TAKT TIME AS A LEVER TO INTRODUCE LEAN PRODUCTION IN MIXED ENGINEER-TO-ORDER/MAKE-TO-ORDER MACHINE TOOL MANUFACTURING COMPANIES

摘要

The main purpose of this paper is to show how takt time and flow concepts can act as a lever to introduce lean production into the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) machine tool manufacturing sector; a sector characterized by High Variety and Low Volume (HVLV) product configurations and mixed Engineer-To-Order (ETO)/Make-To-Order (MTO) production systems. A pilot implementation in such a company confirms that the takt time approach can not only be applied to a significant part of the manufacturing process, but also implies an increase in manufacturing efficiency. In terms of manufacturing efficiency, the key outcomes are an increase in the reliability of lead time, an increase in productivity, a simplification of management functions, and the introduction of a continuous improvement culture. The introduction of a takt time based or paced production system has been supported by the Value Stream Mapping technique (VSM) specially adapted to such kinds of manufacturing systems.