Waste Reduction Using Lean Manufacturing Tools: A Case in the Manufacturing of Bricks

The objective of this study was to identify those aspects of brick production in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) that need improvement, and, from this, to propose the implementation of such improvements to increase market competitiveness. The problem identified was the presence of a high rate of waste in the production process, having two main parts: high levels of reprocessing and waiting times. According to the root cause analysis, implementation of an improvement model is proposed using tools from the Lean Manufacturing philosophy. This model has two approaches, one in processes using tools such as Poka Yoke and Jidoka, another in maintenance using tools such as TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) and SMED (Matrix Change). Implementation of these tools improved the main indicators of the company. In the milling stage, productivity increased from 62.81 kg/min to 91.48 kg/min, while efficiency increased from 81% to 84.3%. In the extrusion stage, productivity increased from 13 und/min to 16 und/min, while efficiency increased from 40% to 53.39% With the increases in productivity and efficiency of these processes, gross margin was improved from 14% to 36.7% These results allowed these types of companies to improve their competitiveness in the market and, over time, they may have the economic and productive capacity to acquire new technologies that will improve the quality of the brick.