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De mogelijkheden van Lean Manufacturing bij Van Raam

Veen, Hans van (2009) De mogelijkheden van Lean Manufacturing bij Van Raam.

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Abstract:The subject of this Masters Thesis is to determine which Lean Manufacturing principles can be carried out at Van Raam. Van Raam is a company located in Varsseveld. It is an enterprise which is specialised in the manufacturing of customised bicycles mostly for people with a physical handicap. Van Raam wants het production process to be more efficient. The management of Van Raam thinks the production process can be more efficient by using Lean Manufacturing. Many industries that have implemented Lean Manufacturing have achieved improved performance over time. Lean Manufacturing, or lean production, is searching for the most efficient way of producing goods through the removal processes which do not add value to the product (waste). Only the processes which add value to the product will maintain. But the implementation of Lean Manufacturing should not follow a cookie-cutter approach. It's not necessary to implement all the available lean tools. In fact it's not even possible! Every factory is different and these differences require unique approaches. The elements chosen, their sequence of implementation and many other details differ from factory to factory. Because of this, an analysis of the production process of Van Raam must be made. After this analysis we can judge which elements can be used. The analysis showed that the organization had to change their way of working in some areas. The main problems which needed to be tackled where Waiting and Inventory. The inventory and work in progress at the assembly department was way to much and represented a value of €58.365,-. These inventories are the result of the push- production system. With this system products are produced which are not sold (yet). The other problem was waiting. Customers had to wait 1,3 or 6 weeks for a customised bicycle. This is too long because a customised bicycle can be made in one or a few days. The weeks of waiting are the result of the planning system. Every production step is planned in a different week. The next lean elements are used to create a more efficient production process; production smoothing (Heijunka), pull- production and a pull- planning routine. There is also a tool which is not a clear lean tool but also need to be implemented. This is; a the use of a multifunction worker training sheet. This is not a lean principle but looks a bit like the 1:3 & 3:1 rule. One month before this thesis was finished some elements where implemented at Van Raam. This was pull production and a pull- planning routine. This gave me the opportunity to analyse the inventory data before and after the implementation. The inventory costs turned from a value of €58.365,- (at the start) to €32.525,- (at the end). A drop of €25.840,- After this research Van Raam has to focus on continuous improvement. The next issue which needs attention is the huge difference in demand between the different seasons of the year. The capacity sometimes is too big or too small. How can this problem be handled?
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Clients:
Van Raam B.V.
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:88 social and public administration
Programme:Public Administration MSc (60020)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/60216
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