Automated System Gains in Lean Manufacturing Improvement Projects
Marcio Lazai, Licia Cristina de Paula Santos, N. Renata Grossi Chamie, Rodrigo Pierezan, Eduardo de Freitas Rocha Loures, E. Portela dos Santos, Sérgio E. Gouvêa da Costa, Edson Pinheiro de Lima
Abstract
In an ever-changing market, intense competition, and a demand focused on delivering customer value, it puts great pressure on manufacturing companies for quality, delivery, reliability, flexibility, and cost. Productivity and flexibility are competitive differentials that help to satisfy the demands of an increasingly dynamic market. Automation and lean manufacturing are resources often used to achieve these goals. These manufacturing models and technologies often bring the best of parts for better performing process technology. However, the return visibility and accountability of an automated process is often considered fuzzy, especially when coupled with other types of methodologies, such as lean manufacturing. Thus, process automation is often overlooked due to lack of return visibility and accountability. In support of the earnings quantification process, performance measurement is important as it provides visibility to improvements. A well-known metric adopted in industries to measure efficiency is the OEE, which is one of the most cited global performance indicators in the literature. The study proposes the temporal analysis and quantification of the gains attributed to automated processes in a project developed in a European automotive industry located in Brazil using the OEE as a comparison metric and an internal indicator to the business group where the study was conducted as a means of assessment and reliability to the OEE. As a major result, a significant improvement in performance indicators can be seen at the end of the project and after a learning period.