Saturday, December 12, 2015
Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) - UK
The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) is an energy assessment and energy
saving scheme and is established by the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme Regulations
2014 (ESOS Regulations).
The scheme applies to large undertakings and groups containing large undertakings in the
UK.
The qualification date for the first compliance period is 31 December 2014.
A large undertaking is:
- any UK undertaking that meets either one or both of the conditions below:
it employs 250 or more people1
it has an annual turnover in excess of 50 million euro (£38,937,777), and an annual
balance sheet total in excess of 43 million euro (£33,486,489)
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/466515/LIT_10094.pdf
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/techniques-slash-73-off-your-energy-bill-how-much-do-you-kit-oung
New Technologies to Help in Energy Conservation and Efficiency Improvement
Energy-management system
Advanced analytics
Smart grids
Immersion-cooling technology
Liquid-desiccant systems
Pressurized-plenum-recirculation-air system
Automated-compressor-staging and capacity control systems
Variable-head-pressure controls
Direct-contact water heaters
Power
Ultra-supercritical plants
High-efficiency combined-cycle gas turbine
Trigeneration
Cement
Fluidized-bed advanced-cement-kiln system
Combustion-system improvements (gyrotherm)
High-efficiency grate coolers (reciprocating)
Improved preheating/precalcining
Oil refining and chemicals
Advanced-process control
Membrane gas separation
High-pressure recovery
Steam compressors
Pulp and paper
Advanced-thermomechanical pulping
Heat recovery in thermomechanical pulping
High-consistency paper making
Impulse drying in wet-pressing process
Steel
Coke-dry quenching
Cyclone-converter furnace
Endless-strip production
Top-gas-recycling blast furnace
Mining Automated-mine-ventilation control and
Mining
Automated-mine-ventilation control and air reconditioning
High-pressure grinding rolls
In-pit crushing-conveyance and high-angle conveyance systems
Low-loss conveyor belts
Stirred-media mills
From
McKinsey & Co.
Greening the future: New technologies that could transform how industry uses energy
August 2015
Authors
Harsh Choudhry
Mads Lauritzen
Ken Somers
Joris Van Niel
You can download the report from McKinsey Company website
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Robust Design - Productivity during Design & Development
Robust Design is an engineering methodology for improving productivity during design & development so that high quality products can be produced at low cost.
Robust Design is an engineering methodology for improving productivity during design & development so that high quality products can be produced at low cost.
Robsut design optimization is systematic and efficient way to meet the challenge design optimization for performance, quality & cost.
It is capable of
Making product performance insensitive to raw material variation, thus providing scope for the use of lower grade alloys,
Making designs robust against manufacturing variation, thus reducing material cost for rework & scrap,
Making the design least sensitive to the variation in operating environment.
It uses a new structured development process so that design engineering time is used more productively.
The Robust Design method uses a mathematical tool called Orthogonal Arrays to study a large number of decision variables with a small number of experiments. It also uses a new measure of quality called signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio to predict the quality from the customer's perspective.
http://www.casde.iitb.ac.in/mdo/sigmdo/sigmdo3/prior/shyam.php
To be updated using material from Ulrich and Eppinger
To be updated using material from Ulrich and Eppinger
Development Cost of Cars - Efficiency Practices and Lean Product Development
January 2014
Maruti invested 5.7 billion rupees ($91.7 million) to develop the Celerio in the belief that Indians want an automatic car. 5.7 billion rupees is equal to Rs. 570 crore.
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2014/01/25/new-maruti-celerio-to-offer-automatic-transmission/
September 2013
Hyundai
Grand i10, which is built upon a new platform with a development cost of nearly Rs 1,000 crore, features India specific dimensions and is 100 mm longer than its European version.
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/hyundai-grand-i10-price-features-competition-future-plan/1/198335.html
May 2013
General Motors opened a new $130 million enterprise data center, which will serve as its computing “backbone” for its global operations. The facility is located at its Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.
GM Says the new IT Center Will Reduce Vehicle Development Costs. The company also plans to build another $100 million facility in Milford, Mich.
http://www.automotive-fleet.com/news/story/2013/05/gm-says-new-130-million-it-center-will-reduce-vehicle-development-costs.aspx
Tata Nano
Engine Management System for Tata Nano
http://web.tatatechnologies.com/wp-content/uploads/Nano_SAE.pdf
2006
Chevy Volt Development Cost $1 to 1.2 billion
1999
Mahindra & Mahindra launched its multi-purpose vehicle Xylo
Xylo, with its competitive price ranging from Rs 6.24 lakh to Rs 7.69 lakh, is pitched against MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) market leader Toyota Innova . While Toyota’s low-end Innova E costs Rs 7.60 lakh, the low-end version of Mahindra MPV, Xylo E2, at Rs 6.24, comes with additional comfort features including power steering, power windows and central locking. Toyota’s high-end Innova G4 is priced Rs 9.29 lakh while Mahindra’s high-end variant Xylo E8 costs Rs 7.69 lakh and offers additional comforts including digital drive assist system and flatbed front seats.
Xylo, which was under development for four and a half years, has come out of an all-new platform called Ingenio. The entire product development has cost Rs 550 crore. According to managers of the company, the product development process has improved significantly in the last six and a half years. The development cost of Scorpio and Xylo is the same, even though Xylo was developed recently.
1995
Ford spent an estimated six years and $6 billion developing its world car - the Mondeo/Contour/Mystique.
The Mondeo was launched on November 23, 1992, and sales began on 22 March 1993.
Instigated in 1986, the design of the car cost Ford US$6 billion. It was one of the most expensive new car programs ever. North American models were marketed as the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique until 2000, and as the Ford Fusion from 2013 onwards.
http://wardsauto.com/news-amp-analysis/ford-limits-cost-new-car-development
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mondeo
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1993/06/28/78013/
Corvette 5 Upgrade - Budget $200 million
http://bakerstreetpublishing.com/2014/02/02/design-of-the-c5-corvette-a-product-planning-tutorial/
1987
Product Development in the World Auto Industry
KIM B. CLARK
Harvard University
W. BRUCE CHEW
Harvard University
TAKAHIRO FUJIMOTO
Harvard University
1982
GM-10 Development Project - W-Body by General Motors - $7 billion budget
1975
Ford Fiesta
Development Cost - $1 billion
1969
Ford Management decides to study the possibility of producing a class "B" car, smaller than the European Escort Mk. 1, The commitment: seven men, $100,000 and 8 months to create a firm proposal.
1970
Lee Iacocca, then President of Ford, and Henry Ford II, Chairman, agree that the proposal looks promising,.
1972
Ford Fiesta project is code named "Bobcat." The Ghia design studio in Turin, under De Tomaso, produces styling model which is used in marketing studies. Other pre-prototypes studied are produced in England and Germany, and all are rated along side compeitors. $1.3 million total is spent in marketing studies, including showing prototypes and competitors to 900 customers from 7 countries.
1973
Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca introduce Bobcat prototype to Ford of Europe staff in Germany 1000 days before start of production. This prototype has styling almost identical to the final production version. Styling is later finalized, with a compromise between two similar Ford Europe design studio efforts approved.
1974
Construction of an automobile production complex is started in Valencia, Spain to produce Fiesta. Annual capacity to be 400,000 engines, and 300,000 complete automobiles. First prototype Ford Fiesta driven by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca.
1975
Ford Fiesta is upgraded in minor ways to exceed the new higher targets set by the latest competition. European pre-production engines produced, and the Ford Fiesta is transferred from the development to production startup stage. Board decides to produce federalized version of the Ford Fiesta at Saarlouis, Germany, for export to the United States. Plans are made to produce 1600cc 'Kent' engines at Dagenham, England, to be shipped to Germany and mated with transmissions made in Bordeaux, France. All to be assembled into Fiestas to be exported to the U.S.
1976
Total Ford Fiesta production: 109,838 units (partial year).
Production is started of 957cc European version, which weighs approx 1650 lbs.
1977
Total Ford Fiesta production: 440,969
Sales of U.S. Fiestas begin, 1978 model year designation. Four model variants are available: Base, Decor, Sport and Ghia. All have the same engine and four speed manual transmission, with interior trim and instrumentation being the primary differences. The exceptions are the Sport model, which includes stiffer shock valving and a 12mm. anti-sway bar at the rear, and the Ghia which includes servo assisted brakes.
http://archive.is/54YD
Why does it cost upward of a billion dollars to develop a new car?
Car companies have to spend enormous amounts developing new models. The price tag to develop a new vehicle starts around $1 billion. According to John Wolkonowicz, Senior Auto Analyst for North America at IHS Global, "It can be as much as $6 billion if it's an all-new car on all-new platform with an all-new engine and an all-new transmission and nothing carrying over from the old model." $6 billion was spent by Ford in developing Monde model during 1986-1993.
Thousands of parts have to work every time one turns the key and every time one presses the accelerator and every time one presses the brake. And they have to do it for about 15 years. And they also have to pass all the government inspections.
When an automaker designs a new car, it has to identify consumer tastes a few years down the road, and also it has to create a car that is feasible to produce on an assembly line and still make a profit.
A new car development team usually includes a few hundred of engineers, split into such groups as chassis and body, suspension, drivetrain, control systems and other major subsystems. Other teams may be dedicated to control noise, vibration and harshness, meeting government regulations, or finding the most ergonomically correct setup for the widest variety of differently sized humans that could get behind the wheel. With the rise of in-car infotainment systems, there are engineers working on the latest gadgets to include in the car.
Lot testing goes in the development process. They test, test, and test some more until they get it right. They test to meet performance requirements. They test for durability. They test for fuel mileage. They test for aerodynamics. They test for safety compliance. Testing costs money.
Today many tests can be done on the computer before prototypes are built, but those computers and the software cost more money and eventually, real-world tests must be done and unique prototypes must be built. Some of that real-world testing can take place at automakers' private proving grounds or closed test tracks, but the need to test in extreme weather conditions lures them to the roasting desert of Death Valley and the frigid winter of Lapland. The logistics of getting humans, prototypes and test equipment to these regions does not come cheap, either.
You will find designers (interior and exterior), model makers, marketing people, manufacturing specialists, assembly line workers, industrial engineers, purchasing analysts, and number of outside consultants and also number of accountants -- working on new product development at any given time. You require many executive decision makers. There is also support staff assisting with human resources, IT and other essential services of a modern corporation. As a part of development assembly plants have to designed and tooling to stamp parts out has to be created.
At an average total compensation for each engineer, designer, accountant, marketing person and executive in the neighborhood of $100,000 per year (counting benefits such as medical insurance, pensions, education, vacation and other perks) and a team of 1,000 people would mean $100,000,000 per year. With four years to develop a car, that's at least $400,000,000 for compensation alone. Those employees need computers, office space, engineering laboratories and many other resources required to design and engineer such a complex machine. The mobile bill alone is probably in the neighborhood of a million bucks a year for such a group. One billion dollars can be easily accounted for.
Re-tooling a factory can easily eclipse the human cost of developing a new car.
In the Book "The Machine That Changed the World" Womack et al. note that average American producer requires 60.4 months and 903 employees to come out with a new car design. The prototype lead time is 12.4 months and die development time is 25 months.
http://translogic.aolautos.com/2010/07/27/why-does-it-cost-so-much-for-automakers-to-develop-new-models/
Related Articles by Narayana Rao
Lean Product Development and Product Development Productivity - Bibliography
To be updated
25 Nov 2015, 22 feb 2014
Lean Product Development and Product Development Productivity - Bibliography
Siemens NX 9 Delivers up to 5X Product Development Productivity across Industries
Technology Breakthroughs Establish New Flexibility and Productivity Paradigms for Working with 2D Data and Massive Assemblies
New Functionality Expands NX Leadership in Freeform Shape Design, PLM Integration, and Product Development Decision-Making
PLANO, Texas, October 14, 2013
http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_in/about_us/newsroom/press/press_release.cfm?Component=212122&ComponentTemplate=822
Sustaining LPD program - A Presentation - Katherine Radeka
http://www.norskindustri.no/Global/Dokumenter/KBD2013KatherineRadeka.pdf
Book - Design Productivity Debate - 1996 - Alex H.B. Duffy
Preview Google Book
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=cmjgBwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Ebsco
Improving the NPD Process by Applying Lean Principles: A Case Study.
By: Nepal, Bimal P.; Yadav, Om Prakash; Solanki, Rajesh. Engineering Management Journal. Sep2011, Vol. 23 Issue 3, p65-81. 17p. 4 Diagrams, 9 Charts, 1 Graph.
A Framework for Organizing Lean Product Development. Full Text Available
By: Hoppmann, Joern; Rebentisch, Eric; Dombrowski, Uwe; Thimo Zahn. Engineering Management Journal. Mar2011, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p3-15. 13p. 3 Charts.
Lean Product Development Research: Current State and Future Directions. Full Text Available
By: León, Hilda C. Martínez; Farris, Jennifer A. Engineering Management Journal. Mar2011, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p29-51. 23p. 2 Diagrams, 7 Charts, 1 Graph.
A Multilevel Framework for Lean Product Development System Design. Full Text Available
By: Letens, Geert; Farris, Jennifer A.; van Aken, Eileen M. Engineering Management Journal. Mar2011, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p69-85. 17p. 4 Diagrams, 2 Charts.
Lean Product Development as a System: A Case Study of Body and Stamping Development at Ford. Full Text Available
By: Liker, Jeffrey K.; Morgan, James. Engineering Management Journal. Mar2011, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p16-28. 13p. 3 Diagrams.
Improving the NPD Process by Applying Lean Principles: A Case Study. Full Text Available
By: Nepal, Bimal P.; Yadav, Om Prakash; Solanki, Rajesh. Engineering Management Journal. Mar2011, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p52-68. 17p. 5 Diagrams, 7 Charts, 2 Graphs.
The Toyota Way in Services: The Case of Lean Product Development. Full Text Available
By: Liker, Jeffrey K.; Morgan, James M. Academy of Management Perspectives. May2006, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p5-20. 16p. 1 Diagram, 3 Charts. DOI: 10.5465/AMP.2006.20591002.
Rediscovering the kata way. (cover story). Full Text Available
By: SOLTERO, CONRAD. Industrial Engineer: IE. Nov2012, Vol. 44 Issue 11, p28-33. 6p. 1 Color Photograph, 2 Diagrams, 1 Chart.
The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development by Donald G. Reinertsen. Full Text Available
By: Radeka, Katherine. Journal of Product Innovation Management. Jan2010, Vol. 27 Issue 1, p137-139. 3p. DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5885.2009.00705_1.x
MAXIMIZING PRODUCTIVITY IN PRODUCT INNOVATION. Full Text Available
By: Cooper, Robert G.; Edgett, Scott J. Research Technology Management. Mar/Apr2008, Vol. 51 Issue 2, p47-58. 12p.
Emerald
Johannes Hinckeldeyn , Rob Dekkers , Jochen Kreutzfeldt , (2015) "Productivity of product design and engineering processes: Unexplored territory for production management techniques?", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 35 Iss: 4, pp.458 - 486
Focus on implementation: a framework for lean product development
Type: Conceptual paper
Author(s): L. Wang, X.G. Ming, F.B. Kong, D. Li, P.P. Wang
Source: Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management Volume: 23 Issue: 1 2012
Rethinking lean NPD: A distorted view of lean product development
Type: General review
Source: Strategic Direction Volume: 23 Issue: 10 2007
Towards lean product lifecycle management: A framework for new product development
Type: Conceptual paper
Author(s): Peter Hines, Mark Francis, Pauline Found
Source: Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management Volume: 17 Issue: 7 2006
Updated 25 Nov 2015, 19 Feb 2014
Lean Product Design - How Toyota Designs Cars - Womack, Jones and Roos
Chapter 3 Content
Product Development and Engineering in Lean Enterprise
Ohno and Toyoda decided early that product engineering inherently encompassed both process and industrial engineering.. They formed product design teams with experts from process and industrial engineering teams. Career paths were structured so that rewards went to strong team players without regard to their function. The consequence of lean engineering was a dramatic leap in productivity, product quality and responsiveness.
Lean Production and Changing Consumer Demand
Toyota's flexible production system and its low cost and time product engineering let the company supply the product variety that buyers wanted with little cost penalty. In 1990, Toyota offered consumers around the world as many products as General Motors even though Toyota was only half of GM's size. Toyota requires only half the time and effort required by GM to design and produce a new car. So Toyota can offer twice as many vehicles with the same development budget. Japanes car makers offer as many models as all of the Western firms combined. The product variety offered by Japanese is growing where that offered by Western companies is shrinking.
Japanese on an average are producing 500,000 copies in four years, whereas western companies making 2 million copies in 10 years.
Toyota is making profit by producing only two-thirds of the life-of-the-model production volume of European specialist firms and therefore it can attack the craft-based niche producers like Aston Martin and Ferrari. American mass producers could not attack them due to insufficient volume.
Chapter 5 Designing the Car
Honda's product development process is different from that of General Motors. The Large Project Leader in charge of car development is given great power. He recruits appropriate persons from various functional departments for the life of the project.
In 1986, Professor Kim Clark of Harvard Business School undertook a world wide survey of product development activities in motor industry. Clark found that a totally new Japanese car required 1.7 million hours engineering effort on average and took forty-six months from first design to customer deliveries. By contrast, the average U.S. and European proect of comparable complexity took 3 million engineering hours and consumed sixty months. Thus the Japanese methods have a two-to-one difference in engineering effort and a saving of one-third in development time. It turns on its head one of our most common assumptions. A project can be speeded up with increase in cost and effort.
The authors say there are four basic differences between lean design and western design methods.
1. Leadership of the product design team
The lean producers invariably employ some variant of the Shusa system pioneered by Toyota (Honda terms it Large Project leader (LPL)). The Shusa is the leader of the team and his job is to design and engineer a new product and get it fully into production. In Japanese auto industry, the cars are commonly known by the Shusa's name.
2. Teamwork
In American or European companies 900 engineers are involved in a typical project over its life, but Japanese companies use only about 485 engineers. But importantly, there is little turnover in the Japanese teams. There is more turnover in American teams.
3. Communication
In the best Japanese lean project, the numbers of people involved are highest at the very outset. Difficult trade-offs are decided at the start stages of the project. As development proceeds, the number of people involved drops as some specialties complete the job.
4. Simultaneous Development
Example of Die development:
The die designers in Japanese projects are in direct, face to face contact with the design team and they know the number of panels to be made and approximate sizes. So they go ahead and order blocks of die steel in parallel to the design process. They even make rough cuts before the detailed design of the panels is done.
The Consequences of Lean Design in the Market Place
Lean design companies can offer a wider variety of products and replace them more frequently that mass-production competitors. The Japanese firms are using their advantage in lean systems to expand their product range rapidly, even as they renew existing products every four years. Between 1982 and 1990, they nearly doubled their product portfolio from forty-seven to eighty-four models.
Training of Engineers in Japan
All engineers including design engineers first assemble cars. At Honda, for example all entry-level engineers spend their first three months in the company working on the assembly line. The're then rotated to the marketing department for the next three months. Then they spend an year in various engineering departments - drive train, body, chassis and process machinery. Then design engineer's assignment starts in an engineering department. As a first assignment, they are assigned to a routine new-product development team. In the next assignment they may be put on a more challenging task. After this, they are given additional academic inputs and then put on advanced projects, which involve using revolutionary and advanced materials.
But Honda, asks all its engineers to spend one month in operations and ensures that even people working in advanced technologies are connected to the current demands of the market.
Japanese Became High-Tech Wonders
Not only in manufacturing, even in design practice Japanese have a gone a notch or two ahead of its Western Competitors.
Japanese bet on increase in fuel prices and made investments in small four cylinder engines. But fuel prices fell and consumers were looking for larger cars with more power. Japanese engineers made use of many known technologies to increase power of four cylinder engines. There features were: fuel injection rather than carburettors, four valves per cylinder, balance shafts in the bottom of the engine, turbochargers and superchargers. a second set of overhead cams, and even an additional set of cams. The engineers work very hard on what is known as refinement - paying attention to the smallest details of an engine design that gives better performance. Finally, attention was given to manufacturability so that complex engines work properly every time. These innovations convinced buyers in North America that Japanese cars are now high-tech. When the American producers wanted to do similar innovations, problems have cropped up.
Japanese companies are now having patents than American companies in automobiles.
So far, Japanese have not made epochal innovations. They did a brilliant scavenging process that used ideas nearly ready for the market. How will they fare in more difficult challenges? The authors concluded..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6346315.stm
http://www.lean.enst.fr/wiki/pub/Lean/LesPublications/LeanDevBalleBalle.pdf
http://www.sae.org/manufacturing/lean/column/leanfeb02.htm
Set-based concurrent engineering
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/toyotas-principles-of-setbased-concurrent-engineering/
To be updated
25 Nov 2015, 20 Oct 2013
Monday, October 19, 2015
Increasing Efficiency of Coal Transportation and Utilization in India - 2015 Project
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/government-to-allow-companies-to-divert-coal-supply-to-efficient-power-plants-swapping-to-start-with-ntpc-plants/articleshow/49446151.cms
Coal transport plans are being reoptimized to send coal over shorter distances and more coal to efficient plant. Expected savings Rs. 6000 crores.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Improving R & D Productivity
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 9, 203-214 (March 2010) | doi:10.1038/nrd3078
How to improve R&D productivity: the pharmaceutical industry's grand challenge
See also: Correspondence by Denee et al.
Steven M. Paul1, Daniel S. Mytelka1, Christopher T. Dunwiddie1, Charles C. Persinger1, Bernard H. Munos1, Stacy R. Lindborg1 & Aaron L. Schacht1
http://www.nature.com/nrd/journal/v9/n3/full/nrd3078.html
Thursday, September 10, 2015
A Study of the Toyota Production System from an Industrial Engineering Viewpoint - Shigeo Shingo - Google Book
http://books.google.co.in/books/about/A_Study_of_the_Toyota_Production_System.html?id=RKWU7WElJ7oC
The first and only book in English on JIT, written from the industrial engineer's viewpoint. When Omark Industries bought 500 copies and studied it companywide, Omark became the American pioneer in JIT.
Here is Dr. Shingo's classic industrial engineering rationale for the priority of process-based over operational improvements in manufacturing. He explains the basic mechanisms of the Toyota production system, examines production as a functional network of processes and operations, and then discusses the mechanism necessary to make JIT possible in any manufacturing plant.
#Provides original source material on Just-in-Time
#Demonstrates new ways to think about profit, inventory, waste, and productivity
#Explains the principles of leveling, standard work procedures, multi-machine handling, supplier relations, and much more
#If you are a serious student of industrial engineering, you will benefit greatly from reading this primary resource on the powerful fundamentals of JIT.
Table of Contents
Chapters
Mechanism of the production function
Improvement of process
Improvement of operation
Development of non-stock production
Interpretation of the Toyota Production System
Mechanism of TPS
Development of a "kanban" system
Regarding TPS
Course of TPS
Introduction and development of TPS
Summary
My Summary of the book
Industrial Engineering in Toyota Production System - Lean Productionhttp://nraoiekc.blogspot.in/2013/12/toyota-production-system-industrial.html
Detailed Table of Contents
1. Introduction
Production Mechanism
2. Improving process
Process Elements
Basic Process Analysis
Process Improvement
Improving Inspection
Transport Improvement
Eliminating Storage (Delays)
3. Improving operations
Common Factors in Operations
Improving Setup (Exchange of Dies and Tools)
Improving Principal Operations
Separating worker from Machine
Development of Pre-automation or Autonomation
Improving Margin Allowances
4. Conclusions on Developing Non-stock production
Naturally Occurring Stock
"Necessary Stock"
Interpretation of the Toyota Production System
5. The Principles of the Toyota Production System
What is the Toyota Production System?
Basic Principles
Waste of Overproduction
Just-in-Time
Separation of Worker from Machine
Low Utilization Rates
Perform an Appendectomy
Fundamentals of Production Control
Adopting a Non-Cost Principles
Elimination of Waste
Mass Production and Large Lot Production
The Ford and Toyota Systems Compared
6. Mechanics of the Toyota Production System: Improving Process - Schedule Control and Just-in-Time
Schedule Control and Just-in-Time
Production Planning
Schedule Control and Stockless Production
Adopting SMED
Flexibility of Capacity
Elimination of Defects
Eliminating Machine Breakdowns
7. Mechanics of the ToyotaProduction System: Improving Process - Leveling and the Nagara System
What is Leveling?
Balancing Load and Capacity
Segmented and Mixed Production
Segmented Production Systems and Small Lot Production Systems
The Toyota Complex Mixed Production System
Lveling and Non-Stock
The Nagara System
8. Mechanics of the ToyotaProduction System: Improving Operations
Components of Operations
Preparation and After-Adjustment
Principal Operations
Marginal Allowances
Standard Operations
Standard Operations and Toyota Production System
Three Temporal Aspects of Standard Operations
From Worker to Machine
Manpower Cost Reduction
Improving Methods of Operation
Development of a "kanban" system
Regarding TPS
Course of TPS
Introduction and development of TPS
Summary
Updated 10 Sep 2015
First Published 16 Sep 2014
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Toyota Production System - Origin and Development - Taiichi Ohno
The success of Toyota in cost reduction, productivity improvement, and international competitiveness and its celebrated Toyota Production System, fulfilled the dream of Yoichi Ueno (that Japan can guide US in improved practices of efficiency improvement). The success of #Toyota and the World Class #TPS was built on the sustained efforts many Japanese persons who understood Taylor and Gilbreth's writings and improvised them in implementing them in Japanese companies.
Toyota Production System - 2015 Reading by KVSS Narayana Rao
1. Paper by Sugimori in 1977 in IJPR
Mutagenization of Toyota Production System: The Story of Hyundai Motor Company
Byoung-Hoon Lee†, Hyung-Je Jo‡
† Department of Sociology, Chung-Ang University, 221 Heuksuk-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 156-751, South Korea.
‡ Department of Sociology, Ulsan University
The Contradictions That Drive Toyota’s Success
Hirotaka Takeuchi, Emi Osono, and Norihiko Shimizu
FROM HBR, THE JUNE 2008 ISSUE
Hirotaka Takeuchi (htakeuchi@hbs.edu) is a professor at Harvard Business School. They are the authors of The Knowledge-Creating Company (Oxford, 1995).
Emi Osono (osono@ics.hit-u.ac.jp) is an associate professor;
and Norihiko Shimizu (nshimizu@ics.hit-u.ac.jp) is a visiting professor at Hitotsubashi University’s Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy in Tokyo.
This article is adapted from their book Extreme Toyota: Radical Contradictions That Drive Success at the World’s Best Manufacturer, John Wiley & Sons.
____________________________________________________________
Summary of What Taiichi Ohno Shared in His Book
I. Starting From Need
"Catch Up With America" Toyoda Kiichiro (1894-1952)
15 August 1945 . Japan lost the war. Toyoda Kiichiro, President of theToyota Motor Company said, "Catch up with America in three years. Otherwise, the automobile industry of Japan will not survive"
Just-In-Time
The basis of the Toyota production system is the absolute elimination of waste. The two pillars needed to support the system are:
Just in time
Autonomation - Intelligent machine that does not produce defect and also stops on it own. Also intelligent operator that do not produce defective parts and investigate and remove the root cause whenever a defective part is produced.
Just in time system eliminates one of the seven wastes specified by Ohno. In an assembly flow process, the right parts needed reach the appropriate place at the time they are needed, inventories can be reduced drastically even up to zero. But to reach the JIT ideal, many existing conventional management methods have to be changed.
Using a Common-Sense Idea
The common sense idea is making only those components demanded or used by the downstream process.Ohno said, I am fond of thinking about a problem over and over. The normal planning and production process is for the component producer to produce as per plan and keep it inventory for the assembly department to draw when needed. But Ohno changed this method. Assembly department will go and take what they want and component department has to replenish that component only. So component department has no independent plan. Only assembly department has the plan. Every link in the production flow process or chain is connected with this method and synchronized. With this practice, the management work force is reduced drastically. This information system is given the name kanban.
Give the Machine Intelligence
At Toyota, machines automated along with an automatic stopping device in case of a problem
are utilized. In this way, human intelligence is given to machines. The machine stops in case of a problem and the management will come to know of it. Expanding the rule, even operators are asked to stop the flow, if there is a problem. Rapid counter measures are taken to prevent recurrence of a problem.
The Power of Individual Skill and Teamwork
A champion team must have good teamwork and people with individual skill. Likewise autonomation is individual machine skill and JIT is teamwork.
Cost Reduction is the Goal
Frequently we use the word "efficiency" when talking about production, management, and business. "Efficiency" means cost reduction. At Toyota, profit can be obtained only by reducing costs. We cannot set prices based on our costs. Consumer sets the price and if the manufacturer sets a higher price due to his high manufacturing cost, the consumer will simply turn away. Cost reduction has to be the goal of manufacturers. The management has to develop human resources ability to its fullest capacity to best enhance creativity, and fruitfulness, to utilize facilities and machines well, and to eliminate all waste.
The Illusion of Japanese Industry
Japanese industry believed in mass production. Till 1973 oil crisis, Japanese manufacturers had the illusion that this system fits their needs
Establishing a Production Flow
Establishing production flow in machine shop was difficult. But in 1947, Ohno arranged machines in a flow order and tried having one worker operate three or four machines (different machines). Even though working time did not go up, operators did not like the new system. Also Ohno wrote, that many adjustments that an operator has to make to machine created difficulties for the operators. Hence, Ohno said he became patient to implement the system even though he was convinced that the direction was right.
Production Leveling
We got the idea that we should spread production evenly throughout the workday. We wanted to get away from having to produce everything around the end of the month.
In the Beginning There was Need.
The key to progress in production improvement, I feel, is letting the plant people feel the need.
Opportunities to take care of the needs are always there. Once a need if felt, we just have to drive ourselves to find the practical opportunities that satisfy the needs.
A Revolution in Consciousness Is Indispensable
A person in business may feel uneasy about survival in this competitive society without keeping some inventories of raw materials, work-in-progress, and products. But Ohno says a revolution in consciousness is needed to realize that overproduction and the consequent inventory is a waste that has to be eliminated rather than accumulated.
2. Evolution of the Toyota Production System
Repeating Why Five Times
By asking why five times and answering it each time, we can get to the real cause of the problem, which is often behind behind more visible symptoms.
May be we can interpret it as prevention - appraisal - failure model. We see failure. We need to know ways to prevent the event very early in the event sequence.
Complete Analysis of Wastes
Improving efficiency makes sense only when it is tied to cost reduction. The efficiency of each operator has to be improved, each production line has to be improved and efficiency of the entire plant has to be improved due to them.
Waste of overproduction
Waste of time on hand (waiting)
Waste in transportation
Waste in processing itself
Waste of stock on hand (inventory)
Waste of Movement
Waste of making defective products
Ohno made the statement that eliminating these seven wastes completely can improve the operating efficiency by a large margin. To eliminate these wastes, we must make only the quantity needed, thereby releasing extra manpower. Management has to identify excess manpower and utilize it effectively in other activities. Eliminating wasteful and meaningless jobs and creating useful jobs enhances the value of work for workers.
My Plant-First Principle
A proper work procedure cannot be written from a desk. It must be tried and revised many times in the production plant. Production managers have to be in the plant which is a major source of information.
Writing the Standard Work Sheet Yourself
Standard work sheet is basis for all improvements in Toyota production system. Improving machining processes, improving tools, improving transportation processes, and optimizing the inventory, rearranging machines, all such things are implemented through standard work sheets only. The job of the field supervisor, section chief or group foreman is to train workers in standard work. The trainer must actually take the hand of the worker and teach them. Workers of a team also help their team members.
Teamwork is Everything
Team work is essential in manufacturing also like many of the sports. Assigning responsibility to individuals is not sufficient. Teamwork is essential.
The Skill of Passing the Baton
The work area is like track relay. There is a wide area in which baton can be passed.
Mutual Assistance Campaign
An Idea from the U.S. Supermarket
The communication system of Toyota is Kanban and Ohno got the idea for it from watching the transactions in Supermarkets of USA. At supermarkets buyers buy what they need. Supermarkets have to facilitate it.
The idea of supermarket was implemented in Toyota and to avoid a situation wherein large quantity of a component is demanded suddenly, production leveling was also introduced.
What is Kanban?
Kanban is a method for communicating production and use related messages among the plant personnel. Its most frequently used form is a piece of paper contained in a rectangular vinyl envelope. It contains 1. pickup information 2. transfer information and production information. The kanban method is used for information flow vertically and laterally within Toyota itself and between Toyota and its supply partners.
Kanban is autonomic nerve of the production line.
(The word Kanban literally means visible record).
Incorrect Use of Kanban Causes Problems
Incorrect use of Kanban system causes problems. Close supervision of the kanban rules is required to derive best results from it.
1. An assembly process (more generally later process) can pick up items only in the quantity specified in the kanban from the earlier process. So the quantity the assembly process can pick up at a time is specified in the kanban system.
2. Earlier processes produce items in the quantity specified in the kanban which is provided by the later process after withdrawing the item from stocks of earlier process.
3. No items are withdrawn or transported or produced without a kanban indicating it.
4. All items have to move with an attached kanban.
5. Defective items cannot be sent ahead from any processing station. The assembly line can be stopped if there are no defect-free components or assembly in process. But a defective item cannot move forward.
6. Reducing the batch quantities indicated in the Kanban would make the system more sensitive and makes the system more synchronized.
The Talent and Courage to Rethink What We Call Common Sense
Productivity improvement ideas may come but implementing them requires understanding by top management. The ideas when they defy the present conventional thinking or common sense, requires much more understanding the by the top management and the greater the commitment of top management, the more successful will be the implementation.
Ohno wrote that he came up with many revolutionary ideas and implemented them. They were sometimes regarded as high handed. But Toyota's top management watched the situation quietly and allowed Ohno to implement them.
In 1963 only JIT was extended to outside suppliers. Till that only internal production was handled on JIT basis.
Establishing the Flow is the Basic Condition
Toyota helped its suppliers or cooperating firms to set up flow systems first. Then Kanban system was introduced.
Kanban is the communication tool for implementing or realizing JIT. This tool works well when all the supporting processes are flow processes. So flow process is a basic condition for realizing JIT through Kanban communication system. The other important conditions are levelled production (eliminating surprise withdrawals of components) and working using standard work methods
Use Your Authority to Encourage Them,
Ohno said his ideas were not understood and hence not used initially by many. But he applied them in his department and when he was given more departments to manage, or was shifted to other departments, he implemented them there also, till Kanban became a company wide practice.
Mountains Should be Low and Valleys Should be Shallow
There must be efforts to level the production during the year. The mountains should be low and valleys should be shallow as much as possible and sales department has to strive for more uniform sales.
Challenge to Production Leveling
TPS works for production leveling during the year, the month and even a day. If 250 sedans, 125 hardtops, and 125 wagons are made daily, in assembly there are done in the sequence One sedan, one hard top, one sedan and then wagon etc. That gives a lot size of one. But lot size of one was not achieved overnight in various shops. In a die-press, in 1940 changing the die took to two or three hours. With such a die changing time, one cannot make small lots. So a decision was taken to make efforts to decrease the die changing times. During 1950s, the die change time went down to one hour. Then it was further reduced to 15 minutes. By late 1960s, the die changing time was drastically reduced to 3 minutes.
The challenge to production leveling and small lots was high set up times. The need for quick die changes was generated or identified and steps were taken to understand the issue and develop a solution. This problem was not attempted earlier. To do this, initial solutions were developed and the workers were trained. But subsequently, the enthusiasm spread and everybody chipped in with suggestions and method improved beyond the initial description. The system became the product of the effort of large number of people.
Product Leveling and Market Diversification
Ohno emphasized that production leveling (small batch quantity) is much more advantageous than the planned mass production system (larger batch quantity) in responding to the diverse demands especially of the automobile market.
Product leveling or small batches is more advantageous to respond to the market diversification. But still, leveling becomes more difficult as diversification develops. Toyota copes up with this problem well enough and keeps market diversification and production leveling in harmony. In this endeavor, it is important to avoid the use of dedicated facilities and equipment and also equipment that has very general utility. It is important to put in effort and develop specialized, and yet versatile production processes through use of machines and jigs that can handle minimal quantities (Lot sizes of one). It is difficult but we must utilize all available knowledge to avoid undermining the benefits of mass production.
Kanban Accelerates Improvements
Carrying Carts as Kanban
The Elastic Nature of Kanban
3. Further Development
An Autonomic Nervous System in the Business Organization
Ohno says that human body has autonomic nerves that work as instant reflux to certain external stimuli and motor nerves that work under the command of the brain.
Similar to that in TPS, worker make some decisions without the involvement of production control or engineering departments. Production control and engineering departments are the brain of the organization.
In TPS workers stop the plant when problem occurs, decide the sequence to follow in making parts and also decide when overtime is necessary. They need not involve brain in reacting to some small changes in plans.
Provide Necessary Information When Needed
Computers should not be bought and used indiscriminately. It should not lead to higher costs. Processing customer orders and information on market needs and wants by computers can be very effective. But kanban communication system is more effective in production communication.
The Toyota Style Information System
Toyota does production planning like other companies. It has an annual plan, say for instance making 2 million cars in the year. Next, there is a monthly plan, announced a month ahead. Based on the monthly plan daily production schedule is established and this is based on production leveling. Each production line is informed of the daily production quantity. But the daily sequence schedule (sequence of models and color) is sent to only one place - the final assembly line.
The production order for a specific car is issued to the process 1 of the assembly line. This production order will have all the information needed for its production and the workers in the following assembly processes can tell which parts to use by at the car this production order attached to car. Workers in the subprocesses can know what to do as soon as they see the car in assembly at the first stage. If needed they are sent the information directly. Toyota makes sure the right information reaches the operators at the right time by letting the products being produced carry the information needed to assemble them.
Fine Adjustment
To cope with a constantly fluctuating market, the production line must be able to respond to schedule changes. One day, the line may make four Car A's and six Car B's. But on another day, the ratio might turn out be the reverse - six car A's and four car B's. Such reversed ratios are followed the production line as per the information carried by the Kanban
Coping with Changes
Fine adjustment also means that mistakes are corrected immediately.
What Is True Economy?
True economy is tied directly to the survival of business. In Toyota production system, economy or efficiency is thought in terms of manpower reduction and cost reduction for making one car. Manpower reduction is a means for cost reduction, which the most critical condition for the growth of the business and its survival. The criterion for all decision making in Toyota is cost reduction.
Many improvement ideas are to be generated and each idea has to be thorougly investigated. The cost of improvement should not be more than the cost reduction. Unless, the judgment is made carefully, cost increasing improvements may be undertaken.
At Toyota, we still use many old machines, by maintaining them properly and daily, improving work methods and making layout changes. A layout must make worker activities easy and should not impede production flow.
Re-Examining the Wrongs of Waste
TPS is a method to thoroughly eliminate waste and enhance productivity. Waste refers to all activities of production that increase cost but not add any value (No increase in price takes place due to them). For example, excess people, inventory, and equipment.
The primary waste of excess people, inventory and equipment give rise to secondary wastes. Complete understanding of waste is essential to implement TPS successfully.
Generate Excess Capacity
If excess capacity is there, we can use it for various purposes. At Toyota, through continuous improvement, we create excess capacity first and then use it profitably.
The Significance of Understanding
Ohno emphasize the importance of thoroughly understanding production and improvement of production methods and organization and the process of manpower reduction and cost reduction.
Understanding needs an approach to examine an objective positively and comprehend its nature. Careful inspection of a production area reveals waste and scope for improvement. Only a very close observation reveals waste and work. There are work movements which are not processing, and there are processing activities which are a waste. Manpower reduction means raising the ratio value added processing activities to 100 percent of the working time.
Utilizing the Full Work System
All sources of waste have to be detected and crushed. Waste of overproduction is eliminated in TPS by strictly adhering to standard inventory. If the standard inventory is specified as 5, on a day when it becomes 3 only 2 are produced. On a day when it becomes 4 only one is produced. We call it a full work system, when all standard inventories are replenished in a day. We do not want any overproduction in a day.
Tact Time
(Do Not Make a False Show)Tact is the length of time, in minutes and seconds, allowed by the customer demand to make one piece of the product. Tact is obtained by dividing the operable time per day (of the machine) by the required number of pieces per day. Operable rate in TPS refers to the time machine is available for production in a day. The ideal operable rate is 100 per cent. To achieve this, maintenance has to be regular to prevent breakdowns and setup times are to be reduced. Operating rate refers to the production per day.
At Toyota, improvements increase the production quantity per day from a group of workers. But, if excess production is not required as per demand, the number of workers are reduced from the team and only required production is made. Unnecessarily producing excess is no efficiency.
Required Numbers Are All-Important
For each production line, numbers or quantity required by the market is important. In Toyota, we do not produce extra above the required quantity in any line. The excess manpower is transferred to other lines where needed. The required number is adhered to in a disciplined way.
The Tortoise and the Hare
At Toyota we produce according to the needs of the market at slow or fast rate everyday. It is the way of tortoise. We do not run very fast some days and then take rest on other days like a hare.
Take Good Care of Old Equipment
Ohno says, the expertise of a worker increases overtime. But in case of machine, the depreciation of the machines is the popular idea. If machines are poorly maintained and driven close to death, enormous costs are incurred in replacement. Ohno says, with adequate maintenance, machines will have a longer life.
Look Straight at the Reality
When estimating future business, Ohno recommends that one must be realistic and be ready for instant declines in business.
0.1 Worker is Still One Worker
The savings that come from automation should result in saving a full worker. Then only automation will give cost reduction. Ohno says at the design stage of the production system itself, fewer workers are to be employed. One should not employ more workers initially and then remove them when not needed.
Ohno, in this point also stresses that, they form teams of workers and do not allow only one worker to work in isolation.
Management by Ninjutsu
Management by Ninjutsu means acquiring management skills by training.In an Art Form, Action is Required
An engineer is an artist. Art requires action not speaking.
Profit Making Industrial Engineering at Toyota
Advocating Profit-Making Industrial Engineering
Surviving the Slow-Growth Economy
4. Genealogy of the Toyota Production System
This chapter gives many passages from the thoughts and sayings of Toyota Sakichi and Toyoda Kiichiro.
Toyoda Kiichiro once told Toyoda Eiji that the best way to work in an automobile assembly plant would to have all parts for assembly at side of the line just in time for their use. The words "just-in-time" attracted many managers of Toyota and Ohno was also attracted by those words.
Taiichi Ohno had experience of cost reduction at Toyota Spinning and Weaving also. The company was implementing cost reduction measures to catch up and surpass Lancashire and Yorkshire companies. Toyoda Sakichi had world class view. Toyoda Kiichiro also had world class view. In the two pillars of TPS, autonomation came from Toyoda Sakichi and JIT came from Toyoda Kiichiro.
Toyoda Sakichi said that he observed a grand mother hand weaving for a full day and developed interest in developing a machine for it. Ohno likes that idea of observing on the shop floor to understand things. He wrote "Stand on the shop floor all day and watch - you will eventually discover what has to be done."
Toyoda Kiichiro visisted America and he must have thought about how surpass America's highly developed automobile production system and utter the idea of JIT.
Toyoda Sakichi talked of inventions made by Japanese efforts, knowledge and intellect.He made 100 inventions with patents.
A Global World Around Us
Two Extraordinary Characters
Learning from the Unyielding Spirit
I believe just-in-time was Toyoda Kiichiro's dying wish - Ohno
Toyotaism with a Scientific and Rational Nature
Provide Good Equipment Even If the Factory Is Simple
Pursuity of a Japanese-Style Production Technique
Making Products That Have Value
Toyoda Kiichiro recognized that the market always demands reasonably priced products. He wrote "We know our cars will not sell unless they are cheaper than foreign models. "We might manage to sell 50 to 100 cars per month by appealing to patriotism. But selling 200 or 500 cars per month would be difficult. In the end, prices must be competitive."
Can we actually produce economical cars domestically? Cars with proper materials and proper quality?
A Chess Player's View
In Search of Something Japanese
Witnessing a Dialectic Evolution
Toyoda Kiichiro " we shall learn production techniques from the American method of mass production. But we will not copy it as is. We shall use our own research and creativity to develop a production method that suits our own country's situation."
I believe this was the origin of Toyoda Kiichiro's idea of just-in-time.
5. The True Intention of the Ford System
The Ford System and the Toyota System
Ohno acknowledges - Henry Ford without dispute created the automobile production system. Toyota system uses the flow system developed by Ford. But the difference is that at Ford they were concerned about warehousing the parts and moving the chassis past the warehouse. Toyota eliminated the warehouse.
Small Lot Sizes and Quick Setup
The American automobile business has continuously shown that planned mass production has the greatest effect on cost reduction. The Toyota system takes the reverse course. The slogan is "small lot sizes and quick setups." Toyota system works on the premise of totally eliminating the overproduction generated by inventory and costs related to workers, land, and facilitates needed for managing inventory.
Toyota system works on the premise of totally eliminating the overproduction generated by inventory and costs related to workers, land, and facilities needed for managing inventory.
Rapid changeovers are an absolute requirement for the Toyota Production System. Teaching workers to reduce lot sizes and setup times took repeated on-the-job training.
The Foresight of Henry Ford
Ford said what we do have to bother about is the waste of human labor. Material in our factory represented labor. When we are wasting material we are wasting labor of some body. We will use material more carefully if we think of it as labour. Our studies and investigations up to date have resulted in the saving of 80,000,000 pounds of steel a year and this amounts to about 3 million dollars a year.
Standard are Something to Set Up Yourself
Prevention Is Better than Healing
Toyota's strength does not come from its healing processes - it comes from preventive maintenance.
Is There a Ford after Ford?
Ohno said "I think the TPS can be applied in America where the market for many types in large quantities is there."
Toyota has learned a lot from the Ford system.
Inverse Conception and Business Spirit
Is cotton the best material we can use here? (in seats) As an answer to this question Ford came up with flax and methods to handle it mechanically. Ohno said, "I was intrigued by Ford's question. Is cotton the best material we can use here?" As Ford pointed out, people follow tradition. This might be acceptable in private life, but in industry, outdated customs must be eliminated. This process of aking why represents Ford's business spirit. Ohno said reading Ford shows many such brilliant inverse conceptions.
Getting Away from Quantity and Speed
Is efficiency in production systems wrecking all the finer things in life?
Efficiency is merely doing the work in the best way you know rather than in the worst way. It is the taking of a trunk up a hill on a truck rather than on one's back. It is training of the worker and the giving to him of power so that he may earn more and have more and live more comfortably.
6. Surviving the Low-Growth Period
The System Raised in the High-Growth Period
Raising Productivity during Low Growth
Learning from the Flexibility of Ancient People
Important Terms Used to Describe Toyota Production System
Andon
Autonomation
Baka-Yoke
Baton Passing Zone
Do NOt Mkae Isolated Islands
Five Why's
Just-in-Time
Kanban
Labor Saving to Worker Saving to Reducing Number of Workers
Moving vs. Working
Multi-Process Operation System
Operating Rate and Operable Rate
Production Leveling
Profit-Making Industrial Engineering
Real Cause
Required Numbers Equal Production Quantity
Small Lot Sizes and Quick Setups
Standard Work Procedures
Stopping the Line
Tact Time
Toyota Production System
Visual Control (Management by Sight)
Waste Recognition and Elimination
Work Flow and Work Forced to Flow
Work Improvement vs. Equipment Improvement
Work productivity improvement is productivity improvement using the existing equipment. Only tools, jigs and fixtures are introduced as required in work productivity improvement.
If equipment improvement comes first, manufacturing processes will never be improved.
Shigeo Shingo - Study of Toyota Production System from Industrial Engineering Point of View." - Summary
Shigeo Shingo, the famous industrial engineer from Japan, taught training programmes in Toyota Motors and also gave consultancy services. Based on Taiichi Ohno's book on Toyota Production System, Shingo gave further details of the system in the a book titiled "Study of Toyota Production System from Industrial Engineering Point of View."
You can read the summary of the books in these two parts.
http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2014/02/industrial-engineering-foundation-of.html
http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2014/02/industrial-engineering-foundation-of.html
Updated 9 Sep, 5 Sep 2015, 30 Nov 2013
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Flexibility and Efficiency - Both Can be Improved - Paul S. Adler
Flexibility Versus Efficiency? A Case Study
of Model Changeovers in the Toyota
Production System
Paul S. Adler • Barbara Goldoftas • David I. Levine
School of Business Administration, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1421
Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
Much organization theory argues that efficiency requires bureaucracy, that bureaucracy impedes flexibility,
and that organizations therefore confront a tradeoff between efficiency and flexibility. Some researchers have challenged this line of reasoning, arguing that organizations can shift the efficiency/flexibility tradeoff to attain both superior efficiency and superior flexibility
The authors analyze an auto assembly plant that appears to be far above average industry performance in both efficiency and flexibility. NUMMI, a Toyota subsidiary located in Fremont, California, relied on a highly bureaucratic organization to achieve its high efficiency. Analysis of two recent major model changes, the authors find that NUMMI used four mechanisms to support its exceptional flexibility/efficiency combination.
ORGANIZATION SCIENCE/Vol. 10, No. 1, January–February 1999 pp. 43-68
Friday, August 28, 2015
Analysis of Material - Methods Efficiency Improvement Analysis - Illustrations
Analysis of Material
Material cost is a very important part of the total cost of any product. Therefore the analyst should check the material for the possibility of using lower cost materials.
Questions. The following questions will prove suggestive in connection with an analysis of material:
1. Does the material specified appear suitable for the purpose for which it is to be used?
2. Could a less expensive material be substituted that would function as well?
M30 concrete in place of M35 concrete in India.
3. Could a lighter gage material be used?
Example: Reduction of automobile body sheet thickness by Maruti Suzuki in India.
4. Is the material furnished in suitable condition for use?
5. Could the supplier perform additional work upon the material that would make it better suited for its use?
6. Is the size of the material the most economical?
7. If bar stock or tubing, is the material straight?
8. If a casting or forging, is the excess stock sufficient for machining purposes but not excessive?
9. Can the machinability of the material be improved by heat-treatment or in other ways?
10. Do castings have hard spots or burned-in core sand that should be eliminated?
11. Are castings properly cleaned and have all fins, gate ends, and riser bases been removed?
12. Is material sufficiently clean and free from rust?
13. If coated with a preserving compound, how does this compound affect dies?
14. Is material ordered in amounts and sizes that permit its utilization with a minimum amount of waste, scrap, or short ends?
15. Is material uniform and reasonably free from flaws and defects?
16. Is material utilized to the best advantage during processing?
Change of design and cutting patter in Maruti Suzuki in India.
17. Where yield from a given amount of material depends upon ability of the operator, is any record of yield kept?
18. Is miscellaneous material used for assembly, such as nails, screws, wire, solder, rivets, paste, and washers, suitable?
19. Are the indirect or supply materials such as cutting oil, molding sand, or lubricants best suited to the job?
20. Are materials used in connection with the process, such as gas, fuel oil, coal, coke, compressed air, water, electricity, acids, and paints, suitable, and is their use controlled and economical?
Special materials will evoke special questions, but the list here given will indicate the kind of questions that should be asked and will stimulate suggestions for improvement on many kinds of the more common materials.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Analysis of All Operations in a Process - Method Efficiency Improvement Analysis - Illustrations
1. Can the operation being analyzed be eliminated by changing the procedure or the operations?
2. Can it be combined with another operation?
3. Can it be subdivided and the various parts added to other operations ?
4. Can part of the operation be performed more effectively as a separate operation?
5. Can the operation being analyzed be performed during the idle period of another operation?
6. Is the sequence of operations the best possible?
7. Would changing the sequence affect this operation in any way?
8. Should this operation be done in another department to save cost or handling?
9. If several or all operations including the one being analyzed were performed under the group system of wage payment, would advantages accrue?
10. Should a more complete study of operations be made by means of an operation process chart?
Individual Operation Purpose Analysis - Methods Efficiency Improvement Analysis Illustrations
1. What is the purpose of the operation?
2. Is the result accomplished by the operation necessary?
3. If so, what makes it necessary?
4. Was the operation established to correct a difficulty experienced in the final assembly?
5. If so, did it really correct it?
6. Is the operation necessary because of the improper performance of a previous operation?
7. Was the operation established to correct a condition that has since been corrected otherwise?
8. If the operation is done to improve appearance, is the added cost justified by added salability?
9. Can the purpose of the operation be accomplished better in any other way?
10. Can the supplier of the material perform the operation more economically?
Monday, August 10, 2015
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Neyveli Lignite Corporation - Productivity Initiatives
April 9 2015
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/nlc-kobe-steel-sign-pact-for-power-plant/article7084900.ece
Conveyor Efficiency
NLC has also entered into an agreement with National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi for improving energy efficiency of conveyors.
The project tests use of Programme Logic Control Circuit in the conveyor systems which will permit all motors to work only while starting the conveyor and then depending on the load will operate just the required number of motors automatically.
Over two million units of electricity can be saved in each conveyor system. NLC uses 50 conveyor systems in its second mine and can save over 31 crore annually. The research project is estimated to cost about 1.22 crore with NLC contributing 58 lakh and the NIT 63 lakh.
Presentation by CMD on 2.1. 2015
2013
http://www.ijeat.org/attachments/File/v2i4/D1418042413.pdf
http://www.sari-energy.org/pagefiles/what_we_do/activities/regional_clean_coal-sep_2008/Clean_coal/Day2-session7/NLC's%20Experienceinlignitemining-Session%20VII.pdf
Benchmarking Thermal Efficiency of Coal Based Plants in India with Mature Systems in Other Countries
Economic Times Editorial of 4 August 2015
For a Tech Boost to Energy Efficiency
Revving up efficiency in the energy economy cannot but focus on dirty but abundant, coal. The fuel conversion efficiency in state electricity board-owned plants is abysmally close to 30%. In contrast, in the mature power systems abroad, thermal efficiency levels approach 50%. It follows that by raising thermal efficiencies, we could generate up to two-thirds more power with the same amount of coal, reducing the carbon intensity of growth, besides pollution. This is achievable using existing technology. India needs to invest in coal gasification and integrated gasified coal combined cycle technologies, to utilise our natural endowment of coal while clamping down on green gas emissions.
Report of CSE's Study - Study of 47 Thermal plants
Old technologies, poor maintenance worsen performance
India’s landscape is dotted with many inefficient plants; its fleet is among the least efficient in the world. Improving efficiency is key to meet India’s energy needs, consume fewer resources and have the least impact on the environment.
A quarter of the total capacity under the study had exceeded operational life. Second, just 1 per cent of the power sector’s capacity in 2012 comprised supercritical (SC) or ultra supercritical (USC) plants, which operate with efficiency that is 3-7 percentage points higher than that of “subcritical” technology, the most commonly used. In comparison, 25 per cent of Chinese capacity was SC/USC. Around a third of plants under the study had efficiencies of less than 32 per cent. The worst performers typically have small capacity units, poor technology and are old..
Over half the plants in the study were found to be running inefficiently due to bad operation and maintenance practices. A particularly poor performer is MPPGCL, Birsinghpur, a 13-year-old plant, whose efficiency was 22 per cent below design. On the other hand, well-maintained plants like Reliance-Dahanu had a deviation of 3.8 per cent from design.
Only four plants in the study experienced less than 15 days of outages, which is considered a desirable level of availability. Poor maintenance, which results in increased outages, meant that average availability was low for the sample—11 plants experienced an average annual outage of more than 73 days during 2010-13. Even some new private plants such as Adani-Mundra and Maithon Power experienced outages as high as 95 days.
Auxiliary Power Consumption (APC), the power consumed by the plant’s own equipment, in most cases was almost 50 per cent higher than global best practices—APC of 12 of them was over 10 per cent. Higher APC means less power supplied to the grid. Most plants in India do not monitor APC for individual equipment, which makes it impossible to identify areas of excess consumption.
The government launched the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) programme to encourage efficiency improvement in eight industrial sectors, including thermal power generation.
GRP study exposed weaknesses in the PAT scheme. Of the 31 plants that were analysed, five achieved target efficiency in 2010-11 (even before the scheme started) while four more did so in 2011-12.
Shortcomings like these meant that plants like UPRVUNL, Obra, whose efficiency was 27 per cent during baseline period, achieved their PAT target after R&M—but its present efficiency at 31 per cent is still quite low.
Low efficiency is directly related to high CO2 emissions. The average emission rate of plants was 1.08 tonne CO2/MWh, which is seven per cent higher than the global average and 14 per cent higher than China’s. In 2012, coal-based power generation accounted for half of India’s total CO2 emissions from fuel combustions. During 2011-12, India’s total CO2 emissions grew by six per cent which was mostly on account of coal in energy production.
JSEB, Patratu, was again the worst performer with an unacceptably high emission of 1.80 tonne CO2/MWh (see ‘Specific CO2...’). There were just 13 plants in the study whose average emissions were lower than the global average. No plant conformed to the global best values. Even super critical plants in the study had emissions 35 per cent higher than the global best. It is estimated that a one percentage point improvement in efficiency can reduce CO2 emissions by 2-3 per cent. Apart from improving efficiency of existing plants, adopting state-of-the-art technologies can help achieve big cuts in emission rates.
See for more details and figures of efficiencies
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/coal-toll-48581
http://www.cseindia.org/content/india%E2%80%99s-first-ever-environmental-rating-coal-based-power-plants-finds-sector%E2%80%99s-performance
21 February 2015
Efficiency of India's Power Plants way below global standards
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-02-21/news/59363102_1_plants-cse-national-thermal-power-corporation
http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/most-power-plants-in-india-falter-on-green-regulation-cse-115022100616_1.html
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Optimization in Pulverized Coal Fired Boiler Design, Manufacturing and Operation
Power Plant Engineering Notes
http://poisson.me.dal.ca/site2/courses/mech4840/
Google Search Optimization - Pulverized Coal - 144,000 results on 14 May 2015
https://www.google.co.in/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=2FJUVbY_6tXyB-aMgOgJ&gws_rd=ssl#q=optimization+pulverized+coal&start=30
Google Search - Six Sigma Pulverised Coal - 25,900 results on 14 May 2015
https://www.google.co.in/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=2FJUVbY_6tXyB-aMgOgJ&gws_rd=ssl#q=six+sigma+pulverized+coal&start=20
http://www.powermag.com/category/coal/
2014
Effect of TQM on the Maintenance of Pulverizer and Raw Coal Feeder
in a Coal Based Thermal Power Plant
Pooja¹, Dr. B.K. Roy², Pooja Rani31
Post Graduate Student, Om Institute of Technology & Management, Hisar, Haryana, INDIA 2
Director-Principal, Om Institute of Technology & Management, Hisar, Haryana, INDIA 3
Post Graduate Student, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, Haryana, INDIA
Volume-4, Issue-1, February-2014, ISSN No.: 2250-0758
International Journal of Engineering and Management Research
Available at: www.ijemr.net
Page Number: 234-240
http://www.ijemr.net/Feb2014Issue/EffectOfTQMOnTheMaintenanceOfPulverizerAndRawCoalFeederInACoalBasedThermalPowerPlant(234-240).pdf
http://www.synergemindia.com/courses-offered/one-year-pg-program/ - six month and one year IE course in India - To write to them.
2013
Techno-Economic Optimization of a Supercritical Pulverized Coal Power Plant With Integrated CO2 Capture and Utilization Processes
Kasule, J., West Virginia University, Bhattacharyya, D., West Virginia University, Turton, R., West Virginia University, Zitney, S. E., National Energy Technology Laboratory
AIChE 2013 Annual Meeting
http://www3.aiche.org/proceedings/Abstract.aspx?PaperID=340410
Bhattacharyya, D., West Virginia University, Debangsu.bhattacharyya @ mail.wvu.edu
2012
Reducing Ash Agglomeration in Circulating Fluidized Bed Boilers
2012 Article
www.powermag.com, October 2012
SAS Tech Consultants
Innovative Approach to Improved Pulverised Coal Delivery and Combustion Optimization
http://www.indianpowerstations.org/Presentations%20Made%20at%20IPS-2012/Day-2%20at%20PMI,NTPC,%20NOIDA,UP/Saraswati%20Hall/Session-04%20Optimising%20Boiler%20Performance/Paper%204%20Improved%20Combustion%20Optimisation.pdf
COAL-FIRED TOP PLANTS
C.P. Crane Generating Station, Middle River, Maryland
When operators of this 400-MW plant converted to burning 100% low-sulfur Powder
River Basin coal to meet state regulations, they knew it wouldn’t be fully successful
unless they also converted the plant’s operating culture.
Merrimack Station’s Clean Air Project, Bow, New Hampshire
By implementing a Clean Air Project to meet state regulations (and future federal
ones), this 440-MW plant became one of the cleanest coal plants in the country. It
may also provide a model for future wastewater treatment systems.
Northside Generating Station, Jacksonville, Florida
This circulating fluidized bed boiler plant is an award-winner for a series of modifications
made over nearly a decade to resolve operating challenges created by a design
problem. Its operating stats now place it in the top tier of U.S. fossil plants.
Tanjung Jati B Electric Generating Station’s Expansion Project, Central
Java Province, Republic of Indonesia
A multinational project team built this 1,300-MW generator of power and economic
growth and equipped it with some of the first examples of modernized air quality
control technology on a major Asian power plant.
http://www.powermag.com/topplanttanjung-jati-b-electric-generating-station-central-java-province-republic-of-indonesia/
http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2012_02/pr0701.htm
http://www.babcock.com/library/Documents/pch575.pdf
Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, Virginia City, Virginia
Waste not. By using a fuel-flexible circulating fluidized boiler, this new plant is helping
Dominion meet its commitment to the state renewable portfolio standard while
including regionally sourced coal waste in its fuel mix. It also recycles plant wastewater
and waste heat.
Yeongheung Power Station Unit 3, Yeongheung Island, South Korea
A number of site-specific circumstances required careful design modifications and
advanced monitoring and controls for this new supercritical unit near Seoul at a site
that could eventually host 12 coal-fired plant
Powermag.com selection in year 2012
2008
System and Method for Full Combustion Optimization For Pulverized Coal-Fired Steam Boilers
US 20100319592 A1
Patent Filing Date 5 Dec 2008
http://www.google.com.ar/patents/US20100319592
Dahanu Power Plant of Reliance - Best plant in its category
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=KR9H10bsClkC&pg=PA87#v=onepage&q&f=false
Singareni Collieris - Productivity Issues
SCCL's coal reserves in Godavari Valley Coal Field (GVCF) are expected to last for 60 years. This coal field has approximate reserves of 10,000 million tonnes.
As of now, SCCL has 32 underground and 16 opencast mines across four districts of Telangana - Karimnagar, Warangal, Adilabad and Khammam - covering an extent of 17,500 sq km. The company produces about 50 million tonnes a year.
Earlier, the chief minister of the state asked the SCCL officials to give preference to underground mines instead of opencast as opencast mines are causing pollution in the area. He also asked officials to make efforts to reduce the pollution. But SCCL has been giving preference to opencast mines due to its operating cost advantages.
In opencast mining as the cost of production is very less in opencast compared to underground mining. While the cost of production in opencast is about Rs 1630 per tonne, it may go up to Rs 3740 per tonne in underground coal production while the realization through sales is Rs 2,000 per tonne for SCCL.
Of the company's total production, 79% of the coal production is being produced from opencast and only 21% from underground mines.
Singareni is planning to open 17 new mines in the next few years. Of the proposed 17 mines, 11 are opencast and six underground, which are expected to generate 31.85 million tonnes of coal.
SCCL has also decided to close 12 mines in the next few years including eight underground and four opencast especially several inclines in Godavarikhani.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Singareni-Collieries-Company-Limited-sets-up-task-force-to-explore-mining-overseas/articleshow/40824554.cms
Adriyala Long Wall Project of Singareni Collieries
Mining Ideas and Coal
by Dattatreyulu Jammalamadaka
Gives the background with failure of longwall mining earlier and initiation of new project in his book
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=hI0JCgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Project IRR 17.3 percent
http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/singareni-to-invest-rs-846-cr-in-adriyala-project-109121400003_1.html
Sep 30, 2014
Cost of Production: Rs. 863 per tonne
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/singareni-hopes-to-bounce-back-with-adriyala-project/article6462062.ece
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/adriyala-underground-coal-mine-set-to-start-commercial-production/article6500924.ece
Mechanization in Mining in India
http://dipeshbiv.blogspot.in/2012/10/mechanization-in-indian-mines-raising.html
Long wall Mining - Slide Share
http://www.slideshare.net/venkoos/longwall-mining
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)