to implement new and advanced technologies throughout the world. The concept of usinglow labourcost continually to support their operationalrequirements well strategies is simple yet highly effective. Product quality is into the future. generally good. However, cost effectiveness is significantly reduced when the market i s volatile, product variety is SO WHAT WACTLY IS ‘FIT’? large and customer demand for a product is low. A simple analogy to describe the lean, agile and fit Faced with this problem, the manufacturing industry strategies can be made to the athletic performance can take solace in the fact that, through the increasing requirements of a professional cyclist competing, say, in mass customisation of products, there exists a realistic the Tour de France. In order for a cycling team to be opportunity to compete directly against low labour cost successful in such a long and arduous competition, the strategies by providing a wide ranging product portfolio at team will have cyclists that have specific performance capabilities. These capabilities will be matched to the mass production prices. pecific requirements of the race where the team In order to compete in this environment, there should be a clear integrated strategy that will normally consist of sprinters, climbers and ‘domestiques’. The domestiques will remain removes the competing issues of lean and the group and provide support to the agility That strategy should combine concepts into one business approach that team leader whose objectivewill be to win the identifies and adopts best practice from both areas to ensure that the company uld expect to develop sustainable and competitive not only n any excess (body fat, also as markets change in the future. muscle tissue, water retention, etc) is maintained at a minimum. This Companies should now look at ’leanness’is required since this cyclist becoming ‘fit’. Fitness levels are must ensure a high power-to-weight individual to each company and leverage over the climbs. The cyclist depend on the market sectors it operates within. Being ‘fit’as opposed will also be expected to cycle at a speed to being purely lean or agile allows a that is closely controlled within precompany to respond quickly to changes defined limits since any significant in future customer demands, since it fig I The foundutiom offitmooufucfure fluctuations in speed or power has at its heart an integrated manufacturinginfrastructure requirements on the ascents will cause premature fatigue. capable of reconfiguring quickly to meet new This can be likened to a manufacturing company that manufacturing requirements. The automotive industry is applies ‘leanness’to its operating structure. In this process currently investing strongly in developing agility within there lies the systematic removal of all waste from a their own production environments as well as their manufacturing operation and to run as leanly as possible. respective supply chains since it has become apparent that By ensuring level demand scheduling, the company aims the drive for lean has leR their systems ‘too lean’and hence to make the same number of components each time so that unresponsive to cope with the demands of mass it stands the best chance of achieving true ‘leanness’. When customisation. This is a typical example of where demand is volatile and unpredictable, however, the companies develop one strategy at the expense of a more company often faces problems with issues such as stockbalanced approach so that, when market demands outs, work in process (WIP) and so on. Therefore, where necessitate changes in their manufacturing strategy, the fluctuating demands such as volatile markets are company is unable to adapt itself quickly and effectively concerned, many companies would find it better to be a Manufacturing fitness combines lean and agility with little less lean, hold a little more stock, maybe have an considerations of sustainability and integrates these optimum rather than a minimum level of staffing and so approaches into a framework that allows the company to on. Therefore, in this case, aglity is a better option. tune its technologicaland operational capabilities with its To return to the cycling analogy, a sprinter would overall strategic vision. This enables companies to essentially have a different body structure from a climber configure their operational strategies to achieve an -one that is more likely to have a higher muscle content optimum level of ‘fitness’that meets current and future with more overall power that is able to react rapidly to
26
IEE Manufacturing Engineer 1 AprIllMay 2005
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Fit manufacturing
Manufaduring fitness combines lean and agility with sustainability and integrates these into an overall strategic vision 99
different demands. The sprinter must respond quickly to sprint situations where explosive power will be required at very short notice. Power is the key issue here and it relates to the latent potential of the cyclist to undertake a wider range of tasks that combine responsiveness and flexibility Due to body size and structure, this type of cyclist wiU fmd it extremely difficult to compete on climbs with pure climbers, as power to weight ratio will work against him. Likewise, the mountain climber is less likely to have the power and agility to compete on sprint stages. Within an agile manufacturing system, this power can be identified as the technological systems that a company h s at its disposal in order to meet the levels of product and a process flexibility’andalso customer responsiveness (Le., new product development, short run production, immediate demand changes). A company operating in this environment cannot compete with a purely ‘lean’ organisation in terms of cost reduction but provides the flexibilityand responsivenessto compete in a fast moving market.
So, what is a fit cyclist? In this case, a fit cyclist would be the team leader The team leader’sobjective is to win the Tour. In winning, however, the leader must first guarantee completion of the race distance, covering all the various terrains in a time that is quicker than anybody else overall. He will therefore be expected to have the power and control when he needs it (during time trials)as well as the stamina and energy release capabilities that will allow him to sustain long periods in the saddle. In order to enable him to achieve these requirements, his body structure must be able to adapt to the various terrains, weather and race conditions. It would not be advisable for this cyclist to become too lean since he wl il need body reserves to go the whole race distance (whereas the climbers and sprinters will normally pull out of the race when their work is done). Neither would it be desirable for the team leader to carry any excess since he will be penalised heavily on the climbs. Therefore, fitness is a measure of a cyclist’ssustainability that is supported by the correct balance of leanness and agility, a wellstructured team organisation and a well-defined race strategy Technology is also key to a cyclist’ssuccess. The latest cycle technology and communications systems will permit him to control the race and shave the necessary seconds off his performance and will enable him to meet the rigours of such a long race. With the emerging requirement of mass customisation, companies now need to reduce product lead times and
IEE Manufacturing Engineer I April/May 2005
27
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
introduce new products more frequently into the market. These requirements must also be achieved while ensuring high product quality and low manufacturing costs. This is the only way that companies will survive the manufacturing race and stay competitive and hence sustainable in the long term. In order to remain competitive, the company must achieve an appropriate level of leanness, agility and sustainability the foundations of ‘fit’manufacture (fig 1). In ‘fit’manufacturing,therefore, the companywill need to have the best aspects of lean and agility combined with the important aspect of reconfigurabilltp The latter requires a company to change its strategic and technical focus quickly to respond to market trends and demands. This calls on a company to have the necessary business process systems i place along with the correct technology n platform and management systems. For any particular manufacturing system,a balance between lean and a a i t y is crucial. In some organisations, leanness may be important, agility less so and vice versa for others, More often than not, however, companies manufacture a range of products where each product line has a different demand profde and, as such,the balance between lean and agitity varies each time, While the level of leanness and agdity will change, the issue that remainsstatic throughout is that of sustainability and the need for a company continually to remain competitive. Fitness can therefore be considered “a company’s ability to survive and prosper in a sustainable manner through the manufacture of high quality products facilitated by an integrated, robust, highly responsive and reconfigurable lean manufacturing system that returns high product quality and reduced internal and external manufacturing costs”. Key to the idea of fit manufacture is that of system integration. Traditionallgi companies have incrementally and systematically implemented various manufacturing paradigms (TQM, lean, agilitx etc) in a sequential manner as they become available. This often leads to an operational environment that is left fragmented as individual systems are bolted onto existing infrastructures, often causing internal conflicts within the company as the demands of one paradigm pull against those for another as system and operational complexity increases. Fit manufacture extends throughout a company,from order placement to product manufacture. Technology is central to the fit strategy concentrating on the technological interfaces between customer and manufacturer. This technology is then dovetailed into an effectivestrategic and operationalmanagement system that leads to the creation of an efficient, sustainable and responsive manufacturingenvironment. Fit integrates key business process strategies together with a company’s
LEANNESS
Lean thinking
Responsive supply chains
Manufacturingstrategy:
Hexibility Eficienry
EfiCdLy
Value stream mapping Waste elimination
Capable
suppliers
Flex!ble
machinery
High productivity
Mass customisability Economic sustainabilty Technology integration Low systems and operational complexity
Lean systems design
Demand led manufachre Levet scheduling High quality manufacture
Capable and
responsive technologies Reconfigurable
systems
Technologicalsystems:
Web-based marketing
Webhased ordering CAD/CAM / C A E ERP
E-commeice €-manufacture
Six Sigma
TPM
Business process techniques:
TQM
I
=>FITMANUFACTURE
1
QCD Development Knowledge management Workforce development
k61e I Some key elements o f f i t manufacture
existing and future technology platforms and support systems (TPM, Six Sigma, ERE supply chain reengineeringetc). This integrationprovides not just a single business approach but an integrated manufacturing system that combines the systemics of a range of business process concepts into one model that has low operational and systems complexity (table 1). Alongside this, fit identifies the need for effective integration of the technologies in order to implement and sustain change. This technology platform includes more than just the machinery and associated systems that convert the raw material into a fmished product. It also covers e-commerce at the front end through to the electronic transfer of
In fit manufacturing the company will need to have the best aspects of lean and agility combined with
reconfigurability
99
28
IEE Manufacturing Engineer 1 Apnl/May 2005
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Fit manufacturing
customer order requests and the complete emanufacturing facility that takes essential customer data, design data and manufacturing data and drives them forward in a simultaneous manner so that a product can be manufactured quickly and cost effectively It is the tight integration of these various electronicplatforms with the strategic and business systems that will provide the seamless cost effectiveness and rapid response required to meet customer demands. In order to provide effective backing for the technology elements in the strategg:support h c t i o n s must exist that can ensure that the systems operate in the expected manner with minimum downtime and maximum efficiency These support functions include self-diagnostic systems, adaptive control systems, and so on.
CONCLUSIONS
Creating a fit manufacturing enterprise calls for strategic considerationof three major operational areas of systems development. These are: the development of a company’s supply chain system to ensure high quality, highly responsive and dependable supply of raw material and sub. contracted products; the development of a lean, technologically driven and highly agile production system that is designed to convert customer requirements to finished products quickly and efficiently; and the development of systems that enhance sustainability by supporting and continuallyimprovingthe performance of the product, the logistics and the manufacturing systems. The requirements of ‘tit’manufacture can thus be split into the threemain areas of lean, a a t y and sustainability These are integrated into a holistic system structure. It is every company’s basic requirement to be sustainable. Sustainability is essentially the ability of a company to stay competitiveby adapting to changes in the market trends and customer requirements. Many companies consider themselves to be in a sustainable condition. However, this is sometimes not a realistic assumption to make since, whilst they continue to survive at present, they may not have the infrastructure to remain competitive i the future. n As an example of this, take a company that currently manufactures products for a niche market. The real advantage of working in this area is that there is little direct competition and therefore the company survives on this basis.However, while the company is essentiallyviable under present monopoly conditions,it is neither a d e , lean nor fit, nor does it possess the necessary attributes to survive when the competition turns its attention to this unique market area. So, as discussed earlier,sustainability is crucial to the ‘fit’strategx the basic features of which are as follows: Manufacturing Strategy: It is critical that a company
develops its manufacturing strategy and its market positioning in line with its technological capabilities, its financial constraints and the ability of its workforce to take on new concepts and systems. Technological Systems: This covers the full remit of technology that is required to operate, maintain and reconfigure the company in line with its strategic position. It is not simply the machinery and equipment required to manufacture products but includes,equallx the technology that allows customers to integrate effectively with the company and to relay their requirements accurately in a safe and error-free environment. Business Process Techniques:As part of the ’fit‘ strategy this area concerns itself with the tools and techniques required to support the functioningof the organisation and hence its competitiveness, continuously increasing productivity t r w defect elimiition, cost reduction and h o throughput enhancement. W
The issues of sustainable manufacture and fit manufacfuring enterprises ore current/ytopics of research within the University’sEPRSC-supported Innovative framework of Cardiff ManufacturingResearch Centre (CU-IMRC), the ERDF-financed Objective 1 Superman project and the EU-fundedInnovative Producbbn Machines and Systems (/*PROMS) Framework 6 Network of Ewcdence.
Professor Duc Twang Pham is director and Dr Andrew
Thomas i a project manager of the Manufacturing s Engineering Centre (MEC) at Cardiff University
IEE Manufacturing Engineer 1 April/May 2005
29
Authorized licensed use limited to: Politecnico di Torino. Downloaded on March 11,2010 at 07:48:13 EST from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
