Improving Throughput and Cost Efficiency with Lean Tools: A Business Case Study on Value Stream Mapping

Abstract

       The single-minded pursuit of productivity and efficiency in the manufacturing industry has forced organizations to embrace lean tools, one of which is Value Stream Mapping (VSM). The study explains a real-world use of VSM in a pulley production plant, intended to reduce the manufacturing downtime, limit Non-Value-Added (NVA) operations, and improve the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). A major point of bottleneck was identified to exist between the transition stage between Vertical Machining Center (VMC) and drilling processes that had already caused a delay of 16 hours, physically segregated and reliant on a specific operator. The process flow was improved by using planned machinery repositioning and job merging. After intervention analysis showed an improvement in availability (84.1 to 90.9 percent), quality rate (93.8 to 96.4 percent), and OEE (78.9 to 87.6 percent). Moreover, the intervention supported the 68-minute daily recovery, the daily increase of 15 units, and the yearly saving of ₹180000 in labor costs. The research confirms that VSM is a cost-effective lean tool that has the potential of causing massive improvements even in small and medium sized companies (SMEs). These results are very informative to industries that strive to improve throughput and eliminate waste without involving a large amount of capital.