Abstract
M.Ing.
The principles of lean were understood to be relevant to the operations of a manufacturing
enterprise meaning processes associated with material supply, component production and
delivery of products and services to the customer. It was identified there was growing awareness
that lean principles could be transferred readily to other functions and sectors.
The purpose of the study was to investigate the application of lean principles to knowledgebased
activities such as engineering design and product development. The organization under
study was Olifant Manufacturing Company (OMC), a division of British Aerospace Systems,
Land Systems South Africa.
Lean product developments (LPD) was identified as one of the leading approaches currently
adopted by organizations attempting to maximize value, increase quality, shorten lead times,
and lower the costs for product development (PD) processes. The justification for the research
was due to and in response to current adverse market trends. There would be the adoption of
processes that would radically reduce the product development lead time, product introduction
lead time to market, increase process efficiency and product quality and reduce development
costs at OMC.
The problem statement was formulated as: “Would the researched Lean principles enable OMC
to improve its traditional PD to LPD?”
The Life Cycle Management (LCM) framework was the mandated organizational framework that
guided the execution of projects at BAE Systems The development of the research literature
was guided by research questions that sought to identify the relevant framework that would be
tailored within the overarching (LCM) framework to enable process improvements.
The main findings were that Lean transformation is an organizational journey that would begin
with a top down philosophy or strategy approach. Aspects of Lean Product Development were
identified and were found to be integrated into a system framework that integrated the
transformation of people, processes and tools and technologies.