An analytical case study of an advanced manufacturing system for evaluating the impact of human enablers in its performance

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on identifying various human enablers that could influence the performance of a firm using advanced manufacturing systems (AMSs), and to develop a framework to manage them through an analytical case study.

Design/methodology/approach

In this work, digraph and matrix technique through case study was utilized for finding the single numerical value, i.e. human enabler index (HEI), for quantifying the impact of human enablers of a firm under consideration using AMSs.

Findings

The major finding of this analytical case study is that a firm can identify the weak human‐related issues existing in their organizations. The HEI value for the considered organization is found to be low because it does not understand its corporate social responsibility, therefore the necessary decisions/actions may be taken for the performance enhancement and optimal utilization of the human element. In this way, the effectiveness of an AMS can be enhanced without big investments.

Research limitations/implications

A larger number of human enablers could be considered for the analysis. However, the ranking has been done on the basis of the survey and expert opinion which may have an element of bias.

Practical implications

Analytical case study and the evaluated HEI could be used for quantifying the impact of human enablers in an AMS environment. This index can also be used to rank different organizations according to their capability to extract benefits in manufacturing from human characteristics.

Originality/value

The major and unique contribution of this research is to perform an analytical case study of a company using AMSs. Besides this, evaluating the HEI value for the organization, framework for comparison of two organizations and ways to improve its performance have been the unique contribution in its domain.

Citation

Nagar, B. and Raj, T. (2013), "An analytical case study of an advanced manufacturing system for evaluating the impact of human enablers in its performance", Journal of Advances in Management Research, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 85-99. https://doi.org/10.1108/09727981311327785