A review on the selection of lean production tools and techniques

There has been numerous published literature related to lean production. However, very limited studies have been found focussing on the selection of lean production tools and techniques especially for Malaysian context. The review is based on the contemporary literature that published between year 2004 to 2014. The main databases used were Science Direct, Scopus and Emerald. The review gives general pictures of the selection and implementation of lean tools and techniques in various industries and the factors that affect the selection process. The analysis showed that there was no study yet on the selection of lean production tools and techniques specifically in Malaysia by using rational decision making process. Therefore, this gap requires further research on the selection of appropriate lean production tools and techniques by considering several critical decision criteria

A review on the selection of lean production tools and techniques

There has been numerous published literature related to lean production. However, very limited studies have been found focussing on the selection of lean production tools and techniques especially for Malaysian context. The review is based on the contemporary literature that published between year 2004 to 2014. The main databases used were Science Direct, Scopus and Emerald. The review gives general pictures of the selection and implementation of lean tools and techniques in various industries and the factors that affect the selection process. The analysis showed that there was no study yet on the selection of lean production tools and techniques specifically in Malaysia by using rational decision making process. Therefore, this gap requires further research on the selection of appropriate lean production tools and techniques by considering several critical decision criteria

Modeling LHP in carbon steel-1045 during quenching

The modelling of an axisymmetric industrial quenched carbon steel-1045 based on finite element method has been produced to investigate the impact of process history on metallurgical and material properties. Mathematical modelling of 1-Dimensional line (radius) element axisymmetric model has been adopted to predict temperature history and consequently the hardness of the quenched steel bar at any point (node). The lowest hardness point (LHP) is determined. In this paper hardness in specimen points was calculated by the conversion of calculated characteristic cooling time for phase transformation t8/5 to hardness. The model can be employed as a guideline to design cooling approach to achieve desired microstructure and mechanical properties such as hardness. The developed mathematical model converted to a computer program. This program can be used independently or incorporated into a temperature history software which named LHP-software to continuously calculate and display temperature history of the industrial quenched steel bar and thereby calculate LHP. The developed program from the mathematical model has been verified and validated by comparing its hardness results with experimental work results. The comparison indicates reliability of the proposed model. Keywords:, Heat Treatment; Quenching; Axisymmetric Chromium Steel Bar; Finite Element; Mathematical Modeling; Unsteady State Heat Transfer

Determination LHP of axisymmetric transient Molybdenum steel-4037H quenched in sea water by developing 1-d mathematical model

The modelling of an axisymmetric industrial quenched molybdenum steel bar AISI-SAE 4037H quenched in sea water based on finite element method has been produced to investigate the impact of process history on metallurgical and material properties. Mathematical modelling of 1-dimensional line (radius) element axisymmetric model has been adopted to predict temperature history and consequently the hardness of the quenched steel bar at any point (node). The lowest hardness point (LHP) is determined. In this paper hardness in specimen points was calculated by the conversion of calculated characteristic cooling time for phase transformation t8/5 to hardness. The model can be employed as a guideline to design cooling approach to achieve desired microstructure and mechanical properties such as hardness. The developed mathematical model was converted to a computer program. This program can be used independently or incorporated into a temperature history calculator to continuously calculate and display temperature history of the industrially quenched steel bar and thereby calculate LHP. The developed program from the mathematical model has been verified and validated by comparing its hardness results with commercial finite element software results. The comparison indicates reliability of the proposed model

The Determinants of Employee Attitude towards e-HRM–A Study of Engineering Company in Malaysia

Electronic Human Resource Management (e-HRM) is “…the application of information technology for both networking and supporting at least at least two individual or collective actors in their shared performing of HR activities†(Strohmeir, 2007). Using a survey method, this study reports the determinant of employee attitude towards e-HRM in an engineering company in Malaysia. There are basically two major independent variables i.e. perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The overall results show that the employees had significantly positive attitude towards e-HRM as they perceived that the system is useful and easy to use. Data shows that they intend to use e-HRM and predict that they would use e-HRM in future. The findings of this research provide valuable insights for the management to create a positive attitude towards technological interventions especially in assisting human resource management. Hence, a company should enhance the employees’ understanding of the system through a proper and thorough training so that they will perceive the system as useful and easy to use

Assessment of BioPattern in Novel Idea Generation for Bio-Inspired Design

BioPattern is a novel ideation tool for Bio-Inspired Design, built based on TRIZ, SAPPhIRE, and pattern language. It consists of an ontology, known as pattern-based ontology, and a sustainability evaluation, known as Ideal Windows. However, this framework has not been tested yet. Therefore, this article is to present the results and analysis of the case study conducted to assess this biomimicry framework. Two different groups of students, Creative & Innovation class (controlled group) and Integrated Engineering Design class (experimental group), are asked to generate innovative ideas where the experimental group employed BioPattern as the ideation tool. It is found that the level of innovation for the inventive ideas generated by the experimental group is much higher compared to that of the controlled group. Based on the inventive ideas produced by the experimental group, BioPattern is found to be efficient in ideation, able to generate effective solution, the problem-solution pairs of the ontology are adequate, and the biological solutions suggested are transferable as technological solutions. It can be concluded that BioPattern is able to bridge the biology-engineering gap

Integrated Mechanical Pulse Jet Coolant Delivery System Performance for Minimal Quantity Lubrication

Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) machining is one of the promising solutions to the requirement for decrease in cutting fluid consumption. This research describes MQL machining in a range of lubricant consumption 2.0ml/h, which is 10–100 times smaller than the consumption usually adopted in industries. MQL machining in this range is called pulse jet coolant delivery system in this research. A specially designed system was used for concentrating small amounts of lubricant onto the cutting interface. The performance of concentrated spraying of lubricant in pulse jet coolant delivery system design was compared with that of current ‘Pulse Jet MQL’ systems. The concentrated spraying of lubricant with a specially designed of system was quite effective in increasing tool life in the pulse jet coolant delivery system range

Lean tools and techniques: a comparison between Malaysian manufacturing and services organisations

The purpose of this study is to compare lean tools and techniques in terms of the awareness, usage, effectiveness and potential future adoption between Malaysian manufacturing and services organisations in order to help Malaysian organisations to select, adopt and implement the right lean tools and techniques based their context. An online questionnaire survey of 114 respondents from 15 states in Malaysia was conducted. The quantitative data were gathered and analysed using the Statistical software. The findings of the survey indicated that there are no significance differences (p<0.05) between both manufacturing and services organisations for majority of lean tools and techniques. Nevertheless, Malaysian manufacturing organisations has indicated more prone to adopt some lean tools and techniques compared to services organisations