Reducing Lean Wastes of the Leather Industry through the Application of Enhanced Value Stream Mapping

Abstract

Numerous scholars have used classical value stream mapping to reduce waste of manufacturing sector in general and automotive company in particular. However, it provides low level of details for value streams. Additionally, it is applicable for linear production system. The aim of this research is therefore to address these research void and reduce waste of leather industry through the application of enhanced value stream mapping. The research is done in the case of leather industry. Besides extant literature, Gemba-walk, interview and company’s report are used to collect relevant data from the case company. Product matrix is used to categorize the leather products into product families and select a product. The enhanced current state value stream mapping (ECSVSM) is developed by using data collected from the shop floor. The numerical results of the ECSVSM in terms of total production lead time (TPLT), value-added time (VA), non-value-added time (NVA), and VA ratio are 14.67days, 2198.244 seconds, 14.59 days, 0.54%, respectively. Using equivalent time, waiting and inventory wastes are found as major wastes of the shop floor. To reduce the identified waste, combining workstations, 5S, supermarket and layout modification are proposed. These proposed lean waste reduction techniques have been evaluated and approved by experts, including production manager, shift leaders, quality officers, of the company. A future state (FS) VSM is developed by incorporating the proposed solutions into the ECSVSM. Results of the research depict major waste reduction, including reductions in NVA by 41.95%, TPLT by 41.31%, alongside increase VA ratio by 29.63%.