Lean Production
Lean production is widely understood to be production based upon a range of waste saving measures inspired by Japanese manufacturing companies, particularly the Kaizen and Just in time techniques. Metov’s plastics have taken the decision upon themselves to incorporate some of the characteristics of lean production namely time management and critical path analysis into their manufacturing process and I will examine these.
One method used by Metov’s is critical path analysis (CPA). CPA is the process of planning the sequence of activities in a project in order to discover the most efficient and quickest way of completing it. Metov’s have recently been able to incorporate this technique due to recent advancement in the companies ICT system so that more advanced software which could run CPA could be utilised. There are many advantages to this technique. Metov’s constructed a CPA for setting up a new factory in Dover, in doing this they were able to work out the latest finish time was 19 weeks. This meant they were sure that two majors customers with orders worth £1million and £2million respectively would get there orders in time and this increased customer satisfaction. In addition CPA has helped with particular concentration on speed of delivery. This enabled less factory space to be wasted on storage of raw materials and more production to take place, which was of real benefit as the factory was already crowded. With increased speed of production comes an increased level of production which means they were able to sell more products and satisfy more orders/customers. CPA also assists in helping to control and review. Metov’s will be able to analyse CPA to monitor the progress against the original plan thus highlighting any delays and steps which could be taken to rectify a problem.
Time management is an approach than recognises the importance of time and seeks to reduce the level of unproductive time within an organisation. Metov’s recently adopted a 24 hour
One method used by Metov’s is critical path analysis (CPA). CPA is the process of planning the sequence of activities in a project in order to discover the most efficient and quickest way of completing it. Metov’s have recently been able to incorporate this technique due to recent advancement in the companies ICT system so that more advanced software which could run CPA could be utilised. There are many advantages to this technique. Metov’s constructed a CPA for setting up a new factory in Dover, in doing this they were able to work out the latest finish time was 19 weeks. This meant they were sure that two majors customers with orders worth £1million and £2million respectively would get there orders in time and this increased customer satisfaction. In addition CPA has helped with particular concentration on speed of delivery. This enabled less factory space to be wasted on storage of raw materials and more production to take place, which was of real benefit as the factory was already crowded. With increased speed of production comes an increased level of production which means they were able to sell more products and satisfy more orders/customers. CPA also assists in helping to control and review. Metov’s will be able to analyse CPA to monitor the progress against the original plan thus highlighting any delays and steps which could be taken to rectify a problem.
Time management is an approach than recognises the importance of time and seeks to reduce the level of unproductive time within an organisation. Metov’s recently adopted a 24 hour