Performance Improvements through Implementation of Lean Practices: A Study of the U.K. Red Meat Industry

'Lean' is an established industrial paradigm with proven track record in various sectors of the industry (Womack & Jones, 1996). World-class Companies such as Toyota (second biggest global car manufacturer), Porsche (most profitable global OEM), Boeing (largest global aerospace business) and Tesco (third largest global retailer) have adopted Lean at the corporate level. This paper reports on the introduction of 'Lean Thinking' to a new sector - the 'Red Meat Industry' (Food Chain Centre, 2004). This contribution highlights the benefits of lean production techniques in different stages of the red meat value chain and reports 2- 3% potential cost savings at each stage of the chain.Lean process, red meat industry, Takt-time, work standardization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Reconsidering Ford’s Highland Park assembly line: new data vs. old ideas

Ford’s Assembly Line at Highland Park is one of the most influential production system conceptualizations. Anecdotal commentary and a limited set of annual data have provided the foundation for popular opinion about Ford and past research on his factory and its management. New data is used to explore Ford’s development of the assembly line. This confirms and strengthens research on line’s effect on labor productivity, but raises several significant incongruities vis-à-vis its modern stereotype. These are important for they show Ford’s assembly line was used differently than modern ones and their production systems were more flexible than previously recognized

A review of modular strategies and architecture within manufacturing operations

This paper reviews existing modularity and modularization literature within manufacturing operations. Its purpose is to examine the tools, techniques, and concepts relating to modular production, to draw together key issues currently dominating the literature, to assess managerial implications associated with the emerging modular paradigm, and to present an agenda for future research directions. The review is based on journal papers included in the ABI/Inform electronic database and other noteworthy research published as part of significant research programmes. The research methodology concerns reviewing existing literature to identify key modular concepts, to determine modular developments, and to present a review of significant contributions to the field. The findings indicate that the modular paradigm is being adopted in a number of manufacturing organizations. As a result a range of conceptual tools, techniques, and frameworks has emerged and the field of modular enquiry is in the process of codifying the modular lexicon and developing appropriate modular strategies commensurate with the needs of manufacturers. Modular strategies and modular architecture were identified as two key issues currently dominating the modular landscape. Based on this review, the present authors suggest that future research areas need to focus on the development and subsequent standardization of interface protocols, cross-brand module use, supply chain power, transparency, and trust. This is the first review of the modular landscape and as such provides insights into, first, the development of modularization and, second, issues relating to designing modular products and modular supply chains

Identifying the task variables that predict object assembly difficulty.

We investigated the physical attributes of an object that influence the difficulty of its assembly. Identifying attributes that contribute to assembly difficulty will provide a method for predicting assembly complexity

Single Point of Entry Long-Term Living Resource System Team Report

Pursuant to House File 451 the Single Point of Entry Long-Term Living Resources System Team, involving several state agencies as well as interested associations, submitted a report to the legislature on recommendations to establish a single point of entry system

Meja konsol moden diinspirasikan oleh The Oval, Limassol

Dalam arus pemodenan yang begitu pesat, pelbagai hasil rekaan produk yang kreatif dan berinovasi dihasilkan demi memenuhi keperluan dan kehendak pengguna dalam melakukan aktiviti-aktiviti harian mereka. Rekaan sebegini mewujudkan persaingan yang sihat dan mampu meningkatkan pendapatan individu, syarikat, dan seterusnya negara. Hal ini tidak terkecuali dalam penghasilan produk-produk perabot. Menurut laporan tahunan yang dikeluarkan oleh Lembaga Perindustrian Kayu Malaysia (MTIB) mendapati bahawa industri perabot telah menyumbang sebanyak RM 22,498.3 juta kepada hasil eksport Malaysia pada 2019 (MTIB, 2020). Perabot yang dihasilkan bukan sahaja mementingkan tarikan luaran, malah ia perlu mempunyai kualiti yang tinggi serta memberi manfaat dan diterima oleh pengguna

Current issue in corporate waqf in Malaysia

Corporate waqf is still new for the contemporary Islamic studies in Malaysia. There are limited resources and guidance to explain about corporate waqf. The purposes of this study are to explore the issues, concept and development of corporate waqf. Current structure for corporate waqf also being explored as part of case studies. This paper provides several perspectives and suggestions to this issue. The methodology for this study is secondary data approach by using the data analysis from the related journal and paper. The subject for this study is Selangor Muamalat. This paper come out with the concept and development of the contemporary waqf focused on corporate waqf and there are five current issues identified in the contemporary waqf. Next, seven proposed action plans are suggested to cover the issues. Lastly, the structure of Selangor Muamalat is analyses by focusing on the management structure, financial and operational framework and the Shariah consideration towards Selangor Muamalat structure

Variety Management in Assemble-to-Order Supply Chains

Assemble-to-order refers to a supply chain strategy in which products are not assembled until customer order arrives. It is based on the so-called form postponement that is to hold components at a generic form and to delay the point of product differentiation. The performance of an assem-ble-to-order supply chain depends on two main dimensions, which are responsiveness and achievement level of scale economies. Responsiveness refers to the capability of fulfilling customer requirements in a fast-paced manner, whereas the achievement of scale economies reflects the degree of operations efficiency. Assemble-to-order supply chains induce high product variety, which has adverse effects on performance. We use demand volumes as a proxy for scale economies and lead times as a proxy for responsiveness. A matrix that consists of both dimensions can be defined, in which we distinguish between short/long lead times and low/high demand volumes. This matrix is called performance matrix. On the other hand, the consequence that results from product variety is a high demand variability of end products, which also affects the demand variability of components. An analysis of component demand variability enables one to identify the components with low/high demand variability. These components can further be classified into supplied and in-house made components. Thus, a second matrix (called component matrix) with two dimensions, namely variability (low/high) and supply source (in-house/supplier) can be defined. Due to the supply source dimension in the component matrix, the supply chain perspective is also taken into ac-count. The combination of both matrixes into a single one provides the performance/component matrix for assemble-to-order supply chains. To use the final matrix, it is necessary to compute lead times, demand volumes and demand variability of the supplied and in-house made components. By plotting the components in the matrix, one can determine the problems induced by variety. In order to improve the performance of the assemble-to-order supply chain, the implementation of variety management strategies is necessary. The identified strategies are: commonality, component families, modularity, and platforms. Based on the performance/component matrix, we discuss how these strategies or a combination of them can contribute to derive recommendations that aim to alleviate variety impacts on the as-semble-to-order supply chain.Assemble-to-order; Supply Chain Management; Variety Management

In Chains? Automotive Suppliers and Their Product Development Activities

A conceptual framework is developed and tested in which supplier downstream position in the supply chain, supplier innovation strategy and customer development commitment are seen as the antecedents of supplier product development activity. Using partial least squares (PLS), we analyze the results of a survey of 161 Swedish automotive suppliers and test a series of nested models to test our hypotheses. We demonstrate that the position of the supplier in the supply chain and its strategic focus on innovation not only have a direct impact on (actual) supplier product development activity, but that there is also an interaction effect, implying that the effects of strategy are contingent on the supplier???s supply chain position. Additionally, we find that customer development commitment does not have any significant direct effect on supplier product development activities, but that this relation is fully mediated by supplier innovation strategy. The meaning of the findings for developing a more extensive conceptual framework for understanding supplier product development activities, some managerial implications, and future research are discussed.supply chain;product development;supplier relations