THE APPLICATION OF LEAN PRINCIPLES IN A JOB SHOP SYSTEM TO REDUCE THE MANUFACTURING LEAD TIME (CASE STUDY: A PVD COATING SERVICE COMPANY)

Abstract

For the last two decades, lean strategies and its implementations has placed itself as a powerful tool in delivering countless success, especially in mass production, assembly line, and other low variety, high volume environments. This lead to a doubt of whether such approach is applicable in the counterpart of the environment: job shop service industry with low volume, high variety situation. Through a case study conducted in PT.X that firstly introduced PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating service in Indonesia, the answer to this question would soon be unearthed. Value Stream Mapping (VSM), Product Family Matrix, and other analytical tools were deployed to evaluate and progress the processes existed, in which manufacturing lead time serves as the primary measurement focus. From Flow Process Chart constructed, it turned out that waiting times and distance travelled are mostly responsible for undesirable extension of lead time. As such, simulation approach was used to deliver one major improvement in non-machine layout rearrangement by considering resource and time limitation of instant actual implementation. To be exact, the result targeted by this final project was to attain minimum ten percent reduction of lead time. Although in the end simulation output fell short to achieve this projected goal figure; lean principles were proved to be robust in job shop system, so that it was very promising to deliver extended reduction in manufacturing lead time.