Lean manufacturing model in a make to order environment in the printing sector in Peru

Abstract

The printing sector in Peru constantly faces the need to reduce production time because late deliveries to the customer owing to high manufacturing time are critical problems. Previous studies have proposed using the lean manufacturing philosophy to reduce idle times by improving the flow of information within the production processes in large manufacturing companies but not printing SMEs using these tools in a make-to-order environment. This document focuses on implementing an affordable lean manufacturing model in an SME company with a make-to-order environment to reduce its manufacturing times. Therefore, the Kanban, Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), and value stream mapping (VSM) processes will be adapted for implementation in these companies. Then, the model is validated through its application in a case study; through process simulation, production times were reduced by 24% for an SME, delivering all orders on time, and eliminating 100% penalty costs for late orders.