Production system improvement : floor area reduction and inventory optimization

Abstract

This thesis shows improvements of a medical device production system. The demand at the Medical Device Manufacturing Company (MDMC¹) is low for the occlusion system product and there is a need to introduce other production lines on the floor. MDMC gave the challenge to the MIT team to improve the production area utilization rate and inventory management for the occlusion system product. This thesis shows the Six Sigma approach and methodology the MIT team used to reduce the occlusion system's floor area. Detailed approaches selected by the team in area reduction include supermarket decentralization, consolidation of equipment, removal of non-production items and change in bench configuration to reduce excess s ace. The floor reduction plan recommended reduces the production area from 1528 ft² to 1052 ft². The thesis also covers the inventory management analysis and optimization that improves the operation efficiency and reduce inventory cost of this production line. Information regarding the other improvements including manpower allocation, cycle time analysis and visual management can be found in other team members' individual theses [1] [2] [3]. Key Words: Lean Manufacturing, Floor Area Reduction, Inventory Optimization, System Efficiency