Title: An operational approach to gauge the lean performance in bias tyre manufacturing: a case study

Authors: Anand Sasikumar; Padmanav Acharya

Addresses: Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Institute for Management Development (SDMIMD), Mysuru-570011, India ' National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Vihar Lake, Mumbai-400087, India

Abstract: Tyre manufacturing firms are facing a host of challenges such as global competition, pricing strategies and complex production process. Due to the complexity of tyre manufacturing process, it is prone to waste which result in non-value added activities across the entire value stream. The study is undertaken in a bias tyre manufacturing firm which is based in the South India. The top management of the case firm is concerned about the increasing non-value added activities. The aim of the study is to devise a template to measure the leanness index of the bias tyre manufacturing firm. The proposed leanness template incorporates the eight types of wastes defined in lean manufacturing paradigm viz. overproduction, unnecessary inventory, waiting, transportation, processing, unnecessary motion, defects and underutilisation of human resource. This will facilitate the people at the operational level to take appropriate decisions. The results of the study indicate that the HR underutilisation and motion are most detrimental wastes in bias tyre manufacturing, which is due to the high rate of absenteeism among workers in all the three shifts.

Keywords: lean manufacturing; bias tyre manufacturing; wastes; lean index; case study; South India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2020.110943

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2020 Vol.31 No.3, pp.369 - 389

Received: 23 Mar 2019
Accepted: 07 Jul 2019

Published online: 02 Nov 2020 *

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