Thirty criteria‐based assessment of agility in a pneumatic enabling products manufacturing company

During the recent years, competition is intensified due to the globalisation and entry of several players in markets. This situation has facilitated the modern customers to demand innovative products and models in varied volumes. In order to fulfil this customer demand, it is necessary for the traditional manufacturing companies to practice agile manufacturing (AM) principles. On adoption of AM, a traditional company can exhibit agility by which it reacts quickly to meet the customers' dynamic demands. AM has to be implemented by the traditional manufacturing companies by acquiring several criteria. Some of them may not exist or may exist feebly in traditional manufacturing companies. In this situation, the traditional manufacturing companies need to assess the level at which agility is practiced. In order to fulfil this need, a 30 criteria AM assessment tool is contributed in this paper. Using this tool, the total agility level in a pneumatic enabling products manufacturing company was assessed. After a comprehensive analysis, the drag and failure factors that prevent this company from becoming agile were identified. Subsequently, the mitigating actions and success ingredients for suppressing and overcoming them were evolved and suggested as proposals. Most of these proposals were acceptable to the management of this company.