The path to lean success - WHEN A SPANISH MANUFACTURER UPGRADED ITS PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT IT TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THE FIRST STEPS ON A LEAN JOURNEY

Spanish manufacturer of industrial electrical appliances, Fagor Industrial, redesigned its production system to enable lean flows by means of waste reduction. Using the value stream mapping (VSM) technique to analyze and plan the improvement project, Fagor decided to make technological changes to its sheet metal cutting line. The seven Trumpf punching machines were replaced with four new laser technology machines, in addition to the acquisition of the latest generation software. This allowed Fagor to create multi-part programs, guaranteeing good use of sheet metal, which also gives the advantage of working with unitary batches of parts adjusting the production to the demand. This also provided the opportunity of working in kanban supply system, owing to the reduction of format changes in the machines. Furthermore, there is freedom in the design process as the dependency between the set of punches and the geometry of the part is eliminated