Value Stream Mapping for Lead Time Reduction in Rubber Products Manufacturing Company

Abstract

The popular definition of Lean Manufacturing states that it is a comprehensive set of techniques that, when combined and matured, will allow you to reduce and then eliminate the seven wastes. This system is expected to not only make the company leaner, but subsequently more flexible and responsible. Lean practitioners, everywhere in the world, use the principles of the Toyota Production System (TPS) to bring about a systematic change in their manufacturing process. The implementation of these principles is a challenging task given the scope of improvement and the myriad of tools available. Fortunately, mapping tools have been designed to study the flow of material, information and people in an organization. Value Stream mapping, based on the Material and Information Flow Maps by Toyota, is a key tool used by lean practitioners all over the world to gain better insights into the working of any organization. This report is aimed at implementing lean manufacturing at a rubber industry in India to reduce the order lead time.