LEAN MANUFACTURING : PRACTICE SURVEY IN AUTO PARTS INDUSTRY OF THAILAND

Abstract

This research intends to answer and determine 1.how well auto parts manufacturing industry in Thailand has been implemented lean concept into their production processes and 2.which factors determine the success of implementing lean concept. The study first conducts individual depth interview of the managers of the auto parts manufacturing companies. The interview results indicate that factors obstructing the success of implementing the lean concept include 1) Involved customer, 2) Supplier feedback, 3) Supplier just in time, 4) Develop suppliers, 5) Pull system, 6) Process flow, 7) Setup, 8) Process control, 9) Involved employees, and 10) Maintenance. Then, the questionnaire measuring these ten factors was constructed and observed from 87 auto parts manufacturing companies. Internal consistency reliability of the scales is confirmed using factor analysis which also reveals that the scales can help determining degree of the ten factors of each company. Construct validity is also validated through the regression analysis by estimating Poisson regression model of the level of implementing lean concept proxy by quantity of inventory as dependent variable and ten factors as independent variables. The estimated results confirm that level of implementing lean concept can be determined by the ten factors.