Lean Production Research And Application In SFC Company

As China's economic growth slows down,its annual GDP increase drops from 8%-10%to 5%-7%.The increase in global market competition,manufacturing globalization and decentralization,together with the rising costs of raw materials,lab ours,long supply chains and environmental conservation,contribute to the fact that China,the workshop of the world,is losing its cost advantages.The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index(PMI)remains at low level.Many enterprises have moved their factories to Southeast Asia or their home countries,and more are considering to do so.SFC,a world leading company in automation control and process solutions,has been operating in China for 32 years.It focuses on large industrial projects in oil,electricity,nuclear power and water treatment industries.The company currently faces challenges from product development,manufacturing,supply chain,sales,and services.The major problems that the management team needs to tackle include how to improve the company's core competency,reduce costs,shorten the product delivery time,ensure product quality and to improve efficiency.In this paper,the current situation of SFC is analyzed with lean production theories.The methods incorporated in the analysis include 5S on-site improvement,Failure Mode and Effect Analysis(FMEA),value stream map(VSM)and DMAIC method.Improvement strategies are provided to address on-site management issues,quality issues,on time delivery issues.Standard guidance in the company's operation is introduced to support the future improvement in its lean production system.The paper finishes by suggesting the direction of future studies.