Title: Determining an action plan for manufacturing system improvement: a case study

Authors: Boyd A. Nicholds; John P.T. Mo; Stephen Bridger

Addresses: School of Aerospace Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, P.O. Box 71, Bundoora, Melbourne, VIC 3083, Australia ' School of Aerospace Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, P.O. Box 71, Bundoora, Melbourne, VIC 3083, Australia ' Business Management Consultancy Pty Ltd, P.O. Box 1103 Croydon, Melbourne, VIC 3136, Australia

Abstract: This paper follows the paper 'Determining an action plan for manufacturing system improvement: the theory' (Nicholds and Mo, (2013), Int. J. Agile Systems and Management, 6(4) 324-344) and describes a case study for the production of an action list for improvement in a manufacturing environment. In order to reduce the waste time, it is necessary to provide measurement feedback to close the corrective action loop. The prioritisation or ranking of the observed waste time types is performed using a benefit risk analysis. A hybrid decision support method based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to rank the shop floor time elements in terms of their importance in meeting a company objective. The case study uses an example from a high-tech manufacturing company looking to improve the accuracy and consistency of data collected from jobs released to the shop floor as a basis for improved quoting and feedback on the level of success of improvement efforts.

Keywords: manufacturing systems; waste reduction; performance measurement systems; PMS; action plan; decision analysis; risk benefit analysis; overall equipment effectiveness; OEE; efficiency gains; system improvement; data collection; waste reduction; analytical hierarchy process; AHP; decision support systems; DSS; modelling; performance improvement; process improvement.

DOI: 10.1504/IJASM.2014.059145

International Journal of Agile Systems and Management, 2014 Vol.7 No.1, pp.1 - 25

Received: 26 Jan 2013
Accepted: 03 May 2013

Published online: 30 Jun 2014 *

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