Implementation of Lean Manufacturing in a Cement Industry

Abstract

The lean manufacturing concept is a systematic minimization of waste and non-value activities in production processes introduced by the Toyota production system. In this research, lean manufacturing is implemented in a cement production line. Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is applied to give a clear picture of the value chain in cement production processes and to highlight the non-value-added in the shop floor. To begin, the existing VSM is constructed based on the information and data gathered during visiting and observing the manufacturing process in the firm. As a result, the excess inventory between workstations was identified as a major waste generation, hence, the proposed VSM conducts further improvement and makes action plans to alleviate the unwanted activities. Then, the takt time to ensure smooth material flow and to avoid any occurring delay or bottleneck in the production line was figured out. The supermarket pull-based production control is suggested to be adopted in the future map. Two pull production strategies are selected in this case. The first is applying the Kanban system to control the level of inventory between workstations. The other is the CONWIP approach to control the amount of work in process to the entire production line. The outcome of the proposed models indicates a decrease of the none-value time from 23 days in the current state to about 4 and 2 days in Kanban and CONWIP systems respectively, so the CONWIP was suggested as most efficient. Some suggestions for further research are also mentioned.

Influence of bed ash on the rheology and properties of gypsum building mixtures

“…At the same time, it is also the supplier of the main component of raw mixes and concretes [4]. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it was proposed to consider the possibility of creating alternative binders or low-cement compositions [5,6,7,8]. They should have similar performance with cement binder compositions or be in demand in certain areas of production [9].…”

Modeling and Simulation of Manufacturing Processes and Systems: Overview of Tools, Challenges, and Future Opportunities

“…A major challenge is to ensure that production, supply, and customer processes are correctly implemented and stabilized. These processes transform the input material and increase its value [1][2][3]. The main goal of the factories and enterprises today and in the future is to increase the value of the product effectively and to produce the smallest possible amounts of waste [4][5][6].…”