A customised lean model for a Chinese aerospace OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)

The aim of this research is to introduce Lean Thinking in a systematic and cost effective way; moreover, it is to bring Lean Principles and apply Lean Tools to the new aerospace companies. In particular the research will develop a customised Lean manufacturing model. The following objectives will be achieved during the research. 1); Investigate the principal features of Lean Thinking, and identify state of the art in Lean manufacturing implementation. 2); Identify the current situation of a specific Chinese aerospace company and the requirements needed in becoming Lean. 3); Develop a customised Lean model for applying Lean into a new Chinese aerospace company. 4); Validate the Lean manufacturing model by experts in the company and university. The Chinese traditional thinking is different from lean think. Therefore, to implement Lean in China will face some distinct barriers. The author attempts to resolve these problems through a customised lean model. According to the literature review and researcher‘s knowledge, there is no paper developing a model linking to the barriers of lean implementation in Chinese manufacturing. Therefore, the author will attempt to fill in this gap during the research. The questionnaire and assessment tool will be used to collect information from the company. Best practices will help to establish the structure of the model. However, in China, most companies implement lean through copying examples from the United States, UK and other Western countries without combining their current situation and culture. The contribution of this research is to develop a model to link Chinese barriers and a company‘s situation for lean implementation. Finally, this model will be validated by company and academic experts. The first validation is based on the sponsoring company. Other validations are achieved by academic experts and industrial expert.