Implementation of lean tools and techniques in an automotive industry

Lean manufacturing is a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste (all non-value-added activities) through continuous improvement by flowing the product at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection. A case study on the evaporator core building of the model car (PA) was conducted. This study describes the set-up time reduction in a Fagor press involved in the machining of evaporator plates. The well-known Single Minute Exchange of Die technique (SMED) was applied. SMED is one of the many lean production methods for reducing waste in a manufacturing process. It provides a rapid and efficient way of converting a manufacturing process from running the current product to running the next product. It is also often referred to as Quick Changeover (QCO). Using SMED technique, the result shows that tool change over time was reduced from 40-12 min and production rate has been increased from 92200 pieces to 98080 pieces. © 2012 Asian Network for Scientific Information.