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Integrated Lean and Simulation for Productivity Improvement for Windows Manufacturing
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- Author / Creator
- Wang, Yining
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The manufacturing sector is of importance to Canada’s economic vitality. However, given the phenomenon of globalization, low trade barriers, and advances in technology, there has been a decline in manufacturing’s share of the Canadian economy. Today, Canadian manufacturing companies are striving to grow their businesses and enhance productivity. Lean manufacturing, a systematic method born when Japan was facing a shortage of resources, has benefited the manufacturing industry for decades. Simulation proved to be effective to analyze dynamic processes and statistically justify paybacks; therefore, this research proposes to incorporate lean with simulation.
The purpose of this research is to combine lean manufacturing and simulation tools to improve the productivity of the production line. Specifically, lean manufacturing is used as a starting point from which current state mapping and waste identification are performed, after which a root cause analysis is conducted, and corresponding solutions are proposed. Traditional manufacturers are usually reluctant to implement major changes proposed by lean if they cannot predict whether the gains are significant to cover the cost. In this research, simulation tools are used to statistically re-analyze the payback from the effect of changes to the production line. Since simulation can dynamically mimic the production process, it will also be used to conduct continuous analysis, such as determining where the bottlenecks are and to assist the resource allocation process. The methodology of this research is implemented through a case study with a local window and door manufacturer.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2019
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.