This report is the result of a 20-points project at the University of Jönköping. The project was carried out in form of a case study with the object of analysing the value flow at DIAB AB’s confection department in Laholm. The aim of this project is to submit proposals to the production management on how to increase the efficiency of the production flow at the confection department and reduce the capital accumulation in form of products in work. The information in this report is gathered from interviews, observations and measurements. Furthermore, a literature study was carried out in view to find suitable theories when analysing present as well as future suggested production conditions. This report is based on four main questions: • What does the existing process of the value flow for the most produced product family look like? • How does the process of the value flow for GS perform considering the through-put-time? o How long through-put-time does a representative product of the GS-family have? o How long is the value- and no value adding time for that product along its production flow? • Which production related disturbances and cost prompters exist in the present value flow process? • How could the process of the value flow for GS be made more efficient, less persistent to disturbances and more competitive? The existing process of the value flow for the most producing product family has been mapped and is illustrated in appendix 3. For now, the process includes nine working stations along the production chain. The through-put-time of a representative GS-product is according to my survey 18,5 days. The value adding time is only 16,1 minutes, that is 0,061 % of the entire through-put-time. The remaining time, in other words the no value adding time, is 440 hours and it represents mainly storage and transport of products. The representative production disturbances and cost prompters that characterise the process of the value flow contain material related disturbances, a high number of long shifts, long storage time prior to the customer order point and with that, high capital accumulation and finally unnecessary transports. Improvement proposals aim to increase the efficacy of the process of the value flow and reduce the capital amounts by shifting from the present production strategy involving manufacturing towards order (TMO) to assembling towards order (MMO). In order to make this possible a semi-manufactured storage will be introduced after the standard confection which will represent the new decoupling point. The production at the standard confection will then occur according to the semi-manufactured storage. The standard confection should produce in larger aggregated order quantities based on prognosis in order to benefit from the advantages of economy of scale and the production must proceed in a continuous flow according to the FIFU-system (First In First Out). In addition to that, the special confection must produce according to a pull-system and only when the customer makes a request. The tact-time of the GS products should constitute a limit for all the cycle times along the production chain, both on the standard- and special confection. This is partly due to creating a constant and balanced production flow which enables short through-put-time and partly due to avoiding in-between-storage as a result of various bottlenecks.

This Master’s thesis has been carried out within the subject area of Production Development and Management and aims to reduce internal lead times in make-to-order (MTO) and job-shop production environments with the use of identified theoretical methods. The reason this particular production environment was chosen was the flexibility and satisfaction it provides its customers. Today, customers expect customised products, a situation which causes problems for manufacturers as they are unable to produce such products in large amounts. In order to investigate problems with these kinds of environments and the causes for long lead times, we have conducted a literature study where we identified the problems these particular kinds of production environments experience regarding production planning and control which are related to the immense amount of time consumed by changeovers because of high demand variance and high requirements for customisation. To affirm the theoretical findings, we opted to undertake a case study and chose Talent Plastics Gislaved AB as our case, because this company utilises an MTO and job-shop production environment for its production of highly customised products with high demand variance. In the analysis of our case, we found that the wastes in the organisation were similar to those identified in the theoretical findings. The current planning system and the current state of the manufacturing lead time system were evaluated and a theoretical framework using a combination of lean production, work load control and constant work-in-process theories was suggested. We claim that concentrating on the reduction of setup times can lead the job-shop towards drastically decreased lead times and a much more effective use of time throughout the organisation. Because the organisation will continue to face problems due to the ever-increasing demand variance and requirements for customisation, there are plenty of opportunities for further research in these kinds of production environments. Emerging theories, such as quick response manufacturing, may also be tested to construct an efficient framework.

Kostnaden för nyproduktion av hus i Sverige har ökat markant under de senaste åren. Byggföretag har svårt att hålla både projektens löptid och kostnader nere, vilket resulterat i ett ökat marknadspris och ett växande missnöje bland slutkunder. De ökade kostnaderna beror enligt forskning på vanligt förekommande slöseri i form av såväl material som arbetskraft. I försöken att eliminera slöseri har många företag anpassat sin verksamhet efter Lean Thinking, ett system som härstammar från den japanska bilindustrin, bestående av verktyg och metoder med huvudsyfte att identifiera och eliminera slöseri. Ur detta har även nya former av byggnation fångat marknadens intresse. Industrialiserat byggande är en metod som förflyttat stora delar av verksamheten från byggarbetsplats till prefabricering i fabrik och på så sätt eliminerat många av de slöseri och riskmoment som förknippas med det traditionella synsättet på byggnation. Studien lägger fokus på hur arbete med Lean Thinking och prefabricerat byggande kan avhjälpa de kostnadsproblem som branschen ställs inför på dagens marknad. Genom en fallstudie har vi beretts möjlighet att på nära håll studera för- respektive nackdelar med ett prefabricerat byggande, samt fått möjlighet att studera en organisation där verksamheten utgår från Lean Thinking. Studien visar att det genom Lean Thinking och prefabricerat byggande går att minimera vanligt förekommande slöseri inom byggbranschen. Utförandetiden för prefabricerat byggande är också mycket kortare än vid traditionellt byggande och på så vis hålls kostnaderna nere. Genom att ytterliga utveckla prefabricerat byggande enligt Lean Thinking skulle det vara möjligt att i större utsträckning minimera slöseri och möjliggöra ett ännu smartare byggande. / The costs of house construction in Sweden have increased conspicuously over the last years. Construction companies have a hard time maintaining low project lead-times as well as keeping costs within the financial plan, which in turn has affected market price and created a growing discontent amongst buyers. Research indicates that the increased production costs are in many ways caused by the large amount of waste, in form of materials and labor, which is common within today’s construction projects. Efforts to eliminate waste has led many companies to adapt Lean Thinking, a system with roots in Japanese car manufacturing industry, containing tools and methods designed to identify and eliminate all kinds of waste. From all this, new ways of construction has been introduced on to todays market. Industrialized housing is a relatively new concept, which has eliminated a lot of waste and risks by moving construction away from an on-site project into prefabrication within factories. This study focuses on how Lean Thinking adaptation and industrialized construction can help lowering construction costs. A case study has given us the opportunity to follow an industrialized construction project up close, as well as the opportunity to study an organization that has implemented Lean Thinking. The study shows that it is possible to reduce common waste within construction industry through Lean Thinking and industrialized housing. The project lead-time for industrialized housing is also much shorter compared to traditional construction methods and therefore the costs are kept low. By continuing to evolve industrialized housing through Lean Thinking it would be possible to further reduce waste and consequently enabling an even smarter way of construction.

Uppgiften som låg till grund för denna uppsats, var att ge förslag på produktivitetshöjande åtgärder på Electrolux Distriparts godsmottagning. Vår avsikt var att tillämpa delar av Toyotas produktionssystem på den befintliga processen. Detta resulterade i en serie förslag som, om de tillämpas, drastiskt kommer höja produktiviteten i den aktuella processen. / The task, which is the basis of this report, was to suggest some productivity-raising actions for the incoming goods departments at Electrolux Distriparts. The project set out to utilise parts of the Toyota production model in the existing process. This resulted in a series of suggestions, which if implemented, would drastically increase the productivity of the relevant process.

<p>This report is the result of a 20-points project at the University of Jönköping. The project was carried out in form of a case study with the object of analysing the value flow at DIAB AB’s confection department in Laholm. The aim of this project is to submit proposals to the production management on how to increase the efficiency of the production flow at the confection department and reduce the capital accumulation in form of products in work.</p><p>The information in this report is gathered from interviews, observations and measurements. Furthermore, a literature study was carried out in view to find suitable theories when analysing present as well as future suggested production conditions.</p><p>This report is based on four main questions:</p><p>• What does the existing process of the value flow for the most produced product family look like?</p><p>• How does the process of the value flow for GS perform considering the through-put-time?</p><p>o How long through-put-time does a representative product of the GS-family have?</p><p>o How long is the value- and no value adding time for that product along its production flow?</p><p>• Which production related disturbances and cost prompters exist in the present value flow process?</p><p>• How could the process of the value flow for GS be made more efficient, less persistent to disturbances and more competitive?</p><p>The existing process of the value flow for the most producing product family has been mapped and is illustrated in appendix 3. For now, the process includes nine working stations along the production chain.</p><p>The through-put-time of a representative GS-product is according to my survey 18,5 days. The value adding time is only 16,1 minutes, that is 0,061 % of the entire through-put-time. The remaining time, in other words the no value adding time, is 440 hours and it represents mainly storage and transport of products.</p><p>The representative production disturbances and cost prompters that characterise the process of the value flow contain material related disturbances, a high number of long shifts, long storage time prior to the customer order point and with that, high capital accumulation and finally unnecessary transports.</p><p>Improvement proposals aim to increase the efficacy of the process of the value flow and reduce the capital amounts by shifting from the present production strategy involving manufacturing towards order (TMO) to assembling towards order (MMO).</p><p>In order to make this possible a semi-manufactured storage will be introduced after the standard confection which will represent the new decoupling point. The production at the standard confection will then occur according to the semi-manufactured storage. The standard confection should produce in larger aggregated order quantities based on prognosis in order to benefit from the advantages of economy of scale and the production must proceed in a continuous flow according to the FIFU-system (First In First Out). In addition to that, the special confection must produce according to a pull-system and only when the customer makes a request.</p><p>The tact-time of the GS products should constitute a limit for all the cycle times along the production chain, both on the standard- and special confection. This is partly due to creating a constant and balanced production flow which enables short through-put-time and partly due to avoiding in-between-storage as a result of various bottlenecks.</p>

<p>Uppgiften som låg till grund för denna uppsats, var att ge förslag på produktivitetshöjande åtgärder på Electrolux Distriparts godsmottagning. Vår avsikt var att tillämpa delar av Toyotas produktionssystem på den befintliga processen. Detta resulterade i en serie förslag som, om de tillämpas, drastiskt kommer höja produktiviteten i den aktuella processen.</p> / <p>The task, which is the basis of this report, was to suggest some productivity-raising actions for the incoming goods departments at Electrolux Distriparts. The project set out to utilise parts of the Toyota production model in the existing process. This resulted in a series of suggestions, which if implemented, would drastically increase the productivity of the relevant process.</p>

Syfte – Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka tillämpbarheten av Lean på operativt inköp samt undersöka hur detta kan tillämpas på ett tillverkande företag som arbetar med Lean i produktionen. För att besvara syftet har det brutits ned i ett delmål och en frågeställning. Delmål: Att undersöka tillämpbarheten av Lean på operativt inköp   Frågeställning: Hur kan Lean tillämpas på operativt inköp på ett företag som arbetar med Lean i produktionen? Metod – Litteraturstudier genomfördes inom områdena inköp och valda Leankoncept för att samla in teori som möjliggjorde uppfyllandet av studiens delmål. En fallstudie genomfördes för att samla in empiri som sedan jämfördes med delmålet för att besvara studiens frågeställning. Empiri samlades in genom samtal, intervjuer, dokumentstudier och observationer. Resultat – Företag som arbetar med Lean i produktionen kan tillämpa Lean på operativt inköp för att effektiviseras. Operativt inköp är en transaktionsbaserad process med information som värdeflöde. Operativt inköp bör effektiviseras i syfte att skapa ett så värdeadderande flöde som möjligt. Genom att utgå från de fyra grundområdena Filosofi, Processer, Medarbetare och partners samt Problemlösning i Lean och de tillhörande 14 principerna, skapas ett helhetsperspektiv och riktlinjer som lyfter förbättringsområden. För att realisera de 14 principerna bör metoder och verktyg anpassas efter avdelningens förutsättningar och mål. Minskade processtider för inköpsärenden, ökad flexibilitet bland inköpare och minskad stress är resultat av framgångsrikt tillämpande av Lean på operativt inköp.   Implikationer – Studiens syfte var inte att skapa ett nytt Leankoncept utan att undersöka vad inom Lean som kan tillämpas på operativt inköp för att effektiviseras. Teori inom området är nästintill obefintligt och utförandet av studien har bidragit med ny kunskap om Lean tillämpat på operativt inköp. Begränsningar – Resultatet påverkas av hur länge företag arbetat med Lean i produktionen innan Lean tillämpas på operativt inköp. Genomförande av en flerfallstudie, istället för en enfallstudie, hade gett ett mer generaliserbart resultat för företag att använda sig av med likartade förutsättningar som fallföretaget. Nyckelord – Lean Administration, Lean Office, Lean Produktion, Lean Service, operativt inköp, effektivitet / Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the applicability of Lean in operational purchasing and examine how it can be applied to a manufacturing company that is working with Lean in the production. To fulfill the purpose it has been broken down into one objective and one problem statement. Objective: Investigate the applicability of Lean on operational purchasing Problem statement: How can Lean be applied on operational purchasing in a company that works with Lean in the production? Method – Literature studies were conducted in the areas of purchasing and selected Lean Concepts to collect the theory that made it possible to answer the sub-target of the study. A case study was conducted to compare the empirical data and theory to answer the problem statement. Empirical evidence was gathered through conversations, interviews, document studies and observations. Findings – Companies working with Lean production can apply Lean on operational purchasing in order to make it more efficient. Operational purchasing is a transaction-based process with information as its value stream and operational purchasing should be streamlined in order to create as much value in the value-flow as possible. The fundamental areas in Lean are Philosophy, Processes, People and Partners, and Problem Solving and through the associated 14 principles create an overall perspective and guidelines that highlights areas for improvement. To fulfill the 14 principles, chosen methods and tools should match the department's conditions and goals. Reduced processing times for purchasing cases, increased flexibility among purchasers and reduced stress are the result of the successful application of Lean on operational purchasing. Implications – The study's purpose was not to create a new Lean concept, but to investigate what in Lean can be applied to operational purchasing to create efficiency and effectiveness in the department. Theory in the area is virtually non-existent and the execution of the study has contributed to new knowledge about Lean applied to operational purchasing. Limitations – The result is affected by how long companies have worked with Lean production before Lean is applied to operational purchasing. The use of a multi-case study, rather than a one-case study, had given a more generalizable result for companies that have the same conditions as the case company. Keywords – Lean Administration, Lean Office, Lean Production, Lean Service, operational purchasing, efficiency, effectiveness

Hälso- och sjukvården har höga krav som branschen har svårt att uppfylla. Logistik har fått en ökad betydelse inom sektorn och handlar i detta fall om att på kortast tid få en patient färdigbehandlad. Denna rapport tar fram logistiska förändringsprinciper som är framgångsrika i hälso- och sjukvården. En litteraturstudie visar att det finns ett antal logistiska förändringsprinciper och verktyg som med positivt resultat har anpassats till hälso- och sjukvården. Dessa är; Lean production, processorientering, flödesorientering, Time-based competition, Theory of Constraints, Supply chain management, Planering, Mål och mätmetoder, Patienten i fokus, Genombrott och Advanced access. Fallstudier visar att vårdenheter i de flesta fall inte arbetar med specifika förändringsprinciper utan metoder hämtade från flera principer. Många av dessa metoder återkommer i åtskilliga förändringsprinciper och de vanligaste metoderna som identifierats både i litteraturstudien och i fallstudien och därför anses vara framgångsrika är; eliminering av slöseri, standardiseringar, kartläggning av flöde eller process och samverkan inom den egna enheten. Dessa metoder kan härledas till principerna Lean production, processorientering och Genombrott. Viktigt att poängtera är att förändringsprinciperna måste anpassas till den specifika situationen och vårdenheten.

台灣工業電腦產業近三十年的發展，已步入成熟期。而工業電腦發展、應用層面極廣，從工業電腦產業價值鏈分析發現，不同公司在策略及資源投入依其核心能力及技術卻有相當大的差異。台灣企業大多以代工為主，雖然整體營收水準不錯，但是毛利卻很低，若鄰近國家逐漸擁有類似的基本生產要素，產業就勢必會外移。本論文希望探討工業電腦少量多樣的製造特性，如何轉化成為企業的核心競爭力，並透過營運策略不斷的修訂、執行與改善，藉此達到企業永續經營的終極目標。 工業電腦產業因為零組件眾多，透過導入豐田的精實生產管理方式可以有效減少存貨、降低生產成本、增加生產力及提昇產品品質，以建構少量多樣的製造模式，進而強化公司獲利及企業競爭優勢。本研究提出工業電腦少量多樣、客製化生產等特性，透過精實生產、單元生產、模組化生產，來闡述其具體內涵、功能及可行策略。同時，以艾訊公司作為個案研究的對象，探討公司過去經營概況，現在的發展瓶頸及未來的挑戰目標。當下的產業環境變化競爭且劇烈，台灣的工業電腦業者，唯有善用合縱連橫的經營策略，全面提升競爭力，才能突出重圍，再創成長動能。 關鍵詞： 工業電腦產業、精實生產管理、模組化生產 / After 30 years of progress，Industrial Computer Business in Taiwan is maturing into a period of full development. The evolution of Industrial computer techniques can be widely used on multiple application levels. From the analysis of industrial computer Business’ value chain，there is a large gap among companies in terms of the strategies according to their capability to invest in resources and techniques. In Taiwan，most enterprises’ earnings are based around OEM/ODM. Although the revenue is satisfactory，gross profit is too low. If our neighbor countries proceed to develop the same industry，the enterprises will eventually relocate abroad. This thesis is about the research on how the industrial computer business’ new strategy of “Fewer Products but More Brands” can make a difference in transforming the enterprise to be more competitive and how to reach the ultimate goal of an everlasting enterprise by continuously implementing，amending，and improving the policies. There are numerous components in industrial computer enterprises and we have finally found a way to reduce the merchandise stock，lower production costs to improve productivity，as well as elevate product quality. This is to be achieved by using the “Toyota Refining-and-Practical Management Protocols.” By applying the “Fewer Products but More Brands” concept，we can gain a more competitive margin and intensify our capabilities. This thesis proposes not only the “Fewer Products but More Brands” idea，but also the customization concept. Through refining production，unit production，and model production，this research elaborates on the contents，functions and feasibilities of the concept. At the same time，the research uses Axiomtek company as an example to explore their past management experiences，their current developing bottle-necks，and their future challenging goals. We are facing difficult competition now. As Taiwan’s Industrial Computer leading professionals，we know that the only way to advance our competing potential is to use the comprehensive management strategy in the hopes of dishing out of the predicaments and recreating growth energy. Keywords： Industrial Computer, Lean Production, Modulization

Diss. Göteborg : Göteborgs universitet, 2006.