Lean Transformations in Supply Chain, the autocatalytic nature of lean principles, and tactics for implementing lean tools

Expanding Lean principles beyond the manufacturing floor, ultimately to entail a comprehensive Lean Enterprise, has gained increasing attention among corporations. This thesis entails a detailed case study of initiating a Lean Transformation in the Supply Chain department of a technology center for engineering, integration and final assembly of directional drilling equipment. This technology center is part of Schlumberger, a global corporation and industry leader in directional drilling and other oilfield technologies and services. Initiating the Lean Transformation in this Supply Chain department is detailed and used as the central theme throughout the thesis. The rapid, successive applications and results of conventional Lean principles are evaluated. Due to the near relative proximity of the several initiatives undertaken, in both time and within the organization, this case is used to evaluate the Autocatalytic Nature of Lean Principles within the Supply Chain department. Concurrently, the dynamics involved with the interactions of personnel within the department are evaluated. As a Lean Transformation is so heavily dependent upon the personnel participating in the change, tactics for initiating a Lean Transformation are treated in reference to the several initiatives of this case study. These three components, Lean principles, their autocatalytic interaction, and relevant human interactions, are all combined to comprehensively address the most influential aspects of affecting a Lean Transformation in a Supply Chain department.

Department dc:contributor.department

Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Gardner, Bryan (Bryan Jay)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Deborah Nightingale and Roy Welsch.

• Sloan School of Management.
• Aeronautics and Astronautics.
• 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/1721.1/43834

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/43834