Operational Management

Essay by angelatan1989 May 2014

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ZCZB6533 HUMAN RESOUCE MANAGEMENT

SUMMARY REPORT

LEAN IN SERVICE

INTRODUCTION

Lean is a production practice that aims to minimise waste along entire value streams and create more value for customers. According to Jones and Mitchell (2006), lean is defined as a process optimisation methodology that focuses on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of a process by eliminating activities that do not add value to the customers. It is a management intervention which can lead to better performance; a way to transform an entire organization into a high quality, high performing product or service delivery system. As for lean service, it is simply the application of lean manufacturing into the service industry. According to Aribjorn et al. (2011), lean is a three-level system consisting of lean philosophy, lean principles and lean practices.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LEAN SYSTEM IN UK SERVICE INDUSTRIES

This paper aims to bridge the gap between the implementation of lean system in service organizations and its effect on performance by focusing on the lean is UK service sectors.

Among a few questions asked are what factors encourage/discourage the implementation of lean service? What are the difficulties faced by companies when implementing lean service?

The conceptual framework of the paper is based on a systematic literature review and research question and hypotheses.

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework for Lean Service

In the paper, it is found that the most adopted lean tools and techniques in the service industry is Value Stream Mapping, followed equally by 5Ss and standardization. Among a few other tools that are also frequently used include visualization, pull system, poka-yoke, just in time, kaizen blitz, continuous improvement and so forth.

After identifying the tools used in service, it is crucial to understand why those tools are selected, where in this study, it is found that the core...