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PurposeThe concept of agile manufacturing is becoming critically important to manufacturing industry due to rapid industrialization, fluctuating customer demand, and turbulent business environment. The aim of this study is to prioritize the attributes for successful implementation of agile manufacturing using a combined analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach in Indian manufacturing industry.Design/methodology/approachThe current study identifies eight agile manufacturing attributes through literature review and discussion with subject experts. The experts from different manufacturing industry have been asked to provide data for pairwise comparison of attributes. Afterward, an integrated AHP and TOPSIS approach is employed. The AHP is used to drive the priority weights of the attributes, and TOPSIS is used for prioritizing the attributes for successful implementation of agile manufacturing.Findings“Information technology,” “human resource management-related issues,” “customer-related issues,” “leadership support,” and “organizationalc related-issues” have been ranked as the top five significant and contributing attributes, which can pave the path for top management to concentrate on the critical areas and allocate significant resources to ensure successful implementation of agile manufacturing.Originality/valueThis research integrates AHP and TOPSIS to prioritize the attributes for successful implementation of agile manufacturing, which are further validated by comparing the ranks obtained through respective approach and sensitivity analysis.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use the 5S tool to assist a small-scale manufacturing organization to become more productive and more efficient. Design/methodology/approach – A simple approach has been adopted to create the teams for implementing 5S. Cause-and-effect diagram has been studied for shop floor analysis. Later, four data collection methods have been used to ensure right implementation of the 5S. Findings – In the frames of this case study, it has been analyzed that implementation of “5S” resulted in overall improvement of the organization. With the implementation of “5S”, major benefits in the form of tool searching time have been achieved. Tool searching time from shop floor has been reduced from 30 minutes to 5 minutes. “5S” audit has been conducted in the organization. “5S” audit score has been increased from 7 (Week 1) to 55 (Week 20). Practical implications – 5S is a powerful tool and can be implemented in various industries whether micro, small, medium or large. Implementation of 5S has large horizontal development and can be implemented in all the workstations of an organization. Originality/value – The publications and case study presented in this paper will be useful to researchers, professionals and others concerned with this subject to understand the significance of 5S.

Abstract:The purpose of this study is to implement some of the 5S and kaizen principles to assist small scale manufacturing organisations to become more efficient and more productive. The paper systematically categorises, analyses, and reviews methodically the published literature. In the frames of a case study, the 5S and kaizen rules in the organisation have been analysed and implemented. On the basis of the case study, it can be stated that introducing the 5S and kaizen rules brings great changes in the organisation, for example, increasing of effectiveness and efficiency in the processes, improved visibility of the process, improved morale and safety of the employees, reduced delays, searching time and dangerous conditions. 5S and kaizen is a powerful tool and can be implemented in any industry, whether it is micro, small, medium or large. Implementation of 5S and kaizen has large horizontal development and they can be implemented in all the workstations of the organisation. The 5S and kaizen method begins each programme of improvement in a company. Its result is the effective organisation of the workplace. The publications and case study presented in the paper will be useful to researchers, professionals and others concerned with this subject to understand the significance of 5S and kaizen.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the contributions of ISO 9000 initiatives towards improving manufacturing performance in the Indian manufacturing industry. Design/methodology/approach -In this study, 96 manufacturing organizations have been extensively surveyed, to ascertain contributions made by ISO 9000 initiatives in the Indian manufacturing industries towards realizing manufacturing performance improvements. The correlations between various ISO 9000 implementation issues and manufacturing performance improvements have been evaluated and validated by employing various statistical tools.Findings -The research focuses on the significant contributions of ISO 9000 implementation success factors like top management contributions, continuous improvement practices and ISO 9000 implementation initiatives, towards affecting improvements in manufacturing performance in the Indian industry. The inter-relationships between various ISO 9000 implementation success factors with the manufacturing performance improvement parameters have been evaluated, to efficiently manage the ISO 9000 implementation program to realize organizational objectives of growth and sustainability.Research limitations/implications -The study establishes that focused ISO 9000 implementation over a reasonable time period can strategically contribute towards realization of significant manufacturing performance enhancements. Practical implications -The study stresses the need for improving the coordination between manufacturing function and other organizational quality improvement initiatives in the organizations, to establish manufacturing as a competitive strategy for meeting the challenges of highly competitive environments. Social implications -The findings suggest that effective ISO 9000 initiatives can significantly contribute towards realization of strategic manufacturing performance improvements for competing in the highly dynamic global marketplace. These interrelationships can be used to understand the effect of various ISO 9000 success factors towards realization of organization objectives of growth and sustainability. Originality/value -The study highlights the strong potential of ISO 9000 implementation initiatives in affecting organizational performance improvements. The achievements of Indian manufacturing organizations through proactive ISO 9000 initiatives have been evaluated and critical ISO 9000 success factors identified for enhancing the effectiveness of ISO 9000 implementation programs in the Indian context.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existing literature on agile manufacturing (AM) to pinpoint critical success factors (CSFs) affecting the successful implementation of agile manufacturing systems. Design/methodology/approach The study focused on empirical articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 1991 to 2019 (July). In total, 37 empirical studies were shortlisted for analysis as the reliability and validity of the constructs were critically tested using various statistical methods. Further, “Pareto analysis” tool was employed to sort and arrange the factors critical for smoother and effective implementation of AM, in descending order according to their frequency of occurrence. Findings The present work scrutinizes 37 research papers, resulting in 33 CSFs that affect AM implementation. Using Pareto analysis, 8 CSFs are regarded as “vital few,” which account for 82.66 percent of occurrence, and the remaining 25 CSFs are regarded as “useful many,” which account for 17.34 percent of occurrence. The managers must focus on successful deployment of “vital few” CSFs, as they are more critical in achieving business excellence through the successful implementation of AM, in comparison to other 25 “useful many” CSFs. Originality/value To the best knowledge of authors, this work is the first attempt to employ Pareto analysis for critically analyzing a wide range of AM CSFs studies. The findings of this study will assist researchers and managers in AM implementation in a more smoother and effective way in manufacturing industries.

PurposeThe study aims at empirically investigating and prioritizing the critical barriers for the successful implementation of agile manufacturing in the medium- and large-scale Indian manufacturing industries.Design/methodology/approachA literature review of peer-reviewed journals and discussion with experts is used to identify 17 barriers to the implementation of agile manufacturing. An empirical survey is then conducted to collect data regarding the agile manufacturing barriers and is further analyzed using the factor analysis and vlsekriterijumska optimizacija i kompromisno resenje (VIKOR).FindingsBased on the survey of empirical data, the investigated critical barriers were reduced in five critical categories, as follows: Managerial constraints, technological constraints, human resource–related constraints, operational constraints and organizational culture-related constraints, which are further ranked in terms of their severity using VIKOR. This research advocates the development of a strategy for addressing the most critical barriers instead of focusing on all for the successful implementation of agile manufacturing.Originality/valueThis work contributes to agile manufacturing literature by the structured presentation of the barriers to implement agile manufacturing in the Indian manufacturing industry. It also extends the integrated factor analysis and VIKOR method to investigate and rank the barriers.

Purpose In the past, the insufficiency of the traditional business practices to meet vibrant customer demands in continuously changing business environment has severely affected organizational competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to develop and propose a new framework for smoother and effective implementation of agile manufacturing by identifying and integrating a set of significant agility principles and techniques. Design/methodology/approach The present work proposed a framework for agile manufacturing by deploying the comparative analysis of 17 frameworks published in peer-reviewed journals. Findings The proposed conceptual framework constitutes of eight pillars for agile manufacturing implementation. The proposed framework relies on a strong foundation of leadership support. The roof of the proposed framework of agile manufacturing is supported by the pillars constituted of seven elements, an industry must deploy for successfully implementing agile manufacturing, namely, human resource-related issues, organizational culture-related issues, supplier-related issues, customer-related issues, innovation, concurrent engineering and information technology. Originality/value This work is the first attempt, in the best knowledge of the authors, to employ comparative analysis for critically analyzing a wide range of agile manufacturing frameworks. The findings of this study will assist researchers and managers in agile manufacturing implementation in more a smoother and effective way in manufacturing industries.