A framework for six-sigma implementation in rubber manufacturing industry – an innovation between DMAIC cycle and quality improvement tools

Quality improvement tools are commonly utilised by the industries to attain quality products and benefits like reduction in scrap cost and wastes. In order to achieve the proper implementation of quality tools, a theoretically developed framework inclusive of six-sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve & Control) cycle is required. Also, the quality tools associated at each stage has thoroughly implemented on a case study which carries a real-time issue related to the quality products production. The issue has thoroughly resolved through the right application of quality tools like Failure Modes and effects analysis (FMEA) on the compression moulding technique utilised for the production of Rubber Valve Sleeve Liner (RVSL) under the umbrella of DMAIC cycle. The benefits achieved are 23.1% reduction in scrap rate, 63.8% reduction in Delivery on time (DOT) with savings gained almost RM26,880/month. The relationship between DMAIC cycle and quality tools for quality improvements under the platform of lean six sigma which is highly beneficial for academicians, practitioners and engineering managers working in this field with a limitation of implementation only in the rubber manufacturing industry. In future, the developed framework should be implemented in some other manufacturing industries

Spreadsheet simulation for industrial application: a case study

The paper reports and demonstrates the spreadsheet simulation that used for production planning and inventory control in a composite based product manufacturer. It covers the development of the spreadsheet simulation template and the application. The findings show that the application of the spreadsheet simulation positively improve the time to estimate the production lead time, and monitoring activities on material usage included raw material, chemical and ancillary. Besides, it provides well-managed documentations for production planning and control

A Comparative Analysis of Supplier Performance Measures for Malaysian Aero Composite Manufacturing Companies: Case Study

The aim of this paper is to study how aero composite manufacturing companies in Malaysia do performance measures. The paper outlines the method of maintaining the approved suppliers and their continuous compliance to the requirement and to ensure that only approved supplier in the approval supplier list are referred to for purchasing of product manufacturing related activities. This paper provides a rational and comparative approach for findings solutions to eliminate the cause(s) of non-conformities in order to prevent recurrence or potential non-conformities in product, process, and quality system of suppliers. This is a qualitative case study, which, therefore, limits its generalisability. However, its contextualization enables insight to be applied to the wider manufacturing environment

Green Supply Chain Management in Malaysian Aero Composite Industry

Green supply chain management (GSCM) is a concept that gaining popularity in the most region in the world. For many organisations, it is a way to demonstrate their sincere commitment to environment sustainability. This paper is then, to investigate GSCM practices in aero composite manufacturing companies, as an initiative for environmental enhancement of green management programme in Malaysia which has the potential to offer greater economic value especially in manufacture of composites material components and sub-assemblies for aircraft application. Two major companies in the sector were chosen as the location of the study. The findings show that GSCM practices in the two companies are currently moderate; and, most of the practices have significant relationship to each other. Lean manufacturing system was became most preferable approach to support the development of green supply chain practices

Survey Approaches In Green Supply Chain Management Research: An Analysis

Survey is an approved method that has been used by researchers for many years ago. The effectiveness of the method cannot be denied and until today, it is still the best method to identify a population perspective on the particular thing or anything that related to the purpose of a study. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent of the survey approaches in green supply chain management (GSCM) research. The findings show that GSCM survey-based research is mainly conducted in Asian countries regions which focused on the GSCM practice and performance. Postal survey is the most preferred in data collection as well as survey are also distributed in workshops. Analysis methods such structural equation modeling (SEM), conformity factor analysis (CFA), non-parametric test, correlation test, regression analysis, and ANOVA were selected to test the researches hypotheses while SPSS and AMOS are the favourite software that used for the analysis

The Relationship between Manufacturing System Performance and Green Practices in Supply Chain Management

Green supply chain management is an increasingly recognized practice among companies that are seeking to improve environmental performance. Of particular concern is how to arouse organizational awareness and put green activities into practice in order to enhance manufacturing performances. This paper investigates the correlation of green supply chain practices and manufacturing performances in Malaysian certified MS ISO 14000 manufacturing firms. The findings shows that green supply chain practices which that can be denominated product recycling,environmental compliance and optimization have significant influence to some of the manufacturing performances

Do Manufacturing Performance leads to Green Supply Chain Practices?

The concepts pertaining to greening the operation or supply chain are usually understood by industry as screening suppliers for their environmental performance and then doing business with only those that meet the regulatory standards. The driving forces for implementing the green concept into the company operations are many and comprise a range of reactive regulatory reasons to proactive strategic and competitive advantages reasons. However, if green practices are to be adopted by organizations in Malaysia, a demonstrate link between such measures and improving manufacturing performance is necessary. This paper identifies potential linkages between manufacturing performances that lead to green practices amongst a sample of companies in Malaysia. For this purpose a conceptual model was developed from literature sources and data collected using a structured questionnaire mailed to a sample of MS ISO 14001 certified manufacturing companies in Malaysia followed by structural equation modeling. The analysis identified that manufacturing performance leads to green supply chain practices

Green Practice in the Supply Chain: The Case of Malaysian Aero Composite Manufacturing Industry

Green supply chain management is a concept that gaining popularity in the most region in the world. For many organizations, it is a way to demonstrate their sincere commitment to sustainability. In addition, many realize that customers and other stakeholders do not always distinguish between a company and its suppliers. This paper is then, to investigate green supply chain practices in Malaysian aero composite manufacturing companies, as an initiative for environmental enhancement of green management programme in Malaysia which has the potential to offer greater economic value especially in manufacture of composites material components and sub-assemblies for aircraft application. The study indentified that industry are currently do not have enough efforts toward green supply chain and it shows that there is lack of initiative on greening suppliers. However, the industry is struggling to enhance the green activities through continuous improvement programme such as lean manufacturing, as per requested from the customers, stakeholders and ISO practices

Risk identification model for lean manufacturing improvement

Small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) were confronted with a variety of difficulties due to the increasingly complex market environment, and many of them could not make enough profits to proceed with their manufacturing tasks. The objective of this study was to develop a model of risk management by integrating several risk tools at manufacturing companies. This study was also intended to improve the decision making by providing quantitative analysis at each step of risk management and improve lean practices. Risk quantitative analysis methods such as failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) and multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis (MOORA) were applied in this study to identify the potential risks. Moreover, the risk assessment was used to categorize risks into different severity levels. The manufacturing data obtained from a case study was utilised to calculate the risk priority number (RPN). The risk mitigation actions were formulated to reduce the original RPN and the final RPN value decreased to a normal standard in the end. Overall, this study optimised the risk management of one case study SME and improved lean manufacturing practices. By establishing the risk identification model and applying common lean manufacturing concepts in reducing wastes at actual manufacturing processes, the manufacturing enterprise could manage to optimize the operations and increase the actual manufacturing productivity. The machining and assembly processes of diesel engines were optimized and improved with the decrease of RPN and the selection of the CK6150 CNC lathe that owns the highest MOORA assessment value

An influence of a binder system to the rheological behavior of the SS316l Metal Injection Molding (MIM) feedstock

The influence of a binder system to the rheological behavior of a metal injection molding (MIM) feedstock is presented in the paper. The binder systems used are: a) PEG & PMMA b) Palm stearin & LLDPE and, c) Tapioca starch & LLDPE. The viscosity and shear rate of the feedstocks were measured at various range of temperature and shear rate across the L/D = 10 capillary rheometer. The flow behavior index, n and activation energy, E of each feedstock were measured to show its significance as MIM feedstock. Generally, the result indicates all feedstock exhibits a shear thinning behavior and the binders are suitable as MIM binder. Additionally, the present paper has discovered that the binder system does not have much influence to the activation energy. In order to show the relevance of the rheological bahavior to the actual injection molding performance, green parts has been injection molded and the results shows an agreement with the rheological behavior result