35 research outputs found
Uncomfortable truths - teamworking under lean in the UK
A recent contribution in this journal â Procter, S. and Radnor,
Z. (2014) âTeamworking under Lean in UK public services: lean
teams and team targets in Her Majestyâs Revenue and Customs
(HMRC)â International Journal of Human Resource Management,
25:21, 2978â2995 â provides an account of teamworking
in the UK Civil Service, specifically Her Majestyâs Revenue
and Customs (HMRC), focused on the relationship between
recently implemented lean work organisation and teams and
teamworking. Procter and Radnor claim in this work that it
delivers a âmore nuancedâ analysis of lean in this government
department and, it follows, of the lean phenomenon more
generally. Our riposte critiques their article on several grounds.
It suffers from problems of logic and construction, conceptual
confusion and definitional imprecision. Methodological
difficulties and inconsistent evidence contribute additionally
to analytical weakness. Included in our response are empirical
findings on teamworking at HMRC that challenge Procter and
Radnorâs evidential basis and further reveal the shortcomings
of their interpretation
Exploring perceptions of Lean in the public sector
This paper explores discourses around Lean by examining the perceptions of new users of Lean in the public sector. The paper draws on actorânetwork theory as the basis for exploring what these new users think about Lean and uses data analysis tools to extrude concepts of significance. The data suggests that Lean continues to retain diverse, parallel and competing perspectives. The responses also signal that key concepts of Lean are missing from the discourses, and that this highlights a need to discuss Lean as a mindsetânot just as a set of tools. The paper suggests future directions for research to further explore the issues emphasised by respondents
State-of-the-art of 'Lean' in the aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul industry
The increasing need for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) organizations to meet customersâ demands in quality and reduced lead times is key to its survival within the aviation industry. Furthermore, with the unpredictability in the global market and difficulties with forecasting characteristic of the MRO industry there is an increased need for the reevaluation of the operation models of organizations within this sector. However, severe economic turmoil and ever-increasing global competition introduce the opportunity for the adoption of a resilient, tried, and tested business operation model such as âLeanâ. In order to understand this concept, its long-term viability, and its application within the aerospace MRO sector fully, this paper presents the state-of-the-art in terms of the adoption of Lean within the MRO industry by carrying out a systematic review of the literature. This paper establishes the common perception of Lean by the MRO industry and the measurable progress that has been made on the subject. Some issues and challenges are also highlighted including the misconceptions that arise from the direct transference of the perception of Lean from other industrial sectors into the aerospace MRO industry. The âenablers and inhibitorsâ of Lean within the aviation industry are also discussed. This paper exposes the scarcity of the literature and the general lagging behind of the industry to the adoption of the Lean paradigm and thus highlights areas where further research is required
Industrial ecology at factory level : A prototype methodology
The concept of sustainable manufacturing is a form of pollution prevention that integrates environmental considerations in the production of goods while focusing on efficient resource use. Taking the industrial ecology perspective, this efficiency comes from improved resource flow management. The assessment of material, energy and waste resource flows, therefore, offers a route to viewing and analysing a manufacturing system as an ecosystem using industrial ecology biological analogy and can, in turn, support the identification of improvement opportunities in the material, energy and waste flows. This application of industrial ecology at factory level is absent from the literature. This article provides a prototype methodology to apply the concepts of industrial ecology using material, energy and waste process flows to address this gap in the literature. Various modelling techniques were reviewed and candidates selected to test the prototype methodology in an industrial case. The application of the prototype methodology showed the possibility of using the material, energy and waste resource flows through the factory to link manufacturing operations and supporting facilities, and to identify potential improvements in resource use. The outcomes of the work provide a basis to build the specifications for a modelling tool that can support those analysing their manufacturing system to improve their environmental performance and move towards sustainable manufacturing