Lean Manufacturing and value stream mapping

Lean manufacturing is about reducing waste spendings in an operation, such as long lead times,
defects and material waste. This principle was first used in Toyota around 1988 and sometime also referred to as Toyotism.

There is no set of standard procedures about Lean Manufacturing but instead, it's about designing the optimum process with the use of set of standard practices to increase production or output.

Why it is relevant now?

Competition in the manufacturing sector is intense and it is increasing with each passing day. Companies are shifting their manufacturing base from developed countries to developing countries to become cost-effective. To survive in this stiff competition lean manufacturing can play a vital role.

Today we will discuss major projects "Value Stream Mapping for Lean Manufacturing" submitted for fulfillment of their major degrees by Wolfgang Apel, Jia Yong Li and Vanessa Walton at WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE (WPI).

In this report, we will see how CIS(Central Industrial Supply), a manufacturing company that produces electro-mechanical components had reduced their production time to almost 50 %.

Manufacturing Projects

Manufacturing is a process to develop products for self-use or sell. This process is largely associated with the industries which we called manufacturing industries.

There are many projects which you can do as a student of this field to improve efficiency, lowering raw material wastages and making things green.

I am discussing some of these ideas below :

1. Thermodynamic Analysis of Manufacturing Processes Engineering

2. Applications for the Plastics Industry

The plastics industry manufactures and sells polymers in various shapes and sizes. They are used in the construction of bridges, buildings, and roads.
Many household goods are also made up of plastic.

3. Green and Efficient Materials :

Green Manufacturing

4. Use of Waste Resources

5. Reducing waiting time for an individual product.

6. Lead time reduction and capacity increase strategy in coil manufacturing for electric motors


Useful Links:

Planning Process in Manufacturing Systems

Cogeneration Project

Cogeneration (also combined heat and power, CHP) is the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat. We all know that all power plants emit heat while producing electricity, this heat energy can be used for other purposes. Masnedø CHP power station in Denmark(Image is shown below)  uses the same concept. In my opinion, it is a great project for Mechanical Engineering students. Its use is not only limited to big power plants, but it can also be used in other places too, a good example of that is the implementation of a co-generation plant at Carnegie Mellon University about which you can search on the internet.

At the time of global warming, it is vital to improving the efficiency of our power plants, this can be done easily using this method. The University of Gaziantep journal about Performance assessment of co-generation plants proves my point.
Coopers' Brewery uses this system to reduce its carbon footprint to 50 percent and at the same time double there production.




How cogeneration works?





Even though companies started to implement co-generation in their plants, there is still a lot to do in this field, for example, there can be other ways to use this heat or how many other places this concept can be implemented.

Useful Resources :

Cogeneration for confectioners