The Use of Lean Manufacturing Tools to Improve the Production of Automobile Parts

The competitiveness of the national and international market for automobile parts requires that delivery times, quantities and agreed upon quality standards for the ordered product are rigorously adhered to. This means that a company must use and keep up with strategies that allow for improvement while maintaining a high performance-level in its production processes. The company accepts their clients’ challenge to increase the production capacity and improve levels of quality and productivity for their M300 wheel hub1 production line. The first step was to carry out a general analysis of the manufacturing process, identifying each of the activities and operations used to make the product. The critical path along with critical activities was identified and deficiencies were found in the execution of the activities along these critical paths. Next, the causes for low productivity and flaws in the production process were identified. This information was used to implement improvement proposals using “lean manufacturing” techniques with the respective results that were achieved. Conclusions and recommendations for continuous improvements in the manufacturing process are presented.