Applying Value Stream Mapping to Identify and Evaluate Waste in a Company of the Ceramic Sector

Abstract

Small and medium-sized companies today need to maintain or increase their competitiveness, and this is necessary for effective production with the least amount of waste. This paper seeks to use Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to identify waste within a company in the red ceramic sector. It should be mentioned that there are few studies in the literature describing the application of lean production tools in companies in the red ceramic sector. Through the knowledge of the production process of the company, followed by a subsequent data collection, we built the current state value stream map of the company. With the analysis of this map, several improvements aimed at reducing waste in the production process were proposed, which are depicted in the future state value stream map. With the proposed improvements, we expect a 69 % lead time reduction, as well as reduction in raw material, in-process and final inventory levels.KeywordsStream MappingWeekly ScheduleLean ProductionValue Stream MappingLead Time ReductionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.