1Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of the West Indies St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies E-mail: chowdarybv@hotmail.com
2Genethics Pharmaceuticals Limited Trincity Industrial Estate, Trinidad, West Indies.
Online published on 18 February, 2012.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight on the application of flexible lean tools to a local company for restructuring of the manufacturing operations. The study assists managers in the documentation of the value streams, to strive continuously for perfection and to ensure flexibility in restructuring of their manufacturing operations. To conduct the study, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were followed. In documenting value stream map (VSM), a focus group of employees from production, logistics and warehouse departments was involved. The relevant data was collected through interviews and field visits. For improvement of the system, lean tools such as 5S, one-piece flow and electronic information system (eIs) have been proposed. The lean implementation in the selected manufacturing company yielded waste reduction due to inappropriate processing (39%), reduction in final inventory (70%), reduction in floor area (45%), reduction in manpower (50%), reduction in cycle time (48%), reduction in WIP inventory (83%), and reduction in non-value added time (60%). The flexible lean tools recommended in this research can support practitioners in improving both production efficiency and flexibility in restructuring of manufacturing operations.
5S, cycle time, flexibility, lean manufacturing, one-piece flow, value stream mapping, WIP inventory
