Lean Manufacturing – Proposal for PhD Programme

This is the manufacturing related proposal sample for post graduate dissertation or PhD programmes.

Title of the Phd Programme Proposal

‘Critical successful factors in the implementation of lean manufacturing projects in the SMEs in Libya’

INTRODUCTION

Lean is been increasingly applied in a number of the organizations. This has been one of the main areas of the quality that needs to be maintained. The situation of the markets has been changing rapidly. This has been one of the transitions in the operations of the business. The development of the operations is factor that needs to be taken into the count. There has been changing perceptions about the quality in the international scenario. The quality also ensures that the costs of the post production decrease by a great extent. The increase of the costs have also meant that the there is great pressure  on the organization to streamline the operations , cut the costs, the focus on the needs of the customer,  the focus on the needs of the customer and all the other needs of the market. The preference on the quality also has a number of other exalted reasons. This is due to a number of other factors. The customers have an increased number of preferences in the global market.  There is an increased option for the customers to employ a number of new choices. This changes the dynamics of the costs involved in the products. This has also meant that the manufacturing methods have to change for the accommodation of the changes. The primal purpose of the study is the adoption of the lean manufacturing techniques in the SME of Libya. A number of methods were used to ensure the understanding of the lean manufacturing techniques in Libya. There was t6e use of the questionnaire that was used to understand the adoption of the lean manufacturing techniques in Libya. The areas that are explored as part of the research were the inventory, the scheduling, the handing of the materials, the process of the work, the quality of the process, the layout of the organizations, the ergonomics and the safety of the process, the design of the product, the culture and the management and the use of a number of the tools for the process of the better understanding of the lean techniques. There were a number of the respondents that were asked about the implementation of the lean techniques, with the extent of the implementation in each of the areas being explored. The questionnaire also focussed on a number of other aspects of the lean manufacturing. The level of the understanding of the lean techniques, the tools used in the process, the obstacles and the other type of the accompanying parameters are some of the elements being analyzed. . Libya has been  a centre of  a lot of turmoil, that has been one of the factors that has been an area of the research The qualification of the parameters is also an important factor that needs pt be taken into the ambit of the research. The extent of the implementation has been a mixed package and the organizations. The critical success factors are also varied among the organizations. The organizations that have an electrical background are more responsive of the needs of the lean manufacturing. The same cannot be said about the other organization in the other branches. The CSF (Critical Success Factors) are also different among a number of the coordinates This has been discussed in detail.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

The objectives of the research form one of the most important parts of the research. The objectives of the research are responsible for the direction of the research .If the objectives are too narrow in their scope; this may lead to a lesser degree of the clarity in the research. If the objectives are too broad, it is extremely difficult to come to any kind of tangible outcome in the research process. The objectives of the research are as follows-

•    To find the affect of the management in the implementation of lean. This shall be analyzed in detail in the research.
•    To understand the essential kinds of the skills and the resources for the implementation of lean in the SME’s of Libya.
•    To find the essential link between the implementation of the lean and the business strategy of the organization.
•    To find the effect of the culture of the organization on the process of the implementation of the lean methodology.
•    To develop a model that can be used in the implementation of the lean methodology in the SME,s of Libya.
•    The articulation of the impediment in the process of the implementation of the lean methodology in the SME’s of Libya.

These are the objectives of the research. They have been formulated for the understanding of the lean management implementation on the SME’s of Libya.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The review of the literature has thrown a number of interesting facts This is one of the most important part of the research process The development of the vital areas of the CSF (Critical Success Factors) has been a basic objective of the literature review. There are a number of the factors that are a determinant of the change. The areas are the competition from the other organizations, the consumers, the geo-political situations and the other factors of the volatility. There is the need to adapt to a number of the changes in the market. This is the fight to stay relevant in the increasingly changing market conditions.  The usage of the techniques of the lean manufacturing would decrease the need for a number of the e sources for any prices. They are the lesser employment of the manpower, the lesser use of the energy the lesser use of the machines and the other kind of the peripheral equipments (Render, 2006). There are a number of the definitions of the lean manufacturing. The basal definition of the lean looks at the decrease of the seven types of the wasters that form part of any project. This method is also called as the lean as it is use in the elimination of the waste from all parts of the organization (more specifically, the value stream). The broadening of the concepts is also another functionality that needs to be taken into the account. The use of the lean systems is an integrated process that involves a number of the methodologies like that of the JIT( Just in Time),the use of the  zero defect, the use of cellular manufacturing and a number of other associated concepts. This shall also increase the productivity, decrease the lead time of the process, lead to the decrease of the wastes, reduce the lean time of the process and also makes the process easier by number of the counts. The implementation of the services has a number of key areas of the concentration. This includes the use of scheduling, the inventory, the handling of the materials, the usage of the equipments, the processes of the work, the quality, the employees, the layout of the area, the design of the product, the ergonomics of the process, the cultural aspects and the tools in the process(Render, 2006). The use of the affective kind of the schedules help in meeting the requirements of the consumer at any of the points. The smaller size of the lots, the manufacturing by the lean methods and the reduction of the work in the processes are some of the methods that need to be followed.  The use of the appropriate type of the pull methods also plays part in the reduction of the inventories, the use availability of the lag time in the process of the production, the reduction of the storage and the avoidance of the over –production. All of these factors are vital to the success of the implementation of the lean methods at any of the SME’s. There is the use of a number of the pull methods like that of the Kanban that is used in the process of the delivery. This can be used to maintain a level of zero inventories. This is also important in meeting the needs at any particular instant. This is a method that is widely used in the SME,s to counter a number  of the problems. The minimizing of the lines of the production help in making the product line smoother. This helps in dealing with a number of the inherent abnormalities of the process of the production. There is storage of the inventories by the organization to tide over the fluctuations in the demand at any of the points. This also shortens the response time of the process. The extended functionalities are used to ensure that the process runs to the maximum point.

LEAN MANAGEMENT APPROACH

The handling of the material also needs to be given a lot of attention in this kind of the processes. The complete costs of the operation are reduced by a great extent by the use of the appropriate kinds of the handling techniques. The flow of the materials at a steady phase shall enable the utilization of all the resources. The level of the equipment has to be paid a lot of the attention. If the materials are not in a perfect position, this may lead to also of the time. The amount of the downtime also increases in case of the wrong type of the equipments(Heragu, 2007). The area that also has an impact on the process of the lean management is the use of the appropriate kind of the methods of the production. There is the need for the development of the synergy at all the level of the product formulation. This shall allows the progression of the project at a very high value. The use of a number of the other methods in the production includes the maximum utilization of the materials at any of the points of the time. The use of the materials needs to be taken into the account. The processes of the work need to be made clearer. The amount of the time that is spent in the quiet part of the process, the line of the process , the moving time and the other kinds of the delays of the project These are the factors that need to be take into the account for the success of the project. The use of these methods would ensure that the quality is maintained at a very high level .This shall also help in the avoidance of the generation of the waste.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research ash focussed on a number of the areas .here has been the usage of a number of the methods for the research The research is based on the critical success factors for the adoption of the lean methodology in the SME,s of Libya. The data in this case needs to be highly subjective. It was collected by the help of a questionnaire that was specifically designed for this purpose. The directory as used to sort out the names of the SME,s. The questionnaire was distributed by the help of a normal mail. The responses that were obtained from the mail were collated. This was followed by an analysis to all the questions that were asked in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was assigned to be answered by the General Manager of the firm. This was done as they were considered as the thought leader of the organization. However, the organization was in charge of assigning the individuals who would be answering this questionnaire. The response rate of around 14 percent was seen. A lot of the methods of the follow-up were used by the organizations to get all the answers. This has helped in the process of the analysis of the questionnaire. All the aspects of the implementation of the lean were also discussed as a part of research. The reliability analysis was performed on the data that was obtained after the research. The Cronbach alpha coefficient was analyzed for the research. The construct validity of the arguments was also checked. This was analyzed by the use of the principal conduct analysis(Braident, 2007). Three was the use of the KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) analysis. The other parameters were also checked for the consistency. There are a number of the kinds of the research that are use in this process. The data is collected as a part of the research and the analysis is done. This is called as the inductive type of the research. In this kind of the research, the data is collected before reaching any kid of the hypothesis(Heragu, 2007). This is very different from the predictive kind of the research where the hypothesis is framed at the very beginning. The other data is used to validate it.  The hypothesis forms the foundation of the research. This is in absolute contrast to the research process followed here.

SOURCES OF DATA

The source of the data is one of the most important parts of the research. This allows the formation of the base of the research. The collection of the data has been done from a number of the avenues .There are two sources of the data. They are called as the primary data and the secondary data. The primary data is collected in the form of the questionnaires and the interviews. This is the form of the data that is exclusive to the research. There are also a number of the chances to include the focus groups and the other forms of the primary data collection in this process. This shall help in the collection of the exclusive kind of the data for the research. The secondary form of the data consists of the assimilation of the data from a number of the established sources. This allows the formation of the case of the research(Braident, 2007). The direction of the research is also determined by the use of the secondary forms of the research. The forms of the research that are used include journals and articles. They are also important from the point of view of forming the standard kind of the hypothesis. These are some of the peripheral functions of the secondary forms of the data.

PLAUSIBLE OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT

There are a number of outcomes of this research. They are as follows-
•    The comprehension of the affect of the management on the implementation of the mean. There shall also be a subjective understanding of the CSF (Critical Success Factors) that are linked to the management.
•    The skills and the resources for the effective implementation of the lean management shall be understood as a part of the analysis.
•    The complete understanding of the linkage between the business strategy and the implementation of the lean management.
•    The complete analysis of the impact of the culture on the process of the implementation of the lean. The qualitative analysis of culture as a CSF( Critical Success Factor) has also been understood.
•    A model would be developed for the implementation of lean management in the SME’s of Libya.
•    The roadblocks in the process of the implementation would be analyzed at the end of the research.
•    The statistical analysis of all the data shall also be performed (this shall include the reliability analysis).
These are the outcomes of the research. They are completely dependent on the analysis of the existent data.