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Balancing Flexibility and Lean in Manufacturing Environments
Published in Khojasteh Yacob, Production Management, 2017
Gwendolyn Holowecky, Ratna Babu Chinnam
When considering Lean applications/practices that support these studies of flexibility/environment fit, one must first consider how TPS was created and evolved with flexibility capabilities of both range and volume in mind. On range/mix flexibility, Ohno (1988) discusses the need for diversification to satisfy the consumer, but also a need for level production to minimize downstream variability. However, “leveling becomes more difficult as diversification develops.” To overcome this difficulty to “keep diversification and production leveling in harmony and still respond to customer orders in a timely manner” Ohno emphasizes the need to improve mobility by reducing lot sizes and reducing set-up time as well as improving process range with “specialized, yet versatile production processes through the use of machines and jigs that can handle minimal quantities of material.” He uses an example of multiple vehicle platforms on the same line using leveling and small lot: “one sedan, one hardtop, then a sedan, then a wagon, and so on.” This sort of planning hints at a strategic timeline at a model/process development stage.
A Case Study on the Theory of Constraints
Published in Bob Sproull, Theory of Constraints, Lean, and Six Sigma Improvement Methodology, 2019
One of the first constraints or bottlenecks our team discovered was when it was time to mount the hardtop on the chassis of a very popular German sports car. Along the hardtop mounting surface, there were 48 control points that had to be within the specification limits provided by this German manufacturer. To our amazement, 36 of these points failed to conform to the specification limits. Many of the points were above the spec limits and could be repaired, but many times they were below the limits, so the hard top had to be scrapped. In fact, approximately 20 percent of all of the tops fell into this category, which caused deep financial pain for our plant.
Crash rates of convertible cars
Published in Traffic Injury Prevention, 2021
Convertibles, which are passenger vehicles with retractable or removable roofs, have existed since among the first automobiles. For example, the 1897 Daimler Grafton Phaeton and the 1908 Ford Model T both had retractable roof structures. Though some pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, most notably the Jeep Wrangler, had versions with retractable roofs throughout the years, most convertibles are 2-door cars. Retractable roof structures of convertibles consist of either frame-supported stretched fabric or multiple hard panels, the latter of which are known as retractable-hardtop convertibles. Many convertibles also have a nonconvertible version available during the same model year.