A group AHP-based tool to evaluate effective factors toward leanness in automotive industries

In dealing with global markets and international standards the organizations require the use of engineering methods of new management. Lean manufacturing is one of the management philosophies, as a systematic approach regarding to eliminating waste in the production process by using all assets of a company. The aim of study was to identify the challenges faced by the automotive industry in Iran. The next objectives are to identify and prioritize factors that would support implementation of Lean Manufacturing in the automotive industry. The methodology is based on two phases, with in Phase 1 (qualitative), ten effective factors (10 Ms) were selected. Moreover in this phase more than 50 sub-factors were identified in the research literature. In Phase 2 (quantitative), experts were asked to assign an importance value to each factor and the group AHP technique was used to prioritize the effective factors and sub-factors. The result of this study can be used for lean managers, experts and senior managers who want to implement lean in companies. It shows the main factors to leanness and to prioritize them. © 2011 Asian Network for Scientific Information.