Setup Reduction Research Articles

High-efficiency thermal reduction of CO2 to high-valued carbon nanotubes

To reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) already emitted into the atmosphere, various carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies have been developed for climate and economic reasons in recent years. However, the state of art CCUS techniques suffer from deficiencies such as high cost, low yield, and harsh and discontinuous production conditions. In this work, we report a new thermal reduction method for continuously conversing CO2 to methane (CH4) by introducing sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as a reductant under catalyst-free conditions. Experimental results show that CO2 can be fully captured and converted to CH4 and carbon monoxide (CO) and the selectivity efficiency of CO2 to CH4 can be achieved to be as high as 90% with the optimization of experimental conditions. Such a result originates from the high activity of NaBH4 and high selectivity of the thermal reduction of CO2. To demonstrate one of the potential usages of the reduction products, we integrated the thermal reduction of CO2 with the production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). As long as CO2 is supplied at the source end, the reduction products can undergo catalytic decomposition to produce a CNT fiber or film continuously at the final end. The present technique is featured with simple equipment setup, low cost, and continuous thermal reduction, thus providing a new pathway for the large-scale conversion of CO2 into high-valued products for wide applications.

The influence of patient positioning and immobilization equipment on MR image quality and image registration in radiation therapy.

MRI is preferred for brain tumor assessment, while CT is used for radiotherapy simulation. This study evaluated immobilization equipment's impact on CT-MRI registration accuracy and MR image quality in RT setup. We included CT and MR images from 11 patients with high-grade glioma, all of whom were immobilized with a thermoplastic mask and headrest. T1- and T2-weighted MR images were acquired using an MR head coil in a diagnostic setup (DS) and a body matrix coil in RT setup. To assess MR image quality, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were considered in some dedicated regions of interest. We also evaluated the impact of immobilization equipment on CT-MRI rigid registration using line profile and external contour methods. The CNR and SNR reduction was in the RT setup of imaging. This was more evident in T1-weighted images than in T2-weighted ones. The SNR decreased by 14.91% and 12.09%, while CNR decreased by 25.12% and 20.15% in T1- and T2-weighted images, respectively. The immobilization equipment in the RT setup decreased the mean error in rigid registration by 1.02mm. The external contour method yielded Dice similarity coefficients (DSC) of 0.84 and 0.92 for CT-DS MRI and CT-RT MRI registration, respectively. The image quality reduction in the RT setup was due to the imaged region's anatomy and its position relative to the applied coil. Furthermore, optimizing the pulse sequence is crucial for MR imaging in RT applications. Although the use of immobilization equipment may decrease the image quality in the RT setup, it does not affect organ delineation, and the image quality is still satisfactory for this purpose. Also, the use of immobilization equipment in the RT setup has increased registration accuracy.

Efficient Ni-N-C Gas Diffusion Electrodes for Near Neutral and Acidic CO2 Reduction in a Zero-Gap Configuration

The electrochemical CO2 reduction can be a key technology for a fossil free future but for industrial applications it is necessary to analyse and understand the cathode. As one of the main problems is the low utilization efficiency of CO2 in AEM approaches due to the carbonate formation we have to find solutions to solve carbonate formation by maintain high selectivity.In this work we investigated NiNC cathode GDEs for CO2 reduction to CO in a zero-gap MEA cell regarding their activity in a classic AEM, BPM and CEM approach. We show that the CO2 access of the catalyst is important to achieve a high performance. In an AEM approach with near neutral conditions on the anode we can reach 85% FE towards CO at 300 mA cm-2 at 3.6 V with single pass conversion of 40% which is close to the theoretical maximum. In addition, we can report high energy efficiency but only a utilization efficiency of around 50%.Our newly introduced CCC value give information about the consumption of CO2 by the produced OH- during the CO2RR. The CCC value in combination with the selectivity enable insights in the mass transfer during the CO2 reduction in an AEM setup and give information about the accessibility of the catalyst and in addition we can monitor the flooding.On the other Hand, we show that our NiNC GDE is stable under acidic conditions in a PEM and BPM zero-gap cell. The protons help to increase the utilization efficiency as the carbonate will react back to CO2 and water. Therefore, we investigated the activity with DI water and diluted H2SO4 at the anode and the protons in the BPM approach will be generated in situ due to water dissociation. In pure water, 0.01 and 0.1M H2SO4 we can achieve a selectivity above 80% towards CO at 100 mA cm-2 with cell potentials around 3 V which are comparable to the AEM configuration with 0.1M KHCO3. If we use a BPM approach, we can even push the single pass conversion towards CO to 70% at 500 mA cm-2.The CCC value is in the perfect case 0 as we do not consume any additional CO2 but can indicating flooding as the CCC is rising. This indicates water accumulation which can hinder the neutralization of the carbonate/OH- and CO2 will be consumed and can precipitate in the flow channel. Figure 1

Lean Logistics 4.0: concepts and key performance indicators

Paper aims: To encourage the use of the combination of Logistics, Industry 4.0 and Lean Manufacturing, this article proposes, through a literature review, following the Prisma methodology, to define the concept of Lean Logistics 4.0 and to present performance indicators, selected by 15 specialists using the methodology AHP, that can help organizations in their actions towards the future of logistics, through a dashboard based on 8 KPI´s Originality: The literature shows that there is a lack of studies focusing on the relationship between the concepts of Lean Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 applied to Logistics. It can be observed that only two articles contemplate the theme of Logistics 4.0 related to the concepts of Lean Manufacturing. Research method: A review was carried out in the literature to define the concept of Lean Logistics 4.0 and the AHP methodology was applied with 15 experts in the field to select key performance indicators to measure and guide the performance of companies through Lean Logistics 4.0. Main findings: In addition to the definition of the concept of Lean Logistics 4.0, the research provided through the AHP method a dashboard based on 8 key performance indicators: Investment/innovations in automation and new equipment, Handling and Transportation Waste, Workforce Flexibility, Lead Time, Predictive/prescriptive capacity, Punctuality and Completeness of Delivery, Total Logistics Cost, and Setup Reduction. Implications for theory and practice: The research revealed that some benefits can be exploited in companies operating with Lean Logistics 4.0 and this article provides a perspective of performance indicators that can guide organizations towards the application of the concept and the continuous improvement of logistics flows.

Simulation of an Aeronautical Product Assembly Process Driven by a Metrology Aided Virtual Approach

Major aircraft manufacturers are expecting the commercial aircraft market to overcome the pre-COVID levels by 2025, which demands an increase in the production rate. However, aeronautical product assembly processes are still mainly manually performed with a low level of automation. Moreover, the current industry digitalization trend offers the possibility to develop faster, smarter and more flexible manufacturing processes, aiming at a higher production rate and product customization. Here, the integration of metrology within the manufacturing processes offers the possibility to supply reliable data to constantly adjust the assembly process parameters aiming at zero-defect, more digital and a higher level of automation manufacturing processes. In this context, this article introduces the virtual metrology as an assistant of the assembly process of the Advanced Rear-End fuselage component. It describes how the assembly process CADmodel is used by simulation tools to design, set up and perform the virtual commissioning of the new metrology-driven assembly methods, moving from a dedicated tooling approach to a more flexible and reconfigurable metrology-aided design. Preliminary results show that portable metrology solutions are fit-to-purpose even for hardly accessible geometries and fulfil the current accuracy demands. Moreover, the simulation environment ensures a user-friendly assembly process interaction providing further set-up time reduction.

Implementation of Manufacturing Excellence in an Indian Manufacturing Industry

Abstract: Industries today are working towards decentralizing their structure to get near to the customer to know the actual demand of customer in order to reduce lead times and trying to become more flexible in order to fulfill the customer‘s demand and improve the level of satisfaction. They had also implemented various improvement methodologies like lean and, Six Sigma etc. to achieve the goals. The work in this paper is a study performed at Cummins Turbo Technologies, Dewas. Turbo Plant focuses on achieving Manufacturing functional excellence under Operation Excellence Project. Keywords: Operation Excellence, Manufacturing Excellence (MEFE), TAKT time, Line Balancing, SMED, Setup reduction, Standard working methods.

Abstract 10535: Tissue-Incubation-Chamber Provides Enhanced Viability of Porcine Aortic Valve Tissue in Dynamic Long-Term Culture

Introduction: Aortic valve (AV) stenosis is caused by fibrosis and calcification of the three-layered valve tissue. Current in vitro and in vivo models are insufficient to reflect cell-cell or cell-matrix interaction and pathophysiological processes. Therefore a novel tissue incubation chamber (TIC) enabling dynamic AV-tissue culture in micro-physiological systems (MPS) was designed to improve emulation of the extreme in vivo conditions of the cardiac cycle. This pilot study aims to verify tissue viability to ensure applicability of the TIC in conjunction with a MPS in AV research. Methods: Porcine AV tissue of 3x5 mm is maintained in the TIC for 14 days within a conventional cell incubator under sterile conditions. A pump-chip able to generate a pulsatile flow rate of 13.4 μl/s (150 bpm) accomplishes average shear forces of 0.017 dyn/cm 2 . Two viability assays were performed to compare dynamic and static setups. AV samples were snap frozen, cryo sectioned and intracellular LDH activity in central tissue regions was visualized using a Tetrazolium-based dye. In addition, a Resazurin reduction assay (50-300 μM) was applied. Results: The LDH-viability stain reveals no significant reduction of viable tissue sections in dynamically incubated AV tissues (96.4 ± 1.3 %) but a significant decrease in the static counterparts (67.8 ± 4.7 %, n=3). The Resazurin assay on the other hand showed significant viability reduction in dynamic setup after 12 days (57 ± 5.4 %), whereas significant reduction was already detected in static culture after 8 days (57.5 ± 15.1 %, n=4). Due to the discrepancy of both viability assays, an inadequate diffusion rate based on structural AV tissue integrity was hypothesized with the need to adapt Resazurin assay concentration. A saturation curve conducted consecutively determined an optimal Resazurin concentration of 300μM to be used in upcoming AV tissue culture (n=4). Conclusion: Enhanced viability of porcine AV tissue following dynamic incubation in the TIC was achieved but further adaptation in terms of higher shear forces and a more physiological sample fixation is envisioned. Dynamically cultured AV tissue cultures in the novel TICs offer a relevant improvement for investigation of AV pathophysiology.

Sales Kit Automated Production: An Integrated Procedure for Setup Reduction in Case of High Products Variety

Nowadays, the demand for personalized goods is increasing, with small batches of customized products. Companies are asked to cope with this need to be more competitive; thus, it is crucial to optimally set up the production process to cope with the demand. Among the products composed of several parts, sales kits occupy a significant role. Sales kits are sets of different components, supplied as a single unit. Automation is usually used to reduce the unit direct production costs for assembled products, and this is especially true for kitting since it has minimum added value, compared to other technologies. The wide range of components leads to frequent reconfiguration of the feeding devices between different products, increasing the setup time. The aim of this work is to provide a model that minimizes the setup times of automatic kitting systems when working with a high variety of products. To reach this goal, we propose to apply the traveling salesman problem (TSP) to the production process by integrating a multi-clustering model, thus increasing its appeal to several applications. This method is applied both to simulations and to a real case study, and proves to be able to provide a good solution in a reasonable time.

Lean Manufacturing Tools Applied to Material Flow and Their Impact on Economic Sustainability

This paper presents a second-order structural equation model that analyzes three lean manufacturing tools associated with material flow, such as 5S, SMED, and continuous flow related to economic sustainability. The variables relate to each other through six hypotheses, tested with 169 responses to a questionnaire applied to the Mexican maquiladora industry, using the partial least squares technique and 95% confidence to estimate direct, the sum of indirect, and total effects. In addition, an analysis with conditional probabilities appears to determine how low and high implementation levels in independent variables affect the dependent variables’ occurrence. Findings indicate that 5S is a lean manufacturing tool with the most increased direct effects on SMED and continuous flow. Additionally, values indicate that SMED is essential to maintain continuous flow in production lines and is vital for economic sustainability due to the time reduction in setup.

Revitalising the setup reduction activities in Operations Management

This research project challenges the status quo regarding setup reduction methods from the current difficulties faced by industries and the knowledge gaps in the literature on continuous process improvement. The purpose of this study is to examine how it is possible to combine SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die) with Presetting systems (anticipation of tools or devices adjustments) to improve production systems’ productivity in practice. First, a literature review was performed to expand the understanding of SMED-related methods and the current knowledge gaps in the relevant literature. Next, a revitalised method combining SMED with Presetting systems was proposed and empirically validated in close collaboration with the industry in a longitudinal study. Qualitative and quantitative observations made before, during and after the intervention demonstrated the adequate performance of the tested method. The main results obtained include (i) 87% reduction in the setup time and a 33.8% increase in the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of the labelling machine, (ii) 17% increase in the entire line’s OEE, (iii) about 45% reduction of the lot sizes, (iv) a systemic improvement in productivity of 48.533 parts per month into production line responsible for 90.5% of the company’s revenues. Overall, this study proposed theory refinements and contributes to research and practice on Lean Production implementation by expanding and revitalising the current literature on setup reduction methods and process improvements. The refined method and the prescriptive guidelines provided in this study enable industrial practitioners to increase production systems’ performance in practice. The paper contributes to expanding the absorption of best practices in Production/Operations Management research results in firms.

A novel approach to high-pressure gas releases simulations

Risk-relevant plants like Oil & Gas (O&G) or nuclear ones are subjected to strict safety regulations. Risk Assessment is mandatory for these plants, and the damage quantification is a crucial step which has to be carefully addressed.Nowadays the state of practice for consequences estimation entails the use of semi-empirical methods which permit a fast evaluation of the large number of accidental scenarios needed for a Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA).However, in case of large and congested industrial environments like offshore platforms or equipment inside nuclear primary containment buildings, the aforementioned methods usually lead to an overestimation of the damage areas, for example because they neglect the space congestion which highly affects the accident evolution. A more accurate analysis can be performed using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), nonetheless its high computational cost represents an important drawback.In this work a CFD approach, called Source Box Accident Model (SBAM), is presented. It models high-pressure gas releases (>10 bar) in congested environments guaranteeing a good computational cost-accuracy compromise. The aim of SBAM is to permit a fast consequences estimation (evaluation of flammable/toxic areas, etc.) via CFD, in order to have a simulations time compatible with the plants design schedule. The long-term objective is to integrate the CFD contribution in a safety driven design process.SBAM is based on the splitting of the multi-physics and multiscale phenomena characterizing the accident: the initial supersonic compressible release and the successive low speed dispersion. The first one is simulated in a small domain called Source Box (SB) and the second one in the case study domain.The two simulations are coupled in a suitable way, through proper parameters which are extensively discussed. This work presents a detailed description of SBAM and two different analyses: a sensitivity study on the coupling parameters and a numerical benchmark which uses a standard CFD simulation as reference. The sensitivity analysis shows that the coupling is a crucial step of the method and the coupling parameters must be treated in the most accurate way. The numerical benchmark shows that SBAM is not introducing significant errors with respect to a standard CFD simulation and, in addition, permits a relevant simplification in the simulation setup and computational cost reduction.

MCDM based model for sustainable green development through modern production techniques

Recent developments in industry suggest another way of achieving excellence in production, that is, industry regulators and professional bodies must encourage innovation in a broad range of high-tech production facilities with environment in mind. Success of the industry depends upon production facilities and the competitive advantage that the industry gains because of better quality and reliability. Today, most of the production strategies are influenced by quality, cost, delivery, innovation, and responsiveness. Firms have traditionally pursued these goals through adoption of production practices, such as simultaneous engineering, increasing efficiency through elimination of defects, setup reduction etc., and worker empowerment. This work presents a model based on multi criteria decision making (MCDM) analysis.

A Sustainable Inventory Model for Setup and Ordering Cost Reduction under a Controllable Lead Time

A Sustainable Inventory Model for Setup and Ordering Cost Reduction under a Controllable Lead Time

Applicability of Squeezed- and Coherent-State Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution over Satellite Links.

We address the applicability of quantum key distribution with continuous-variable coherent and squeezed states over long-distance satellite-based links, considering low Earth orbits and taking into account strong varying channel attenuation, atmospheric turbulence and finite data ensemble size effects. We obtain tight security bounds on the untrusted excess noise on the channel output, which suggest that substantial efforts aimed at setup stabilization and reduction of noise and loss are required, or the protocols can be realistically implemented over satellite links once either individual or passive collective attacks are assumed. Furthermore, splitting the satellite pass into discrete segments and extracting the key from each rather than from the overall single pass allows one to effectively improve robustness against the untrusted channel noise and establish a secure key under active collective attacks. We show that feasible amounts of optimized signal squeezing can substantially improve the applicability of the protocols allowing for lower system clock rates and aperture sizes and resulting in higher robustness against channel attenuation and noise compared to the coherent-state protocol.

The Sixth Data Release of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE). I. Survey Description, Spectra, and Radial Velocities

Abstract The Radial Velocity Experiment (Rave) is a magnitude-limited (9 < I < 12) spectroscopic survey of Galactic stars randomly selected in Earth’s southern hemisphere. The Rave medium-resolution spectra (R ∼ 7500) cover the Ca-triplet region (8410–8795 Å). The sixth and final data release (DR6) is based on 518,387 observations of 451,783 unique stars. Rave observations were taken between 2003 April 12 and 2013 April 4. Here we present the genesis, setup, and data reduction of Rave as well as wavelength-calibrated and flux-normalized spectra and error spectra for all observations in Rave DR6. Furthermore, we present derived spectral classification and radial velocities for the Rave targets, complemented by cross-matches with Gaia DR2 and other relevant catalogs. A comparison between internal error estimates, variances derived from stars with more than one observing epoch, and a comparison with radial velocities of Gaia DR2 reveals consistently that 68% of the objects have a velocity accuracy better than 1.4 km s–1, while 95% of the objects have radial velocities better than 4.0 km s–1. Stellar atmospheric parameters, abundances and distances are presented in a subsequent publication. The data can be accessed via the Rave website (http://rave-survey.org) or the Vizier database.

Reusable biopolymer based heavy metal filter as plant protection for phytoremediation

Bioremediation via floating treatment wetlands/islands (FTW/I) is a sustainable, upcoming strategy to clean over-fertilized waters. Heavy metal pollution could be addressed in the same system. For implementing this feature, heavy-metal-adsorbing filter papers were prepared in a scalable procedure. Polyamine-functionalized papers based on the grafting of polyethyleneimine (PEI) and chitosan were prepared in aqueous immersion baths and tested for their heavy metal adsorption capability. Compared to untreated cellulose, the prepared filter papers exhibited great heavy metal reduction in a filtration setup. Compellingly, the natural biopolymer functionalization with chitosan adsorbed similar or even higher amounts (80% Ni, 65% Co, 100% Cu, 85% Fe, 40% Cr, 90% Cd, and 66% Zn of the 5 ppm heavy metal sulfate solutions) compared to the PEI filters (48% Ni, 36% Co, 89% Cu, 96% Fe, 45% Cr, 84% Cd, and 62% Zn) at pH 6.5. Moreover, the filters can be re-used simply by acidic washing to desorb the heavy metals, which was demonstrated in five repeating cycles. The presented chitosan–cellulose papers were prepared from renewable resources in a 3-step production lane and are a sustainable choice for various heavy-metal-removing applications. The papers can be implemented into floating treatment wetland systems to protect plants and microorganisms during phytoremediation processes and to add the additional feature of heavy metal removal for FTWs. • The chitosan filter papers exhibit efficient heavy metal adsorption. • They were implemented into a natural FTW/I vetiver grass set up. • The filter papers can be re-used after acidic washing with citric acid. • The batch synthesis is highly scalable & transferable to reel-to-reel production.

Digital Twin of manufacturing systems: a case study on increasing the efficiency of reconfiguration

Abstract The added value of a Digital Twin for reconfiguring manufacturing systems promises an increase in system availability, a reduction in set-up and conversion times and enables the manufacturing of customer-specific products. To evaluate this claim, this paper selects an architecture of the Digital Twin and realizes it on the basis of an application scenario for a cyber-physical manufacturing system. A case study is used to test the reconfiguration of a manufacturing system by comparing two different methods, one without and one with use of the Digital Twin. In this paper, the process steps of both reconfigurations are described and discussed in detail and a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the reconfiguration results is presented. Finally, this paper gives an outlook on future research on intelligent automation of manufacturing systems using the Digital Twin.

Stress Tolerance of Yeasts Dominating Reverse Osmosis Membranes for Whey Water Treatment.

Filamentous yeast species belonging to the closely related Saprochaete clavata and Magnusiomyces spicifer were recently found to dominate biofilm communities on the retentate and permeate surface of Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes used in a whey water treatment system after CIP (Cleaning-In-Place). Microscopy revealed that the two filamentous yeast species can cover extensive areas due to their large cell size and long hyphae formation. Representative strains from these species were here further characterized and displayed similar physiological and biochemical characteristics. Both strains tested were able to grow in twice RO-filtrated permeate water and metabolize the urea present. Little is known about the survival characteristics of these strains. Here, their tolerance toward heat (60, 70, and 80°C) and Ultraviolet light (UV-C) treatment at 255 nm using UV-LED was assessed as well as their ability to form biofilm and withstand cleaning associated stress. According to the heat tolerance experiments, the D60°C of S. clavata and M. spicifer is 16.37 min and 7.24 min, respectively, while a reduction of 3.5 to >4.5 log (CFU/mL) was ensured within 5 min at 70°C. UV-C light at a dose level 10 mJ/cm2 had little effect, while doses of 40 mJ/cm2 and upward ensured a ≥4log reduction in a static laboratory scale set-up. The biofilm forming potential of one filamentous yeast and one budding yeast, Sporopachydermia lactativora, both isolated from the same biofilm, was compared in assays employing flat-bottomed polystyrene microwells and peg lids, respectively. In these systems, employing both nutrient rich as well as nutrient poor media, only the filamentous yeast was able to create biofilm. However, on RO membrane coupons in static systems, both the budding yeast and a filamentous yeast were capable of forming single strain biofilms and when these coupons were exposed to different simulations of CIP treatments both the filamentous and budding yeast survived these. The dominance of these yeasts in some filter systems tested, their capacity to adhere and their tolerance toward relevant stresses as demonstrated here, suggest that these slow growing yeasts are well suited to initiate microbial biofouling on surfaces in low nutrient environments.

Quantifying the impact of optical surface guidance in the treatment of cancers of the head and neck.

Surface guided radiation therapy (SGRT) is increasingly being adopted for use in radiation treatment delivery for Head and Neck (H&N) cancer patients. This study investigated the improvement of patient setup accuracy and reduction of setup time for SGRT compared to a conventional setup. A total of 60 H&N cancer patients were retrospectively included. Patients were categorized into three groups: oral cavity, oropharynx and nasopharynx/sinonasal sites with 20 patients in each group. They were further separated into two (2) subgroups, depending on whether they were set up with the aid of SGRT. The Align‐RT™ system was used for SGRT in this work. Positioning was confirmed by daily kV‐kV imaging in conjunction with weekly CBCT scans. Translational and rotational couch shifts along with patient setup times were recorded. Imaging setup time, which was defined as the elapsed time from the acquisition of the first image set to the end of the last image set, was recorded. Average translational shifts were larger in the non‐SGRT group. Vertical shifts showed the most significant reduction in the SGRT group for both oropharynx and oral cavity groups. Pitch corrections were significantly higher in the SGRT group for oropharynx patients and higher pitch corrections were also observed in the SGRT groups of oral cavity and nasopharynx/sinonasal patients. The average setup time when SGRT guidance was employed was shorter for all three treatment sites although this did not reach statistical significance. The largest time reduction between the SGRT and non‐SGRT groups was seen in the nasopharynx/sinonasal group. This study suggests that the use of SGRT decreases the magnitude of translational couch shifts during patient setup. However, the rotational corrections needed were generally higher with SGRT group. When SGRT was employed, a definite reduction in patient setup time was observed for nasopharynx/sinonasal and hypopharynx cancer patients.

A lean production system design for semiconductor crystal-ingot pulling manufacturing using hybrid Taguchi method and simulation optimization

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to propose an innovative methodology in solving the lean production design from semiconductor crystal-ingot pulling manufacturing which is an important industry. Due to the complexity of the system, it is computationally prohibited by an analytical approach; thus, simulation optimization is adopted for this study.Design/methodology/approachFour control factors that affect the system’s performance, including the pulling strategy, machine limitations, dispatching rules and batch-size control, are identified to generate the future-state value stream mapping. Taguchi two-step procedure and simulation optimization are used to determine the optimal parameter values for a robust system.FindingsThe proposed methodology improved the system performances by 6.42 and 12.02 per cent for service level and throughput, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsThis study does not investigate operations management issues such as setup reduction, demand forecasting and layout design.Practical implicationsA real-world crystal-ingot pulling manufacturing factory was used for the case study. The results are promising and are readily applied to other industrial applications.Social implicationsThe improved performances, service level and throughout rate, can result in an improved customer satisfaction level and a reduced resources consumption, respectively.Originality/valueThe proposed methodology innovatively solved a practical application and the results are promising.