Minimization of Non-Value-Added Activities in an Aerospace Industry

Abstract

Abstract-- The industry was having lesser productivity than the required due to the presence of certain ‘non-value added’ activities. Hence, the requirement was to improve productivity by means of cost reduction and rationalisation of manpower. Since the main purpose was to eliminate any process that does not add value to the final output. To reduce the waste, the lean manufacturing is the best choice among the available techniques. The Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is one of the major components in lean manufacturing techniques. This helps in identifying the major opportunities for performance improvement in the assembly line of the aerospace industry. The Value Stream Mapping was developed in the required assembly lines of the aerospace industry. The Value Stream Mapping consists of Time-Study, 5s implementation and skill based line balancing at the required workstations. Time-Study was conducted at the bottleneck workstations. The results were analysed by categorising them as value added (VA) and non-value added (NVA) components. This has benefited in identifying waste in the assembly line. The activities which were not adding value to the final product were eliminated and compared with previous results. Based on the analysis, the required man-power was added to improve the productivity. Keywords— Value Stream Mapping, Lean manufacturing, Time-Study, 5s, Productivity