Date of Award
2008
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
College of Technology
Abstract
A direct cost of a product is the cost of the raw materials used in its manufacturer. When availability of raw materials is high, product cost tend to be lower whereas the inverse occurs when raw materials are low causing product cost to be high. This relationship between product cost and raw material availability holds true regardless of the type of product. The same is true for lifesaving medical treatments produced from stem cells. Stem cells are used in the production processes of medical treatments where the vast potential continues to remarkably emerge. However, a major problem in advances in stem cell treatments is lack of available raw materials, to include non-controversial stem cell materials affecting production and product costs. An increase in supply could reverse these affects. This work was used to evaluate balancing measures aimed at increasing the supply of non-controversial stem cells in the production of pharmaceuticals. Reduction in associated product cost was also assessed. The strategy used was the elimination of waste in the manufacturing processes of non-controversial stem cells by application of lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing is a management technology based on the systemic elimination of waste that has been shown to optimize resources producing high quality products at the lowest cost. The results of this study examined the influence of the application of lean waste elimination on the availability of raw materials used for production of non-controversial stem cell pharmaceuticals and the associated product cost used for medical treatments in healthcare. The results were positive influences on raw materials with an increase in availability and a significant reduction in the associated cost of the stem cell pharmaceutical product. The latter holds implications of the potential of this study to be used as a point of consideration for evaluating measures to reduce healthcare costs.
Recommended Citation
Gray, Janett, "Reducing Product Costs, Increasing Raw Materials Of Non-Controversial Stem Cell Pharmaceuticals By Lean Waste Elimination: A Study With Implications For Reducing Healthcare Costs" (2008). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1253.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/1253