This paper presents an experimental study on rough cut, trim cut using distilled water as a dielectric fluid and Al & Si metal powders in dielectric fluid for WEDM of Nimonic-90. First, the influence of discharge energy (DE) in rough cut is evaluated for machining rate (MR) and surface roughness (SR) and compared with trim cut without any metal powder additives in dielectric fluid. The effect of Al and Si metal powders (varying concentration of 1g/L, 2g/L and 3g/L) in dielectric fluid is studied separately and comparison is also made for MR, SR, recast layer and micro hardness of machined Nimonic-90. From the results it is observed that using trim cut, a fine and uniform surface texture is obtained irrespective of the high discharge energy of rough cut. Al and Si powders additives show a significant reduction in MR for trim cutting operation whereas a remarkable modification is obtained in surface textures after trim cut using metals powder mixed dielectric. SR improves with a concentration of 1g/L and shows a little increase with high concentration of both metals powder. Using metals powder in dielectric fluid, the recast layer becomes smooth and denser and thus, micro hardness increases.

Trim cutting operation in wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is considered as a probable solution to improve surface characteristics and geometrical accuracy by removing very small amount of work materials from the surface obtained after a rough cutting operation. In this study, an attempt has been made to model the surface roughness and dimensional shift in trim cutting operations in WEDM process through response surface methodology (RSM). Four process parameters; namely pulse-on time (Ton), servo voltage (SV), wire depth (Wd) and Dielectric flow rate (FR) have been considered as input parameters in trim cutting operations for modelling. Desirability function has been employed to optimize multi performance characteristics. Increasing the value of Ton, Wd and FR increases the surface roughness and dimensional shift but increasing SV decreases both surface roughness and dimensional shift. Quadratic models have been proposed for both the performance characteristics. In present experimentation, thickness of recast layer was observed in the range of 6?m to 12?m for low to high value of discharge parameters.

This paper is an attempt to examine the implementation of Lean Manufacturing system in the Indian industries. Predominant elements of Lean Manufacturing, benefits gained after its implementation and obstacles observed by Indian Industry have been recognized. The results of this survey support the opinion that Lean Manufacturing had potential to improve the organizational performance of Indian industries. Nevertheless, Indian industries are required to be passionate to transform their manufacturing by adopting Lean manufacturing to gain the full benefits. A large numbers of literature papers are available on the better side of Lean manufacturing approach and its benefits gained by manufacturing organizations after implementation. But the adverse impacts of Lean manufacturing are not discussed to a great extent. Some drawbacks of Lean manufacturing are also highlighted in this paper.

Manufacturing industries are consistently working on improving their operational performance to remain competitive in the market. LM is a well-recognized approach for improving the overall performance. It contains several elements covered under a few lean attributes. This paper presents the application of Graph Theory and Matrix Approach (GTMA) for the identification of relative importance of different lean attributes in a lean environment using qualitative and quantitative factors. The Lean Manufacturing Attributes (LMA’s), affecting the overall LM environment, of a manufacturing industry were identified and analyzed for the implications on the managerial decisions. .In this proposed study, The GTMA approach is applied to prioritize the LMA’s based on their relative importance.

Lean Manufacturing is being adopted by many Indian industries based on its capability of improving manufacturing performance. Lean Manufacturing supports the concept of delivering the low cost and good quality product to customer by focusing on elimination of waste. Lean Manufacturing employs various elements which aspire to involve the employees to create a customer centric organization. This paper is an attempt to examine the significance of various lean manufacturing elements in Indian industries. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) approach is used to examine their inter-relationship and ranking based on their driving power and dependence powers through development of diagraph and structural model in the Indian industry context.

This paper explains theoretical approach of the four theories of General system Theory (GST) developed by Yourdon (1989) [Yourdon, E. (1989). Modern Structured Analysis. Yourdon Press, Prentice-Hall International, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Senge] while applying it in information technology and subsequently used by caddy (2007) [Caddy I.N., & Helou, M.M. (2007). Supply chains and their management: Application of general systems theory. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 14, 319–327.] in field of supply chain and management. JIT philosophy in core activities of supply chain i.e. procurement, production processes, and logistics are discussed through general system theory. The growing structure of the supply chain poses the implication restrictions and requires a heavy support system, many times a compromise is done while implementing JIT. The study would be useful to understand the general trends generated naturally regarding the adoption of the JIT philosophy in the supply chain.

The improvement in manufacturing process is never ending effort, which is being derived by the culture of the organization. Therefore, an attitude of perfection, innovation and devotion is an essential part for the process improvement of an organization. Recently, innovations in the field of engineering help an entrepreneur sell the products through competitive environment. Moreover, the timely delivery of goods and cost effective product is the yardstick, which contributes to the performance index. These improvements resulted from continued performance enhancement efforts, helps in producing right quality in the right times which means providing stability to the organization performance. The role of lean thinking and supply chain characteristics is to create an effective marked on the organizational performance including bonding of all the participants where-so-ever possible. The purpose of this work is to examine the challenges, which integrate the Lean Principles to Supply Chain Characteristics for the real world situation to achieve better utilization of resources, timely delivery to the customer, and deletion of non-value added items including the control on all type of wastages as linked with supply chain systems.

Existing literature on lean principles reveals the impact of lean principles on the organizational performance. During the past few years, the Indian manufacturing context has been competing with the global competitors directly to sustain their presence. One of the big motivations behind this is the steps taken in favor of replacing the policies and regulations for the manufacturing context by the government of India. In present, the manufacturing context is still far away to get the sustainable market because of customer perception variation i.e. cost, delivery and quality re-lated issues. To overcome the uncertainties based on the attributes i.e. quality, productivity, de-livery etc., almost all the manufacturing units use the basic of lean principle i.e. apply the 5’S. Whereas the heavy industries used the VSM approach especially the automotive product manu-facturers. The work presented in this paper gives an insight on the application of lean principles in the manufacturing context and analyzes the impacts using ISM approach.