Implementing lean in engineer-to-order industry: A case study

Abstract

There is generally agreed that lean pull production principles like Kanban, ConWIP or takt time are successful tools within repetitive production where with one-piece flow, where each job produces exactly what the next job needs, when it is needed and with no inventory in between the stations. To our knowledge, very little research is done on implementation of these concepts within Engineer-to-Order (ETO) environment. This paper presents a case study on implementing the three principles within a Norwegian company that builds complex and highly customized vessels for the offshore industry.