Project-6 (Query -6)
Agile manufacturing (AM) requires both technology and management level interventions and
having objectives to develop new products, varieties of products, effective in terms of cost,
productivity and efficient in terms of time and quality.
Company based on agile manufacturing should be in a position to offer products/services as
desired by every customer – mass customisation. It needs numerous technologies and
management models to be adopted.
Adoption of AM can therefore be phased in stages and grouped into 4:
• Management Driver (7)
• Technology Driver (4)
• Manufacturing Strategy Driver (5)
• Competitive Driver (4)
Management Driver
Organizational Structure
Better approach is to develop groups of personnel from all departments and locating them at
same place or networked. The group gets customer requirement and develops products meeting
quality and profitability.
Devolution of Authority:
E.g. Team consists of customer liaison engineer, design engineer, production engineer,
marketing executive, shop supervisor, finance executive and once the team is formed, it is
provided with required authority to execute job and System should be in place to check misuse.
Employee Status
Traditionally, employees differentiated on the basis of level and department. Based on product,
certain skill sets may be required. In cross-functional teams, load balance may become difficult
due to above reason. Employee training in multiple skills levels such situation and brings in
team culture
Employee Involvement
In AM, all employees must involve in task of meeting customers’ demand Orientation programs
for employees must be conducted to understand the customer needs. This results in building
spirit of participation.
Incentive scheme must be introduced such as ‘profit sharing’ and it will trigger team members to
involve better and meet customer demand.
Nature of Management
Goals need to be achieved in short time and organisation growth has also to be ensured. So it
(AM) requires Strategic management and quick decision making for innovation.
Change in Business Processes
Usually ISO 9001 necessitates extensive documentation and it slows customer response time.
Thus companies have to check and modify business and technical processes for agility. Business
process based on order enquiry and for quick response to customer requirement assembly
adapted to pressing instead of screwing.
Time Management
Time management of higher paid employee needed and employee working time needs to be
properly utilised by defining the work responsibility clearly. After identification of non-valued
activities, transfer to lower level. Estimation of time required to execute all business and
technical processes for making one unit of product and identify parallel processes/outsource so
that product can be delivered on time.
Technology Driver
Significant enhances in technology can be used to support implementation of agile
manufacturing e.g. CAD as an example in comparison with manual drafting and helps in meeting
customer demands very fast.
Design Automation Technologies:
Design is not just of product but also of process and service. Three major technologies: CAD,
ERP, PLM and RP
Initially only computerised drafting (AutoCAD) and now it is advanced to solid modelling. ERP
helps process automation while as PLM helps design updates to remain current.
Prototypes play an important role as acceptance by customer is critical. CAM can be used where
as RP is a quick solution. Recently, developed Rapid-CAM and Machine learning techniques are
useful for AM. These are having disadvantage of high costly and mostly resin or non-metallic
products.
Advanced Production Technologies:Introduction of CNC – added flexibility by replacing
conventional CAM based systems and mechanisms, jigs and fixture. While as increased
application of mechatronics systems enables training is faster, sturdy and precise and easy to
design prototypes.
Integrated Manufacturing Technologies: CIM – integration of CAD, CAM and other activities
of the company reduces time and money in carrying out operations at different locations.
Information networking more intense with ERP packages reduces multiplication of data entry
IT Integration: Significant advances made in the field of information technology (IT) in the
form of mail, whatsapp, data hosting on cloud etc. facilitate agility
Made faster is OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) is linked with local vendor who can
quickly manufacture the product and respond to customer requirement.
Manufacturing Strategy Driver
Quick manufacturing set-ups
Agility Capability of manufacturing company- quick response to customers dynamic
demands implying higher profitability for which low set up times are required.
Scope of manufacturing set up include: training imparted to people, investment on
capital, setting up of components on individual machines and setting up a production
center.
Most preferable: total elimination of manufacturing set ups
To achieve agility, the resources of the organization shall be readily available else they
may outsource the activities so as to avoid long time to be taken in setting up of the
facilities to produce the product or offering the service.
Agility through quick response
Every customer, buying and using products reacts by indicating new, novel latent
requirements which are usually won’t notice to management and employees. Even heard,
cannot respond quickly due to difficulty in understanding. This can be solved by
deploying QFD (Quality For Deployment).
Agility through PLM
In agile manufacturing environment, it is required to capture data, information and
knowledge on the performance of product or service throughout its entire life cycle.
PLM acts as central repository for all product related data right from conception till its
disposal unlike the conventional manufacturing firms where the information link between
the product / service fails after the warranty period.
Due to continuous flow of data, it is easy to innovate new products and services that meet
the customer’s dynamic requirements.
Agility through competitive driver
Companies mainly compete based on
Quality: It involves studying the past history about same or similar product. Technology
and management tools are deployed to avoid failures. Developing prototypes and
necessary checks are analyzed to prevent failure. Lastly, customer’s perceptions are
noticed.
Productivity: It involves
Determining the types of productivity (labor, materials, employee productivity
etc.) that influence the company performance to achieve agile characteristics.
Determining the measures of the productivities considered below to improve total
productivity of the company.
A system incorporating these productive measures has to be developed to
continuously indicate the productivity level and thereby facilitate to take
corrective measure for continuously improving productivity and simultaneously
exhibiting agile characteristics.
Comparable cost: In agile manufacturing, for the profitability to increase, cost should
be levied on value added activities only. Such an activity based costing will be a cost
effective product.
Outsourcing:
Avoid risk of leaking technical secrets to third parties
Avoidance of risk enabling the third parties to come across details of customers
Avoidance of losing profitability as a considerable profits to be transferred to the
third parties as a service rendered by them to perform outsourced activities.
Salient points on Agile Manufacturing (AM)
[Link]. Criterion Agile
1 Organisational Structure Flattened and team managed organisation
2 Devolution of Authority Self-autonomous and empowered authorities
3 Manufacturing set-up Flexible and easily collapsible manufacturing set-up that can
quickly respond to change
4 Status of quality Customer delight is the target
5 Status of productivity Rapid increase in productivity with practically feasible
evaluation; productivity and quality are integrated
6 Employees’ status Learning employees, multi-skilled, multi-functional and self-
committed
7 Employee involvement Fully empowered employees; ideas and knowledge fully shared
8 Nature of management Participation-based management capable of changes and
improvements
9 Customer response Very fast and 100% response achieved
adoption
10 Product life cycle Short life span but free from failures and effectively operated
11 Product service life Very little time to restore.
12 Design improvement Very frequent and systematically practiced by
experimentation
13 Production Dominated by main assembly of components,
methodology external manufacturing and outsourcing
14 Manufacturing Carried out for short period with JIT with
planning little capital investment
15 Cost management Managed using activity, strategy, quality
and productivity-based
costing system
16 Automation type Flexible, smart and adaptable automation
17 Information IT integrated after reengineering existing system
technology
integration
18 Change in business Changes can be effected quickly and economically
process
19 Time management Very efficient
20 Outsourcing Majority outsourcing. SCM principles applied