Applied Engineering Letters (Sep 2023)

LEAN MANUFACTURING BASED SPACE UTILIZATION AND MOTIONWASTE REDUCTION FOR EFFICIENCY ENHANCEMENT IN A MACHININGSHOP: A CASE STUDY

  • Leon Dube,
  • Kapil Gupta

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18485/aeletters.2023.8.3.4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 3
pp. 121 – 130

Abstract

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Lean manufacturing is a corporate strategy that focuses on continually improving all processes in the production environment by reducing waste and costs. The implementation of lean manufacturing systems will always begin within the existing facility layout. Therefore, the arrangement of the facility has a tremendous impact on the company’s development and space utilization. This research addresses possible research gaps related to the industry's requirement for successful lean manufacturing and space utilization. In this research, an integration of lean techniques and facility layout planning has been used to optimize the workshop operation by implementing 5S and Systematic Layout Planning to rearrange machines, which eliminated waste caused by unnecessary motion. As a result, out of two alternatives of facility layout proposed, the process efficiency is improved from 53% to 66%. An efficient facility layout helps production schedules run more smoothly while minimizing costs and enhancing space utilization. It has contributed to create a safe and healthy work environment. The research is limited to optimizing space utilization and attempts to eliminate excessive motion of employees and equipment in the machining shop of a mechanical workshop. The need to close the implementation gap for lean and space utilization will make a substantial contribution to long-term industrial sustainability.

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