A Descriptive Study: To Understand Lean Readiness Through Assessment of Grain Elevators in the Us Corn Belt Region (Indiana and Illinois)
Abstract
Since its foundation, Lean practices have played crucial role in reduction of wastes in a given process to maximize efficiency. Adoption of Lean practices in several industries have opened wide scope to study its impact on many fields such as agricultural sector. Post-harvest stage within agricultural supply chain is known to have gaps in terms of assuring good storage practices. The losses at post-harvest level have significantly impacted the availability of sufficient food for global population. These losses occur due to lack of compliances with good management practices. The literature of this study identifies shortfalls in the management practices of the grain storage containers in United States. The grain elevators are most common technology in use which assures the security of the raw food grains after harvest stage and right before its transfer to next stage. Adoption of good management practices by grain elevators thus becomes crucial to secure the safety of the nutritional quality of the grains which is vital to ensure food security and keep food losses low.The thesis considers the shortfalls associated with the management practices of grain elevators and propose to adopt Lean as a solution. The outcomes of this research present a descriptive analysis of the lean readiness survey completed by the superintendents of the grain elevators in corn belt region of United States (primarily in Illinois and Indiana). The lean readiness results reveal the extent to which the elevators are ready to adopt lean practices. The research also identifies the readiness level which indicates highest as well as lowest level of readiness levels towards lean adoption. The conclusion presents the summary of final outcomes of lean readiness level based on the surveyed elevator superintendents.
Degree
M.Sc.
Advisors
Laux, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Agriculture|Agronomy|Food Science|Industrial engineering|Management|Operations research|Organizational behavior
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