The strategy of mass customisation is being increasingly adopted as companies seek to exploit market trends for greater product variety and individualisation. The implications of changing to mass customisation practice are considerable, where traditional contradictions of high volume and extensive product variety have to be reconciled. The literature discusses the need for an integrated approach to mass customisation across all business functions if micro-segmentation of markets is to be profitably pursued, and the current paper investigates extending the paradigm of mass customisation into the hitherto poorly represented sector of food processing. Product design and manufacturing system design for mass customisation are reviewed and contrasted with good practice in more traditional mass customisation industries. Via a case study based on yoghurt production this paper particularly assesses manufacturing activity, describing issues specific to a typical food business which is considering reconfiguring itself into a mass customisation operation.
Discusses the derivation of current changeover improvement methodologies from the work of the Japanese engineer/consultant Shigeo Shingo. Argues that under the interpretation and widespread adoption of the single minute exchange of dies (SMED) philosophy, substantive design‐based solutions are being overlooked in favour of incremental, low cost, team‐based approaches which emphasize organizational changes to the changeover. Identifies difficulties which can arise with existing approaches to changeover improvement and the relative merits of emphasis on design or organization are discussed. Pays particular attention to the problems which have been observed in sustaining levels of improvement.
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About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Abstract The ability to effect rapid changeover on a manufacturing line, from one product to another, is a key pre-requisite for increased flexibility, lead time reduction and responsive manufacture. However it is a rarity for changeover times to be part of the design specification of a new machine tool or tooling system and even when it is, there are few design guidelines for translating the required changeover time into reality. This paper describes a set of``design for changeover'' rules that have been derived from action research, carried out within a variety of companies. The rules address the design of machines, tooling, ancillary equipment and the products themselves and their use has been shown, through case studies, to lead to a significant reduction in changeover time and a leaner, more responsive manufacturing environment.
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