DR. HAMID SEIFODDINI
IE 587: LEAN MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS SPRING 2014
MAY 06, 2014
Abstract Our project team tasked ourselves with taking a real-world application of LEAN manufacturing, 6S, and bringing it into the classroom to better demonstrate how the Industrial Engineering tools learned at a university can and are being used every day in industries local as well as abroad. To do this, a local manufacture of heavy industrial equipment, Joy Global Inc. was visited and examined to determine how a large corporation determines if 6S is appropriate to implement into the company, as well as how the organization approaches integrating each pillar of the 6S process into its own processes, corporate culture, and company values. Each step of the process was examined and before and after examples were drawn out to demonstrate the increased productivity, safety, and effectiveness that a process can have when 6S is properly implemented.
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Chapter 1 Introduction One contribution of the LEAN approach to manufacturing, industrial or any business improvement has been a set of tools that anyone can leverage to improve workplaces and work processes. One of these tools is known as 6S. Most people may think of it as relating to manufacturing workplaces, but it is just as applicable to office settings or even one’s garage space. As with all LEAN tools, 6S is about eliminating waste and maximizing value-added work. To this end, 6S uses its process to create and maintain an organized, clean, safe, and efficient setting that enables the highest level of value-added performance. This means eliminating search, movements, transporting materials, inventory, and hazards. It achieves this through introducing organization and orderliness, eliminating
