Improving the efficiency of the shaving head assembly lines at Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten

(1)

Improving the efficiency of the shaving head

assembly lines at

Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten

Faculty of economics and business, University of Groningen

Master Thesis, Technology Management

(2)

Improving the efficiency of the shaving head

assembly lines at

Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten

Master thesis Technology Management

Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten Address: Oliemolenstraat 5,

9203 ZN Drachten Company supervisor: Ir. E.M. Sloot

Email: communicatie.drachten@philips.com

University of Groningen

Faculty: Economics and business, Address: Nettelbosje 2,

9747 AE Groningen

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ir. G.J.C. Gaalman

Second assessor: Drs. X. Zhu

Author

Name: Janco van der Hoog, BSc.

Address: Damsterdiep 24-1, 9711 SL Groningen Student number: 1839535

(3)

Preface

This document provides my master thesis at Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten. This master thesis is the completion of the study Technology Management at the University of Groningen.

I would like to thank prof. dr. ir. G.J.C. Gaalman for his feedback and supervision on behalf of the University of Groningen and drs. X. Zhu for being my second assessor and for his input.

Furthermore, I would like to thank ir. Eric Sloot for the supervision on behalf of Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten.

I greatly appreciate all employees of Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten for their input and help during this research project. I especially thank Gerlof van der Galien, Andre Keizer, Vincent Trip, and other supportive staff members and the operators at the shaving head assembly lines for their input and help on this project.

(4)

Management Summary

In this research, the shaving head assembly lines of Philips Drachten have been assessed. Philips has started with implementing lean production principles. This research is performed to these conditions. In the time this research was carried out, a part of the shaving head assembly lines has been restructured towards a product layout. This is performed by means of two pilot lines. The goal of this research is to determine whether this change should be extended to the remaining part of the assembly lines, and to provide recommendations for further actions.

In order to determine whether the layout change should be extended, a diagnosis has been carried out regarding the layout, process management, and culture. This diagnosis made clear that the change towards a product layout is a first step towards improved efficiency. By assessing the pilot lines, several improvements were noted including less material handling, reduced travel distance, reduced lead time, reduced inventory, reduced FTEs, and a shorter quality feedback loop. The payback periods of pilot line 1 and 2 have been calculated at 1 year and 1.3 year respectively. Concluding, the layout change should be extended to the remaining part of the shaving head assembly lines. Doing this will result in five shaving head assembly lines. Moreover, two MIKA-machines will be transferred from the ‘cap finishing’ department to the assembly lines. Extending the layout change will result in similar improvements, including reduced FTE. On the basis of this, the payback period has been determined at 1.6 years.

Besides the layout, the diagnosis regarded process management and culture. Regarding process management, the variability at the shaving head assembly lines has a great effect on the required inventory and capacity utilization. The capacity utilization does often fall below 50%, while inventory covers up for several hours of variability between machines. Improving the efficiency therefore requires reducing variability. Variability can be caused by demand, production planning, setups, product variety, and interruptions in the continuous flow.

To limit product variety, product routings, and setups at the five shaving head assembly lines, fewer products should be dedicated to a shaving head assembly line. Due to the combination of additional machines, the installment of five shaving head assembly lines and the dedication of products, the production planning has been addressed.

Previous to the layout change, the shaving head assembly lines were seen as a single resource, which could deliver the work orders as requested by the downstream ‘cap finishing’ lines. After the layout change this is no longer possible.

Due to the changes, the overall capacity decreases from 1.76 million units per week to 1.61 units per week. Hence, a finished goods inventory of 3.3 million units is required. Furthermore, to limit the fluctuations of work orders at upstream processes, the production planning is leveled. Thereby, the more stable level of work orders results in a reduction of required FTE. Hence a reduction of €50.000 per year is achieved.

Concluding, installing the dedicated shaving head assembly lines results in a reduction of the overall capacity and limits flexibility. On the other hand, €550.000 can be saved each year, and reductions in inventory, material handling, lead time and travel distance are achieved. Additionally, due to a leveled planning, work orders upstream are stable and frequent, since the finished goods inventory is used to absorb monthly fluctuations in demand.

(5)

Terms and abbreviations

Terms

Availability The fraction of time a machine is available: Availability = MTBF/ (MTBF + MTTR), this can also be calculated as: planned production time – downtime / planned production time

Cutter assembly lines The production lines where the cutters are assembled and processed by the MSA, TV, SHA/MIKA.

Cycle time (CT)1 The average time between units of output emerging from the process (Slack, Chambers & Johnston, 2003)

Efficiency A measure of how well a system is performing while it is running (Nicholas, 2008)

Just in time production (JIT) JIT is management that focuses the organization on continuously identifying and removing sources of waste so that processes are continuously improved. JIT is also called lean production (Nicholas, 2008)

Kaizen Kai = thinking, Zen = good. Together they mean literally continuous improvement

Kanban Kanban is the Japanese word for ‘Card’ or ‘visual record’ and signals the need for production

Lead time A constant indicating the time allotted for production of a part on a given routing (Hopp & Spearman, 2008)

Lean thinking A way to specify value, line up value creating actions in the best sequence, conduct these activities without interruption whenever someone requests them, and perform them more and more effectively (Womack & Jones, 2003)

Little’s law WIP = TH x CT

Mean time between failure (MTBF) The average automatic production time of machines, in literature this is often regarded as MTTF (mean time to failure) (Hopp & Spearman)

Mean time to repair (MTTR) Machine downtime divided by the downtime frequency, which includes operator stops.

Phase 0 The situation at the cutter assembly lines which was in place at the start of this research (until 26-04-10)

Phase 1 Phase 1 concerns the situation at the cutter assembly lines after the installment of pilot line 1 and pilot line 2 (installed during week 17-24)

Phase 2 The situation which will be in place after all machines in hall 5 are re-structured in u-cells.

Single track Cutter type which consists of one cutter

Setup time Also known as changeover time, defined as the total time it takes for a machine to change to another product

Six-S Safety; Seiri (proper arrangement and organization); Seiton (orderliness); Seiso (cleanup); Seiketsu (cleanliness); Shitsuke (discipline)

(6)

Throughput time (TH)1 Also regarded as lead time, the time it takes for a part to finish the process, from start to end (Rother & Shook, 2003)

TPM Total productive maintenance

Triple track Cutter type which consists of two cutters plus a spider

TSG Technical support group

Value Stream The set of all the specific actions required to bring a specific product through the three critical management tasks of any business: the problem-solving task running from concept through detailed design and engineering to production launch, the information management task running from order-taking through detailed scheduling to delivery, and the physical transformation task proceeding from raw materials to a finished product in the hands of the customer (Womack & Jones, 2003)

Value Stream Map A visual representation of every process in the material- and information flow from customer to supplier.

WIP Work in process, the inventory between the start and end points of a routing

Abbreviations

CT Cycle time

CL Consumer Lifestyle

DPL Doplijmen / top gluing (machine)

FDS Function development shaving (department) FTE Full-time employee

FIS Factory information system HCA Hair chaimber assy

HQ8/RQ8 Mid-end product types

MIKA Mes in kap assemblage (Cutter in head assembly)

MSA Cutter assembly machine / Mes samenstel automaat (machine) MTBF Mean time between Failures

MTTR Mean time to repair

NPI New product introduction (department)

ODF Order driven factory, where the final assembly of shavers takes place OEE Overall Equipment Effectiveness

OG Ondersteunende groep (Supporting group)

OTD Technical maintenance team (ondersteunende technische dienst) PDF Product driven factory, where production of shaving heads takes place SHA Shaving head assembly (machine)

SKE Snij en knip element (Cut and chop element (department) SMED Single minute exchange of dies

SR3/SR1 High-end product types

TH Throughput time

TSG Technical support group

TV Cutter spark erosion (torus vonken)

VSM Value stream map

VO Advanced operator (vakman operator) VV Cutter spark erosion (vlak vonken)

WIP Work-in-process

1

(7)

Note about the Factory information system

Within Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten, a factory information system (FIS) is in place to gather data from all production processes. Data which can be found in the system includes OEE figures, MTBF/MTTR figures, quality data, production number, and more.

Specific data of the machines (time stamped data) is only available for one week. More general information, such as downtimes figures and production numbers can be addressed for several years. The information in the FIS is categorized as follows:

a) Automatic production b) Technical stops c) Operator stop

d) Stop due to the organization e) Stop due to repairs

f) No orders

g) Starving/blocking

The FIS calculates production times (a), technical breakdowns (b), stopping durations (b,c,d,e,f) quality rejects and blocking/starving (g) automatically. Hence, these figures can be perceived reliable. Note however, only the blocking/starving shorter than 10 minutes are perceived reliable. This will be explained below.

The actual reasons given by the FIS for stops are however depending on the input of operators. Operators can alter the reasons for stops (not technical breakdowns). Based on observation and discussions, this is however not reliable since operators do not give the right input to the system on a consequent manner. Thereby, the reason for a stop might not always be clear. Hence, wrong input leads to wrong conclusions. Some examples are:

 An ‘operator stop’ is actually a stop due to ‘waiting for technicians’

 The ‘no material’ status might largely be a stop due to the fact that no operator was available;

 ‘No input’ can be due to a coffee break’.

(8)

1. Introduction

First, an introduction to the company Philips will be given, followed by the description of the problem as mentioned by Philips. Next research method will be discussed in the chapter 2.

1.1. Orientation Royal Philips Electronics

“Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of ‘sense and simplicity’” (www.philips.com, 2010).

In total, Philips employs around 116.000 employees in more than 60 countries. Worldwide sales of € 23 billion in 2009 makes Philips a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare.

Philips is divided into three sectors: Healthcare, Lighting, and Consumer Lifestyle (CL). Philips CL employs approximately 25.000 people of which 1.500 are located in Drachten. At this facility, several consumer lifestyle products are developed such as men’s grooming products, vacuum cleaners, Senseo coffee makers, PerfectDraft and the Wake-up light. Next to this, Philips shavers are developed and produced in Drachten.

Millions of shavers are produced and distributed around the globe every year. To satisfy the latest customer demands Philips has a large Research and Development (R&D) department on site which is researching the newest shaving trends, shaving technologies and production technologies to produce the best shavers, which are subsequently manufactured in mass on-site in Drachten and in Zhuhai, China.

Subject of this research is the production of shavers in Drachten. The shavers exist of two main parts, namely the handle and the shaving unit. A shaving unit exists of two or three shaving heads. This shaving head exists of a cap, a spider, a cutter and bearing plate. This research focuses on the assembly process of the shaving heads.

(11)

1.2. Description of the problem

The original problem comes from the description of the assignment. Since it is not yet clear if this is the actual problem, pluralism is being used. The original problem stated by Philips CL is as follows. “The situation at the assembly lines for shaving cutters is currently competence orientated/process orientated. Philips is looking for ways to reorganize this assembly process in order to reduce wastes. Although current production capacity reaches over 100 million shavers per year, 70 million is reached while producing full time. It is indicated that stock in the process covers quality defects and causes rework and/or scrap which affects the performance. In order to be able to meet the continuously rising demand, performance must be improved.

Philips is adopting, implementing and further developing “lean” principles in both manufacturing (Lean Manufacturing) and R&D (Lean Development). In this part of the production area there is a conversion in progress to go from a process oriented flow to a single piece product oriented flow, which fits in the Lean philosophy. Within this lean philosophy there is a continuous strive for improvement”.

The assignment is to monitor the effects of the conversion and to compare this to the current situation. Furthermore, recommendations must be given to improve the situation at the assembly lines for shaving cutters.

Based on this, three main phases can be distinguished during the research, which are show in the figure below.

(12)

2. Method of research

In order to perform the research, the action research cycle (Coghlan & Brannick, 2001) will be used. Action research is fundamentally about change. It is applicable to the understanding, planning and implementation of change in groups, organizations and communities. Action research involves two main goals, namely solving a problem and contributing to science (Coghlan & Brannick, 2005). This research focuses at solving a problem.

This cycle comprises a pre-step (which is not shown in the figure), and the four basic steps including diagnosing, planning action, taking action, and evaluating action.

The pre-step: context and purpose, starts with an understanding of the context of the project. Diagnosing considers naming the issues and involves articulation of theoretical foundations and diagnosing the system. On the basis of this phase, the second phase ‘planning action’ will be carried out where plans for interventions are made. The third phase concerns implementing the plans and interventions. Finally the outcomes of the actions should be evaluated with a view to seeing if the original diagnosis was correct and if the action taken was correct. This then feeds into the next cycle of diagnosis.

Figure 2.1. Action research cycle

During the research, three main phases can be distinguished namely phase 0, phase I and phase II. Phase 0 regards the start of the project; phase I regards the installation of two pilot production lines; and phase II represents the future situation after further actions are carried out. In the figure below, the actions taken during the research are shown.

Figure 2.2. Action research cycle Philips CL

Diagnosing Phase 0 Planning action Taking action Phase I Evaluating action phase I Diagnosing phase I Planning action Taking action phase II Evaluating action phase II

Actions of Philips Consumer Lifestyle Action of Researcher

(13)

3. Problem analysis

To be able to understand the project, the pre-step is first carried out. In order to analyze the problem stated by Philips, a functional – instrumental analyses and a goal-reality-perception analyses will be carried out. Next the system to be researched is defined, followed by the goal of research which provides the research question and the causal conceptual model.

3.1. Functional – instrumental analysis

Problems indicated by any organization can be separated into two types of problems, functional and instrumental problems (De Leeuw, 2003). In order to determine whether a stated problem really is a problem that can be researched, a functional-instrumental analysis is performed. Instrumental complaints (complaints about a system itself) are not properly useable for a thorough study. However, instrumental complaints can lead to functional complaints. Functional complaints (complaints about the output of a system) are sufficient. Using the tryptich of Haselhoff (1987) will point out whether the complaint is functional in effectiveness, efficiency or sense. The reformulated original problem is as follows:

“The efficiency of the shaving head assembly lines is too low”.

According to Nicholas (2008), efficiency influences productivity, costs and quality. The efficiency is regarded as a measure of how well the system is performing while it is running (Nicholas, 2008). Low efficiency of the shaving head assembly lines indicate that due to inefficiencies, problems arise in production. Since this is a complaint about the output of the system, it is functional.

3.1.1. Goal-Reality-Perception analysis

Once the problem is determined to be functional, a goal-reality-perception analysis is carried out. The purpose of the goal – reality – perception analysis is to determine whether a problem is real. Goal and/or perception problems are problems which might exist due to unachievable unrealistic goals, or a perception of a problem which actually does not exist. When the problem type is a goal or perception problem, the solution is not to change the system. When the problem is stated to be a reality problem, a definition of the problem can be made.

Although production capacity during phase 0 reaches over 100 million shavers per year, 70 million is reached while producing full time. Furthermore, demand is steadily rising over the last years. Future prognosis reaches a total demand of approximately 90-95 million shavers in 2018. Also, ‘hidden costs’ are frequently made due to for example quality defects, as is stated by Eric Sloot (Senior Architect Production Systems). The capacity utilization, the rising demand, and ‘hidden costs’ are regarded as reality problems and hence provide a basis to improve the system.

The focus of the research is therefore to determine areas for improvement at the shaving head assembly lines and provide solutions and recommendations.

3.1.2. System definition

(14)

forming and hardening four components (cap, spider, bearing plate, and cutter). After that the cap is being finished by making slots and holes in the cap by means of an electrochemical process. Next a decorating top (deco-cap) is glued on the cap at the top gluing process (DPL, doplijmen).

Simultaneously the spider, cutter and bearing plate are assembled at the cutter assembly machines (MSA, Mes Samenstel Automaten) and are going through the cutter spark erosion modules (TV/VV, Torus vonkers/Vlak vonkers) to accurately shape the cutter into the right geometry and dimensions (as shown in the figure 3.1).

Figure 3.1 Cutter spark erosion

Once the cutter is treated by the TV/VV, and the decoration cap is added to the cap, the cutter is placed in the cap. Depending on the product type, two options are available to do this, namely, the cutter in cap assembly (MIKA, mes in kap assemblage) and the shaving head assembly (SHA).

After this, the shaving heads are ready to be assembled into a shaving unit (in hall 2 or 3 in Drachten), packed for service, or shipped to Zhuhai, China for further assembly. A description of the processes is provided in appendix 1. Below an overview of the production processes is provided. The red dotted line in figure 3.2 shows the boundaries of the system which is researched. This will be referred to as the ‘shaving head assembly lines’.

Figure 3.2. Overview production process

The production process inside the dotted line takes place in hall 5. At the moment, six cutter assembly machines (MSA) and one older cutter assembly station (MSA-old) are present plus nine cutter spark erosion modules (TV), a ‘flat’ spark erosion module (VV), and a shaving head assembly machine (SHA). During phase 0, The DPL/Mika is located in hall 6, next to the ‘finishing cap’ modules.

3.1.3. Stakeholder analyses

Freeman (1984) defines a stakeholder as a group or individual who is either influenced by the output of a system or who can influence the output of a system. The goal of stakeholder analysis is to determine which persons or groups are of interest, and whether the problem can be legitimized. Stakeholder Interested in output? Problem legitimized?

Production manager Yes Yes

OG (lean group) Yes Yes

Architect manager Yes Yes

Manufacturing director Yes Yes

Operators Yes Yes

Site Management Yes Yes

(15)

TSG technical support group Yes Yes

Logistics Yes Yes

Lean cost engineering Yes Yes

Interviews and research pointed out that these mentioned stakeholders all influence or are influenced by the output of the system.

3.2. Goal of research

In order to improve the efficiency of the shaving head assembly lines, constraints must be determined. Based on the aforementioned analysis the goal of research is as follows:

“Determining constraints for improvement at the shaving head assembly lines, and provide recommendations to improve the efficiency of the shaving head assembly lines”

3.2.1. Research question

In order to achieve the goal of research the following research question will be used:

“What are the constraints for improvement at the shaving head assembly lines, and how do these factors influence the efficiency of the system?”

Within Philips, the following factors for success are used: quality, safety, reliability, stock and costs. By means of these factors, the effects on the efficiency can be measured.

3.2.2. Causal Conceptual Model

The purpose of the causal conceptual model is to show which system characteristics could possibly cause the functional problem. System characteristics are properties of a system that are more or less stable and influence the behavior of the system (Prins, 2008). This model shows which aspects are included in the research. Based on knowledge from Philips, literature and logic, the model below has been made.

Figure 3.3. Causal conceptual Model

Efficiency Culture Process Management Layout Products Market

Shaving head assembly lines

(16)

Below the variables of the causal conceptual model will be explained, followed by data gathering methods.

Efficiency The efficiency is regarded as a measure of how well the system is performing while it is running (Nicholas, 2008)

Royal Philips Electronics The organization in which the production lines are situated affects the production, with respect to strategy and other decisions, such as investments and the future of the plant.

Market & Products The products which have to be produced and the demand of these products influence the total production and thus the shaving head production lines.

Upstream and downstream production processes The production processes which are performed before (upstream) and after (downstream) hall 5 influence the production concerning quality, quantity, timing and stability of demand.

Layout Layout regards the physical arrangement of factory facilities (Nicholas, 2008). Nicholas points out that ‘in many organizations the distance to process items totals miles, and the cumulative time involved is very large. Since typically no work is performed on items while they are being moved, time spent en route is wasted. All equipment and labor involved in moving and keeping track of the items is costly and wasteful too’. By rearranging the layout and putting equipment for sequential operations close together, a more efficient traffic pattern can be achieved.

Process management Process management involves the understanding, design, and improvement of processes (Klassen & Menor, 2007). Regarding process management, a trade-off exists between capacity utilization – variability – inventory. This implicates that ‘more of one means less of the other two’. For example, variability reduction facilitates lowering existing capacity or inventory buffers, without degrading performance. Variability can be regarded by means of 5 pull production requirements, which includes stability of demand, production planning and scheduling, product variety, setup times, and continuous flow.

Culture In order to be efficient, the right culture should be in place to support the production environment. This concerns the management commitment, level of autonomy, provision of information (Scherrer-Rathje, Boyle, and Deflorin, 2009). The lean philosophy propagates the empowerment of the workforce. As is stated by Nicholas (2008), “Opportunities for improvement are everywhere and you do not have to be a genius to find improvements. Still, many organizations operate as if improvement is solely a business of managers, consultants, and engineers”. In order to have employees seeking and suggesting improvements they must be given the opportunity and skills. The variables which affect the efficiency; layout, process management, and culture, also affect each other. Changing these variables will influence the shaving head production as a whole and consequently the efficiency.

3.2.3. Data gathering

In order to answer the research question data is gathered of the system. This is performed by means of the following methods.

(17)

In order to analyze the system, value stream mapping has been performed; interviews and discussions with operators, support personnel, logistics management, and production management have been held; observations have been issued; and documentation has been regarded, by means of SAP, internal documents and the factory information system.

3.2.4. Research structure

(18)

4. Theoretical framework

This thesis focuses on improving the efficiency of the shaving head assembly lines. Efficiency is regarded as a measure of how well the system is performing while running. Mentioned by several authors is that manufacturing companies need to redefine, redesign, and improve their productive systems to meet the competitiveness which is demanded by the challenges of present markets (Segerstedt 1999, Dangayach and Deshmukh 2001, Yusuf and Adeleye 2002, European Commission 2004, Modarress et al. 2005, Singh et al. 2006). Based on literature, lean thinking can be applied to help to achieve this goal.

Lean thinking is, according to Womack & Jones (2003) ‘a powerful antidote to muda (waste)’. Summarized, lean is a philosophy which provides a way of doing more and more with less and less. Philips has started implementing the lean philosophy which is regarded as the simply Philips Operating System (sPOS). This philosophy is closely related with the Toyota Production System which is focused at creating value for customers and reducing wastes in processes.

Following, the lean philosophy will be discussed, including an important tool i.e. value stream mapping. Thereafter, the culture, layout, and variability will be discussed which are important when implementing lean.

4.1. Lean Thinking

As stated by Womack & Jones (2003) lean ‘provides a way to specify value, line up value-creating actions in the best sequence, conduct these activities without interruption whenever someone requests them, and perform them more and more effectively’. In order to reach this, five principles should be regarded.

1. The lean philosophy starts with creating value. This value can only be determined by the ultimate customer, whereby the value is created by the producer. Without this definition by customers, one can provide a wrong good or service in the right way, which, in the end is waste

2. Secondly, the value stream must be identified. The value stream is defined as: “the set of all the specific actions required to bring a specific product through the three critical management tasks of any business: the problem-solving task running from concept through detailed design and engineering to production launch, the information management task running from order-taking through detailed scheduling to delivery, and the physical transformation task proceeding from raw materials to a finished product in the hands of the customer (Womack & Jones, 2003)

3. Once the value stream has been specified, value creating steps must be made to flow. This might however, require a total rearrangement of the culture since almost everyone is used to functions and departments. As acknowledged by Womack & Jones (2003) it seems that producing in batches is more efficient. Even though equipment is running hard and employees are working hard, this will automatically mean that products are waiting for long times

4. When flow is introduced, pull is the next step. Due to the flow, one can produce exactly what the customer wants, when it wants it. Thus, customers can tell what to produce; they pull products from you when they need this

5. The fifth principle concerns perfection. This concerns an effort into reducing time, space, costs, mistakes, and effort, which should be a continuous process

(19)

Figure 4.1. DOWNTIME – wastes 1. Producing defects (D) 2. Transportation (T) 3. Inventory (I) 4. Overproduction (O) 5. Waiting time (W) 6. Processing failures (E) 7. Unnecessary motion (M)

Besides these 7 wastes, there are numerous other wastes, for example waste of space, waste of knowledge, waste of talent (non-utilized talent), and waste in indirect labor. However, it is said to be useful to first focus on particular wastes of the classical wastes before attacking all at once, and after that, tailoring to the needs of the company. At Philips, the mnemonic reminder of DOWNTIME is used which represents all wastes, as stated above, plus non-utilized talents (N).

Value stream mapping

An important tool of lean is Value Stream Mapping (VSM). VSM is a visual representation of all activities in the current state which are necessary to guide a product through the production stream from raw material to the customer (Rother & Shook, 2003). VSM helps to visualize production and information streams and can provide insight into causes of wastes.

By means of the value stream analysis three types of actions will become visible along the value stream: value creating activities, non-value creating activities which are still necessary due to current technologies and assets, and non-value creating activities which can be avoided. Value creating activities are defined as steps that create value such as welding or molding but these are often accompanied with non-value adding activities such as quality inspections or movements.

4.2. Implementing lean

It should be clear that lean is not just a simple tool or technique (Hopp & Spearman, 2008). Rather it is a total package of tools, attitudes, philosophies, priorities, and methodologies. Implementing lean therefore requires several topics to be addressed. As mentioned in the lean principles, ‘a total rearrangement of the culture’ might be needed. Furthermore, the right layout should be in place to facilitate flow. Lean focuses at perfection; hence variability will be discussed.

Culture

In order to ensure a successful lean implementation, the cultural aspect is important. First, the management commitment to, and involvement in the lean effort is a key aspect (Scherrer-Rathje et al. (2009). Management must commit to the implementation of lean and employees must be able to see that management is committed. A second topic regards the autonomy of employees. Managers must enable employees to make decisions regarding lean improvements (Scherrer-Rathje et al. (2009). This can for example be done through kaizen events (events whereby improvements are tried to be found), whereby improvements are carried out by the employees. This will provide ownership to projects. Third, goals of lean must be communicated. Communicating strategic goals can prevent

6/8/2010

Waiting - wachten Defects – fouten/reparatie

Overproduction Meer maken dan de klant vraagt

Non utilized talent Niet benutten van talenten

Transport van producten D O W N T I Inventory Voorraad M E

Motion – bewegen op de werkplek Overprocessing Moeilijker maken dan het is

w

a

s

(20)

confusion of those involved. Fourthly, improvements due to a lean project must be communicated throughout the organization. This provides motivation for further projects and will make it easier to start lean projects elsewhere.

Layout

Implementing lean requires an appropriate layout. As stated by Nicholas (2008), ‘the kind of process and the configuration and spatial location of the components of the process have a tremendous effect on production lead time, cost, quality, and flexibility’. First, the kind of process regards in what way things are produced and the effort and resources required for this. Hereby, the following types can be distinguished (Nicholas, 2008):

 A project (unique, large-scale work effort to one or few end-items, such as buildings or ships)

 A Job (small-volume, somewhat small-scale work effort to one or few identical end-items, such as custom-ordered machines)

 Batch production (producing several or many identical end-items. Hereby items are produced in a batch)

 Repetitive or continuous operations (high-volume production of similar or identical end-items, such as cars or pens).

For a project or a job, almost every end-item requires a setup, while batch production and even more repetitive operations require relatively few setups. Nicholas (2008) points out that production efficiency improves because more attention, knowledge, and skill are directed at fewer kinds of things. Consequently, less time per unit is wasted, inventories can be smaller, and throughput rates higher and unit costs can be lower. This does not automatically mean that repetitive operations are always better than a job shop (small plant or shop where a small-scale project is performed) or a project.

The physical arrangement of components of processes is a major determinant of a manufacturer’s ability to produce a wide variety of products in any volume. Three common types of physical arrangement are the following:

 Fixed-position layout (the end-items stays at a fixed position while being produced. Typical examples include aircrafts, ships or houses, mostly applied for projects or jobs)

 Process layout (similar types of operations and focused together into functional areas or departments. Each job is routed through the areas according to its routing sequence)

 Product layout (all necessary operations for producing an item are arranged in sequence. A product layout fits most with repetitive or continuous operations)

Process layouts are flexible and are able to produce a variety of products, despite differences in demand or processing. On the other hand, a process layout is inefficient in terms of time, material handling, defects and inventory. According to Nicholas (2008) the goal should be to move away from a process layout towards a product layout, unless product mix consists primarily of small-quantity, custom-designed, or unique products.

Lean production works with little inventory, hence it is important to keep items flowing (Hopp & Spearman, 2004). Therefore it is not practical to have a process layout. A better option would be to locate machines that perform successive operations close to each other. Locating operations next to each other can be done in a linear arrangement. However, this is not well suited for having workers attending several machines. To facilitate material flow and reduce walking time, U-shaped lines are an option. Advantages of U-shaped cells include (Hopp & Spearman, 2004):

1. A worker can see and attend all machines with minimum walking

(21)

3. A single worker can monitor work entering and leaving the cell to ensure that this remains constant, thereby facilitating just-in-time flow

4. Workers can conveniently cooperate to smooth out unbalanced operations and address other problems as they surface.

Besides the appropriate layout, higher efficiency can be achieved by reducing variability in processes. This will subsequently be addressed.

Variability

Low efficiency can be linked to the fact that manufacturing processes are affected by variability. Variability is caused by the complexity and dynamism characterizing operating and competitive environments (Klassen & Menor, 2007). This variability can be coped with by installing buffers. The trade-off can conceptually be stated as follows:

Inventory = Capacity utilization factor x Variability factor

Hence, process performance can be improved through either:  Add more ‘buffer’ capacity

 Add more ‘buffer’ inventory  Reduce variability

Figure 4.2. The process management triangle

Source: Klassen & Menor (2007)

There are numerous ways to reduce the impact of variability on production processes. Nicholas (2008) provides 5 pull production requirements which can be linked to variability. Without meeting these requirements, pull production is hardly impossible to achieve. The pull production requirements are as follows:

1. Continuous, somewhat stable product demand 2. Uniform (level) production plans and schedules 3. Short setup times

4. Limited product variety

5. Continuous flow: few interruptions from equipment, quality, setup and other problems Below, the second and fifth pull production requirements will be elaborated.

The second pull production requirement regards the planning and scheduling. ‘A characteristic of an efficient production system is that jobs and materials flow smoothly through the system, most production lead time is value-added processing, and jobs hardly ever wait. Since production schedules dictate the frequency and level of changes in products and output volumes, smooth production flow is largely a matter of production scheduling’ (Nicholas, 2008).

(22)

due to the fact that output volume changes, capacity must alter as well and hence fluctuations in staff, shifts, and overtime occur (Nicholas, 2008). Leveling production is a strategy whereby the output is maintained at a constant level, using inventory to absorb monthly fluctuations in demand. In order to maintain a level production schedule some quantity of finished goods must be held as buffer stock, which is illustrated in the figure below. By producing on a leveled basis, upstream processes can produce more leveled and in a more routinely fashion (Nicholas, 2008). The lean philosophy propagates a level production plan. Nevertheless, as stated by Nicholas (2008) “If the forecasted demand shows considerable variation between seasons or months, the level of production must be adjusted seasonally or monthly, as needed”.

Figure 4.3. Chase strategy vs. level schedule

Regarding the fifth pull production requirement, several causes can be addressed which interrupt the continuous flow, including (Hopp & Spearman, 2008; Johnson, 2003; Klassen & Menor (2007)):

a. Natural variability b. Random outages c. Preventive maintenance d. Rework / quality defects e. Quality of incoming supplies f. Arrival variability between stations g. Batch size

h. Operator availability

i. Operator actions (working procedure)

Figure 4.4. Inventory tide The figure on the right visualizes the

principle of the continuous flow. The inventory (water-level) must be high enough to let the ship sail without hitting the rocks (variability factors).

(23)

5. Cycle 1: Start of research

This cycle represents the start of the research. This includes the diagnosis of phase 0, planning action for phase I, taking action for phase I, and evaluating action of phase I. This diagnosis is structured by means of the causal conceptual mode as shown in figure 3.3. The causal conceptual model shows that external factors influence the shaving head assembly lines, i.e. the organization of Royal Philips Electronics, the upstream and downstream processes and the market and products. Appendix 2 describes these factors. Below, the diagnosing and planning action phase will be discussed first, followed by the evaluation of action taken.

5.1. Diagnosis of phase 0

The first step in the action research cycle addresses the diagnosis of phase 0. As stated in chapter 2, Philips has decided to install two pilot lines for shaving head assembly. In order to be able to evaluate the outcomes of this, and to determine whether the actions taken were appropriate, the original layout is addressed first. Next, the process management, and culture are addressed.

5.1.1. layout

Layout regards the physical arrangement of factory facilities (Nicholas, 2008). According to Nicholas (2008) and Womack & Jones (2003) layout is quite important as a with respect to efficiency. The time required moving the items, the associated costs of systems to move and keep track of them, as well as the amount of space required for the process can all be reduced by an improved layout whereby sequential operations are close together.

The layout of phase 0 refers to the situation which was in place at the start of this research (until 26-04-10). This layout can be regarded as a process layout. In a process layout similar types of operations (similar equipment and tools, workers with similar skills and expertise) are clustered into functional work areas and each product is routed through the areas according to its routing sequence of operations (Nicholas 2008). An advantage of this type of layout is that any product that requires work in any of the work areas can be processed. At Philips, the product routing for each product is approximately the same. Nevertheless, products can easily be produced on another similar machine when having machine failures.

A process layout requires moving material over long distances. Moving and handling of material is non-value added. Depending on the exact route, 170 meters to 235 meters are travelled within hall 5. The process layout also requires significant effort in scheduling, routing, and tracking of jobs. Jobs waiting throughout a typical plant represent a sizable quantity of WIP inventory (Nicholas, 2008). Phase 0 - Plant level

(24)

Figure 5.1. Phase 0 layout on plant level

Phase 0 – Hall 5 level

In hall 5 (figure 5.2) the assembly of the cutter, spider and bearing plate takes place at the MSAs after which they are processed by the TV/VV. Subsequently products are moved to hall 6 or via the SHA to packing/further assembly.

Figure 5.2 Phase 0 layout in hall 5 (sideways)

Since the operations produce similar discrete units in a high volume, this can be regarded as repetitive operations (Nicholas, 2008). Stated by Nicholas (2008) is that waste cannot be eliminated from a process layout in repetitive operations. Although this layout provides flexibility concerning the production of products on multiple machines, this type of layout is inefficient in terms of time, material handling, defects, and inventory.

5.1.2. Process management

The second variable of the causal conceptual model concerns process management. This chapter focuses on identifying areas for operational improvement. As explained in the theoretical framework, a trade-off exists between capacity utilization – inventory - variability. As explained in the theoretical framework, variability influences both capacity utilization and inventory. To explore the extent to which variability affects the capacity utilization and inventory, the capacity utilization and inventory factors will be addressed first. In order to determine areas for improvement, variability will be elaborated thirdly.

Capacity utilization

(25)

The figure below shows the automatic production time versus the non-productive time for the MSA machines (figure 5.3), for the TV machines (Figure 5.4) and for the SHA and MIKA’s (figure 5.5) (for a period of 26 weeks, 0945-1017, which regards 4368 hours).

Figure 5.3. Production times MSA machines (26 weeks period)

Figure 5.4. TV machines (26 weeks period)

Figure 5.5. SHA / MIKA’s (26 weeks period)

The figures of the SHA and MIKA’s do not all reach the 4368 hours due to the fact that some machine parts are installed during or after the calculated time period (e.g. VW03, VW02).

As one can see from the figures above, machines are not producing automatically continuously. Deriving from the figures above, the machines are able to reach a much higher output or alternatively, machines can be switched off. Although a part of the non-productive time the machines are not scheduled to produce (the exact time that machines are not scheduled is unknown), a large part of the non-productive time can be linked to either variability or inventory.

Inventory

(26)

The inventory before the MSAs exists of the different components including bearing plates, spiders, and cutters.

 Regarding the bearing plates, approximately 315.000 pieces of bearing plates are available (45.000 pieces for each MSA). This number includes several types of bearing plates. Every MSA has thus for more than 22 hours of inventory (based on 1.8 seconds cycle time)

 Spiders are produced in batches of 20.000, whereby trolleys of 10 batches are used for each spider type to store the spiders at the shaving head production lines. A full buffer hence represents over 100 hours of production (based on 1.8. seconds cycle time)

 Concerning the cutters, a buffer is in place which can store four trolleys of 48.000 pieces for each product type. A trolley of 48.000 pieces can be processed in approximately 24 hours (based on 1.8 seconds cycle time). Still, the buffer of cutters before the MSAs is frequently empty for one product, while for another product a large buffer is build up. Consequently, the MSAs might not be able to produce according to their (upstream) kanban request. At the MSAs those components are assembled. Next, between the MSA, TV and SHA, the quantities of assembled cutters are controlled by a pull system. For each product type two trolleys of 45.000 assembled cutters can be stored between the MSA and TVs. After the TVs the buffer can store products up to 4 trolleys for each product type.

Within the machines, the inventory is regarded as WIP (work-in-process) which represents buffers up to several seconds. Hence, if machine-part A stops, machine-part B will run out of WIP within seconds, and will stop as well.

Concluding, The WIP can only cover for variability up to seconds. Large variability can be covered by the inventory before and between machines of the shaving head assembly lines.

Variability

Nicholas (2008): “variability reduction refers to continuing efforts to reduce process variation. Process variability is a prime source of waste and a contributor to poor quality, cost, and time performance”.

According to the process management triangle, variability affects the level of inventory and the capacity utilization. As explained in the theoretical framework, variability will be regarded by means of the five pull production requirements (Nicholas (2008), which are:

1. Continuous, somewhat stable product demand 2. Uniform (level) production plans and schedules 3. Short setup times

4. Limited product variety

5. Continuous flow: few interruptions from equipment, quality, setup and other problems These requirements will be discussed accordingly.

1. Continuous, somewhat stable product demand

The first requirement regards continuous, stable demand. Having very sporadic or fluctuating demand results in large variability. As is stated by the production manager, “specialties (products which are made occasionally) greatly influence production”.

(27)

Figure 5.6. Yearly forecast Shaving heads 2011 0 500 1.000 1.500 2.000 2.500 Ja n Ja n Fe b m rt ap r m e i ju n _jul au g se p o kt n o v d e c Demand 2011

Furthermore, the product range is fairly stable since products are serviced for at least 7 years. This on the other hand can result in sporadic demand for products that are almost out of service, as for example product type HQ6. Although demand for those products is low, the demand can still be regarded as fairly stable.

Even though demand faces seasonality, concluded can be that the product demand is reasonably continuous and stable.

2. Uniform (level) production plans and schedules

Although product demand is relatively stable, this does not automatically mean that the production plans and schedules are uniform, or leveled.

At Philips, the demand for PDF is converted into production plans for the ‘cap finishing’ line. Next, this is translated to the shaving head assembly lines. At the shaving head production lines, a monthly production planning is used for the volume to be produced. Furthermore, a weekly production planning is used to schedule the types to be produced and the changeover moments. This is performed in consensus with the downstream production lines.

Although weekly production plans are made, a pull production system is in place. In order to follow the pull, operations must be able to produce in response to downstream orders. Whatever the final processes produce, upstream processes must meet as well. The production planning that should be met by the shaving head assembly lines is based on the planning of ‘cap finishing’ which is shown in figure 5.7.

Figure 5.7. Production plan Shaving head assembly lines

0 50.000 100.000 150.000 200.000 250.000 300.000 350.000 400.000 450.000 500.000 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

Planning cap finishing 2011

(28)

Large fluctuations downstream result in large fluctuations upstream. If either the volume or product mix varies greatly over time, it will be very difficult for workstations to replenish stock just in time (Hopp & Spearman, 2008).

During phase 0, this planning results in large variability. Nevertheless, no problems are encountered if large fluctuations in production plans are issued, since the resources in hall 5 can be used to produce almost each product.

3. Short setup times

The time to change a process from one product to another must be short (Nicholas, 2008). Long setups consume valuable production time, and result in larger batch sizes. The table below shows an overview of the setup times for the processes of the shaving head assembly lines.

Table 5.1 Setup times

Machine Setup time

MSA 90 minutes

TV 30 minutes

DlynDl4 (MIKA-D) 4 hours ElynDl4 (MIKA-E) 4 hours

SHA 60 minutes

There are two main views on setups, a ‘western’ view and a ‘Japanese’ view.

Western setup view: Setups are a given, large lots are used to keep the number of changeovers to a manageable level (Hopp & Spearman, 2008)

Japanese setup view: Setups are non-value added activities. Reduce the setup times to the point where changeovers no longer prevent a uniform sequence (Hopp & Spearman, 2008)

Philips has adopted a ‘western’ view on setups. At the shaving head production lines, the experience and technical knowledge affects the setup time, and large lots are being produced in order to minimize the number of setups. Several reasons can be distinguished such as the fact that the setups are complicated, time-consuming and costly. Managing setups by means of large lots, is acceptable íf setups are unchallengeable, inflexible and unimprovable (Nicholas, 2008).

All of the actions stated above greatly affect the production costs, quality, and customer service and therefore setup-time reduction should be considered (Nicholas, 2008).

4. Limited product variety

Generally, a larger product variety requires operations to have more changeover moments, and have more products on stock. At Philips, different shaving heads exist of different cutters, bearing plates, spiders, and caps. Below, the variety of products and components is shown (diversity overview, Philips 2010):

16 types of shaving heads include:

 11 types of bearing plates

 7 types of spiders

 10 types of cutters (inner and outer)

 10 types of caps

 12 types of caps (after adding deco-caps)

(29)

5. Continuous flow

As mentioned in chapter 4, Philips has started with implementing sPOS. As is stated by Womack & Jones (2003), ‘the end objective of flow thinking is to totally eliminate all stoppages in an entire production process and not to rest in the area of tool design until this has been achieved’. In order to achieve continuous flow, several variability causes will be addressed, which include (Hopp & Spearman, 2008; Johnson, 2003; Klassen & Menor (2007)):

a. Natural variability b. Random outages c. Preventive maintenance d. Rework / quality defects e. Quality of incoming supplies f. Arrival variability between stations g. Batch size

h. Operator availability

i. Operator actions (working procedure) a. Natural variability

Natural variability concerns the minor fluctuations in process time due to differences in operators, machines and materials. This can for example be due to a change in material, or wearing, or a piece of dust in the operator’s eye. Since there is always natural variability, even in the most tightly controlled processes (Hopp & Spearman, 2008), this topic will not further be elaborated

b. Random outages

‘Equipment problems have a direct effect on production costs, quality and schedules’ (Nicholas, 2008). Random outages, preemptive outages or breakdowns are often the single largest cause of variability (Hopp & Spearman, 2008). The factory information system automatically calculates the stops due to machine failures, and therefore this information can be used.

Figure 5.8 shows the lost time due to downtimes. As percentage of the total available time in the measured 26 weeks period, some machines parts count stops due to failures up to almost 15% (for example machine part SM54 of the MSA50: 14,69%)), machine part VT65 of the TV65: 12,31%, and machine-part DL24 of the MIKA-D: 13,67%. However, comparing to the actual productive time, this results in downtime percentages up to 80% (see appendix 4). Hence, low availability results.

Figure 5.8 Lost production time due to downtimes (compared to total available time)

(30)

c. Preventive maintenance

Since maintenance is used to prevent breakdowns, this topic is important with respect to variability Maintenance at the shaving head production lines can be described as total productive maintenance (TPM). TPM includes the practices of preventive maintenance (preventive maintenance is the practice of tending to equipment so it will not break down and will operate according to requirements (Nicholas, 2008)). TPM gives the operators responsibility for performing maintenance activities such as simple repairs and lubricating equipment.

The maintenance activities include the following:

 Monitor equipment

 Fixing breakdowns

 Cleaning of the machines and critical parts during the shift

 Preventive maintenance

 Optimization of machines

 Predictive maintenance (determines the run length of parts)

 A total inspection of the machines, every 5 weeks (by the owner-operator)

 Total cleaning of workfloor once a week

 Replace parts that almost wear out (advanced operators (VO) / OTD) The escalation model of the breakdowns is as follows

1. Operators (minor disruptions, based on experience and knowledge)

2. Advanced operators ((are operators with technical education) address difficult disruptions) 3. OTD (technical maintenance team)

4. TSG (Technical support group)

However, no formal time span is determined for fixing or addressing the next person.

Figure 5.9 Toolbox for operators Concerning the maintenance, the following three

points where noted.

First, not all operators have detailed understanding and/or experience of the machines. Since, operators do have a toolbox, they can alter machine settings, including parts they do not possess knowledge of.

Second, optimization of machines and finding solutions for equipment problems are tried to be found by the advanced operators, OTD, or TSG. Thereby, operators are hardly addressed since technical knowledge of machines is required. Only a

part of the equipment problems is solved, because optimization projects are started when problems occur very often and become ‘big issues’.

Thirdly, preventive maintenance of several machines (e.g. adjacent TVs) is performed at once, by a single operator. Consequently, the machines are waiting for the operator.

(31)

d. Rework / quality defects

Rework and quality defects are one of the eight wastes as defined in chapter 4. An important factor for lean to become successful concerns commitment to quality, in procurement, production processes, product design, problem troubleshooting, and supplier selection.

Quality is embedded already in several areas. For example, the product designers are trained in order to become six sigma green belts, while their supervisors are trained to become black belts or even master belts. Staff related to the production all receive a Simply Philips training in which they are provided with tools which they can use in their own work. Although operators are not trained, they are informed by their supervisors.

Quality management activities provide support for lean through establishment of a process that is in control (Hayes 1981). This facilitates the development of a continuous flow of goods through the process, and allows buffer inventory reduction (Takeuchi and Quelch 1981). The provision of accurate and timely feedback about the manufacturing process permits shop floor personnel to detect, diagnose, and remedy process problems as they occur.

The machines at the shaving head production lines are not able to do rework. Quality defects however do occur. Based on information from the factory information system, the following table derived concerning the fall off rate over a time period of 6 months:

Table 5.2. Fall off rate processes

Machine Rejects Good products Rejects in % of total produced

SM0X (MSA-old) 42,956 6.210.790 0.69% SM2X 48.106 4.533.574 1.05% SM3X 64.582 5.653.468 1.13% SM4X 98.854 4.376.989 2.21% SM5X 136.663 3.055.642 4.28% SM6X 61.532 5.096.094 1.19% SM7X 37.326 6.349.752 0.58% VV2X 513.750 16.208.700 3.07% TV2X 2.089 447.978 0.46% TV3X 17.635 3.539.782 0.50% TV40 9.472 1.614.576 0.58% TV45 7.862 2.806.028 0.28% TV50 6.008 2.467.505 0.24% TV55 5.108 2.462.509 0.21% TV60 12.762 1.899.349 0.67% TV65 11.532 1.966.609 0.58% TV70 10.575 1.662.354 0.63% SHA 35.565 1.927.353 1.81% MIKA-D 29.227 4.944.575 0.59% MIKA-E 108.716 5.702.936 1.91%

The total number of product rejects of the MSA and VV/TV machines equals 1.086.812 compared to 35 million good products. Besides the fall off rate at processes, products are checked after the cutter spark erosion modules. Operators store the products on a dedicated spot, and the next shift visually checks a part of the products made in the previous shift.

(32)

four months, 2.133.370 products have been issued for further quality checks, which all are checked manually. Of these 2 million pieces, 24% has been defined as scrap, which is equal to 2,59% of the total amount. Overall, the fall off rate is calculated at 5.60%.

The term ‘six sigma’ describes the quality control practices of Motorola in the 1980s. Initially this referred to the statistical method for driving defects to very low levels. Finally, this method is progressed into a comprehensive quality management system complete with a problem-solving methodology and organizational structure. The core of six sigma is a model that links process variability to defects (Hopp & Spearman, 2008). The table below shows several sigma levels which can be used as reference for the level on which Philips is currently performing.

Table 5.3. Sigma levels

Sigma Level Defects Per Million Products

1 690.000 2 308.537 3 66.807 4 6.210 5 233 6 3.4

During phase 0, the level of the shaving head production lines is close to a sigma level of 3 (56.000 defects per million opportunities). The total costs of scrap, by producing 35 million products is calculated at a € 745.000 loss. The calculation can be found in appendix 5. Based on yearly production volume of 70 million products, this equals a yearly loss of almost €1.5 million.

Product failures are mostly caused by machine failures. When problems occur often, an improvement team is made to address the problems. When new products are introduced, failures of these products are kept track in more detail and the main issues with these products are tried to be solved.

Concluding, quality is an important topic with respect to improved efficiency. Due to the long feedback loop at the shaving head assembly lines, defects become batch specific.

e. Quality of incoming supplies

Good quality supports good operations. Reducing scrap serves to increase capacity and decreases congestion. Good quality at suppliers gives more reliable deliveries (Hopp & Spearman, 2008). In order to check the quality of the incoming suppliers, manual quality checks are performed on a random basis. Furthermore, each upstream process possesses automatic quality checks. At Philips, the exact number of defect supplies is unknown, therefore the exact effect on variability cannot be determined.

f. Arrival variability

Arrival variability concerns the variability in product arrivals to machines and/or machine parts (within machines). Arrival variability can be caused by several factors, such as natural process times, breakdowns, or jamming.

Improving the efficiency of the shaving head assembly lines at Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten

Improving the efficiency of the shaving head

assembly lines at

Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten

Improving the efficiency of the shaving head

assembly lines at

Philips Consumer Lifestyle Drachten

Master thesis Technology Management

Preface

Management Summary

Terms and abbreviations

Table of contents

1. Introduction

1.1.

Orientation Royal Philips Electronics

1.2.

Description of the problem

2. Method of research

3. Problem analysis

3.1.

Functional – instrumental analysis

3.1.1. Goal-Reality-Perception analysis

3.1.2. System definition

3.1.3. Stakeholder analyses

3.2.

Goal of research

3.2.1. Research question

3.2.2. Causal Conceptual Model

3.2.3. Data gathering

3.2.4. Research structure

4. Theoretical framework

4.1.

Lean Thinking

Value stream mapping

4.2.

Implementing lean

5. Cycle 1: Start of research

5.1.

Diagnosis of phase 0

5.1.1. layout

5.1.2. Process management