Author : L.Ramachandran and N.Alagumurthi

 
The purpose of this paper is to analyze leanness of shoe assembly lines using key performance indicators based on Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) before implementing Lean Manufacturing techniques . For this study, the leather and shoe manufacturing industry has been chosen. The leather industry is one of the most rapidly growing sectors in the Pondicherry union territory . To become more competent in the current economic dip and to ensure they are capable of future growth, this company initiated lean manufacturing concepts. The KPI includes Idle Manufacturing Cycle Time (MCT) ,Part per Labor, rework/rejection,and Amount ofd scrap are treated as criteria for pre leanness analysis of the four process lines. The weight values are assigned to KPIs by decision makers and the analysis are realized by the application of two different decision models, namely Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) and COPRAS methods.. The results show that Process line 2(L2) has 4.6% leaner than L3,8.3% leaner than L1 and 11.2% leaner than L4 and it is kept as the benchmark for continuous assessment.

Keywords: Process line, KPI, Leanness, SAW, COPRAS.

Article published in International Journal of  Advance Industrial  Engineering, Vol.1,No.2 (June- 2013)