The Recent Trends in Production: 1. Flexibility: The ability to adapt quickly to changes in volumes of demand, in the product mix demanded, and in product design or delivery schedules, has become a major competitive strategy and a competitive advantage to the firms. This is sometimes called as agile (move quickly) . 2. : TQM approach has been adopted by many firms to achieve customer satisfaction by a never ending quest for improving the quality of goods and services. 3. Time Reduction: Reduction of manufacturing cycle time and speed to marker for a new product provide a competitive edge to a firm over other firms. When companies can provide products at the same price and quality, quicker delivery (short lead time) provide one firm competitive edge over the other. 4. Worker Involvement: The recent trend is to assign responsibility for decision making and problem solving to the lower levels in the organization. This is known as employee involvement and empowerment. Examples of employee’s empowerment are quality circle and use of work teams or quality improvement teams. 5. Business Process Re-engineering: BPR involves drastic measures or break-through improvements to improve the performance of a firm. It involves the concept of clean- state approach or starting from a scratch in redesigning in business processes. 6. Global Market Place: Globalization of business has compelled many manufacturing firms to give operations in many countries where they have certain economic advantage. This has resulted in a steep increase in the level of competition among manufacturing firms throughout the world. 7. Operations Strategy: More and more firms are recognizing the importance of operations strategy for the overall success of their business and the necessity for relating it to their overall business strategy. 8. Lean production: Production system have become lean production systems which have minimal amount of resources to produce a high volume of high quality goods with some variety. These systems use flexible manufacturing systems and multi- skilled workforce to have advantages of both and job production. 9. Just in time production: JIT is a ‘pull’ (not push) system of production, so actual orders provide a signal for when a product should be manufactured. Demand-pull enables a firm to produce only what is required, in the correct quantity and at the correct time. This means that stock levels of raw materials, components, work in progress and finished goods can be kept to a minimum. This requires a carefully planned scheduling and flow of resources through the production process. For example, a car manufacturing plant might receive exactly the right number and type of tyres for one day’s production, and the supplier would be expected to deliver them to the correct loading bay (time gap) on the production line within a very narrow time slot.

10. Computer Aided Manufacturing: Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is the use of computer-based software tools that assist engineers and machinists in manufacturing or prototyping product components. CAM is a programming tool that makes it possible to manufacture physical models using computer-aided design (CAD) programs. CAM creates real life versions of components designed within a software package. CAM was first used in 1971 for car body design and tooling. 11. Computer Aided Design: Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computer technology to aid in the design and particularly the drafting (technical drawing and engineering drawing) of a part or product, including entire buildings. It is both a visual (or drawing) and symbol-based method of communication whose conventions are particular to a specific technical field. 12. E-Supply Chain Management: Supply chain management is the management of supply chain from suppliers to final customers reduces the cost of transportation, warehousing and distribution throughout the supply chain. But SCM was a traditional concept which is now being replaced by E-SCM. E-Supply chain management is a series of Internet enabled value-adding activities to guarantee products created by a manufacturing process can eventually meet customer requirements and realize returns on investment. Supply chains have advanced in the last two decades with improved efficiency, agility and accuracy. The recent advancement of Internet technology has brought more powerful support to improving supply chain performance. In this context, e-supply chain management becomes a new term that distinguishes itself by net-centric and real-time features from traditional supply chain management. 13. 14. Enterprise Resource Planning: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is an enterprise- wide information system designed to coordinate all the resources, information, and activities needed to complete business processes such as order fulfilment or billing. 15. Environmental Issues: Today’s production managers are concerned more and more with pollution control and waste disposal which are key issues in protection of environment and social responsibility. There is increasing emphasis on reducing waste, recycling waste, using less-toxic chemicals and using biodegradable materials for packaging. 5S principles  The original 5S principles were stated in Japanese.  Because of their proven value, they have been translated and restated in English.  The 5S is a mantra of sorts designed to help build a quality work environment, both physically and mentally.  The 5S condition of a work area is critical to the morale of employees and the basis of customers’ first impressions.  Management’s attitude regarding employees is reflected in the 5S condition of the work area.  The 5S philosophy applies in any work area.

The elements of 5S are:  Sort—Eliminate whatever is not needed  Straighten—Organize whatever remains  Shine—Clean the work area  Standardize—Schedule regular cleaning and maintenance  Sustain—Make 5S a way of life How does 5S help? Eliminates waste that results from a poorly organized work area (e.g. wasting time looking for a tool).

Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)  A strategy where employees work together proactively to achieve regular, incremental improvements in the manufacturing process. How does Kaizen help?  Combines the collective talents of a company to create an engine for continually eliminating waste from manufacturing processes.

Kanban (Pull System) A method of regulating the flow of goods both within the factory and with outside suppliers and customers. Based on automatic replenishment through signal cards that indicate when more goods are needed. How does Kanban help? Eliminates waste from inventory and overproduction. Can eliminate the need for physical inventories (instead relying on signal cards to indicate when more goods need to be ordered).

Poka-Yoke (Error Proofing) Design error detection and prevention into production processes with the goal of achieving . How does Poka-Yoke help? It is difficult (and expensive) to find all defects through inspection, and correcting defects typically gets significantly more expensive at each stage of production.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)  A holistic approach to maintenance that focuses on proactive and preventative maintenance to maximize the operational time of equipment.  TPM blurs the distinction between maintenance and production by placing a strong emphasis on empowering operators to help maintain their equipment. How does Total Productive Maintenance help?  Creates a shared responsibility for equipment that encourages greater involvement by plant floor workers.  In the right environment this can be very effective in improving productivity (increasing up time, reducing cycle times, and eliminating defects). Lean Manufacturing  Lean manufacturing or lean production, often simply "lean", is a systematic method for waste minimization ("Muda") within a manufacturing system without sacrificing productivity.  Lean also takes into account waste created through overburden ("Muri") and waste created through unevenness in work loads ("Mura").  Working from the perspective of the client who consumes a product or service, "value" is any action or process that a customer would be willing to pay for.  Lean manufacturing makes obvious what adds value, by reducing everything else (which is not adding value). This management philosophy is derived mostly from the Toyota Production System (TPS) and identified as "lean" only in the 1990s.  TPS is renowned for its focus on reduction of the original Toyota seven wastes to improve overall customer value, but there are varying perspectives on how this is best achieved. The original seven mudas are:  Transport (moving products that are not actually required to perform the processing)  Inventory (all components, work in process, and finished product not being processed)  Motion (people or equipment moving or walking more than is required to perform the processing)  Waiting (waiting for the next production step, interruptions of production during shift change)  Overproduction (production ahead of demand)  Over Processing (resulting from poor tool or product design creating activity)  Defects (the effort involved in inspecting for and fixing defects)  Lean principles are derived from the Japanese manufacturing industry. The term was first coined by John Krafcik in his 1988 article, "Triumph of the Lean Production System", based on his master's thesis at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Lean Production Advantages Less infrastructure:  A manufacturer implementing lean production only uses the building space, equipment, tools, supplies and manpower necessary to meet near-term inventory demand from buyers, according to WinMan Advanced ERP Systems.  In contrast to mass production facilities, a building used with a lean production strategy doesn't have any wasted space. Only the room necessary to meet demand is required.  Similarly, the business doesn't need unused equipment and tools sitting around.  Labor shifts are also scheduled to ensure workers don't stand around with nothing to do. Limited waste:  The goal of limited waste is a key focus of lean manufacturing relative to mass production.  Companies don't want excess inventory sitting around waiting for customers to want it.  This approach eliminates dated or obsolete inventory and the risk that certain items perish or expire.  Eliminating waste is cost-effective.  It is not necessary to have space or people to manage the extra inventory until it is purchased. Strong customer relationships:  Lean production is an efficient approach to customer relationships.  Unlike mass production, which attempts to meet the needs of all customers when demand occurs, lean production involves meeting the needs of loyal customers on a scheduled or predictable basis.  Keeping your best customers happy and in good supply contributes to limited waste, while ensuring that your cash cow customers feel important to your business.  It is also easier to customize products or flex production processes when you cater (to provide service) to select buyers.

Lean Production Disadvantages Equipment or labour failure:  The central risk of operating with a lean strategy is that you have little margin for error.  If equipment breaks down or you need more-than-projected labour for certain processes, you may fall behind and lose your optimized efficiency advantages, according to consulting firm TPS Lean.  In a mass production plant, workers simply slide over to another piece of equipment if something quits working. In a lean production facility, there aren't a lot of extra equipment and tools around. Missed deliveries:  Directly tied to the lack of flexibility or margin for error is the potential for missed delivery deadlines.  Breakdowns can cause you to harm your primary customer relationships if you don't deliver as promised.  Your wholesale or retail buyers need goods by deadlines to meet the demand from their customers.  If you consistently fail to provide timely shipments, buyers look for suppliers that can. Sometimes, you don't even get a second chance on a major miss.

Just-in-time (JIT) is an inventory strategy companies employ to increase efficiency and decrease waste by receiving goods only as they are needed in the production process, thereby reducing inventory costs.  This method requires producers to forecast demand accurately.  This inventory supply system represents a shift away from the older just-in-case strategy, in which producers carried large inventories in case higher demand had to be met. BREAKING DOWN 'Just In Time - JIT'  A good example would be a car manufacturer that operates with very low inventory levels, relying on its supply chain to deliver the parts it needs to build cars.  The parts needed to manufacture the cars do not arrive before or after they are needed; instead, they arrive just as they are needed. Advantages  Just-in-time inventory control has several advantages over traditional models.  Production runs remain short, which means manufacturers, can move from one type of product to another very easily.  This method reduces costs by eliminating warehouse storage needs.  Companies also spend less money on raw materials because they buy just enough to make the products and no more.

Disadvantages  The disadvantages of just-in-time inventories involve disruptions in the supply chain.  If a supplier of raw materials has a breakdown and cannot deliver the goods on time, one supplier can shut down the entire production process.  A sudden order for goods that surpasses expectations may delay delivery of finished products to clients.

The British Motor Corporation plant in Australia originally developed the just-in-time production system in the 1950s, but it was largely adopted by Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. Post-World War II, Japan was seeking to rebuild industry but was short on cash and space. Rather than financing the big-batch, large inventory production methods used elsewhere, they built smaller factories that only housed the necessary materials to fill existing orders. This dramatically reduced inventory and investment costs. Toyota played a key role in developing just-in-time manufacturing in Japan and introducing the method to the United States; for this reason, it is often referred to as the Toyota Production System (TPS).  Just-in-time manufacturing operates on a philosophy of complete elimination of waste.  Rather than working on a production-push basis, JIT manufacturing works on a demand-pull basis.  Essentially, actual orders dictate the exact quantities organizations manufacture: they make only what is needed, when it is needed and in the amount it is needed.  To do this successfully, organizations must implement incredibly detailed plans concerning procurement policies and manufacturing processes.  They must employ technological systems, such as production scheduling software and electronic data interchange, to provide necessary support.  And finally, organizations must be willing to continually re-evaluate systems and implement new methods to meet their customers’ needs and improve efficiency.

Advantages of Just-In-Time Manufacturing (in detailed)  This method eliminates waste, removing out-of-date or expired products and overproduction from the equation.  Stock holding costs are kept to a bare minimum. Storage space is freed up and better utilized, eliminating unnecessary rent and insurance costs.  Because only essential stocks are acquired, less working capital is necessary to finance procurement. A minimum re-order level is set, and new stocks are ordered only when that mark has been reached, streamlining inventory management.  Return on investment (ROI) is generally high because of the low level of stocks held.  Just-in-time production can easily incorporate changes in demand. Because the system works on a demand-pull basis, all products manufactured are sold. JIT production is adaptable to today’s somewhat volatile markets.  This system necessarily emphasizes the “right first time” concept, minimizing costs of inspection and rework.  JIT production encourages high quality products and continually improving efficiency.  This method emphasizes constant communication with the customer to improve processes, meet changing needs and promote higher customer satisfaction. Disadvantages of Just-In-Time Manufacturing  Just-in-time manufacturing can make re-working difficult in practice, as inventory is kept to a bare minimum. As a result, zero tolerance for mistakes is critical.  There can be a high reliance on the performance of suppliers.  There are no buffers for delays as they can destroy the equilibrium of the production process.  It can be difficult to meet an unexpected increase in orders with no excess finished goods.  Transaction costs can be relatively high with frequent transactions.  Just-in-time manufacturing may be less environmentally friendly due to more frequent deliveries and higher consumption of fossil fuels. While just-in-time manufacturing is not without its pitfalls, these disadvantages can be overcome. This system encourages continual improvements, as well as planning and innovation to overcome any obstacles and inefficiencies. This just-in-time manufacturing method has been successfully implemented in many manufacturing organizations. It is a philosophy that focuses on optimization: reducing waste, increasing productivity and constantly responding to customer needs. World Class Manufacturing  World class manufacturing is a collection of concepts, which set standard for production and manufacturing for another organization to follow.  In competitive business environment companies must improve their manufacturing practice which is lean, efficient, lucrative and flexible.  World class manufacturing is a group of concepts, which develops standards for production and manufacturing for another organization to follow.  Japanese manufacturing is attributed for revolving the notion of world-class manufacturing.  World class manufacturing was introduced in many sectors like automobile, electronic and steel industry.  The objectives of World-Class Manufacturing efforts are to maintain market share, improving profitability and improving the firm's ability to compete in a global market place (Montgomery et al 1996).

 World Class Manufacturing was originally used by Hayes and Wheelwright in 1984 to explicate companies that gained international competence by utilizing manufacturing skills.  They explained world class manufacturing as a set of practices, implying that the use of best practices in order to enhance performance.

 They mentioned numerous critical practices, such as development of the workforce, developing a technically competent management group, competing through quality, stimulating worker participation and investing in state of-the art equipment and facilities.  Schönberger elaborated the principles of World Class Manufacturing and gave many examples.  His main concentration was on continuous improvement, development of supplier relationships, product design and JIT to the practices cited by Hayes and Wheelwright.  Schonberger offered a list of 16 principles of WCM which were grouped into eight categories such as general, design, operations, human resources, quality and process improvement, information for operations and control, capacity, promotion and marketing.  Schonberger told managers to appraise their own plants based on these 16 principles (1986).  In common language, a world class producer is powerful to flourish at global business market.  Farsijani and Carruthers (1996) presented a model which demonstrated the growth of techniques and factors related with the belief of WCM.  This model is an advanced toolbox from 1980 onwards, with respect to the industrial environment and organizational requirement.  However, the model of Farsijani and Carruthers (1996) had some limits, it lacks distinct structure and cataloguing for its techniques.  To achieve huge success in business at international level, on the basis of World Class Manufacturing principles, companies must adopt precise manufacturing strategies.  The correct manufacturing approach deliver on the shortest lead time, always on time, offer a product with good features as compare to competitors, made perfectly, to meet the expectations of the customer, can produce in quantities as required and at lowest cost.

Manufacturing Excellence and WCM

 World class manufacturing has been characterised by three core strategies of customer focus, quality, and agility such as the ability to quickly, efficiently and effectively respond to change and six supporting competencies; employee involvement (EI), supply management, technology, product development, environmental responsibility and employee safety (Kinni, 1996).  It is necessary for organizations to consider some critical factors that may impact implementation process and address them effectually to guarantee benefits and evade failures when executing World Class Manufacturing concept.  These factors are management commitment, quality department, continuous improvement and customer involvement.  Theorist, Greene defined that "WCM companies are those companies which continuously outperform the industry's global best practices and which know intimately their customers and suppliers, know their competitors' performance capabilities and know their own strengths and weaknesses.  All of which form a basis of continually changing competitive strategies and performance objectives (1991, p. 14).  The perception of World Class Manufacturing is in reality in the manufacturing set up which can be implemented through the proper tools and methods such as Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and within it Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), SMED, pull and kanban system, continuous flow, visual management, team work, JIT, 5S, waste elimination, Statistical Process Control (SPC), Zero Quality Control (parts per million – PPM).

Figure: Factors of World Class Manufacturing

The Implementation of World Class Manufacturing  Management studies denote that any organization can get success if it provides soothing conditions for improvement of both manufacturing and administrative processes.  The implementation of world class manufacturing is usually organized in the companies by separate department whose job is to train employees about how to use WCM notion and methods, then organisation of individual projects, all that recording in the documentation, and evaluation of results and their distribution.  World class manufacturing department addresses and aligns three major areas that include People, Process and Production: 1. Area: People:  Teams and peoples in the company work in secure atmosphere to accomplish goals of management and to satisfy the customer needs.  Company must give more emphasis on health, safety, environmental thinking and behaviour.  Management considers an education and training of people, then leading people to teamwork. 2. Area: Processes:  The process is a series of individual actions performed in a specific sequence that create value.  It is important that processes must be standardized and give superior results over time and that the maintenance of processes and equipment must proceed well. 3. Area: Production:  Flow is the rhythmic and continuous transmission of the right material and precise information within the manufacturing operations at the correct time, in the right quantity and in the right way.  The objective of flow production is to decrease product throughput time and human energy through a series of appropriate actions.

The role of World Class Manufacturing engineer is to 1. Implement and communicate the World Class Manufacturing concept in a company and oversight its proper implementation. 2. To train top management and other company managers in World Class Manufacturing practices and assist them in implementing their training sessions. 3. Introduce indicators, collect and visualize the results achieved by the company. 4. Find solutions in World Class Manufacturing area of how to optimize resources for individual company departments; 5. Find solutions to the demands of workplaces regarding World Class Manufacturing methods. 6. Collaborate in defining company strategy in terms of World Class Manufacturing activities. 7. Prepare meetings with company management. 8. Introduce methodological procedures. 9. Plan the necessary financial and human resources in the implementation of World Class Manufacturing.

Obstacle to World Class Manufacturing Implementation:  It is well established in management studies that World Class Manufacturing is a necessary practise for the achievement of competitiveness.  It combines a system of knowledge, techniques, experiences, skills, and organisational characteristics that are needed to produce, utilise and control output.  World Class Manufacturing is critical to competition, because the techniques and resources it combines can create new opportunities.  Such an approach is given added motivation by speedy technological changes and aggressive competition, requiring manufacturers to consider the adaptation of recent techniques of World Class Manufacturing.  Nonetheless, many theorists have argued that WCM implementation has a number of limitations that must be addressed in the manufacturing strategy (Hollensen, 2001).  When executing the World Class Manufacturing techniques, there are many barriers such as partial implementation of WCM techniques, optimistic expectations and implementation of WCM to conform to societal norms rather than for its instrumentality (Campbell, 1994).  Major problems in World Class Manufacturing application include incomplete implementation, lack of a well-defined routine for attaining the objectives of implementation, cultural resistance to change, lack of training and education, and lack of organizational communication (Crawford et al., 1988).  Safayeni et al. (1991) stated that ineffectiveness of WCM implementation is due to misperception over what exactly constitutes World Class Manufacturing and its implementation within an existing organization structure that does not provide the necessary support.  The main obstacle that affect World Class Manufacturing implementation is the incapability of a company to synchronize its human resource practices, management policies and technology (Fredendall et al., 1997).

To sum up, world-class manufacturing is a manufacturing management viewpoint that focuses on constant enhancement of manufacturing practises through human resource development. Management must put more emphasis on higher standards of quality, flexibility, and productivity. It represents a blend of various concepts, principles, policies and techniques for the management and operation of companies engaged in production.

Principles of World Class Manufacturing There are three main principles, which drive world-class manufacturing. . Implementation of just in time and lean management leads to reduction in wastage thereby reduction in cost. . Implementation of total quality management leads to reduction of defects and encourages zero tolerance towards defects. . Implementation of total preventive maintenance leads to any stoppage of production through mechanical failure.

Aspects of World Class Manufacturing The main aspects of the world-class manufacturing are as follows: . Industrial culture area . Market/client area . Product development area . Operations area . E-Performance area

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World Class Manufacturing Manufacturing has evolved considerably since the advent of industrial revolution. In current global and competitive age, it is very important for organization to have manufacturing practice which is lean, efficient, cost-effective and flexible. World class manufacturing is a collection of concepts, which set standard for production and manufacturing for another organization to follow. Japanese manufacturing is credited with pioneer in concept of world-class manufacturing. World class manufacturing was introduced in the automobile, electronic and steel industry. World class manufacturing is a process driven approach where various techniques and philosophy are used in one combination or other. Some of the techniques are as follows: . Make to order . Streamlined Flow . Smaller lot sizes . Collection of parts . Doing it right first time . Cellular or group manufacturing . Total preventive maintenance . Quick replacement . Zero Defects . Just in Time . Increased consistency . Higher employee involvement . Cross Functional Teams . Multi-Skilled employees . Visual Signaling . Statistical process control Idea of using above techniques is to focus on operational efficiency, reducing wastage and creating cost efficient organization. This leads to creation of high-productivity organization, which used concurrent production techniques rather than sequential production method. World Class Manufacturers World class manufacturers tend to implement best practices and also invent new practices as to stay above the rest in the manufacturing sector. The main parameters which determine world-class manufacturers are quality, cost effective, flexibility and innovation. World class manufacturers implement robust control techniques but there are five steps, which will make the system efficient. These five steps are as follows: . Reduction of set up time and in tuning of machinery: It is important that organizations are able to cut back time in setting up machinery and also tune machinery before production. . Cellular Manufacturing: It is important that production processes are divided into according to its nature, with similar nature combined together. . Reduce WIP (work in progress) material: It is normal tendency of manufacturing organization to maintain high levels of WIP material. Increased WIP leads to more cost and decreased WIP induces more focus on production and fast movement of goods. . Postpone product mutation: For to achieve a higher degree of customization many changes are made to final product. However, it is important that mutation conceived for the design stage implement only after final operation. . Removal the trivial (little importance) many and focus (more importance) on vital few: It is important for organization to focus on production of products which are lined with forecast demand as to match customer expectation.

Supply chains are vital process in managing activities of organization. It incorporates the companies and the business activities that are required to design, make, deliver, and use a product or service. In international business climate, supply chain strategies are implemented by most of the companies. The main motivation to implement supply chain policies is aggressive competitive pressure, and organization visualize that through effective supply chains, they can flourish in marketplace. Oliver and Webber stated that the supply chain is visualized as a distinct unit and no other arenas of responsibility like purchasing, engineering, and distribution (1982). Businesses rely on their supply chains in order to provide them with what they need to survive and flourish. Every business fits into one or more supply chains and has an important role to play in each of them. The practice of supply chain management is guided by fundamental management concepts that are developed from earlier time. The term "supply chain management" arose in the late 1980s and came into extensive use in the decade of 1990. Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Execution (SCE) are the interactive and collective processes and tools that influence strategic relationships within the supply chain for the sharing of confidential and mission critical sales, forecasting, planning, purchasing and replenishment data with the crucial objective of maximizing efficiencies, reducing costs and increasing profits by proactively insuring that the right product is delivered to the right place at the right time. Theoretical perspective: The phrase supply chain management was originally introduced by consultants in the decade of 1980's and consequently has become extensively used. Since the early 1990's, researchers have attempted to describe supply chain management. Bechtel and Jayaram provided an extensive retrospective review of the literature and research on supply chain management. They identified general schools of thought, and the major contributions and fundamental assumptions of supply chain management that must be challenged in the future. In recent time, numerous practitioners, consultants and academics visualized supply chain management as not appreciably different from the modern understanding of logistics management, as explained by the Council of Logistics Management. Supply chain management was viewed as logistics outside the firm to include customers and suppliers. The understanding of supply chain management has been re- conceptualized from integrating logistics across the supply chain to integrating and managing main business processes across the supply chain. Current description of supply chain management is as follows: "Logistics is that part of the supply chain process that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point-of-origin to the point-of-consumption in order to meet customers' requirements".13 Lambert, Stock, and Ellram described that a supply chain is the alignment of firms that bring products or services to market." According to Chopra and Meindl, A supply chain consists of all stages involved, directly or indirectly, in fulfilling a customer request. The supply chain not only includes the manufacturer and suppliers, but also transporters, warehouses, retailers, and customers themselves. Other theorists, Ganeshan and Harrison stated that a supply chain is a network of facilities and distribution options that performs the functions of procurement of materials, transformation of these materials into intermediate and finished products, and the distribution of these finished products to customers." Supply chain network structure (Source: Douglas M. Lambert, Martha C. Cooper, and Janus D. Pagh, 1998)

The basic supply chain should be incorporated to manage a multifaceted flow of information, both between and within enterprises. The major challenge is to assimilate this information and make it accessible where, when and how needed. For most profitable supply chains, value will be strongly correlated with supply chain success, the difference between the revenue generated from the customer and the overall cost across the supply chain (Chopra, Sunil and Peter Meind, 2004). Effective supply chain management needs concurrent improvements in both customer service levels and the internal operating efficiencies of the organizations in the supply chain. Customer service at its most elementary level means consistently high order fill rates, high on-time delivery rates, and a very low rate of products returned by customers for whatever reason. Internal efficiency for organizations in a supply chain means that these organizations get an attractive rate of return on their investments in inventory and other assets and that they find ways to lower their operating and sales expenses. There is a fundamental pattern to the practice of supply chain management. Each supply chain has its own exclusive set of market demands and operating challenges. The ultimate goal of supply chain is to decrease the inventory with the assumption that products are available whenever required. As a solution of successful supply chain management, sophisticated software system with web interfaces are competing with web application service providers who promise to offer part or all of for companies who rent their services. Figure: Supply chain management must be observed as a critical element of business strategy, delivering improved productivity through increased efficiencies and dealer management strategy requires the devoted efforts of a talented team. There is a great challenge with managers who manage within the supply chain, in having the ability to maintain focus on strategy despite the barrage of transactional issues they are engrossed in. The conceptual framework highlights the inter-related nature of SCM and the need to proceed through several steps to design and successfully manage a supply chain. The supply chain management framework consists of three closely inter-related elements: the supply chain network structure, the supply chain business processes, and the supply chain management components. Figure: Supply Chain Management Framework: Elements and Key Decisions (Source: Douglas M. Lambert, Martha C. Cooper and Janus D. Pagh, 1998)

There are six elements of supply chain strategy, which, if utilized collectively and managed carefully, will deliver significant value across the organization. 1. Leverage: In spite of the size and profits of an organization, decrease and management of spending while continuously improving upon service levels is a major benefit of managing leverage. Leverage has characteristically been applied based on historical usage trends and market expectations. However, the more dominant way to initiate leverage is through solid and supported predictions of future growth potential. 2. Communication: In any business, main element is the support provided by external resources, be they service providers or product and component suppliers. Obtaining value from these external resources to fulfil evolving company objectives requires an effectual communication strategy. 3. Efficiency: Process and operating efficiency is basic constituent of flourishing organization and the supply chain has impact on this efficiency either directly or indirectly. For instance, enhancements in production efficiency need increased volumes of supply of both components and maintenance equipment; improvements in process efficiency require increases in volume and timeliness of support from external suppliers and contractors; increased speed to market requires the support of accurate and timely freight management. Developing suitable strategy to support organizational efficiency is main factor to accomplish objectives and improving efficiencies. 4. Innovation: In order to manage routine operations, while initiating innovation are not commonly exclusive events. To create innovation in any organization, it needs significant input and support from external suppliers and service partners, both of whom must be willing to provide insight and support and take potential risks in pursing innovative solutions. Innovative organizations like Apple would not have succeeded if it were not for the engagement and support of their suppliers such as Samsung. 5. Risk Management: Those organizations that represent and support company operations externally present the more unmanageable risk to an organization. E xternal risk is also the most overlooked risk as it is not as widespread or visible as other internal risk factors. Supply chain management is the function most in-tune with external support groups, and is able to recognize potential risks as well as alleviating solutions to protect the organization's interest. Developing an effective risk management strategy requires the support and input from main Supply Chain specialists. 6. Continuous Improvement: Topmost organizations involve continuously in improving their performance. Considering that most improvements have an impact on external support groups either directly or indirectly. Supply chain management is the tool to recognize and manage improvement opportunities. Continued modernisation to Apple software for iPhones, iTunes, and other products are the outcome of supplier involvement in constant improvement that results in the quick resolution of instant for predicted challenges. This creates greater customer satisfaction and brand faithfulness. Continuous improvement also offers numerous opportunities to decrease cost, and supply chain management is the most proficient and knowledgeable process relative to reducing cost through internal and external efficacy. Companies in any supply chain must make decisions independently and jointly regarding their actions in five areas: 1. Production: This function includes the creation of master production schedules that take into account plant capacities, workload balancing, quality control, and equipment maintenance. 2. Inventory: The main purpose of inventory is to act as a cushion against ambiguity in the supply chain. However, holding inventory can be luxurious. 3. Location: Managers have to decide where facilities for production should and inventory storage is to be located, the most cost efficient locations for production and for storage of inventory. Once these decisions are made, they determine the possible ways available for product to flow through for delivery to the end-users. 4. Transportation: Mangers must also take decision about how should inventory be shipped from one supply chain location to another. 5. Information: It is a crucial decision for experts that how much data should be collected and how much information should be shared. Timely and precise information holds the promise of better coordination and better decision making. With relevant information, personnel can make good decisions about production and how much, and about where to locate inventory and transportation. Effective and reliable supply chain solution engage in five major steps. 1. Plan: The first stage, planning, is self-explanatory. Company managers develop strategies to manage resources for timely product delivery. Metrics should be developed to monitor progress and compliance. 2. Develop: Second step is to select suppliers. Managers are responsible for developing a system for pricing, delivery and payment. 3. Make: The third phase is manufacturing. During this step, the manager schedules activities necessary for production, testing, packaging and preparation for delivery of goods or services to customers. 4. Delivery: Fourth stage is delivery, or logistics of supply chain management. Managers coordinate order receipts, develop a network of warehouses and choose their carriers. 5. Return: There is the defect and excess stage, which is likely the most difficult to handle effectively. In this stage, managers need to review their system of supporting customers who have problems with product delivery. Benefits of supply chain management: There are several benefits of supply chain management. Effective supply chain management achieves more precise information, along with the ability to carry out better sales forecasting. Other benefits include developing strong partnerships and supplier networks, balancing out supply and demand, improving business plans and working strategies, predicting transportation requirements, planning daily operations of the company, creating streamlined inventory management and removing irrelevant elements. While all organizations have supply chain processes of varying degrees, it is important to understand, identify and implement each stage with careful consideration. Variables, including the size of the organization and the type of product manufactured affect supply chain management components. To summarize, a supply chain comprises of all the companies involved in the design, production, and delivery of a product to market. Supply chain management is the synchronisation of production, inventory, location, and transportation among the participants in a supply chain to accomplish the best mix of receptiveness and effectiveness for the market being served. The objective of supply chain management is to escalate sales of goods and services while reducing both inventory and operating expenses.

Retailing is practiced by business persons since ancient times. In any set-up, retailing involves the sale of goods and services to the final consumer (Bennett, 1995). The forms of retailing are bricks-and-mortar stores, non-store bases (i.e., direct retailing), or a combination of a store and a non-store base. The assortment of goods in these businesses is planned, purchased, and presented by the retailer for the convenience of the consumer. The theoretical studies contains information about the fundamental retail institution types and the multi sectioned information about retail evolution, including theories, examples, and problems. Retail basically comprises of selling products or merchandise from a permanent place, such as a department store, boutique or stall, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct utilization by the customer. Retailing may incorporate secondary services, such as delivery. Buyers may be individuals or businesses. In business, a "retailer" purchases goods or products in huge quantities from manufacturers or importers, either directly or through a trader, and then sells smaller quantities to the shopper. It involves a direct communication with the purchaser and coordinating business activities from designing of a product to its delivery and post-delivery services. Professionals who have skills in retail management are usually recognized as Retail Managers. A Retail Manager is expected to deal with consumers' problems, check retail orders, handle merchandising, control human resource and also oversee the stocks/inventory and supply chain management. Retail establishments are often known as shops or stores. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Manufacturing marketers observe the process of retailing as an essential part of their overall allocation strategy. The phrase "retailer" is also applied where a service provider services the needs of a huge number of individuals, such as a public utility, like electric power. Shops may be on residential streets, shopping streets with few or no houses or in a shopping mall. Shopping streets may be for pedestrians only. Sometimes a shopping street has a partial or full roof to protect customers from precipitation. Online retailing is also common in current business environment. It is a type of electronic commerce used for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions and mail order, are forms of non-shop retailing. Retail institution types differ based on retail features such as products, scale of operation, and mix of store attributes. The main retail institution types are department store, discount store, and specialty store. The U.S. Bureau of Census classifications of product developed in1924 stated that product categories were named based on the retail institution type where they were displayed and sold (McNair and May, 1978). Theories of Retail Management The development of retail formats at international level has been mostly influenced by a continually hanging social and economic landscape. The main reason for retail stores growth in present scenario is customer's huge demands about products and services. Retail development can be analysed from the theoretical perspective. There is no single theory applicable or acceptable in the area of retail management. The application of each theory differs from market to market, depending on the level of maturity and the socio-economic conditions in that market. Most tasks involved with operating a retail business is the same. However, small or autonomous retail stores may merge many sectors together under one division, while big stores create various divisions for each particular function along with many layers of management. The theoretical studies in retail management field describe the process of retail development turn around the importance of competitive pressure, the investments in organizational capabilities and the creation of a sustainable competitive advantage. This requires the execution of strategic panning by retail organizations. Expansion in retail is outcome of understanding market signals and responding to the opportunities that occur in a vibrant manner. Theories of retail development can categorised as follows: 1. Environmental: Where a change in retail is recognized to the change in the environment in which the retailers operate. Darwin's natural selection has been popularised by the phrase "survival the fittest". Retail institutions are monetary body and retailers deal with an environment which is made up of customers, competitors and changing technology. This environment can change the productivity of a single retail state as well as of clusters and centres. The environment that a retailer competes in is adequately robust to compress any retail form that does not adjust. Thus, the origin, success or decline of different forms of retail enterprises is many times attributed to the business environment. 2. Cyclical: Cyclical theory fundamentally describes the different phases in a company. This theory states that change follows a pattern and all phases have specific attributes linked with them. There are three primary components in this theory: wheel of retailing, retail life cycle and retail accordion. Wheel of retailing described by McNair II, helps us understand retail changes. It refers to a company entering the market with low prices and reasonable service in order to challenge competitors. Retail life cycle addresses the four stages that a company goes through when entering the buyer's market. This theory proposes that retail innovators often first appear as low- price operators with a low-cost structure and low profit-margin requirements, offering some real advantages, such as specific merchandise, which facilitates them to take customers away from more established competitors. As they grow, they develop their businesses, offering a greater range or acquiring more expensive facilities, but this can mean that they lose the focus that was so important when they entered the market. Such 'trading up' occurs as the retailer becomes established in his own right. Retail Accordion theory is evolved by Hollander (1966) which explained retail evolution as a cyclical trend in terms of the number of merchandise categories such as product assortment. In this theory, at the beginning of operation, a retail institution carries a broad collection of merchandise such as various types of products or product classifications but does not carry a deep assortment such as various styles within one product classification. The retail accordion aspect of cyclical theory suggests that some businesses go from outlets that offer an array of products to establishments providing a narrow selection of goods and services. These establishments later return to a generalized outlet store. Retail accordion is also recognized as general-specific general theory. At initial stage, the retail institution is a general store. With time, the retail institution becomes specialized by carrying a limited line of merchandise with a deep assortment. Stern and El-Ansary (1977) suggested a graphic model of Retail Accordion theory with breadth of merchandise line assortment changing across time. Features of Cyclical theory

Conflict Theory: Numerous researcher studies the various aspects of a Conflict theory to explain retail evolution (Berens, 1980). Gist (1968) suggested the Dialectic theory, influential Conflict theory that has been the basis for the common concepts of many conflict theories. The Dialectic theory is based on Karl Marx's Theory of Evolution. Blake (1939) summarized the Theory of Evolution as the " the progress of change means that everything must decline to make way for new things, that nothing in nature or society is "fixed" or "sacred" since it must share the process of transformation. Dialectics means, specifically, that the phases of each development repeat former phases, but on a different plane. That is, each step is the negation of the previous step, and the next step must be a negation of that negation. It does not restore the original situation, but invariably creates a third situation, which is different because of the double process of negation" (p. 639 - 640). Gist (1968) reinstated the "situation" from the Theory of Evolution with a "retail institution" in the Dialectic theory. He proposed that an existing retail institution is challenged by its competitor because it has competitive advantages over the existing retail institution (i.e., thesis1). As time passes, the first retail institution imitates the characteristics of competitor to upgrade its existing characteristics and finally creates a new retail institution. Some researchers have attempted to combine two or more evolution theories to explain retail evolution. Some researchers have tried to combine Cyclical theory with either Environmental or Conflict theory (eDeiderick & Dodge, 1983). Critical success factor in retailing is competition, trends in market positioning and organizational capabilities. Classification of retail format:

To summarise, retailing is activity of selling products and services to end users. It is related with getting goods in final shape. It is increasing at global level. Retailing greatly impacts the lives of consumers as they all purchase products with different level of enthusiasm. Retail management is significant for success of organization. It requires skill set of employees.

Poka Yoke  This is a Japanese word that means mistake proofing of equipment or processes to make them safe and reliable.  These are simple, yet effective design features that make it almost impossible for errors to occur.  In fact, the original term was Baka-Yoke or "fool-proof". Due to the inappropriateness of the term, "mistake-proofing" became the preferred term.  The aim of mistake-proofing is to remove the need for people to think about the products or processes they are using. This is because the products have a design that makes it impossible to use them in the wrong way.  When someone uses the product the wrong way, it does not function and it becomes obvious to the user that they are doing the wrong thing. The simple yet effective design features make it difficult for errors to occur during usage of the product. Origin and Application  The concept developed out of the need to achieve quality in production processes.  It was Shigeo Shingo, one of the pioneers of the Toyota Production System, who proposed the concept. He was a quality guru who proposed the idea of ‘Zero Defects’ as a quality paradigm (example or model).  The thinking was that a process should be able to detect and prevent errors from occurring. This would lead to a final product of high quality.

Poka Yoke Examples in Everyday Life Products that we use every day have features that make them safe and convenient. The following are a few examples of how mistake-proofing is used for everyday household products:  Micro-wave oven does not work until the door is shut.  Washing machines only start when the door is closed and cannot be opened until the cycle is over.  Electric plugs have an earth pin that is longer than the other pins and is the first to make contact with the socket. The protective shield of the neutral and earth sockets are then opened safely.  Electric sockets are shaped in a manner that only one way of plugging-in is possible. This prevents the possibility of a short-circuit occurring.  Child resistant tops for medicines and household chemicals makes it difficult for children to consume the contents.  Elevator doors have a sensor that causes them to open when there is an obstruction- this prevents injury to someone trying to enter as the doors are closing.  Box cutters have a retractable blade that only pops out when the handle is held.  Lawn mowers have a safety bar on the handle that when released, switches off the machine.  Circuit breakers in the home electrical system prevent electrical overloads.  Overflow outlets in bathroom and kitchen sinks prevent flooding of the house when the drain is blocked.  The Door of a washing machine or dryer makes the machine stop when it is opened, so as to prevent injury from accidents Examples of Poka Yoke in Manufacturing  In lean manufacturing systems, poka yoke also includes a philosophy of constantly working to prevent mistakes from occurring in the first place.  The internal processes in lean manufacturing systems are supposed to produce quality products the first time.  Error-proofing in this case is a quality assurance technique that ensures quality is in- built and results in better products.  For the final product to be of high quality, all the inter-connected process steps have to give first time quality.  If an mistake or defect is allowed to move to the next step, the likelihood of it appearing in the finished product is very high.  It is therefore necessary to develop ways of preventing a defective product moving to downstream process.  This is important because a finished product is considered to be the most expensive form of inventory due to the accumulated costs along the value chain.  If a defect occurs in the finished product, the costs of production increase due to the effort required to correct it.  Magnets in a grain packaging plant detect and remove metal pieces before they are packed.

 Interlock switches which detect the position of a machine guard and switch off the machine when the guard is lifted. The machine will never operate when the guard has been lifted and this prevents accidents to the operator.  Light curtains in a factory detect when someone is near very dangerous machines and switches off the machine to prevent injuries.  Safety mats near machine areas that pose a danger automatically trigger stoppage when someone steps on them. This prevents injury to personnel (such are technicians) who are trying to access dangerous sections of a machine.  Power guards on high inertia machines with moving parts prevent opening until the parts have stopped completely in order to prevent accidents.  Machines that must be controlled using both hands ensure that some distance is kept between the operator and dangerous machine parts.  In the food industry, gloves and other small pieces of personal protective equipment must be blue in colour for ease of detection in case they fall into food. This is because blue foods are rare in nature and the colour difference makes it easy to detect that a foreign object has fallen into the food.  Using standardized containers at the workstation enables workers to know exact quantities without having to weigh or count the contents.  Use of colour coded date labels to mark the production dates of products. This way the different batches are easily identifiable for the purpose of product rotation. The system is especially useful in the food industry where rotation of batches is very important because of hygiene considerations. Mistake-Proofing of Products  Safety concerns necessitate the use of mistake proofing techniques on the final product in order to prevent harm to the final consumer.  It also provides ease of use to the product so as to enable the final consumers to be able to solve their problems effectively.  Adding user-friendly features to a product aims at solving safety as well as convenience concerns and makes it almost impossible to use the product in the wrong way.

From the above comprehensive list of examples, it becomes obvious that there are certain characteristics of error-proofing devices that help in achieving the aims of mistake-proofing. These characteristics include:  Simplicity, which means that the solutions are not complex and unambiguously (clear in all repect) resolve the problem of error occurring.  Automatic Nature: they do not require any further intervention from the person using the device.  Safety is a key characteristic of poka yoke devices in that they also prevent the users from injuries.  Feedback is immediate in the case of failure when the conditions go out of specification.  Quality is ingrained in the process and the solutions encourage the right methods to be used by operators of the devices. It is a way of standardizing the correct methods of performing a process.  Location at the source of a potential problem within a process.  Reduction in the number of process steps required to complete a process as the inspection aspect is minimized or completely eliminated.

TYPES OF POKA-YOKES Poka-yoke is based on prediction and detection. That is, recognizing that a defect is about to occur or recognizing that a defect has occurred. Consequently, there are two basic types of poka-yoke systems. The control poka-yoke does not allow a process to begin or continue after an error has occurred. It takes the response to a specific type of error out of the hands of the operator. For example, a fixture on a machine may be equipped with a sensing device that will not allow the process to continue unless the part is properly inserted. A 3.5- inch floppy disk will not work if inserted backwards or upside down. As a matter of fact, it won't fit into the drive at all unless properly inserted. A second type of poka-yoke provides some type of warning when an error occurs. This does not prevent the error, but immediately stops the process when an error is detected. This type of poka-yoke is useful for mass production environments with rapid processing as the device prevents mass production of scrapped material. For environments where large losses of time or resources do not result, a warning poka-yoke is warranted. All that is needed is a way to ensure that the error is investigated and corrected in a timely manner. Poka-yokes can be as simple as a steel pin on a fixture that keeps incorrectly placed parts from fitting properly, or they can be as complex as a fuzzy logic neural network used to automatically detect tool breakage and immediately stop the machine. Surprisingly, the simple low-cost devices tend to be in the majority. Regardless of degree of simplicity, all poka-yokes fall into one of three categories: contact methods, fixed-value methods, and motion-step methods. Each is briefly discussed. CONTACT METHODS. Contact methods are based on some type of sensing device which detects abnormalities in the product's shape or dimension and responds accordingly. Interference pins, notches with matching locator pins, limit switches and proximity switches are sometimes used to ensure that a part is positioned correctly before work occurs. Asymmetric parts with matching work fixtures can also alleviate incorrect positioning. If orientation is not critical, symmetrical designs can then be used to prevent defects. Contact methods are useful in situations which encourage mistakes. Such situations involve rapid repetition, infrequent production, or environmental problems such as poor lighting, high or low heat, excess humidity, dust, noise, or anything which distracts a worker. Paul Dvorak, in "Poka-Yoke Designs Make Assemblies Mistakeproof," an article appearing inMachine Design, recommends that the maintenance engineer investigate at least four areas for potential problems that require contact method solutions: 1. Look for where the product will fail if parts are assembled incorrectly. 2. Look for small features critical to proper assembly. 3. Beware of relying on subtle differences to determine top from bottom or front from back, especially if the parts are painted dark colors. 4. Beware of designs so complicated that they confuse inexperienced operators. FIXED-VALUE METHODS. Fixed-value methods are used in processes where the same activity is repeated several times, such as tightening of bolts. This method frequently involves very simple techniques, such as methods that allow operators to easily track how often this activity has been performed. Dvorak gives the example of an operator who is responsible for tightening down six bolts on a product. Before passing the product on, the tightening process is performed a fixed number of times (six). A simple poka-yoke device would incorporate the use of a wrench dipped in diluted paint. Since untightened bolts will not have paint on them, the operator can easily see if he or she has performed the process the required number of times. A second example (from Dvorak) would be the use of packaged material in the exact (fixed) quantities needed to complete the process. If the bolts were stored in containers of six, the operator could easily see when the process was still incomplete as the box would still contain one or more bolts. MOTION-STEP METHOD. The motion-step method is useful for processes requiring several different activities performed in sequence by a single operator. This is similar to the fixed-value situation in that the operator is responsible for multiple activities but instead of performing the same activity multiple times the operator performs different activities. First, each step in the

Table 1

Examples of Poka-Yokes Contact Type Warning Type

A device on a drill counts the number of A steel pin on a fixture keeps holes drilled in a work piece; a buzzer Contact incorrectly placed parts from sounds if the work piece is removed before Method fitting properly. the correct number of holes have been drilled. Light sensors determine if each Fixed- Bolts are tightened with a wrench dipped in crayon is present in each box; if a value paint. Bolts with no paint on them are still crayon is missing, the machines Type untightened. will stop automatically. A device detects when each component is Motion- A simple proximity switch opens removed from a dispenser; if a component Step after all components are loaded in is not removed, the device alerts the Method the proper order. assembler before he can move on to another unit. process is identified by the specific motions needed to complete it. Then devices are created to detect whether each motion is performed and then alert the operator when a step is skipped. An assembly process could utilize a device that senses when all required components are present at the start of the process for each unit. The devices could then detect when each component is removed from its dispenser, If a component is not removed, the sensing device alerts the assembler before he/she can move on to another unit.

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Kaizen is the process of Continuous improvement wherein changes are made to the organization’s process either in one go or Step by step. One of the major advantages of Kaizen is that it is continuous and not a time-bound process. We have discussed more in detail about Kaizen here. Kaizen accepts that more optimization is always possible and it helps empower employees and managers to implement Kaizen in the organization. Because of the benefit of continuous improvement, many managers and business owners want to implement Kaizen in their organization. How do you do that? Here are the 7 steps to implement Kaizen in your organization

1) Involve your employees Before you proceed to the 2nd step of Kaizen, first you need to involve your employees because it will later help you to empower your employees as well. For example – if a customer serviceexecutive has a feedback on improving the processes, then his feedback can be listened to by the managers, and he can be made individually responsible for implementing the change in the organization. To implement Kaizen, you need your employees motivated and involved. You want to create a workplace which does not resist change and in fact which is responsible for the change. To do this, you need the full cooperation of your employees and communications between management and employees is critical. Kaizen has the concept of Quality circles wherein there are specific circles of employees from various department who are responsible for the holistic improvement of the firm slowly but gradually. As a result, it is imperative that you involve your employees from the first step – Finding problems and then empower them for the steps forward. 2) Find Problems The second step to implement Kaizen is to accept and find problems in your organization. For this, you need to take a 360 degree feedback and involve your employees. You can list out all the processes within the organization which needs improvements. It can be the customer service department, the production department, the finance department or any other place where improvements are needed. You can list out the problems and issues in a “To Do” Place. If the problems are too many, for better management, you can shortlist 10 problems and then proceed with them. Remember, Kaizen is a continuous process and you will come back to the remaining problems later. But it is necessary to start with a small set of problems and then keep improving. 3) Think & Find Solutions Again, this is somewhere where more brains and thoughts are much better than a single brain. Managers can make teams of creative employees who are experienced and these employees can be focused on problem-solving. They might have to dedicate specific time to find solutions to the problems the firm is facing. The time frame is critical. We want the solutions to come forward in a relaxed and creative manner and do not shoot down any suggestion because it might come in later, even if it is not completely used and implemented. Write down the solutions, and by using your own experience and the experience of the team, shortlist the suggestions which make the most sense. You can then take these suggestions for implementation. 4) Implement Small-scale implementation is the best way to test out new theories especially in larger organizations. Many people delay this stage due to overthinking, complacency or plain ignorance. They think of making organization-wide changes instead of taking small steps at a time and running new ideas in a pilot environment (a small office perhaps) At the same time, the implementation must be done in a planned manner. If the ideas need to develop a bit more, then by all means, hold your excitement and develop the idea on the table before implementing it in the organization. However, a planned and controlled implementation is important for an idea so that the results can be tracked. 5) Check Many times during implementation, there is just communication of ideas to juniors wherein the buck is passed to someone else. This is what makes it difficult to implement Kaizen and where checking and auditing comes into play. You need to ensure that implementation is done to the ground level so that the results are proper. As managers, you need to have the correct person at all points who is responsible for the implementation. So a manager can appoint the task to a team leader who can implement it in the team, keep checking on the progress and then revert back to the manager. From time to time audits need to be conducted and the progress needs to be found out. Finding the results is the main objective of this exercise. 6) Standardize If the results are not positive, you need to go back to the 3rd step wherein you implement some other ideas which were on the table. Don’t get frustrated and irritated because there are many benefits to Kaizen and slowly but surely you will notice the benefits. This is why we took only 10 tasks to improve on in the 2nd step. However, if the results were positive and you find the process improving, then, by all means, standardize the process across all departments and across all locations so that your organization runs more smoothly and efficiently. Standardization is the best benefit of implementing Kaizen. Standardization improves morale by a huge margin because it saves time and manpower, as a result, making employees happier and more productive. Standardization also means empowering your employees by setting standard procedures which they need to follow and by cutting the bureaucracy down to a minimum. 7) Repeat Now that we have optimized 10 tasks which we selected in step 2, we can then rinse and repeat the complete procedure so that further 10 tasks can be optimized. The true spirit of Kaizen is in “continuous improvement” and “slow and gradual change”. Kaizen actually means “Change is good”. Over a period of time, it becomes a culture in the organization to eliminate waste and to improve processes so that everything runs in a well-oiled manner. Kaizen empowers your employees and creates good relations between teams so that the whole organization can holistically look towards further improvements. This is why many Japanese companies adopt the process of Kaizen and which is why they are known as some of the most productive companies in the world. Kaizen can be roughly translated from Japanese to mean "good change." The philosophy behind kaizen is often credited to Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Dr. Demming was invited by Japanese industrial leaders and engineers to help rebuild Japan after World War II. He was honored for his contributions by Emperor Hirohito and the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers. In his book "Out of the Crisis," Dr. Deming shared his philosophy of continuous improvement: 1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business and to provide jobs. 2. Adopt the new philosophy. 3. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place. 4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. 5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service to improve quality and productivity and thus constantly decrease costs. 6. Institute training on the job. 7. Institute leadership. The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. 8. Drive out fear so that everyone may work effectively for the company. 9. Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales and production must work as a team to foresee problems of production and use of the product or service. 10. Eliminate asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force. 11. Remove barriers that rob the hourly worker of his right to pride of workmanship. 12. Remove barriers that rob people in management and in engineering of their right to pride of workmanship. 13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement. 14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job. In Western civilization, kaizen is often broken down into four steps: assess, plan, implement and evaluate. In Western workplaces, a "kaizen blitz" is synonymous with a concentrated effort to make quick changes that will help achieve a short-term goal.

Six Sigma is a quality-control concept originally developed by Motorola in the 1980s. It is precise and data-driven, and makes heavy use of unique statistical methods to identify defects in any process and eliminate them. is introduced into an organization when certain team members are trained in its methods and assigned to project teams to implement them.

Management The success of Six Sigma initiatives depends on its implementation by team members. Six Sigma relies on an essentially egalitarian form of communication and delegation of authority, instead of the top-down style of management relied on by traditional companies. Six Sigma relies on face-to-face communication as much as possible and encourages feedback from all team members. It places heavy emphasis on continuing training at all levels. Training is adapted to the needs and group culture of each department -- the accounting department, for example, might require a different presentation of a Six Sigma initiative than the legal department.

Labor Efficiency Six Sigma can be applied to maximize labor efficiency in a number of ways. The project team might gather data on customer traffic during the day and stagger employee breaks so that no more employees than necessary are working at any time. The team might undertake detailed analysis to find out if any employees are mismatched with their positions, and transfer some to positions in which they are qualified to work more efficiently. The team might also examine job duties to discover any redundancies and eliminate them.

Reducing Inventory Excess inventory increases expenses and reduces cash flow. A Six Sigma approach to eliminating these disadvantages is to ask whether the company is carrying excess inventory after examining the cost of carrying a given amount of inventory and the monthly ratio of inventory to sales. The project team might plan to reduce inventory by introducing more efficient systems of communication between suppliers and different departments, so that the company can operate a "just in time" delivery system that minimizes the need for inventory.

Reducing Lead Time Some products require weeks or even months to be delivered after a customer places an order, because the product must be manufactured or processed. The amount of time between the placement of an order and its delivery is known as its lead time, and long lead times typically result in lower sales volume and loss of market share. A Six Sigma approach to reducing lead time would be to compare various customer needs with the time it takes to incorporate these features into a product, and determine how to cut lead times with minimal effect on customer needs. For example, some customers might prefer to sacrifice minor, time-consuming features of a product if lead time is reduced by 50 percent.

Reverse Engineering (1) Introduction

Engineering is the profession involved in designing, manufacturing, and maintaining products, systems, and structures. The whole engineering process can be broadly classified in two groups; forward engineering and reverse engineering.

Forward engineering is the traditional process of moving from high-level abstractions and logical designs to the physical implementation of a system.

Figure 37.1 Forward Engineering

The process of duplicating an existing component, subassembly, or product, without the aid of drawings, documentation, or computer model is known as reverse engineering.

Figure 37.2 Reverse Engineering

 Reverse engineering can be mainly viewed as the process of analyzing a system to identify its components and their interrelationships, to create representations of it in another form or a higher level of abstraction.  An important reason for application of reverse engineering is reduction of product development times. In the intensely competitive global market, manufacturers are constantly seeking new ways to shorten lead-times to market a new product.  For example, injection-molding companies must drastically reduce the tool and die development times.  By using reverse engineering, a three-dimensional product or model can be quickly captured in digital form, re-modeled, and exported for rapid prototyping/tooling or rapid manufacturing.

Some of the important reasons for the for reverse engineering of a product or part are;  The original manufacturer of a product no longer produces a product  There is inadequate documentation of the original design  The original manufacturer no longer exists, but a customer needs the product  The original design documentation has been lost or never existed  Some bad features of a product need to be designed out. For example, excessive wear might indicate where a product should be improved  To strengthen the good features of a product based on long-term usage of the product  To analyze the good and bad features of competitors' product  To explore new avenues to improve product performance and features  To gain competitive benchmarking methods to understand competitor's products and develop better products  The original CAD model is not sufficient to support modifications or current manufacturing methods  To update obsolete materials or antiquated manufacturing processes with more current, less-expensive technologies

It can be said that reverse engineering begins with the product and works through the design process in the opposite direction to arrive at a product definition statement. In doing so, it uncovers as much information as possible about the design ideas that were used to produce a particular product.

(2) Reverse engineering methodology

The reverse engineering process can be divided into the following broad steps:

Figure 37.3 Reverse Engineering Methodology

(2.1) Digitizing or collecting data from physical part

 One of the reverse engineering methods is construction of a CAD model of the physical parts whose drawing is not available.  This is done by digitizing an existing prototype which is mainly creating a computer model and then using it to manufacture the component.  The objective of this method is to generate a 3D mapping of the product in form of a CAD file.  This involves the acquisition of the product surface data by either contact or non contact methods in form of X, Y and Z coordinates of large number of points on the product surface.  The methods of obtaining the product surface data can be divided into two broad categories; Contact method and Non-contact method.  The contact method requires contact between the component surface and a measuring tool that is usually a probe or a stylus. The non-contact method uses light as the main tool in extracting the required information.  The contact discretization method uses Co-ordinate Measuring Machines (CMM) or electromagnetic digitizers or sonic digitizers to get the co-ordinates of the desired points on the surface.  The non-contact discretization technique uses white light or laser scanners to scan the 3D object from which the CAD model is generated.  The choice of discretization method is based on the speed and performance during digitization and avoidance of damage to the product.

A CMM (coordinate measuring machine) is a 3-dimensional measuring device that uses a contact probe to detect the surface of the object.  The linear distances moved along the 3 axes are recorded, thus providing the X, Y and Z co-ordinates of the point.  The part to be discretized is placed on the measuring table, and the co-ordinates of a number of points on the surface of the object are then read.  These points are input into a 'geometry data' file, which can be transferred to a CAD system to generate the model of the part. In this way the shape of the object is captured in the form of a CAD drawing that can be manipulated and modified as needed.

 In electromagnetic digitizers, the product to be digitized is placed on a table which encloses electronic equipment and a magnetic field source.  It creates a magnetic field in the volume of space above table.  A hand held stylus is used to trace the surface of the part.  This stylus houses a magnetic field sensor that, in conjunction with the electronic unit, detects the position and orientation of the stylus.  The data can be transferred to a computer through a serial port.

In sonic digitizers, sound waves are used to calculate the position of a point relative to a reference point.  In this technique, the object is placed in front of a vertical rectangular board on the corners of which are mounted four microphone sensors.  A free hand held stylus is used to trace the contours of the object.  When a foot or a hand switch is pressed, the stylus emits an ultrasonic impulse, and, simultaneously four clocks are activated.  When the impulse is detected by a microphone, the corresponding clock is stopped and the times taken to reach each of the microphones recorded.  These time recordings, called slant ranges, are processed by a computer to calculate the x, y and z coordinates of the point.

(2.2) Manipulation of the collected data to obtain a CAD model

 After obtaining the product surface data as a sea of points in space, the next important step is the fitting of geometry to this point data.  Various methods were developed for the fitting of surfaces to the point data.  The surface can be mathematically described as either algebraic or parametric surfaces.  Algebraic surfaces are represented by a polynomial equation of the type f(x, y, z) = 0, and usually represent infinite surfaces.  Parametric surfaces on the other hand, are finite surfaces defined by certain basis functions and control points e.g. Beizer surfaces, NURBS surfaces.  Surface fitting techniques can be broadly classified in to two categories; interpolation techniques and approximation techniques.  In interpolation technique, the surface to be fitted passes through all the data points and is normally used when the data points are accurately measured without any errors.  In approximation technique, the surface need not to pass through any of the data points, but represents a generalized average or a best fit to the data points.  This is usually used when there are a large number of data points through which the surface has to be fitted, or when there errors in the measurement are to be averaged out.

(2.3) Generation of functional parts from CAD model

 Once the geometric model is obtained, it can be used as the basis for a variety of operations such as automated process planning, automated manufacturing, automated dimensional inspection and automated tolerance analysis.  In automated manufacturing, these geometric models can be used to generate the tool motion commands which can be made execute on any of the standard CNC machines or input CAD model for rapid prototyping processes.  These applications require feature extraction from the geometric model, followed by a process plan for the object, which involves definition of various manufacturing sequences required to manufacture the object.

Reverse Engineering of a computer mouse

Step 1: Point Cloud Data in Sub Regions

Step 2: Point Cloud Data after applying Maximum Error Method

Step 3: Surface fitting to Point Cloud Data

Step 4: Surface after Cleaning

Step 5: Computer mouse after Prototyping