Assessing the impact of alternative continuous improvement programmes in a flow shop using system dynamics

Abstract

We use a system dynamics simulation model based on the Factory Physics perspective to study the cumulative effect of continuous improvement in arrival variability, process variability, defect rate, time to failure, repair time and set-up time on operating curves in a flow-shop environment. We find that small, simultaneous improvements at multiple locations in the line can provide reductions in cycle time comparable to, or sometimes superior to, those obtained by a major improvement at a single location. The reduction of process variability is often an excellent alternative to reducing the mean of a parameter, because process variability at a given station affects not only that station, but all downstream stations due to its impact on flow variability. Improvements at non-bottleneck stations also have significant benefits, again by reducing the variability of flow to the bottleneck station. These results suggest a broader interpretation of some aspects of the Theory of Constraints, and help explain the successful results of the Toyota Production System.

Workload Control Order Release With Controllable Processing Time Policies: An Assessment by Simulation

“…6). (6) A factor that defines the increasing/decreasing percentage of the processing time is the workload distribution. The value (1/M) is considered the normalized workload when the machines are equally loaded.…”

“…At the shop floor level, the strategies proposed in the literature are the following: the improvements focused on the Capacity Constraint Resource (CCR) [4]; the distributive strategy allocates the efforts to all workstations on the production line [5]; a hybrid strategy that is a combination of the two previous strategies [6]. Some examples of improvement areas are the following: processing time, variability of the processing time, set-up time, mean time between failures, mean time to repair, and demand variability.…”

Training and continuous improvement: the moderation effect of transfer climate and the mediation influence of self-efficacy

“…If alone, its impact is insignificant, but in the cumulative form, it can contribute significantly to firm performance (Berger, 1997). In practice, continuous improvement is vital as it offers substantial benefits such as improving financial performance (Beyhan Yasar et al ., 2019; Khan et al ., 2019), reducing operation costs (Bessant et al ., 1994; Nardella et al ., 1995), upgrading product and service quality (Bessant et al ., 1994; Grütter et al ., 2002; Oprime et al ., 2012; Godinho Filho and Uzsoy, 2014), enhancing productivity (Grütter et al ., 2002; Oprime et al ., 2012; Godinho Filho and Uzsoy, 2014) and improving the level of customer satisfaction (Koval et al ., 2018). Due to the above benefits, businesses are pursuing a continuous improvement strategy (Singh and Singh, 2015) and seeking to enhance continuous improvement effectiveness.…”

Lean implementation in the geriatric care sector in Sweden

“…It has been utilised mostly in the industrial sector (Keyte and Locher, 2008), focusing on incremental improvements in manufacturing operations (Godinho Filho and Uzsoy, 2014). However, the concept has also been used for service and administration processes (e.g., Larsson, 2008) as well as in other sectors, such as the healthcare sector (Brandao de Souza, 2009;Mazzocato et al, 2010;Towne, 2010).…”