Lean Management Solutions for Contemporary Manufacturing Operations

This article tries to use Euler's concept to solve the problem of the 7 Königsberg bridges, applied in the workplace organization.

First of all, it is important to keep in mind that Euler was a mathematician who in 1736 proposed a solution to a problem posed at the time that consisted in taking a walk through the city of Kaliningrad, starting from one of its regions, crossing once all its bridges over the Pregolya River and returning to the same region from which he had started.

This chapter explores the concept of non-value-added operations in manufacturing (NVAA; non-value-added-activities) and how it affects part design. In the past, parts were designed to be functional to the mission they would serve, usually without regard to ergonomics, assembly method, and efficiency, as in the aftermarket. The idea is to describe what currently are considered operations that do not add value to manufacturing and to show examples of applied design, giving an idea of how the designer or engineer should think when manufacturing a new product. They should not only focus on functionality but also on the process, always contextualizing the different technologies available, the laws in force and the market to which it is intended to be introduced.

In times where the fourth industrial revolution is looming on the near horizon, technological advances and new employment configurations invite us to question access to quality jobs for vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities.

It is observed that barriers persist in the accessibility and use of services, products and transportation and an ineffective professional training that supports the old paradigm of considering this group as a handicap in the processes of growth and industrial development. This requires investigating the management of resources, physical, technical and procedural factors involved in the design of jobs and reviewing some alternatives such as the Supported Employment methodology.

The influence of strategic planning can be a link or obstacle to the good performance of the company and can be a factor of distinction in the commitment of those who are part of it.

Strategic planning allows diagnosing, analyzing, reflecting, and making collective decisions regarding current tasks and the path that organizations must explore in the future to adapt to the changes and requests imposed by the environment to achieve their viability.

Strategic planning must be understood as a participatory process, which will not solve all uncertainties, but must draw a line of those affected to act accordingly.

In this article, we are going to review different solutions for material handling problems to increase productivity.

In this process, we learn about some tools used to analyze time and methods and improve them.

The aim is to demonstrate that automation is not always expensive; if we resort to our knowledge, we can find a mechanism cheaper than a robot.

This article analyzes the feasibility of using agile methodologies tools in industrial manufacturing projects.

Since their inception, agile management tools have been used for software development projects and technology innovation. Currently, manufacturing projects employ only traditional project management methodologies; the challenge is to apply agile tools in traditional management.