Ted Michael Montelin BSTM 3101

Case Study: Automotive Company

You are a newly hired manager of Automotive Company. Since it is part of a manufacturing industry, the

company operates day and night. During your first few weeks with the company, you have noticed a

problem area in the shifting schedule of the employees. You have observed that changing from one shift

to another creates long periods of low or stopped production which became a costly and destructive

routine. Also, you have noticed that the manufacturing process of Automotive Company is longer

compared to your previous car manufacturing company since the placement of the inputs for car

production is relatively far from the actual production units.

QUESTION 1: What type/s of waste that Lean Approach targets to eliminate is/are present in the

case?

Motion waste is the form of waste that the Lean Approach aims to avoid. Low or stopped production

occurs as a result of the employees’ changing shifts, resulting in a higher cost to the organization. When

switching through one shift to the next, there is an unnecessary movement that should be eliminated.

Those unused hours should be put to better use by increasing the company’s production.

Another issue is that the manufacturing process takes more time than other companies’ since the inputs

for car production are located too far from actual production facilities. It also tackles motion waste, as

there is a lot of movement in the workplace that isn’t necessary.

The distance between the inputs and the outputs has an impact on the company’s productivity. Instead

of creating a large number of things in a short period of time, it extends the production time, resulting in

a high cost.

QUESTION 2: What is the most effective Lean approach tool/technique that should be employed to

resolve the problem areas in the Automotive Company?

Quick Changeover is the most effective Lean Approach tool/technique for resolving the personnel

schedule shifting challenge. This tool is used to perform as many process conversions as feasible in the

shortest amount of time. The moving of staff is a concern for the Automotive Company. This tool would
be really beneficial in resolving the issue. Employees must change shifts as quickly as possible in order to

reduce company expenses and spend more time productively.

And as for the problem regarding the placement of inputs, the tool /technique that should be employed

is Layout. This tool involves placing the inputs near the production process to reduce unnecessary

movement of the employees. Because the placement of inputs is far from the production process, there

are unnecessary movements that prolong the time of the production. Instead of making a lot of

products, the number of outputs produced is lessen by this problem. So with the help of this tool, the

employees will be more productive, and they can maximize their working time to produce a lot of

outputs and make a higher profit for the company.