Implementing lean manufacturing tools in a small manufacturing environment

Abstract

With the steadfast competition among companies trying to out do one another in order to sustain or establish market shares, many companies look for ways to establish shorter lead while producing a quality product at a competitive price. This brings about the idea of improving process through concepts of lean practices. This study was conducted in order to demonstrate a kind of environment applicable to lean philosophies and show some of the benefits that can be obtained by implementing them. This study takes place in a small manufacturing environment where minimal logical procedural improvements have been done in the past. Lean tools and concepts were introduced to the company XYZ in order to create a system in a working environment that promotes a mentality of lean thinking and ongoing continuous process improvement. Areas within the company were identified where lean tools could be the most beneficial in the elimination of non-value added activities. Lean tools were then applied and implemented to these areas with future plans of expanding the lean philosophy throughout the company. The lean tools that where used and implemented in the study was kanban, 5S, point of use storage (POUS), batch reduction, cross-training / teamwork, and layout and flow. This study can be helpful to engineers, managers, and executives that are making plans for future implementation of lean practices.