Applying Lean Techniques to Reduce Defective Products: A Case Study of an Electrode Manufacturing Company

Abstract

The main problem facing an electrode manufacturer is the high rate of defective products. Among the factors that have given rise to the defects are downtimes due to line changes and disorganized workstations during production processes. To solve this problem, a proposal was developed using the 5S and Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) tools to reduce the number of production defects. To support this analysis, a simulation will be carried out, seeking a considerable reduction of defective products within the production area. Implementing the Lean manufacturing philosophy, the number of defective products was reduced by 11.23%, thereby improving the quality of the production process and yielding economic benefits.