The Operational Efficiency of Vehicle Manufacturing in Nigeria: The Lean Tool Option

Abstract: The demand for customer-focused manufacturing calls for more user-friendly tools to make workflow as smooth as possible. One of the lean tool options integrated into the automobile industry to tackle problems associated with product quality, brand appeal, and waste elimination at every stage of production processes is the Value Stream Mapping (VSM). Though manufacturers adopted several lean tools to minimise cost and reduce waste, this study focused on the roles of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) on the operational efficiency of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company of Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was used to structure and organise this study. The convenience sampling technique was used to select 110 management and supervisory staff from the 1,800 employees of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company of Nigeria. Data gathered were analyzed using the Ordinal Logistic Regression (OLR) model in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21. The null hypothesis that VSM as a Continuous Improvement (CI) tool does not enhance the firm's Operational Efficiency (OE) was rejected at a LOGCI of 872.31 and p-value of .001. The hypothesis, that waste elimination through VSM does not influence operational efficiency, was also dismissed. The findings revealed that VSM performance is demonstrated when teamwork in an assembling procedure, interacts with the production system and watches how production evolves from a starting point (inputs) to an end item (output). It was concluded that to achieve operational efficiency, businesses must minimise waste of processes, raw materials, time and space. VSM helped the managers to visualise more than just the single-process level, enabling the managers to view job flow across all processes. We recommended VSM to the manufacturing and the service industry for the implementation of plans and actions.

Continuous Improvement, Lean, Manufacturing, Operational Efficiency, Value Stream Mapping, Waste Elimination

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