Lean Manufacturing is a Prerequisite for Automation, A Quantified Study

Abstract

Abstract Lean manufacturing has become a well-known term for the past few years due to its capability to reduce waste and make a system more efficient. Most firms are shifting towards Industry 4.0 to cope with personalized customer demands, which can only be achieved with automation. Previous studies showed a conceptual framework for the integration of lean tools into automation but lacked systematic and quantified study. This study aims to find out the quantified effects of applying lean tools before and after automation. A case study was done in a leather industry with a specific production line that is completely labor dependent. The production line's assembly line data have been used to create the first simulation model (using ARENA). The second simulation model have been created considering automating the existing production line without any improvement by lean tools. Lean wastages are identified in the existing production line. Major wastage was a higher number of defects from certain workstations. The third simulation model have been created with an improvement using one of the lean tools-Inline Quality Check (IQC). The improvement lowers the number of defective items in the existing production line. Lastly, this improved labor-intensive production line is simulated by considering automation to find a comparison with the second simulation. The comparison study showed that productivity decreases (with higher input) more quickly in automated lines if lean tools are not applied before automation.