F2008-10-017
Lean Development in the Automotive Industry: The Snap-Shot Approach
This paper introduces a snap-shot approach to analyze development activities according to waste. It complements conventional methods in lean development, which are process-focused. Findings from a study in a major automotive company´s car body design department are reported.
In face of diversification and shorter product life-cycles, automotive companies need to enhance the efficiency of product development processes in order to confine development costs per sold vehicle. Lean Development offers principles, methods and tools for that aim. Most of the employed methods, of which value stream mapping is the most prominent, have a process-based approach: The analysis follows the path of one process. Good results can be expected. However, restrictions exist: First, in following a timeline that might take 24 to 36 months, the analysis either takes that much time; or must refer to outdated or prospective information, both of which have their shortcomings. Second, analyzing one process cannot account for the problems that stem from the interactions between different projects in multi-project environments. In this paper, we thus introduce a complementary approach. Instead of a process-focused analysis, we analyzed product development activities across all currently active processes. The approach was employed in a major automotive company´s car body design department, which comprises about 600 employees.
A systematic course of action was taken. At the beginning, an intensive structuring phase determined both scope of analysis and degrees of freedom, and presorted waste drivers according to interference and frequency. The main analysis part was split in two equally important parts: A quantitative, statistical analysis of activities and their respective contribution to value creation, and a qualitative analysis through a series of structured interviews in order to track down root-causes and to verify the statistical data. In the synthesis phase, the generated data was combined, clustered and checked for plausibility within the core team and with interviewees alike. Thereof, comprehensive lists of waste and waste-drivers, ideas for improvement gathered from the interviews, urgent problems and quick wins were compiled. In several workshops, solutions to waste and underlying root causes were sought, discussed, and evaluated. The last phase comprised the implementation of countermeasures, new procedures and processes, rules and guidelines, as well as their verification.
The analysis shows that 31% of activities (measured in man hours) within that particular department were non-value adding, complemented by 39% of required non-value adding activities. These figures are in line with conventional process-based types of analysis in similar environments. An eye-opener to management, designers only spent 5:30 hours per week designing CAD-models - in contrast to 15 hours per week spent in meetings and another 5:30 hours per week used up by email communication. Over 20 counter-measures were identified, which were estimated to entail a potential for 37% waste reduction. Subsequently, they were then developed and implemented independently.
The presented snap-shot approach proved to complement process-based approaches in lean development. Within three months, it provided a detailed picture of non-value adding activities and entailed numerous counter-measures.
Poster presentation: Process challenges in changing economies