Title: Implementing lean through value stream mapping for productivity improvement: a case study of link frame mechanical press manufacturing industry

Authors: Kashmir Singh Ghatorha; Rohit Sharma; Gurraj Singh; Parveen Sharma

Addresses: School of Mechanical Engineering, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, 144411, India ' School of Mechanical Engineering, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, 144411, India ' Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, 144011, India ' School of Mechanical Engineering, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, 144411, India

Abstract: The increasing competition in the market has forced the manufacturing industry to improve its productivity on a continuous basis. The most practical way of productivity improvement is to review and redesign the existing work processes for identifying and eliminating hidden waste. The in-depth study of the existing work processes is required for the identification of hidden waste in the form of non-value adding activities and it can be done effectively through value stream mapping (VSM). The purpose of the study is to improve the productivity of a link frame mechanical press manufacturing industry to withstand the challenges posed by the competitive market. VSM is applied to review the existing work processes and to identify the critical areas which are examined through the lens of seven lean wastes to find the non-value adding activities. The identified waste is removed through kaizen which has saved 2.5 hours of machining time.

Keywords: lean manufacturing; value stream mapping; VSM; cycle time reduction; productivity improvement.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSCA.2021.120223

International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, 2021 Vol.13 No.1/2/3, pp.182 - 194

Received: 29 Mar 2020
Accepted: 07 Dec 2020
Published online: 11 Jan 2022 *

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