Lean Implementation in a Low Volume Manufacturing Environment: a Case Study

Lean production refers to approaches initially developed by Toyota that focuses on the elimination of waste in all forms. Lean has been extremely successful in large high volume manufacturers. However, many small to medium size low volume manufacturers have not fully embraced the potential benefits of a lean production system. This paper focuses on the implementation of lean in a small manufacturer of all electric 4-wheel drive vehicles. The goal was to increase the capacity and throughput rates, reduce lead-times, and improve quality and efficiency while reducing operating costs. Through the implementation of basic lean tools such as 5S, standardized work, line balancing, visual controls, point of use storage, and quality at the source, the small manufacturer was able to rapidly increase throughput and reduce quality defects by 80%. Based on observations derived from this case study, hypothesis statements are generated regarding obstacles and solutions to lean implementation in small and medium manufacturing enterprises.