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The study focuses on identifying the benefits of implementing the region's socio-economic policies according to the principles of lean production to overcome the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The author investigates the problems of socio-economic development of the regions of Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic, identifies the most significant threats to the regions (rising unemployment, falling average per capita incomes of the population, reduction of regional budgets and growth of regional public debt). The author proved that the principles of lean production can be successfully implemented as fundamental in the implementation of the socio-economic policy of the region. The focus of regional socio-economic policies during the pandemic should be the optimization of the cost of maintaining the region's public administration and increasing the quality of regional governance;improving regional policies to support people in the aftermath of a pandemic;developing the infrastructure and businesses implementing lean technologies. The author developed an algorithm for the formation and realization of regional socio-economic policy according to the principles of lean production during the pandemic, as well as describes the features of its implementation in the Belgorod Region. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a methodological approach that originated in industry and has, over time, become increasingly popular in healthcare. Its tool-to, the DMAIC cycle, consisting of 5 main steps, offers methodological rigor that helps improve processes by comparing results quantitatively. In this study, the LSS and in particular the DMAIC cycle was used to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on patients' length of stay in the Emergency Department (ED-LOS) of the Evangelical Hospital "Betania” of Naples (Italy). The study revealed a general increase in ED-LOS due mainly to the new steps that the hospital added to the standard flow, such as those for performing screening swabs, and the reduction of treatment stations, with the exception of patients discharged home for whom there was a statistically significant reduction. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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The prolonged global coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) has affected all aspects of life, economy, and society, especially small and medium businesses. To meet this challenge, many companies are transforming models and reorganizing production and operations to adapt to this situation. These companies have adopted a variety of philosophies to remove non-value-Added activities from their production processes to maintain efficiency, flexibility, and profitability. In the context of Industry 4.0, solutions are ready to combine automation technology together with the Lean manufacturing approach. Furthermore, when it comes to efficient use of resources (financial, labor, materials, machine, and equipment), Industry 4.0 should be applied to Lean Processes. Thus, this article shows how to apply the Lean method to optimize plant design to cut waste, improve the efficiency of input resources, increase labor productivity by reducing labor costs, waiting (man-To-man;man-machine), reduced movement, and redundancy of operations in the workflow. Especially, the paper uses the SLP (Systematic Layout Planning) method to arrange the areas, material flow, and supply chain in the factory, Lean application to visualize the factory and combines IoT (Internet of Things). Moreover, using automation and Lean Production theory will support much for factory construction in the future, minimizing irrationalities when applied in practice. The result of the paper will mention a case study on the design and simulation of a face mask plant © 2022 IEEE.
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Continuous Improvement (CI) is a principle being adopted in many organizations around the world. It is present in relevant excellence models such as the Toyota Way, Shingo Model, and Lean Thinking. CI was implemented some years ago in a Public Company (Lipor) based in Porto, dedicated to municipal waste treatment, but the Covid-19 pandemic created some important challenges. The forced adoption of new technologies associated with I4.0 required important changes in the existing CI routines. This paper aims to assess the influence of gender, education, age group, and time in the company on adopting new technologies used in their IC routines. This study, based on employees' perceptions through questionnaires, shows that the CI system had, in general, a positive impact on their work and overall performance. Regarding the effect of forced teleworking caused by COVID-19 on office workers, this study shows that age, gender, education, and years in the company have an impact on the effective adoption of new technologies associated with digital transformation and Industry 4.0. The study also shows that those technologies effectively allow routines and culture of CI to be maintained when workers are forced to work remotely.
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Lean management and resilience are studied as significant paradigms in the supply chain in unaggregated domain. As studied in the literature, the resiliency can contribute to the flexibility of supply chains for fulfilling the fluctuations by enabling redundancy. However, the level of redundancy can be an interesting topic from lean management perspective to be managed. This paper has focused on the context of aggregation of Lean and resiliency management these and has proposed a trade-off matrix method. The integration and aggregation of lean and resilient supply chain (SC) practices are investigated with a special focus for creation of synergy. The paper also has investigated the impact of this integration on SC performance through a case study in context of the COVID-19 ventilator production. This case has been designed to highlight the tradeoff analysis among lean and resilience concepts. By applying an Analytic Hierarchy Process model, the paper has enabled a decision-making framework for determination of redundancy level. The data collection for including and documentation of information about various sections of the supply chain is conducted to determine the optimal solution by service level evaluation. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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The Railway industry is facing a productivity issue as is often publicised with regular delays in rolling stock projects [1]. Plus, there is a growing need for innovation in remote services and management that have become the new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic. It drives a need for better Systems Engineering (SE) methods which include increased automation and dependence between systems and system performance, increasing number of disparate specialist engineering teams. [2] The aim of this paper is to develop an adaptable model which expresses the operational behavior of a train system in different railway environments, this model will be quickly and accurately configured to a specific environment to define the needs for a specific passenger service mission. Preventing late changes (cost and time-saving) by generating the right system requirements at the very early design phase through agile Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach is the key benefit. Another goal includes increased productivity by minimizing unnecessary manual transcription of concepts when coordinating the work of large teams. This Generic* functional model of a Rolling Stock system can be configured to define specific products for an operator or Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Copyright © 2022 by ASME
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Learning outcomes: After working on the assignment questions, the learners can achieve the following learning outcomes: to deliberate on the emerging cloud-based business models in the food-tech sector;to scrutinize the challenges faced by a start-up while selecting an expansion model;and to purpose strategies and solutions for scaling up the business. Case overview/synopsis: Ms Megha Bafna, the founder, conceptualized starting Keep Good Shape (KGS) in the year 2017. She started the business with a seed capital of INR 3,500 (US$54.13) from her savings. The idea stuck to her mind as she was working with a real estate firm, and every day, she packaged salad for her lunch. Bafna thought that if someone makes the salad available, she will buy it. Based on this this unmet need of the consumers, KGS started as a passion in 2017 and became a full-fledged business in 2021 with 400 daily customers and 38 full-time employees. Today, she serves 22 different salads, including customized salads for customers with lifestyle diseases based on a subscription model. She grew her organization using social media tools such as Facebook and WhatsApp without using any traditional promotion tools. COVID-19 pandemic has increased her orders by almost 10% as healthy meals emerged as people’s choice in 2021. In 2021, she has to choose between expansion through cloud-based kitchen business models across India. She has been confused about selecting the suitable cloud-based kitchen business model and contemplating about funding if she has to expand the business. Complexity academic level: An instructor can use this case in the courses of entrepreneurship/strategy subject of a graduate/MBA program. The case study sensitizes the students about setting up a new business and organizing to scale it up further. Supplementary materials: Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code: CSS 3: Entrepreneurship. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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Every system is intended to create a “value”. Value is “all that contributes to the market form or function of a product or service in such a way those buyers are willing to pay for it”. A very common term we encounter is waste. The Lean concept works by recognizing all activities that “do not add value” or what customers are not willing to pay. Lean production concept has recognized seven such losses, even more ones according to Author of article. The basic message of Lean Production concept is Lean Manufacturing = Common Sense. Think about the nuclear weapons race, recent wars, global warming, environmental pollution, GMO and fast food, various cancer causes, modern slavery, poverty, corrupt financial systems, the recent COVID- 19 outbreak, and so on. If we are smarter today why don’t we use that knowledge to be happier and create positive changes both as a collective and as individuals? Isn’t the most valuable form of knowledge that which can make us happier? Do we really know and understand what values are most important in our lives? Application of “custom design” value architecture through values type identification, time, value definition and value laws are shown in this article. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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BACKGROUND: Given the aggressive spread of the novel coronavirus disease, more active implementation of the lean production principles is necessary for the construction of a new medical organization (MO) model that can be more effective for the generalization of existing experience and development of ways to overcome arising problems. AIM: To identify key problems that arise during the formation of a new MO model based on a lean approach and to substantiate recommendations for overcoming them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The depth of the implementation of the principles of lean production was examined through a content analysis of the activities of MO positioning themselves as regional leaders. A systematic assessment of the results of their activities was developed based on the criteria of a new MO model providing primary medical and sanitary care. Seven medical institutions from different regions of the Russian Federation, i.e., the Volgograd, Khanty–Mansiysk, Vologda, Belgorod, Kirov, Sevastopol and Vsevolozhsk, and Leningrad regions, were selected as study objects. Their geographical separation allowed identifying systemic problems in the introduction of the lean-manufacturing methodology and to present their generalized assessment. Trends in changing consumer preferences of MO patients were evaluated, the depth of the implementation of the lean approach in Russian MO was analyzed, the problems of creating a new MO model were identified, and the directions of overcoming them were determined. RESULTS: The content analysis of the depth of the successful implementation of MO activities identified the most frequently realized and completely unrealizable criteria of the new MO model. On this basis, three key problems of the application of the lean production principles in Russian medical institutions were identified: the lack of an integrated approach to the reorganization of activities, high formality of ongoing transformations, and insufficient involvement of all participants in providing medical services. These problems are possibly overcome by the following promising solutions: 1) informing medical staff about the results of already–implemented projects and increasing the level of visualization in management, 2) preferential realization of short–term, but effective projects, at the first stages, 3) application of the cascade principle of educating employees about the principles of lean production, 4) creation of a motivation system that supports continuous improvements, 5) expansion of the interaction between MO of different profiles, and 6) increasing the level of involvement of management, medical staff, and patients in MO processes. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate the high awareness of the need to apply lean thinking in the activities of a modern MO. The degree of implementation of the principles of lean production becomes a determining condition for increasing the efficiency of their activities and competitiveness in the market of medical services. © Eco-Vector, 2022. All rights reserved.
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At the beginning of 2020, a virus discovered in the province of Wuhan in China identified as SARS- COV-2, denominated COVID-19, began to spread globally, being identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic on March 13 since the epidemic has spread to several countries in all the continents and affects a large number of people (WHO 2020). In Peru the entry of COVID-19 caused the Peruvian government to take different options to control its spread such as mandatory quarantines and lockdowns. In front of this scenario, the Architecture Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector had to reinvent itself since it is a sector where work depends on a significant amount of personnel (IPE 2020). Furthermore, the level of industrialization in Peru is significantly lower compared with industrialized countries, generating that the consumption of labor is greater as well as the cost of the project, searching for new solutions to improve productivity. Moreover, considering the new sanitary measures for COVID-19 including new health protocols, controls, and improvement of working sanitary standards. Therefore, the main purpose of the present paper is to present a planning proposal for a system that integrates the Lean tools and the COVID-19 protocol for armed concrete buildings in Peru and present the preliminary results of its modification on the production system, design of work schedules, planning meetings, among other aspects of the construction system. © Prof. Luis F. Alarcón and Assoc. Prof. Vicente González, IGL2021 All rights reserved.
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The use of games in engineering teaching is common practice in classes with lecturers all over the world. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, undergraduate civil engineering education became virtual and remote. In this context, many games traditionally played in person among students have undergone adaptations to the digital environment. The game "Parade of Trades" or "Parade Game" is used worldwide to teach the effects of variability in construction workflows in linear, dependent and sequential production systems. An adapted version of the game to the virtual environment was proposed by ASKM & Associates LLC and Navilean LLC. It was presented at the International Group for Lean Construction Congress (IGLC 2020). This version of the Parade Game was applied in three different high education institutions in Brazil and Chile. The game's effectiveness for teaching the variability concept was tested by administering a questionnaire before and after the game with the Production Planning and Control course's students in Civil Engineering. The main contribution of this study is the evaluation of learning brought by the game. Results show an increase of 20% in the correct answers in the post-game questionnaire, demonstrating that the students captured the game's main concepts. © Prof. Luis F. Alarcón and Assoc. Prof. Vicente González, IGL2021 All rights reserved.
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Lean simulations are an effective way to learn Lean principles and experience the impact on process optimization. However, to date, in construction these have mostly been conducted physically on site or in the office. As digital solutions for collaboration and teaching are increasingly developed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lean simulations also need to evolve by being decentralized from the project team and driven by digitalization. This paper examines the adaptation and creation of Lean simulations that can be run on a digital platform that supports interactions between multiple participants in real time. Specifically, two simulations were created through a three-phase iterative development. The first simulation focuses on Lean principles and the second on the Last Planner® System. To evaluate the developed digital simulations, feedback was collected from the participants through questionnaires. It can be noted that all rating results were in the upper range. Research objectives were achieved: The evaluation of the technology, the fun and the design indicate that the participants can successfully interact with each other via the chosen digital platform. It also proved that digital simulations offer high flexibility, integration of technology with low costs and effort as well as a high level of sustainability. © Prof. Luis F. Alarcón and Assoc. Prof. Vicente González, IGL2021 All rights reserved.
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Nowadays information technologies have been essential for the advancement of teaching and professional development. The world has experienced a pandemic crisis based on a virus called Sars-cov 2,this changed the way of living and the way of learning, now we face the challenge of learning to distance, the virtual laboratory allows us to acquire knowledge and develop skills based on a series of practices that the student carries out, this integrates Lean Manufacturing tools in order to give added value to the client, and by effect reducing waste to the company, which is one of the characteristics most important in lean philosophy. The purpose of this work is to facilitate the scope of the topics giving students the use of a quality process into the virtual reality simulator that ensure the quality of knowledge transmission based on practices designed to learn mechatronics and lean manufacturing topics. A virtual reality application is used to simulate a physical laboratory, which consists of: Research, Development and Testing steps, using Unity and 3DMax software. The virtual laboratory for a distance modality in the mechatronics career was carried out at technical high school, and developed by students of the mechanical and electrical engineering faculty, and currently designed for 2 practices, one of them is based on a DMAIC cycle [1]. Copyright © 2021 by ASME
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This research aims at evaluating possible ways of implementing the lean six sigma tools and principles to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to develop Competitiveness and resilience during and after the pandemic. The emergence of COVID-19's economic repercussion on MSMEs is part of a global a crisis that has positioned SMEs under enormous strain to survive, requiring them to effectively adapt to changes in crisis situations. SMEs make a substantial contribution to various economies globally, as evidenced by the fact that they account for a large portion of the countries' GDP while also providing a source of income for millions of individuals. SMEs are the most susceptible during the pandemic because of their limited access to capital, technology among other causes. This study will provide MSMEs' recommendations and remain competitive through resilience by developing inherent operational excellence for continuous improvement in their business process. Copyright © 2021 by Naudé Scribante. Permission granted to IAMOT to publish and use.
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This research aims to investigate a possible integration between Lean Six Sigma tools and principles and Industry 4.0 technologies to address pre-harvest and post-harvest food waste with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. With the projected increase in world population by United Nations to increase by 33% in 2050 and 99% increase in Sub-Saharan African in the same year. These foreseen changes will present global food security concerns in the future, with the greatest demand growth from the Sub-Saharan African region. The United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization predict that about 1.3 billion tons of food are globally wasted or lost per year, which also further adds to a global food security concern, bringing about a rise in food prices due to growing consumer demand. To address this impending challenge on food security globally, we aim to introduce analytics by applying advanced information systems synergies with the lean six sigma DMAIC methodology to systematically proffer solutions to production waste by understanding the critical factors responsible and curbing them with the latest innovations. This integration will bring about a more resilient food system, especially during and after the Covid-19. Copyright © 2021 by Naudé Scribante. Permission granted to IAMOT to publish and use.
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This research discusses how lecturers in an Irish university transferred their classroom-based blended learning Lean Six Sigma modules to online delivery. The transfer from a practical classroom environment to an online classroom needed to be seamless in the students Lean active learning experiences. The output of the paper is to discuss the designing of appropriate delivery methods and practical examples, games, scenarios, exercises in a flipped online classroom. Problem-based learning is ideal for teaching lean manufacturing, driven by a problem-solving culture that values learning as a critical output. The design of a “practical problem based” online Kaizen utilising the virtual classroom as an obeya room enabled students to learn Lean Six Sigma tools and practically deploy the tools. Qualitative and quantitative measures were deployed to assess the success of the transition. © 2021, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.
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As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations are forced to operate in a remote environment with several restrictions on travel, group meetings, and in-person interactions. This is especially difficult for lean six sigma projects where observing the process and interacting with the workers is essential to understanding and improving the process. The Army's Lean Six Sigma methodology includes five phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control;each of these phases includes interaction between the project and process team. This paper focuses on the application of Lean Six Sigma methodology at Tobyhanna Army Depot to help reduce overruns and repair cycle time within the sheet metal cost center. At the initiation of the project, the process incurred over 4000 hours of overruns, a situation in which it takes longer to repair an asset than the standard hours allocated for the repair. Additionally, the average repair cycle time, amount of time required to repair an individual asset, exceeded customer expectations by almost 4 days. The paper discusses how the lean six sigma team executed tradition tools for each phase, like process mapping, data analysis, communication plans, and brainstorming in a remote environment. © 2021 IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2021. All rights reserved.
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Emergency Care Networks (ECNs) are integrated healthcare systems comprised of emergency departments (EDs). ECNs are called to be the primary response of healthcare authorities to deal with the expected uptick in the future demands for emergency care during the current Covid-19 pandemic. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has been proposed to address this challenge since it allows managers to detect factors contributing to the extended waiting times (WT) throughout the patient journey. The suggested framework follows the DMAIC cycle that was initiated with the project charter definition;in the meantime, a SIPOC diagram was drawn to analyze the emergency care process and pinpoint critical process variables. Following this, a nested Gage R&R study was undertaken to study the measurement system performance;subsequently, a normal-based capability analysis was carried out to determine how well the ECN process satisfies the specifications. The next step was to identify the potential causes separating the ECN nodes from the desired target. Afterwards, improvement strategies were devised to lessen the average WT. After suitable data collection, a before-and-after analysis was performed to verify the effectiveness of the implemented strategies. Ultimately, a control plan containing an I-MR control chart was designed to maintain the improvements achieved with the LSS implementation. The results revealed that the average WT of the showcased node passed from 190.02 min to 103.1 min whereas the long-term sigma level increased from −0.06 to 0.11. The proposed framework was validated through a case study including the involvement of a medium-sized hospital from the public sector. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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In conditions of increasing of load caused by rapid development of new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic, health care systems of various countries faced the shortage of basic resources, including individual protection means for medical personnel and population that required taking complex measures to eliminate the situation. In the Tomsk oblast, the unified system of supplying medical organizations with individual protection means was organized. The system provides centralization of management of supplies and their distribution; standardization of approaches to using, accounting, storage and utilization of protection means depending on type and conditions of medical care support; monitoring system of provision of individual protection means applying lean manufacturing tools. The implementation of the project made it possible to ensure at the initial stage of the pandemic the maintenance of individual protection means stock in every institution not less than for 7 days and subsequently not less than 30 days demand.