South African SMMEs, just like their counterparts world-wide, play a very crucial role against the world economies. The competiveness of these SMMEs is therefore very important. Lean Manufacturing and its principles have been successfully applied by motor manufacturing industries over the years. Many other organisations has since followed suite and adopted lean manufacturing as an approach to optimise and better manage their resources while providing value to their customers. The objective of this study is to investigate how lean manufacturing techniques can be adopted by a specific SMME in a business of manufacturing security products for the banks to better manage its material flow and improve its competitiveness. The research uses observation method to gather information to develop the current value stream map and identify the wasteful procedures. The also involves the interviewing of staff members that are involved in the material handling within the organisation. The results from the two processes are explained and the future value stream map incorporating the lean techniques is developed and presented to the organisation.

This research report examines the changing nature of the organisation of work, in particular, the production methods in the South African automotive industry. The competition in the local and global markets has increased significantly in recent years. The increased complexity of products and individuality of customers pose strong challenges for the automotive manufacturers, (OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturers), with regard to product Quality, Cost and Delivery. For these challenges, Volkswagen Group South Africa, has defined objectives that, when met, will contribute towards establishing it as a leading automotive brand. It is aligned to the Volkswagen Group AG, Strategy Mach18, increased vehicle production and the creation of long-term delighted customer base. To achieve these objectives, the Volkswagen Production System (VPS) is an imperative component of the Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWGSA) production strategy. The core elements consist of, “Cycle”, “Flow”, “Pull” and “Perfection”. These are the four fundamentals on which Lean Manufacturing is built, as first introduced and described by the Toyota Production System. Lean manufacturing is a whole-systems approach that creates a culture in which everyone in the organisation continuously improves the process and production. Volkswagen Group South Africa is facing increased competition in the South African and global marketplace. A search of the internet revealed that extensive research has been conducted into Lean manufacturing in South Africa. However, no research is noted with regard to the sustainability of Lean manufacturing at Volkswagen Group South Africa. The aim of this study is to analyse the sustainability of the lean manufacturing implementation at VWGSA.

The Toyota manufacturing system, aptly referred to as Lean manufacturing, has received a reasonable appreciation and awareness over the past decade in South African industry. This production phenomenon constitutes an organizational culture that encourages world-class production success through the liberation of factory resources, while employees are empowered and encouraged to contribute ideas for the improvement of processes and products. However, despite lean awareness and the crucial role of employee participation in the suggestion of ideas in world-class organizations, the performance level of lean manufacturing in South African industry is largely devoid of the Kaizen suggestion tool, particularly in the automotive companies of the Eastern Cape. The aim of this research was to proffer appropriate recommendations, improved awareness, understanding and practice for the improvement of the Kaizen suggestion principle in the automotive companies of the Eastern Cape. The research primarily focused on the ‘management/employees’ paradigm within the organisational context. The methodology employed in the study included a thorough review of the relevant literature and a questionnaire, which was developed and administered to both the management and employees of the thirty automotive components suppliers in Eastern Cape. The target companies constituted the units of analyses and therefore provided the opportunity for a detailed investigation of the links between management and employees as well as a submission of ideas for operational and organisational processes as established in the literature review. Epistemologically, the research is objectivist and paradigmically, positivist. However, some qualitative aspects of the data were relevant to the study and, therefore, were used in a complementary manner. The case approach utilized mixed methods by applying a range of data collection techniques and evidence from multiple sources while the sampling technique was sequential, involving both purposive and stratified random sampling. The study reveals the apparent lack of a systematic mechanism for the practice and administration of the Kaizen suggestion tools in most Eastern Cape automotive companies. This demerit is found to have negatively affected maximum employee participation and involvement in organizational decision making within the Province. The study has established a basic level of awareness and understanding among employees / employers relations that the Kaizen suggestion scheme is a vital tool for delivering strategic objectives in the management of decision making and organizational growth. The study strongly advocates the inclusion of employee suggestion systems as part of the organizational process.

Lean philosophy is based on the continuous quest to improve the organisation‟s processes by creating a culture and operating principles which eliminate all non value adding activities within organisation„s processes. Manufacturing firms consider the adoption of the Lean tools as basic requirements for achieving World Class operational excellence or Best Practice. For some time, lean has been used by the manufacturing organizations. Most organizations understand that lean will help them survive global competition and stay in business. The objective of this study is to investigate how lean manufacturing tools can be used to improve efficiency and enhance the embedding of a continuous improvement culture in the South African Revenue Service Enforcement Audit Port Elizabeth. The activities that took place in Enforcement Audit Port Elizabeth from September 2010 until 31 October 2011 were observed. During the study, an introductory presentation by the researcher was made to Regional Enforcement Management and staff in general, the presentation was to introduce the study highlighting different Lean tools. Thereafter the Port Elizabeth audit staff members were engaged formally, using surveys to assess their underlying mindset and behaviour as well as informally, using unstructured interviews to solicit more information on activities taking place and the reasoning behind certain actions. The results of the survey and observations are analysed and interpreted.

This is a quantitative study. The primary research objective is to investigate the importance of hospital management’s involvement when implementing lean elements in healthcare. In reality, incidents and quality problems are prime reasons why healthcare leaders are calling for redesign in healthcare delivery and systems. This paper presents a proposal for developing a lean culture in healthcare facilities equipped with managers who will be able to drive the implementation of lean elements from the top down, making use of multidisciplinary teams, including physicians, to deliver value-added services. This study ultimately endeavors to indicate the importance of management, multidisciplinary teams and physician involvement in implementing lean principles in healthcare successfully. “If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting.” – Stephen Covey. The reasons why lean management is a particularly important strategy in healthcare currently, includes the following: •The need to reduce waste in healthcare cost; •The need to improve quality and on-time processes; •Fast-paced technological changes; •Ever-increasing patient expectations; and •The need to standardise processes and systems to get the high-quality results anticipated (Chalice, 2010).

The lean manufacturing system that evolved in Japan since World War II has leapt across the globe to North America and Europe. The secret success of Japan’s manufacturing machine has been shared. In Europe and America, lean has been identified as a manufacturing best practice that should be adopted to ensure competitive manufacturing efficiency. Many success stories have been told of American companies adopting the Japanese lean tools and techniques. Now, South African manufacturers are implementing the lean manufacturing philosophy, some with more success than others. This research paper explores lean manufacturing implementations at two South African automotive component manufacturers and identifies the critical success factors that have driven the implementation process forward. Commitment from top company executives, extensive training, worker empowerment and other critical success factors for implementing lean manufacturing into a South African environment are identified as a result of the research conducted.

After events like the global financial crisis and the advent of globalisation, companies have experienced increased competition and pressure to improve performance in the new environments in which business is conducted. This has impacted the world of manufacturing, among others, and has necessitated companies in this industry to adopt improvement methodologies to assist in growing the business. This study looks into the implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) as one of these procedures and highlights that most articles and studies on this process concentrate on the highvolume, low-mix manufacturing environment. On account of this, a gap is left in the application of these techniques in the low-volume, high-mix environment. The literature highlights the differences in the two disciplines that have now evolved into one toolkit that is applied as LSS and how that is achieved. The cases highlighted do not, however, cover the low-volume, high-variety manufacturers, and this paper seeks to use the expertise of LSS practitioners in this environment to get information and derive a framework for successful implementation of LSS in the capital equipment environment. The main contributor to the study is a company that manufactures capital equipment for the mines, with other respondents being practitioners in similar companies and customers in the mines. Respondents were sent a survey to get their opinion on the implementation of LSS in their environment. The survey attempted to gather information through five key questions on how LSS was being applied and its impact on the cost, cycle-time and on-time delivery of the organisation. A quantitative study design was adopted to develop a framework for the successful implementation of LSS in the capital equipment industry. A total of 38 respondents gave feedback, which was analysed, and this showed what - according to the professionals involved in this study - are the vital aspects of this implementation to ensure success. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

El presente proyecto está enfocado en mejorar la productividad de una empresa manufacturera de neumáticos, específicamente la línea de producción de neumáticos radiales, con el fin de poder satisfacer la demanda creciente y no perder valor con sus clientes. Para cumplir con este objetivo, se aplica un modelo basado en los principios de herramientas de Manufactura Esbelta en este trabajo, el cual está estructurado en cinco capítulos. El primer capítulo brinda un marco teórico de las herramientas, técnicas y lineamientos a seguir, basado en el estado del arte, que brinde el know how necesario para poder aplicar correctamente las técnicas y herramientas de Manufactura Esbelta. El capítulo dos nos muestra un diagnóstico general de la empresa, detallando el problema principal que presenta, el impacto en la rentabilidad que este tiene y sus causas. El tercer capítulo se centra en la aplicación de las metodologías explicadas, determinando el proceso restrictivo y aumentando su capacidad (herramientas de Manufactura Esbelta). Tras ello, en el capítulo cuatro, se realiza la validación de la implementación, ejecutado mediante un plan piloto, el cual evidencia una mejora significativa en la productividad de la línea. Luego, en el capítulo cinco, se presenta la medición de los impactos, siendo estos sociales, ambientales, organizacionales, entre otros, que puedan repercutir tras la implementación de las herramientas. Finalmente, se determinan las conclusiones y recomendaciones que se obtienen tras el desarrollo de todo el proyecto. / This project is focused on improving the productivity of a tire manufacturing company, specifically the radial tires line, in order to satisfy the demand and not lose value with customers. To accomplish this objective, a model based on the principles of Lean Manufacturing tools is applied in this assignment, which is structured in five chapters. The first chapter provides a theoretical framework of the tools, techniques and guidelines to follow, based on the state of the art, which provides the necessary knowledge to be able to correctly apply the techniques and tools of Lean Manufacturing. Chapter two shows a general diagnosis of the company, showing the main problem of it, the impact on the profitability that it has and its causes. The third chapter focuses on the application of the methodologies explained yet, defining the restrictive process and increasing its capacity (Lean Manufacturing tools). After that, in chapter four, validation of the implementation is carried out, executed through a pilot plan, which evidences a significant improvement in the line’s productivity. Then, in chapter five, the measurement of impacts is showed, as social, environmental, organizational, among others, that can impact through the implementation of the tools. Finally, conclusions and recommendations that derive from the development of the entire project are determined. / Trabajo de Suficiencia Profesional

Diploma thesis is focused on implementation of logistics system Milk Run for automotive lines in selected manufacturing company, which allows to deliver raw material for production effectively and on time. The theoretical part deals with the logistics principles, which are supporting lean manufacturing. The practical part is focused mainly on description of new supplying process and steps needed for implementation of Milk Run system in the company. The thesis is concluded with evaluation of project’s expected benefits.

This master’s thesis is focused on implementation of lean manufacturing methods. The beginning of the study deals with history and description of theoretical tools. Next part describes company ABB and gas-insulated high-voltage substations. Followed by process flow analysis before and after moving the company. There is described assembly and product portfolio in this thesis. Last chapters deal with the application of lean manufacturing methods and economy evaluation.