ES3J3-15 Lean Operations and Quality Improvement
Introductory description
Management of Lean Operations and Quality Improvement
Module aims
The module aims to enable participants:
To understand how organizations manage and improve products and processes to generate value for customers and contribute to organizational performance goals. In particular it focuses on how organizations clarify customer requirements, design and develop products and processes which deliver those requirements reliably over time and minimise risk, waste, variation and cost.
To develop understanding of the principles of lean operations and where and how they can be applied and sustained.
To describe the limits of lean operation: what factors are constraining application and how various industries have sought to relieve these constraints.
To help prepare the future technology manager to exploit recent thinking and overcome resistance to change by giving them an opportunity to explore the subject from various perspectives.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Introduction: The module explains the techniques available for the effective management of lean production operations. The Toyota Production System (TPS) is used as the exemplar of Lean principles and forms a backbone around which industrial engineering, quality (through variability and waste reduction) and other technical subjects are organised. Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is introduced and used subsequently in laboratory sessions and/or assignments.
Alternative policies for the control of physical resources throughout the production system are compared, primarily Pull vs. Push (JIT and MRP/ERP). Industrial Engineering: Techniques for work measurement. Time and Method study. Human factors including job design and ergonomics. Flexibility of facilities and equipment. Cell design principles, single piece work flow, setup reduction and work standardisation.
Waste elimination: Inventory Management techniques for lean operation.
Organisation and management of distribution: linkages with manufacturing control system.
Customer value. Customer focus. Lean Six Sigma. Design for Six Sigma. Reliability. Statistical Process Control. Process Capability. Quality Function Deployment. Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis. Value Stream Mapping. Fault Tree Analysis Weibull analysis
Reliability block diagrams Reliability prediction Reliability testing concepts
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Appraise where and how Lean Operations can be applied and sustained. Communicate the principles and practice of customer focus and the concept of value. (C3, C14, M3, M14)
- Calculate and recommend key resource requirements and identify resource constraints using analytical techniques. Assess levels of variability and waste within a process. (C1, C2, M1, M2)
- Analyse a manufacturing process using Value Stream Mapping critique and propose lean solutions. Apply appropriate combinations of tools to improve customer value and organizational performance. (C1, C3, C6, M1, M3, M6)
- Interpret the outputs of analyses to determine critical causes of poor performance and present the data effectively to drive quality improvement action. (C2, C15, M2, M15)
- Evaluate risk and assess reliability in complex engineering situations. (C9, M9)
Indicative reading list
Lean Thinking, Womack and Jones, 2nd edition, 2003
The Toyota Way, Jeffrey Liker, 2004.
Toyota Kata, Mike Rother, 2010.
Lean Production Simplified, Pascal Dennis, 3rd edition, 2015.
The Machine That Changed the World, Womack & Jones, 1991
Learning To See, Rother and Shook, Lean Enterprise Institute, 1999
Seeing The Whole, Womack & Jones, Lean Enterprise Institute, 2002
The Toyota Production System. Monden, Yosuhiro. 2d ed. Atlanta: Institute of Industrial Engineers, 1993.
Quality Management e-book (2011); Graeme Knowles; http://bookboon.com/en/quality-management-ebook ISBN: 0-945320-45-0 (free downloadable PDF written specifically to support the course)
Six Sigma e-book (2011); Graeme Knowles; http://bookboon.com/en/six-sigma-ebook ISBN: 0-945320-45-0 (free downloadable PDF written specifically to support the course)
Practical Reliability Engineering (2012); P.D.T. O’Connor & A. Kleyner; John Wiley ISBN: 978-
0-470-97981-5
Design for Six Sigma (2009); K. Yang and B. El-Haik; McGraw Hill: ISBN: 0-07-141208-5
Advanced Topics in Statistical Process Control (1995); D.J. Wheeler; SPC Press ISBN: 0-945320-45-0
Quality management for Organizational Excellence: Introduction to Total Quality 8th Edition (2016); D.L. Goetsch & S. Davis; Pearson; ISBN13: 9780133791853
View reading list on Talis Aspire
Subject specific skills
Ability to conceive, make and realise a component, product or process.
Ability to be pragmatic, taking a systematic approach and the logical and practical steps necessary for, often complex, concepts to become reality
Subject specific skills
Knowledge and understanding of the need for a high level of professional and ethical conduct in engineering and the
use of technical literature, other information sources including appropriate codes of practice and industry standards
Ability to be risk, cost and value-conscious, and aware of their ethical, social, cultural, environmental, health and
safety, and wider professional engineering responsibilities
Transferable skills
Numeracy: apply mathematical and computational methods to communicate parameters, model and optimize solutions
Apply problem solving skills, information retrieval, and the effective use of general IT facilities
Communicate (written and oral; to technical and non-technical audiences) and work with others
Plan self-learning and improve performance, as the foundation for lifelong learning/CPD
Exercise initiative and personal responsibility, including time management, which may be as a team member or leader
Awareness of the nature of business and enterprise in the creation of economic and social value
Overcome difficulties by employing skills, knowledge and understanding in a flexible manner
Appreciation of the global dimensions of engineering, commerce and communication
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 25 sessions of 1 hour (31%) |
| Seminars | 5 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Other activity | 2 hours (2%) |
| Private study | 48 hours (60%) |
| Total | 80 hours |
Private study description
48 hrs self-study including engagement with online learning
Other activity description
2x1h revision class
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group D
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
|||
| Individual Assignment | 40% | Yes (extension) | |
|
Apply value stream mapping and other quality improvement tools to a given scenario. Identify wastes and quality problems, setting these in the context of the published theory and prioritising areas for improvement. |
|||
Reassessment component is the same |
|||
Assessment component |
|||
| Examination | 60% | No | |
|
Appraise where and how lean operations and quality improvements can be applied by selecting appropriate solutions and valid arguments from the set of options provided AND calculate key resource requirements and constraints using analytical techniques to select from a set of candidate answers.
|
|||
Reassessment component is the same |
|||
Feedback on assessment
Individual written comments on coursework using a combination of marked up rubric and narrative
Cohort feedback on examinations
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 3 of UESA-HH75 BEng Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering
- Year 4 of UESA-HH74 BEng Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering with Intercalated Year
- Year 3 of UESA-HH76 MEng Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering
- Year 4 of UESA-HH77 MEng Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering with Intercalated Year
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 3 of UESA-HH77 MEng Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering with Intercalated Year
This module is Optional for:
- Year 3 of UESA-H113 BEng Engineering
- Year 4 of UESA-H111 BEng Engineering with Intercalated Year
-
UESA-H112 BSc Engineering
- Year 3 of H112 Engineering
- Year 3 of H112 Engineering
- Year 3 of UESA-H114 MEng Engineering
-
UESA-H115 MEng Engineering with Intercalated Year
- Year 3 of H115 Engineering with Intercalated Year MEng
- Year 4 of H115 Engineering with Intercalated Year MEng
This module is Core option list B for:
- Year 3 of UESA-HN15 BEng Engineering Business Management
- Year 4 of UESA-HN13 BEng Engineering Business Management with Intercalated Year