Implementation of Lean Manufacturing Tools At AL- Kholoud Furniture Company
Date
2017-12-07
Authors
El-Hamouz, Asma
Yousef, Bayan
Zreiq, Hind
Ehmoud, Wala’
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Abstract
Al Kholoud Furniture Company (AFC) is one of the leading companies in the field of furniture manufacturing in Palestine. AFC was founded as a family business in Nablus in 1995. It is owned by Qutlony family and is run by Mr. Firas Qutlony. AFC is specialized in manufacturing and marketing all kinds of home and office furniture including luxury's sofa, bedrooms, children's bedroom, dining room tables, salon’s sofa and buffets with high quality. Currently there are more than 140 administrative and technical employees working in the company. Similar to other furniture companies and due to the nature of this vital industry in Palestine, the industry encounters large amounts of wastes generated from the various cutting and assembly operations employed. More specifically, the well-known seven wastes - TIMWOOD- (transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, over processing, over production and defects) are apparently generated in the industry.
The current project aims at applying a set of lean manufacturing techniques in the AFC to reduced or eliminate the generated wastes in one of the carpentry department of the company. The project adopts the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) methodology for continuous improvement. More specifically, the project will start with wastes identification and quantification (technically and financially) using live or historical data. Then, the potential root-causes of the identified wastes will be sought for identification using the quality management tools (run charts, histograms, Pareto charts, control charts, cause and effect diagram, scatter diagram, check sheets, defects concentration diagrams and radar diagram). Other tools like 5S would also be employed. Such tools would help to remove items that are no longer needed (sort), organize the items to optimize efficiency and flow (straighten or set in order), clean the area in order to more easily identify problems (shine), implement color coding and labels to stay consistent with other areas (standardize) and develop behaviors that keep the workplace organized over the long term (sustain). Performance before and after waste reductions will be measured to ensure permanent realization of improvements.