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Lean manufacturing philosophy asks for elimination of wastes hidden in the manufacturing system by focusing on product value stream and eliminating non-value adding activities through continuous improvement efforts. Value stream mapping methodology is subjected to principles of continuous improvement in order to improve the productivity of the process and quality of the product. It provides various tools for data collection and analysis, and identifies the wastes occurring in different stages of manufacturing process. The role of value stream mapping is very important in the identification and subsequently reduction of the wastes. To select the detailed mapping tools for the identification of waste at micro level is a complex decision making problem. In this paper, a case study related to a die casting unit has been taken. A hierarchy related to the decision problem has been developed to select the value stream mapping tools. Here, a fuzzy logic based multi-preference, multi-criteria, and multi-person decision making heuristic has been developed to solve a problem pertaining to above case study. The proposed methodology enjoys logical support from existing decision making tools and pertinently maps the inside details of the underlying problem.

Adhesive bonding continues to emerge as a preferred route for joining materials with broad applications including advanced structures, microelectronics, biomedical systems, and consumer goods. Here, we study the mechanics of deformation and failure of tensile-loaded single-lap joints with a compliance-tailored adhesive. Tailoring of the adhesive compliance redistributes stresses and strains to reduce both shear and peel concentrations at the ends of the adhesive that determine failure of the joint. Utilizing 3D printing, the modulus of the adhesive is spatially varied along the bondlength. Experimental strength testing, including optical strain mapping, reveals that the strain redistribution results in a greater than 100% increase in strength and toughness concomitant with a 50% increase in strain-to-break while maintaining joint stiffness. The tailoring demonstrated here is immediately realizable in a broad array of 3D printing applications, and the level of performance enhancement suggests that compliance tailoring of the adhesive is a generalizable route for achieving superior performance of joints in other applications, such as advanced structural composites.