Abstract
Lean principles and tools have been increasingly employed in companies across several sectors, with numerous successful implementations both inside and outside production environments. In the case of Portuguese companies, few works have reported the application and corresponding results of lean, and even fewer focusing on small and medium sized companies. This work presents a case study of an implementation of several lean principles and tools in the production sector of a Portuguese medium-sized screw cap manufacturer. Visual management, A3 thinking, and single-minute exchange of die (SMED) were employed to identify and reduce inefficiencies and waste in the shop floor. The implementation of these principles and tools is detailed, showcasing the necessary adjustments for being correctly embedded in the company's culture. Qualitative and quantitative results are presented concerning the case study, where a continuous improvement culture was adhered to and a significant gain in productivity could be observed.
Highlights
In Portugal, large-sized companies are only a tiny portion of industry-specific organisations
Originated in Toyota, impressive gains have been reported in several other companies, even when applied outside production environments (Womack et al, 1990; George, 2003)
The case study method is used to investigate the impact of lean principles and tools in the context of a Portuguese SME
Summary
In Portugal, large-sized companies are only a tiny portion of industry-specific organisations. According to the Portuguese National Statistics Institute in 2013, the proportion of micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SME) was respectively 96.2, 3.2 and 0.5; their business volume 17.2%, 17.6% and 19% of the national total. Many of these small/medium-sized companies still lack good management practices and philosophies. Lean aims in reducing wastes in order to become highly responsive to customer demand, while efficiently delivering quality products (Womack et al, 1990). Originated in Toyota, impressive gains have been reported in several other companies, even when applied outside production environments (Womack et al, 1990; George, 2003). Lean is not without its drawbacks, the most commonly mentioned is the impact it has on employees and their working conditions, leading to increased stress and reduced work content (Eklund et al, 2015; Langstrand and Drotz, 2016)
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