Title: A tactical three-phase implementation model for agile manufacturing

Authors: Rahul Kumar; Kanwarpreet Singh; Sanjiv Kumar Jain

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ambala College of Engineering and Applied Research, Ambala, Haryana, India

Abstract: Increasing globalisation, uncertain environment, swift technological development, and competitive pressures force organisations to adopt different practices and tools to improve manufacturing processes, operations, and supply chains. Agile manufacturing is considered as the aptitude of an organisation to adapt rapidly to environmental changes and to meet quickly the ever-changing customer requirements. This paper aims to propose a phase-wise implementation model of all necessary measures to achieve successful agile manufacturing implementation. Tactical modelling is used employing options field methodology (OFM), options profile methodology (OPM), analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and fuzzy set theory (FST). Initially, various agile manufacturing implementation-related issues and business performance-related issues are listed after conducting a survey. OFM is used to convert business performance-related issues into options, which are further converted into six clusters. OPM has converted agile manufacturing implementation-related issues into eight profiles or courses of action. Further, AHP is used to calculate the weights of various profiles generated through OPM. At last, clusters formed through OFM techniques, are ranked using FST. Finally, a phase-wise implementation plan has been proposed for the successful implementation of agile manufacturing.

Keywords: agile manufacturing; business performance enhancement; options field methodology; OFM; options profile methodology; OPM; analytic hierarchy process; AHP; fuzzy set theory; FST.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.132639

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2023 Vol.30 No.3, pp.383 - 412

Received: 11 Jun 2020
Accepted: 31 Aug 2020
Published online: 07 Aug 2023 *

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