TY - THES

T1 - Applying lean thinking to couple manufacturing and assembly in high-mix, low-volume environment: value stream of make-to-order valves at HOERBIGER Ventilwerke Wien

AU - Dancs, Marton

N1 - embargoed until 10-05-2022

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - The production environment of HOERBIGER Ventilwerke GmbH & Co KG is considered as high-mix, low-volume and is strongly market-driven and highly volatile. The main products of the facility are suction and discharge valves. The two main parts (seat and guard) are representing the components with the highest value and complexity in a valve. Currently the component manufacturing and valve assembly are decoupled by the warehouse, thus breaking the continuous flow of value and extending the lead time. Make-to-order valves make a significant portion of HVW’s production, where this segmentation could be bridged by coupling the manufacturing with the assembly in a more direct way. This thesis intends to find out the feasibility of this coupling, furthermore to find a way to make it an integrated part of the supply chain of make-to-order valves. Challenges of the increasingly complex and competitive business environment have directed the focus on lean thinking and agile supply chains. The theoretical part builds the foundation of theoretical knowledge documented in the literature about lean and agile to understand the essentials and correspondences of these concepts. As lean was initially developed for serial production, the thesis focuses more on its fundamentals, and discusses the applicability to the company’s business environment. After reviewing the current state at the company, the scope of an eventual coupled system is estimated. The initial conception of the coupled system is followed by the effects of current limitations and a closer approximation of the impact to serve as the base for the detailed concept. The paper gives a guide to a pilot, which would give knowledge for future implementation. Finally, the ideal system structure, where the potential of the coupled system can be maximized, is exposed.

AB - The production environment of HOERBIGER Ventilwerke GmbH & Co KG is considered as high-mix, low-volume and is strongly market-driven and highly volatile. The main products of the facility are suction and discharge valves. The two main parts (seat and guard) are representing the components with the highest value and complexity in a valve. Currently the component manufacturing and valve assembly are decoupled by the warehouse, thus breaking the continuous flow of value and extending the lead time. Make-to-order valves make a significant portion of HVW’s production, where this segmentation could be bridged by coupling the manufacturing with the assembly in a more direct way. This thesis intends to find out the feasibility of this coupling, furthermore to find a way to make it an integrated part of the supply chain of make-to-order valves. Challenges of the increasingly complex and competitive business environment have directed the focus on lean thinking and agile supply chains. The theoretical part builds the foundation of theoretical knowledge documented in the literature about lean and agile to understand the essentials and correspondences of these concepts. As lean was initially developed for serial production, the thesis focuses more on its fundamentals, and discusses the applicability to the company’s business environment. After reviewing the current state at the company, the scope of an eventual coupled system is estimated. The initial conception of the coupled system is followed by the effects of current limitations and a closer approximation of the impact to serve as the base for the detailed concept. The paper gives a guide to a pilot, which would give knowledge for future implementation. Finally, the ideal system structure, where the potential of the coupled system can be maximized, is exposed.

KW - lean

KW - schlanke Produktion

KW - agile

KW - high-mix

KW - low-volume

KW - Kundeneinzelfertigung

KW - Kompressor Ventil

KW - lean

KW - agile

KW - high-mix

KW - low-volume

KW - make-to-order

KW - compressor valve

M3 - Master's Thesis

ER -