Development of a methodology for the rapid implementation of a sustainable lean manufacturing system

Abstract

Increasing awareness of the competitive edge that the Toyota Production System (TPS) has afforded to the Toyota Motor Company has led many U.S. companies to implement a lean production system of th~ir own. However, most companies have been unable to achieve the same level of success with lean as the Toyota plants in Japan. The primary problem has been that no one, even Toyota personnel, can describe exactly how TPS really works, much less how too properly implement it. The Eastman Kodak Company, through the Imaging Materials Manufacturing Division, is actively working on spreading a Kodak Operating System (KOS) philosophy throughout the company. The Kodak Canada, Inc. (KCI) site in Toronto, Canada is supporting some of the pioneer projects. Most companies are forced to implement a lean production system in response to a crisis; however, Kodak has committed to the implementation of KOS in the absence of a great internal sense of urgency for the change. It is generally accepted that the absence of internal rallying points or crises results in the generation of a tremendous amount of resistance to the new lean system. The basic premise of this thesis is that it is possible to design a lean manufacturing system implementation that sufficiently addresses the technical and social system level aspects of lean and thus minimizes the likelihood of "rejection" of the new system. This thesis will document the Plan, Do, Check, Act (POCA) methodology used to design and implement a lean manufacturing system using a microfilm finishing work center at the KCI site for the case study. The "Plan" step of the process involved determining the current state of the operation and planning a vision for its future state. The actual implementation steps are covered in the "Do" stage of the cycle. The lean implementation resulted in labor cost savings and an increase in work center capacity and productivity. The thesis will provide analysis to support the "Check" step of the POCA cycle. Suggestions for continuous improvement of the lean manufacturing system will be offered so that the KCI leadership team can complete the "Act" step of the PDCA cycle. This will ensure the sustainability of the lean manufacturing system implementation process, as well as the continued success of the roll out of KOS throughout the company.