A case study of LEAN application for shortest lead time in composite repair shop

Abstract

Lean tools and applications have been adopted globally by many companies and industries such as automotive, aerospace, healthcare, pharmaceutical, shipbuilding, public services, project management and several others. The most basic of lean tools can be distinguished by the following: Value Stream Mapping (VSM), 5S and Kaizen, and many have agreed that these are the best selections in the initial approach of lean system and these techniques are part of the Y Management System (YMS) initiatives. This research is intended to make VSM as the primary working culture, which has been proven suitable to the servicing companies that conduct Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) activities. With full cooperation from Company X Sdn. Bhd., researchers were able to review and later harmonize the implementation flow of VSM with the intentions to increase their personnel’s production rate significantly. The rudder repair project involving the maintenance of Royal Military Airforce’s Skyhawk aircraft has been given the opportunity to be experimented with VSM. After the analysis of all 53 personnel involved, it can be concluded that the lean implementation has considerably improved their individual performances, organizational behaviours, future work mapping and personal/team workstations.

Characterising project management of lean initiatives in industrial companies — crossing perspectives based on case studies

“…The main concepts of the Lean philosophy are applied in projects of both companies, aiming to reduce waste, obtain better results and deliver value to their clients. Authors Hussain (2019) and Ishak et al (2018) reported similar objectives and proved the benefits of applying lean tools (5S, VSM) and principles to save energy and damage to the environment or to maximise profits and minimise costs, respectively.…”

“…The numerous benefits of implementing Lean, which nowadays represents the Toyota Production System (TPS) approach, have become globally acknowledged. Currently, standards and approaches are vastly applied beyond the automotive context (Ishak et al, 2018), thus, impelling the creation of innovative approaches within organisations (Singh et al, 2020).…”

“…According to Ikuma et al (2011), project promoters meet with upper-level management (president, vice president, and plant supervisor) to explain the project goals and the timeline for completion. Ishak et al (2018) referred to the project approval dependency on top management and the importance of their support and cooperation during the project timeline.…”

“…This way of thinking about production started in the 1950s with the development of the Toyota Production System and then gradually transferred to other companies from the end of the 1980s. Lean initiatives have been widely explored and applied in many business Engineering Management in Production and Services areas, such as automotive, aerospace, healthcare, pharmaceutical, shipbuilding and public services (Ishak et al, 2018). Companies involved in such initiatives aim to overcome challenges, reduce waste and improve the performance of the production systems, delivering superior value to the client (Chiarini, 2015;Czabke et al, 2008;Romero et al, 2019).…”

“…Many studies were conducted, on the one hand, to examine the positive results of the Lean tools' applications (Ishak et al, 2018;Li et al, 2008;Middleton et al, 2007;Rosenbaum et al, 2014) and, on the other hand, to identify the challenges of its implementation (McLean et al, 2017), as well as subsequent success (Czabke et al, 2008). Notwithstanding the nature of the project per se and the methodology adopted, successful implementation of Lean requires the involvement and commitment of the employees, aligned with the company's strategy (Anholon & Sano, 2016;Backlund & Sundqvist, 2018).…”