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.