Term Paper
PRIME Faraday Technology Watch
Fundamental Productivity Improvement Tools and Techniques for SME
Productivity improvement techniques can be applied effectively in enterprises of any size, from one-person companies to corporations with thousands of staff. The majority of the techniques were first seen in mass-production operations but the benefits they can yield in SMEs is not to be underestimated. Indeed, the absence in SMEs of many of the rigidities commonly found in large companies make it easier for them to reap the benefits of productivity improvement techniques. This review surveys a range of productivity improvement techniques suitable for implementation by SMEs. Following a general examination of the implications for SMEs of lean thinking and enterprise resource planning systems, it zooms in on productivity improvement techniques mostly pioneered in the Toyota production system. They include just-in-time, kanban, kaizen, jidoka, heijunka and the five S’s. Concluding sections highlight the increasing pressure on manufacturing companies to exploit such methods to become agile manufacturers of masscustomised products. Lisa Hawkins Pera Knowledge
Prime Faraday Partnership
ISBN 1-84402-001-0 Fundamental Productivity Improvement Tools and Techniques May 2001
Fundamental Productivity Improvement Tools and Techniques for SMEs
Published in 2001 by PRIME Faraday Partnership Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leics LE11 3TU http://www.primetechnologywatch.org.uk © 2001 Pera Knowledge ISBN 1-84402-001-0 Whilst the advice and information in this publication is believed to be true and accurate at the time of publication, neither the author nor the publisher assume any legal responsibility or liability for any error or omission that may have been made.
Comments on this publication are welcomed. Please send them
Fundamental Productivity Improvement Tools and Techniques for SME
Productivity improvement techniques can be applied effectively in enterprises of any size, from one-person companies to corporations with thousands of staff. The majority of the techniques were first seen in mass-production operations but the benefits they can yield in SMEs is not to be underestimated. Indeed, the absence in SMEs of many of the rigidities commonly found in large companies make it easier for them to reap the benefits of productivity improvement techniques. This review surveys a range of productivity improvement techniques suitable for implementation by SMEs. Following a general examination of the implications for SMEs of lean thinking and enterprise resource planning systems, it zooms in on productivity improvement techniques mostly pioneered in the Toyota production system. They include just-in-time, kanban, kaizen, jidoka, heijunka and the five S’s. Concluding sections highlight the increasing pressure on manufacturing companies to exploit such methods to become agile manufacturers of masscustomised products. Lisa Hawkins Pera Knowledge
Prime Faraday Partnership
ISBN 1-84402-001-0 Fundamental Productivity Improvement Tools and Techniques May 2001
Fundamental Productivity Improvement Tools and Techniques for SMEs
Published in 2001 by PRIME Faraday Partnership Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leics LE11 3TU http://www.primetechnologywatch.org.uk © 2001 Pera Knowledge ISBN 1-84402-001-0 Whilst the advice and information in this publication is believed to be true and accurate at the time of publication, neither the author nor the publisher assume any legal responsibility or liability for any error or omission that may have been made.
Comments on this publication are welcomed. Please send them