Implementation of lean manufacturing

Abstract

Lean manufacturing refers to a manufacturing improvement process based on the fundamental goal of Toyota production system (TPS) in order to minimize or eliminate waste while maximizing production flow (Tapping, 2002). Many manufacturing organizations realize the importance of practicing lean techniques. However, few organizations apply lean techniques with the necessary knowledge and proven tools to achieve it. A value stream includes all the operations and processes to transform raw materials into finished goods or services, including non-value adding activities. Value stream management is a management tool for planning a production process involving lean initiatives through systematic data capture and analysis (Tapping, 2002). It is a proven process for planning the improvements that will allow companies to develop lean practices. The purpose of this study is to develop a value stream map for a manufacturing company in Minnesota. This particular tool allows the company to document current lead time, inventory levels and cycle times to determine the ratio of value added to total lead time of the product line being analyzed. The first step will be to create a current state map to make a picture of the production flow and understand the company’s current cycle times, process communications, and machine equipment capacity. This provides the information needed to produce a future state map by creating a vision of an ideal value flow, although that will not be done in this study. The goal is to identify and eliminate the waste, which is any activity that does not add value to the final product, in the production process. In order to collect the information needed to complete the project, the researcher will work within the production facility. This will enable the researcher to have a first hand knowledge of the production flow and to be familiar with the activities being performed at the shop floor. In addition, the researcher will observe and collect information related to product families for the practical mapping and product/process flow from start to finish, calculating takt time from data collected by the host company. The researcher will document cycle times, down times, work-in-process inventory (WIP), and material and information flow paths. This information will enable the researcher to visualize the current state of the process activities by mapping the material and information flow and looking for opportunities to eliminate wastes and to improve the process flow. Based on all the information gathered, the company will utilize these results as a plan to map the future state and implement lean manufacturing.