Lean Enhancement by Application of Total Interpretive Structural Modelling

Prioritizing of factors for effective lean manufacturing poses a challenge to management due to complexities in interrelationships. Diligent understanding of measures of lean manufacturing assumes great importance. Essential manufacturing flexibilities take care of uncertainties driven by dynamics of the market. Interrelationship between factors of manufacturing flexibility and lean manufacturing adds to complexity. Judicious analysis of these factors is imperative to understand their effect on lean manufacturing. Total interpretive structural modeling methodology is used for establishing relationships among the factors affecting lean performance. Case studies have been carried out and TISM is applied to understand the dynamism of factors. Study brings out how the organization of the companies and level of automation help in understating the driving and dependence power. The study helps in understanding the influence of hierarchy and level of factors identified by TISM technique on lean performance as also the factors which merit attention of top management to achieve better results