Implementing lean material management in an extended value stream

American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. (AAM) is still in the process of transitioning to a culture of "lean manufacturing" as opposed to the current culture of "mass production". This thesis involved working with AAM employees and suppliers at various locations to understand how material flows between and within AAM's plants, the reasons for and analysis of the current state of material management, and opportunities for improvement. Attention is also given to the cultural and business context in which this work takes place, and the issues relating to efforts to implement change in large industrial organizations. This work produced two strategic-level products and one tactical-level product to improve lean material management at AAM described herein. Cultural observations are also provided. At the strategic level, one project focused upon making extended value stream maps of material flow between AAM plants and suppliers/processors. This information allows all decision-makers at AAM to objectively examine a common set of information, information which was previously unavailable to any one individual. Extended value stream mapping allowed supply chain inventory and lead time-reduction opportunities to be identified.

Department dc:contributor.department

Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Harper, Justin A., 1975-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Stanley Gershwin and John Carroll.

• Mechanical Engineering.
• Sloan School of Management.
• Leaders for Manufacturing Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39895

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39895