<p>Packaging has a major impact on the activities performed in a logistical value chain. Packaging can improve or decrease the efficiency of the outbound logistics process. It is therefore important to consider the activities and the value that they add to the overall process. ROL International is a Swedish store interior manufacturer that design, produce and distribute their products on a global basis. One of their basic products is the shelf concept. ROL wants to improve their efficiency and consider a change in the packaging method for the shelf concept. Two alternative packaging methods have been suggested and ROL want to know if either of the two alternatives would result in increased efficiency.</p><p>The purpose of this report is to evaluate the two packaging alternatives and their impact on the activities connected to the outbound logistics at ROL International.</p><p>Since the study was conducted at request from ROL International, it is considered as a qualitative single case study. Observations, mainly at ROL’s warehouse but also through an observation at one customer’s premises, were used for determination of the activities included throughout the studied process. In addition to the observations, interviews were conducted with key persons concerned with the effects of a change in packaging method. Secondary data in form of order and shelf statistics were important for the study due to its impact on the frequency in which the studied activities are performed.</p><p>The study found that neither of the two suggested packaging alternatives are suitable for implementation in the present situation. This is mainly because of the increase in activities needed to perform the packaging of shelves, which would result in increased cost that cannot be justified through enhanced customer service and higher quality. More-over, the study also found that the current process for picking customer orders are ineffi-cient and might require a restructuring of the warehouse operation in order to become more efficient.</p>

Lean is a philosophy that has been studied extensively in recent years, and it has been successfully implemented in a number of different processes and businesses. This study aims to examine how Lean can contribute to create effective meetings, which is a topic that has received limited attention in today’s research. Firstly, a situation analysis is done in order to identify common meeting problems at Ericsson Borås. Secondly, a comprehensive analysis is conducted concerning whether Lean is applicable on meeting processes or not. This analysis is mainly based on the five principles of Lean Thinking. Thirdly, the study investigates the potential effect of an implementation of Lean, as well as how Lean principles can be applied in order to reduce or eliminate wastes. The result of the analysis formed the base for the development of the action plan. Subsequently, the action plan is implemented on the meeting processes by pilot testing it on three different meetings. This analysis is mainly focusing on whether the meeting problems have been eliminated or not. Based on our research, we have perceived that almost every meeting is unique and all meeting problems we have identified do not occur at all meetings. Majority of the meeting problems were eliminated by applying Lean principles. Moreover, several respondents also expressed that Lean is a good way to give more structure to meetings, and therefore contributes to more effective meetings. However, we have noticed that principles of Lean cannot eliminate all meeting problems at Ericsson. This can be seen as minor criticism when organizations use Lean as the only solution to improve meeting processes.

This research project aims to develop a novel A3 thinking approach to support knowledge driven design that aids the generation of decision making within a Lean Product and Process Development (LeanPPD) environment. This research comprises the development of a new A3 template as a technique of problem solving in product design, the adoption of a reflection practice structured in a new A3 template for knowledge capture and sharing, and the generation of the process of using the A3 thinking approach for effective implementation. Providing useful knowledge as a design reference to generate decision making at the initial stages of product development in product design helps the designers to prevent recurrence of the same problem, eliminate design mistakes and enhance design decision. In order to achieve a novel A3 thinking approach, a research methodology consisting of four phases was developed. The first phase synthesises the A3 best practice through literature and documentation reviews. The gap analysis and results from the reviews have identified several problem-solving approaches and learning cycles that have to be considered in the research. The second phase is to evaluate the approaches and their impacts and applications in product design. In order to complete this, several research methods are selected and performed (e.g. focus group and semistructured interview) within the collaborative companies. The third phase is to develop the A3 thinking approach by utilising the LAMDA learning cycle, developing a new A3 template or so-called A3LAMDA, adopting the reflection practice and generating the process of using the new A3 thinking approach. Finally, the validation of the new A3 thinking approach through industrial case studies and expert judgements have been performed. This approach has been implemented in the automotive sector and was applied to four industrial case studies and six A3LAMDA reports were collected. As a result of the findings of this research, the utilisation of the A3 thinking approach aided the generation of knowledge driven design in product design by integrating the knowledge management capabilities; knowledge creation, capture and sharing.

This research has been defined in response to the Winnipeg children's hospital (WCH) challenges such as long waiting times, delays and cancellations in surgical flow. Preliminary studies on the surgical flow revealed that definition and implementation of successful process improvement projects (PIPs) along with application of an efficient master surgical schedule (MSS) are efficient solutions to the critical problems in WCH. In the first phase of this work, a process improvement program including three major PIPs, is defined and implemented in WCH in order to improve the efficiency of the processes providing surgical service for patients. In the second phase, two new multi-objective mathematical models are presented to develop efficient MSSs for operating room department (OR) in WCH.

This research has been defined in response to the Winnipeg children's hospital (WCH) challenges such as long waiting times, delays and cancellations in surgical flow. Preliminary studies on the surgical flow revealed that definition and implementation of successful process improvement projects (PIPs) along with application of an efficient master surgical schedule (MSS) are efficient solutions to the critical problems in WCH. In the first phase of this work, a process improvement program including three major PIPs, is defined and implemented in WCH in order to improve the efficiency of the processes providing surgical service for patients. In the second phase, two new multi-objective mathematical models are presented to develop efficient MSSs for operating room department (OR) in WCH.

A pesquisa proposta nesta dissertação de mestrado é divida em duas fases, sendo a primeira qualitativa, de caráter exploratório, que tem por objetivo a construção de um mapa conceitual entre as abordagens do Balanced Scorecard (BSC), Lean Thinking (LT) e Theory of Constraints (TOC), permitindo verificar as afinidades entre estas abordagens e servir de base para o desenvolvimento da segunda fase da pesquisa. A segunda fase da pesquisa se caracteriza por ser quantitativa, de caráter descritivo, operacionalizada por meio de um estudo multicaso. Esta fase da pesquisa tem por objetivo identificar a importância da medição de desempenho para as empresas A, B, C e D, o que permitirá determinar se as mesmas estão aptas a serem estudadas na pesquisa proposta nesta dissertação de mestrado; identificar os indicadores de desempenho empregados sistematicamente pelas empresas estudadas; e identificar a aderência entre os indicadores de desempenho empregados nas empresas estudadas com as abordagens do BSC, LT e TOC, utilizando para isso mapas conceituais construídos a partir do mapa conceitual elaborado na fase exploratória da pesquisa. Para identificar o grau de aderência entre os indicadores de desempenho empregados nas empresas estudadas com as abordagens do BSC, LT e TOC, foi empregada a técnica da estatística descritiva, por meio do método de distribuição de frequências. Como resultados, se observou que as empresas estudadas se orientam pelos indicadores de desempenho empregados, o que habilita as mesmas a serem estudadas na pesquisa proposta nesta dissertação de mestrado. Quanto à verificação de aderência, constatou-se que a abordagem do BSC é totalmente aderente com os indicadores de desempenho empregados nas empresas estudadas, indicando que a mesma é abrangente e atende os requisitos pela qual a mesma foi desenvolvida. Foi constatado que as abordagens do LT e da TOC, possuem um menor grau de aderência com os indicadores das empresas estudadas do que o BSC, evidenciando que estas empresas empregam em menor grau indicadores de desempenho baseados nas abordagens do LT e da TOC. A pesquisa desenvolvida nesta dissertação de mestrado torna-se relevante, devido propor uma análise de forma combinada de indicadores de desempenho baseados nas abordagens do BSC, LT e TOC, podendo trazer contribuições para um melhor entendimento sobre o tema. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-05-06T12:51:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Eduardo da Motta Xavier.pdf: 5505582 bytes, checksum: 9c7173634890de831a14c8dd5c85fdb4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-06T12:51:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Eduardo da Motta Xavier.pdf: 5505582 bytes, checksum: 9c7173634890de831a14c8dd5c85fdb4 (MD5)

A necessidade de um nível básico de estabilidade nos fluxos de valor vem sendo enfatizada em diversos estudos, como um pré-requisito para a implantação sustentável de princípios e práticas da produção enxuta (PE). Na visão da PE, a estabilidade é multidimensional, devendo incluir todos os elementos de produção que sejam potenciais fontes de variabilidade excessiva. Nesse contexto, esta pesquisa propõe diretrizes para avaliar a estabilidade de um fluxo de valor sob a perspectiva da PE. Além disso, são propostos indicadores para a avaliação de um fluxo de valor de pré-fabricados para a construção civil. Para tanto, a pesquisa foi conduzida nas seguintes etapas: revisão bibliográfica; estudo de caso exploratório e estudo de caso. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em uma empresa que produz peças de préfabricado de concreto, destinadas à construção civil. No estudo exploratório, foi possível identificar mecanismos para avaliar a estabilidade do fluxo de valor de uma família de produtos, considerando a estabilidade de mão-de-obra, materiais, máquinas e métodos (4M). No estudo de caso, os mecanismos de avaliação foram aplicados, re-interpretando dados já disponíveis na empresa e gerando novos dados, quando necessário. Com base nos resultados dos estudos de campo, bem como na revisão da literatura, foram identificadas cinco etapas para avaliação da estabilidade de um fluxo de valor: (a) desenvolver um mapa do fluxo de valor do estado (MFV) atual; (b) avaliar a estabilidade e a capacidade dos 4M em cada etapa do fluxo de valor; (c) desenvolver melhorias que contribuem para a estabilidade e capacidade; (d) representar as melhorias no MFV do estado futuro; (e) estabelecer um plano de ação para implantar o novo MFV. Vale salientar que, conforme explicitado nas etapas (b) e (c), a avaliação da estabilidade deve necessariamente ser acompanhada pela avaliação da capacidade, na medida em que não basta que os processos sejam estáveis se não atenderem às metas relativas aos clientes internos e externos. / The need for a basic level of stability in the value flow has been emphasized in several studies, as a prerequisite for the implementation of sustainable principles and practices of lean production (LP). In view of the lean production, the stability is multidimensional, and should include all the production elements that are excessive variability potential sources. In this context, this research proposes guidelines to evaluate the stability of a value flow from the perspective of lean production. Besides, indicators are proposed for the evaluation of a value stream of prefabricated materials for the building industry. With this aim, the research was conducted in the following steps: bibliographical review; exploratory study and study case. The collection of field data was developed in the company that produces pieces of concrete precast, destinated to for the building industry. In the exploratory study, it was possible to identify mechanisms to assess the stability of the value flow for one product family, considering the stability of manpower, materials, machines and methods (4M). In the case study, evaluation mechanisms were applied, re-interpreting the data already available in the company and creating new data when necessary. Based on field studies results, and literature review, there are identified five steps to evaluate the stability of a value flow: (a) to develop a value stream mapping of the current state (VSM); (b) to evaluate the 4M stability and capacity in each stage of the value flow; (c) to develop improvements that contribute to the stability and capacity, representing them in the VSM future state; (d) to establish an action plan to deploy the new VSM. It is also important to mention that, as explained in steps (b) and (c) the assessment of stability must necessarily be followed by the capacity assessment, because it is not enough that the processes are stable if they do not follow the internal and external customers’ targets.

As organizações do setor público são normalmente associadas a processos lentos, burocráticos e que geram resultados insuficientes. Em função disso, têm crescido as exigências relativas ao desempenho dos órgãos do setor público. A aplicação dos conceitos Lean é uma alternativa para reduzir as perdas do setor púbico e aumentar a eficiência no uso dos recursos. Nesse contexto, este estudo tem como objetivo analisar e propor melhorias no processo de contratação de obras de uma universidade pública, com foco na eliminação das perdas, através da utilização do Mapeamento do Fluxo de Valor (MFV), bem como identificar barreiras para a aplicação do MFV e das melhorias identificadas por meio dessa ferramenta. A estratégia de pesquisa adotada foi o estudo de caso aplicado ao processo de contratação de uma obra na Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (UFMT). Com base no MFV, foram propostas melhorias no processo, sinalizando para uma possível redução do lead time de 1.242 dias para 380 dias. Através da aplicação do MFV, também foi possível identificar barreiras para implantação dos princípios lean, como a falta de padronização dos procedimentos, falta de visão sistêmica do fluxo do processo por parte dos gestores, deficiência na capacitação dos servidores, falta de foco no cliente final e dificuldades de adaptar conceitos a práticas. Pelos resultados obtidos, é possível afirmar que os procedimentos administrativos, no contexto de obras em uma universidade pública, podem ser melhorados com a aplicação do MFV. / Public organizations are usually associated to slow bureaucratic processes with little result. Therefore, there is a growing demand for higher performances in the public sector. Using lean concepts is an alternative to reduce the losses in the public sector and enhance the efficiency of recourse use. The research herein presented is aimed at analyzing and proposing improvements in the bidding process for construction works within a public university, focusing on loss elimination, through the use of Value Stream Mapping (VSM). Besides, we intend to identify obstacles to using VSM and the benefits that come from the use of such tool. We have done a case study about the bidding process for construction works within the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT). Based on VSM, we suggested improvements to the process through a possible reduction of the lead time from 1242 days to 380 days. By using VSM, it was also possible to identify obstacles to the lean principles, such as the lack of procedural standardization, the fact that managers do not have a systemic view of the process stream, employees’ need for training, lack of focus on the end client and difficulties to adapt concepts into practices. From the results, we can affirm that administrative procedures in a public university can be improved by using VSM.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-08-13Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:13:25Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 mente_emm_me_bauru.pdf: 1627690 bytes, checksum: 28bd58709d9ac2e921ea1f5c568d34ba (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O setor sucroenergético é muito importante para a economia brasileira, como fonte de geração de receitas, empregos e energia renovável. Em 2007, representou cerca de 1,7% do Produto Interno Bruto. No Brasil, a cana-de-acúcar é a matéria-prima principal do setor, para a produção de açúcar e etanol. A expansão do setor tem como consequencia o surgimento de novas usinas e a ampliação das plantas já existentes. Neste contexto, as empresas têm conhecimento da necessidade de se tornarem mais competitivas. Assim, têm procurado investir na aplicação de ferramentas da qualidade, a fim de obter melhorias em seus sistemas de gestão. No processo de produção de etanol e açúcar, a partir de cana-de-açúcar, as operações agrícolas seguem o mesmo princípio das operações de manufatura, mantendo a lógica de entradas, processos de transformação e saídas, onde os insumos passam por um processo de transformação para tornarem-se produto. Um dos grandes efeitos da aplicação do Pensamento Enxuto é a redução de perdas, ou seja, a eliminação de atividades que não agreguem valor ao produto final. Pesquisas na gestão de operações do agronegócio, em especial em usinas sucroenergéticas, são recentes. Este trabalho tem por objetivo propor uma abordagem de implementação dos princípios do Pensamento Enxuto nas operações de uma usina de açúcar e etanol, procurando apresentar contribuições para o meio acadêmico e também para os gestores de operações de usinas açúcar e etanol. A questão da pesquisa foi analisada por mieo de estudo de caso em um usina sucroenergética, em especial, nas operações de corte, carregamento e transporte, com base na observação direta e análise de dados. Foram avaliadas as variações nas quantidades de cana-de-açúcar transportadas entre as áreas agrícolas e a usina, por meio de caminhõese reboques que provocam perdas... / The sector of sugar and ethanol is very important for the Brazilian economy as a source of generating revenue, jobs and renewable energy. In 2007, it accounted for approximately 1.7% of Gross National Product. In Brazil, sugar cane is the main raw material of the sector for production of sugar and ethanol. The sector's expansion has resulted in the emergence of new plants and expansion of existing plants. In this context, companies are aware of the need to become more competitive. Thus, companies of this sector have sought to invest in the application of quality tools to achieve improvements in their management systems. Is the process of production of ethanol and sugar from sugar cane, farming operations follow the same principle of manufacturing operations, keeping the logic inputs, processing and outputs where inputs go through a process of transformation to make product. One of the major effects of applying Lean Thinking is to reduce waste through the elimination of activities that not add value to the final product. Researches in operations management in agribusiness, especially ethanol and sugar plants are recent. The aim of the study is to propose an implementation approach of the Lean Principles in the operations of a sugar and ethanol plant, seeking present contributions for the academic and also for managers of operations of sugar and ethanol plants. The issue research was analyzed by means of a case study in a sugar an ethanol plant, particulary in cutting, loading and transport, on the basis of direct observation and analysis of data. This study evaluated the variations in quantities of sugar cane trasnported between the agricultural areas and the plant by means of trucks and tows which cause waste by unnecessary displacements. In general, the application of the tools of Lean Thinking and, in particular, the PDCA cycle was effective in reducing wastes... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

A necessidade de um nível básico de estabilidade nos fluxos de valor vem sendo enfatizada em diversos estudos, como um pré-requisito para a implantação sustentável de princípios e práticas da produção enxuta (PE). Na visão da PE, a estabilidade é multidimensional, devendo incluir todos os elementos de produção que sejam potenciais fontes de variabilidade excessiva. Nesse contexto, esta pesquisa propõe diretrizes para avaliar a estabilidade de um fluxo de valor sob a perspectiva da PE. Além disso, são propostos indicadores para a avaliação de um fluxo de valor de pré-fabricados para a construção civil. Para tanto, a pesquisa foi conduzida nas seguintes etapas: revisão bibliográfica; estudo de caso exploratório e estudo de caso. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em uma empresa que produz peças de préfabricado de concreto, destinadas à construção civil. No estudo exploratório, foi possível identificar mecanismos para avaliar a estabilidade do fluxo de valor de uma família de produtos, considerando a estabilidade de mão-de-obra, materiais, máquinas e métodos (4M). No estudo de caso, os mecanismos de avaliação foram aplicados, re-interpretando dados já disponíveis na empresa e gerando novos dados, quando necessário. Com base nos resultados dos estudos de campo, bem como na revisão da literatura, foram identificadas cinco etapas para avaliação da estabilidade de um fluxo de valor: (a) desenvolver um mapa do fluxo de valor do estado (MFV) atual; (b) avaliar a estabilidade e a capacidade dos 4M em cada etapa do fluxo de valor; (c) desenvolver melhorias que contribuem para a estabilidade e capacidade; (d) representar as melhorias no MFV do estado futuro; (e) estabelecer um plano de ação para implantar o novo MFV. Vale salientar que, conforme explicitado nas etapas (b) e (c), a avaliação da estabilidade deve necessariamente ser acompanhada pela avaliação da capacidade, na medida em que não basta que os processos sejam estáveis se não atenderem às metas relativas aos clientes internos e externos. / The need for a basic level of stability in the value flow has been emphasized in several studies, as a prerequisite for the implementation of sustainable principles and practices of lean production (LP). In view of the lean production, the stability is multidimensional, and should include all the production elements that are excessive variability potential sources. In this context, this research proposes guidelines to evaluate the stability of a value flow from the perspective of lean production. Besides, indicators are proposed for the evaluation of a value stream of prefabricated materials for the building industry. With this aim, the research was conducted in the following steps: bibliographical review; exploratory study and study case. The collection of field data was developed in the company that produces pieces of concrete precast, destinated to for the building industry. In the exploratory study, it was possible to identify mechanisms to assess the stability of the value flow for one product family, considering the stability of manpower, materials, machines and methods (4M). In the case study, evaluation mechanisms were applied, re-interpreting the data already available in the company and creating new data when necessary. Based on field studies results, and literature review, there are identified five steps to evaluate the stability of a value flow: (a) to develop a value stream mapping of the current state (VSM); (b) to evaluate the 4M stability and capacity in each stage of the value flow; (c) to develop improvements that contribute to the stability and capacity, representing them in the VSM future state; (d) to establish an action plan to deploy the new VSM. It is also important to mention that, as explained in steps (b) and (c) the assessment of stability must necessarily be followed by the capacity assessment, because it is not enough that the processes are stable if they do not follow the internal and external customers’ targets.