Application of Lean Manufacturing Techniques in a Peruvian Plastic Company
I. G. Poves-Calderno1, J. A. Ramirez-Mendoza1, V. H. Nuñez-Ponce1, J. C. Alvarez-Merino1
1
Ingeniería Industrial, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), Lima, Perú
(u201419903@upc.edu.pe, u201315236@upc.edu.pe, victor.nunez@upc.edu.pe, pciijalv@upc.edu.pe)
Abstract - This study analyzes the influence of non-
fulfillment of orders in a company that produces plastic
sheets. The main cause of problems is the long unproductive
times during the extrusion process, which decrease the index
of the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). An innovative
proposal is presented to address this issue, involving the use
of a systematic approach and combining the SMED and
preventive maintenance techniques of the lean manufacturing
methodology, with the aim of reducing unproductive times to
improve the OEE index. To validate the effectiveness of the
proposal, the systems were simulated using Arena simulation
software and input analyzer, to determine the reduction of
unproductive times. Results show that the proposal reduces
the unproductive times bh 36.37% and improves the OEE
index by 9.02%. This demonstrates the achievement of the
objective of the project, which was to maximize the efficiency
of the process and reduce the total time of the extrusion
process, which will allow the company to fulfill the orders and
avoid profit losses.
Keywords - Unproductive times, lean manufacturing,
simulation
I. INTRODUCTION
The political and economic situation facing the country
indicates the need for companies to adapt to change and
improve the efficiency of their processes to succeed in the
competitive environment that they are facing. The
company under study presents a problem of non-
fulfillment of orders in its business line of BOPP (biaxially
oriented polypropylene) production. This occurs due to
high unproductive times during the extrusion process of the
BOPP 4 line that delays the programmed production. To
mitigate this problem, an innovative proposal was
developed that combines SMED and preventive
maintenance techniques of the lean manufacturing
methodology.
One of the most common problems in companies
around the world are the high unproductive times that
reduce productivity and impact business growth [1]. Given
this situation, organizations opt for the application of
optimization tools to obtain better results and achieve
competitive advantages [2]. In plastic companies, low
efficiency is one of the most critical problems. A study
carried out on 17 Iranian companies showed that these
companies used Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes models to
significantly improve the efficiency [3]. However, among
the most frequently used methodologies that improve
efficiency, productivity, and quality of the processes is lean
manufacturing [4]. The lean philosophy includes a series of
techniques that helps eliminate so-called waste. The
978-1-7281-3804-6/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE546
implementation of this philosophy led to an increase in the
production rate of 42.08% [5]. One of the tools of lean
manufacturing that is most used in problems related to the
management of operations is the SMED, which aims to
reduce waste in the production system and standardize
change times of the machines [6]. To demonstrate the
effectiveness of the SMED, the overall equipment
effectiveness (OEE) indicator was used, and a significant
increase in the effectiveness of 77% to 85% was obtained.
In addition, productivity increased from 8 to 8.8 pieces per
man hour [7]. Nevertheless, for a company to manufacture
quality products, the machines and their mechanical and
electrical systems must function efficiently to avoid any
errors that could lead to interruptions in the operations.
Therefore, preventive maintenance is required to prevent
its malfunction and reduce the probability of failure [8].
II. PROBLEM
At present, the plastic industry chooses to automate its
processes due to their complexity, in order to standardize
production. The present study focuses on a company
producing plastic sheets for flexible food packaging
oriented to the printing industry. The extrusion process is a
key process in the manufacture of plastic products. The
times (min/roll) used for each activity of the production
process to manufacture a product unit in each of the three
BOPP extrusion lines were measured. The data of the
durations were collected for each daily roll production for
one year, in the period from January to December 2018.
The business unit BOPP is the only business unit that had
an annual rate of un-fulfillment of orders of 6%, exceeding
the 2% limit established as a policy by the company. Table
I shows the analysis. The company bases the greater
percentage of its investment on the automation of the
production process to ensure the quality of the process and
reduce the time of extrusion of the plastic films to avoid the
penalty for non-fulfillment of orders. The main cause of the
problem in the business unit are the high unproductive
times during the extrusion process in the BOPP 4 extrusion
line. These times directly affect the availability,
performance, and quality of the product, decreasing the
index of OEE to 76.61% (Table II).
Table III shows that the six processes represent 80% of
the unproductive times in the BOPP 4 extrusion line.
Moreover, considering a capacity of the line under study of
3700 kg/hr and a sale price of 1.80 US$/kg of the BOPP
film, Table III shows the monetary impact of the six main
causes of the problem. In 2018, $8,105,220.00 was lost due
to the unproductive times, affecting the profitability of the
company.
546
 Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE IEEM

TABLE I unproductive times in order to improve the efficiency of

SUMMARY OF UN-FULFILLMENT OF ORDERS OF LINE BOPP IN 2018 the process and increase the OEE of the extrusion line
under study. The improvements allow the company to
Un-fulfillment of orders of line BOPP
respond rapidly and effectively to fluctuations in demand
Extrusion Orders %Breach with the aim of mitigating the non-fulfillment of orders,
Tons 77,7335 82,568 6.00% which has a direct impact on the profits of the company.
Note: Sales price = 1.80 US$/kg, Penalty = 2.70 US$/kg
US$ $139,918,661 $148,622,428 A. SMED technique
Difference 4,835 Tons The SMED technique aims to reduce waste in the
US$ $8,703,767
production system and standardize times of machine
Penalty 4,835 Tons change activities. As evidenced in the case study, the
$1,305,565
US$ problem of non-fulfillment of orders is caused by the high
cleaning times of equipment and supply areas, long waiting
TABLE II times to continue with the subsequent activities, excessive
OVERALL EFFICIENCY OF MACHINE (OEE) OF THE BUSINESS UNIT movements within the workspace, activities that do not add
BOPP IN 2018
value, and defects in the plastic sheet due to the high
OEE of the business unit BOPP of the year 2018 preparation time of the machine. For the purposes of this
article, the SMED proposal is developed regarding the high
Line BOPP 2 Line BOPP 3 Line BOPP 4
unproductive time of the transition process between two
Availability 92.00% 92.00% 84.00% production processes.
Performance 98.00% 99.00% 96.00%
Quality 96.00% 98.00% 95.00% A.1 Sensitization
OEE % 86.55% 89.26% 76.61% To be successful in the lean implementation program,
Strategic objective of the company: OEE >= the members of the organization must be sensitized, from
Note
85.00%
the production and maintenance managers to the operators
GAP 1.55% 4.26% í8.39%
and technicians. All must commit themselves and be
involved with the changes in the activities to achieve the
TABLE III reduction of unproductive times.
MONETARY IMPACT OF SIX MAIN PROBLEM CAUSES IN THE
EXTRUSION PROCESS OF THE BOPP 4 EXTRUSION LINE
A.2 Planning of activities
Current situation performed 2018 The implementation process of the SMED proposal
Hr/year Kg/year US$/year lasts three months, from July of the year 2019 until
TPN (Net productive time) September of the same year. During these three months, all
5,245 19,406,623 $34,931,922
(Earnings) the stages of the proposal will be carried out through the
Unproductive times (Lost) 1,540 5,698,000 $10,256,400 coordination of the “Lean Team”, consisting of a
TPFM (Lost time due to production manager, a maintenance manager, a production
mechanical failure) 277 1,024,900 $1,844,820
operator, and a maintenance technician, who will execute
TPFE (Time lost due to the developed proposal.
electrical failure) 262 969,400 $1,744,920

TAL (Lost time by line A.3 Phases of technique

start) 200 740,000 $1,332,000 The preliminary phase involves detailed observation
and documentation of the sequence of current activities and
TT (Transition time from
production to production) 185 684,500 $1,232,100 times for each activity in the process. Table IV specifies
that the current time of the transition process between one
TPCA (Lost time due to production and another to last 47.90 minutes.
appearance defect) 154 569,800 $1,025,640
Phase 1: Identify and separate internal and external
TPCC (Lost time by default
139 514,300 $925,740 activities. Internal activities are operations performed
of gage) when the machine is stopped; that is, outside the time
80% of unproductive times
(Lost)
1217 4,502,900 $8,105,220 allotted for production, whereas external activities are
operations that are performed when the machine is running.
Table IV shows that in the current system, all activities are
III. METHODOLOGY
internal.
Phase 2: Convert internal to external activities and
The lean manufacturing methodology was chosen as it
analyze if it is feasible to eliminate internal activities that
combines principles, tools and techniques to mitigate the
do not generate value to the process through the
seven types of waste with the aim of improving the
implementation of other mechanisms, in order to save time.
efficiency, productivity, and quality of the processes. The
Mechanisms were implemented to eliminate waiting,
proposal has a systematic approach and combines the
transfer, operation, and verification activities. The budget
SMED techniques and preventive maintenance to reduce
of the project includes the purchase of industrial fans to

978-1-7281-3804-6/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE547 547

 Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE IEEM

reduce the cooling time of the chill roll machine, tool belts
to avoid transfer to the warehouse, tablets to accelerate the
registration of the activities carried out, and a digital radio
to avoid the transfer to warehouse to request raw materials
and additives. Table V shows that 46% of the internal
activities were transformed into external activities.
Phase 3: Convert internal activities into perfect internal
ones; that is, perform the activities in parallel to save time.
Phase 4: Observe and document the sequence of new
activities, their respective times, and the resources that are
required to standardize the process and carry out the
following planned transition process between one
production and another. Table V shows that the proposal
time of the transition process between one production and
another lasts 15.29 minutes, which saves 32.61 minutes for
the process.
A.4. Training
The development of lean knowledge and competencies
by offering continuous education and training to managers,
operators, and technicians is critical to the success of the
lean implementation program.
TABLE IV
CURRENT TIME OF TRANSITION PROCESS BETWEEN TWO
PRODUCTION PROCESSES
Current time (min)
Activities
Time (min) Percentage (%)
Internal 47.90 100.00%
External 0.00 0.00%
Total 47.90
IV. VALIDATION
For the validation of the proposal effectiveness,
simulations of both the current and the subsequent system
to the application of the SMED technique were carried out.
The simulations were made from the collected times and
simulated through the Arena simulation software and input
analyzer. For the purposes of this article, the description of
the system, the data analysis, and the execution of the
proposal model will be presented in detail, referring to one
of the five unproductive times: the transition process
between one production and another. The same was done
for the remaining four systems, to determine the rate of
reduction of unproductive times that cause the problem of
non-fulfillment of orders in the company.
A. Description of the systems
The first step to perform the simulation of the system is
to identify the activities and their order to make their
graphic representation, to obtain a visual comparison of the
activities, as well as before and after the application of the
proposed technique. The graphic representation of the
transition process between one production and another
follows in Figure 1.
B. Data analysis
To simulate the effect of the proposal, a variable was
assigned to each activity of the process, then the recorded
times for each activity were analyzed in the input analyzer
software to obtain the best distribution for each activity.
The activities of the transition process between two
production processes are given in Table VI.

TABLE V C. Execution of the model for the proposal

PROPOSAL TIME OF TRANSITION PROCESS BETWEEN ONE Since the SMED is a technique of the lean
PRODUCTION AND ANOTHER manufacturing philosophy, its application had to occur in
situ. However, due to the workload and limited time of the
SMED TIME (min)
Activities company under study, it was not possible to carry out a
Time (min) Percentage (%) pilot test to implement the technical proposal. Therefore,
Internal 15.29 54.00% the execution of the SMED technique was simulated taking
External 13.30 46.00% into account the company limitations, measured sampling
Total 28.55 times, changes in the proposed
Saved time 32.61
Processes, and the combination of activities. The
However, in the same way the development of the
simulation of the proposed model for the transition process
proposal for the four remaining systems was carried out, to
between one production and another using the SMED
determine the rate of reduction of unproductive times that
technique is shows in Figure 2.
cause the problem of non-fulfillment of orders in the
company.

Fig. 1. Graphic representation of transition process between two production processes.

978-1-7281-3804-6/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE548 548

 Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE IEEM

TABLE VI Currently, the transition process between two

SUMMARY OF VARIABLES AND DISTRIBUTIONS OF TRANSITION
PROCESS BETWEEN TWO PRODUCTION PROCESSES production processes lasts 47.90 minutes. The model of the
Variables and distributions of the transition process implementation of the SMED technique indicates that the
Variable between two production processes proposed time is 15.29 minutes. However, in Table VII, a
Description Distribution reduction of time to 15.12 minutes is observed. Both values
TRPR Time to review program. NORM (1.06, 0.194) are within the limits planned by the production area, and
TLZA Time to clean supply area. TRIA (4, 5.55, 6.8) the difference between the theoretical and simulated results
TLTA Time to clean supply hoppers. NORM (10.5, 1.46) is due to the more precise software simulation model,
Time to clean additives co-
TLCA NORM (6.31, 0.645) because of the distributions of the data obtained. Therefore,
extruders.
Time to look for formulations
the techniques of the improvement proposal and the
TBFE UNIF (0.25, 1.36) validation methodology are considered effective and
and specifications.
Waiting time of RM material viable.
TRIA (13, 14.6,
TEAA and additives arrival from
15.8)
warehouse. TABLE VII
Time to fill hoppers with raw SUMMARY OF UNPRODUCTIVE TIMES IN STUDY LINE
TLLT NORM (6.2, 0.873)
material
Time to trigger RM discharge Unproductive time (min) by 1 roll of production 8
TADT NORM (1.1, 0.113)
from hoppers to silos. tons
Time to fill additives in co- Present SMED ARENA Saving Reduction
TLLA NORM (2.2, 0.306)
extruders. Process:
Time in which the extrusion Transition
TDIP NORM (0.1, 0.0109)
process is started. process
between one 51.00 18.35 18.22 32.65 64.02%
V. RESULTS production
and another

The times used for the simulations of the proposed Process: Line
start 47.90 15.29 15.12 32.61 68.08%
systems were previously compiled from the study of times
measured with a stopwatch for 2800 samples for each Process: Lost
system. A 95% confidence level was used, an 8-hour time due to
appearance 54.21 42.26 41.56 11.95 22.04%
workday was taken into account for each of the three shifts and caliber
including 1 hour of refreshment, and 100 replicas were defect
made for each system to adjust the results to reality. After Process:
performing the simulations of the systems proposed by the Mechanical
Arena simulation software, results were obtained in the corrective 83.67 64.55 63.12 19.11 22.84%
software report. For the purposes of this article, the results maintenance
of the unproductive time are shown in Figure 3. The same Process:
reports on the results were obtained for the remaining four Electrical
79.02 60.48 58.12 18.53 23.46%
systems. corrective
maintenance
Time (min) 315.79 200.94 196.14 114.86 36.37%

In the current system to extrude a plastic roll from the

line under study, approximately 315.79 minutes are lost.
However, after the implementation of the proposal, 196.14
minutes will be lost, saving 114.86 minutes. Table VII
shows that the five unproductive time systems in the
Fig. 3. Arena report of transition process between two production extrusion line were reduced by 36.37%. The unproductive
processes times directly affect the indicators of availability,

Fig. 2. SMED simulation model of transition process between two production processes in Arena simulation software

978-1-7281-3804-6/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE549 549

 Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE IEEM

performance, and quality, decreasing the overall efficiency activities in parallel, and the project budget includes the
of the equipment (OEE), taking into account the following purchase of mechanisms to reduce waste in the extrusion
formula: % OEE = % availability x % performance x % line. To validate the effectiveness of the proposal, the
quality (1) Arena simulation software and input analyzer were
employed, and the results showed that after the
TABLE VIII implementation of the techniques, the total unproductive
SUMMARYOF IMPROVED OEE OF STUDY LINE BOPP 4 THROUGH time of the line under study was reduced from 316 minutes
IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSAL
to 196 minutes, saving 114.86 minutes, and approximately
OEE of study line BOPP 4 through implementation of amounting to a reduction of 36%. The reduction of
proposal unproductive times increased the OEE of the line under
Line BOPP 2 Line BOPP 3 Line BOPP 4 study to 85.63% and reduced the rate of non-fulfillment of
Availability 92.00% 92.00% 91.10% orders of the BOPP business unit to 1.95%. These results
Performance 98.00% 99.00% 96.97% corroborate the fulfillment of the objectives of the project.
Quality 96.00% 98.00% 96.93% Finally, it is expected that other companies with
OEE % 86.55% 89.26% 85.63% characteristics and restrictions similar to the case study will
Note Strategic objective of the company: OEE >= 85.00% adopt the proposal, since currently there is limited literature
that connects to the plastics industry where production
GAP 1.55% 4.26% 0.63%
lines are fully automated, with the application of the
techniques lean manufacturing and OEE as a financial
Table VIII shows that, when decreasing unproductive indicator.
times, the OEE of the line under study increases to 85.63%
from 76.61%. After the implementation of the proposal, the REFERENCES
strategic objective of maintaining a minimum OEE of 85%
is met, as the indicator increased by 9.02%. [1] Nezar, M., Oudani, M., Yassine, M., Boukachour, J.,
Elfazziki, A., Bouain, A., & Najib, M. (2017). An improving
TABLE IX agent-based engineering strategy for minimizing
SUMMARY OF FULFILLMENT OF ORDERS OF LINE BOPP TO AVOID unproductive situations of cranes in a rail–rail transshipment
LOSSES IN PROFITS THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSAL yard. Simulation: Transactions of the Society for Modeling
and Simulation International, 1–25.
Un-fulfillment of orders of line BOPP [2] Norshahira, R., Shayfull, Z., Hamzah, R., Sazli, S., Hidayah,
M., & Miza, A. (2018). Optimization of shrinkage on thick
Extrusion Orders %Breach plate plastic part by using particle swarm optimization
(PSO). AIP Conference Proceedings.
Tons 80,962 82,568 1.95%
[3] Nassim, G., Kordnaeij, A., & Delkhah, J. (2018).
Note: Sales price = 1.80 US$/Kg, Penalty = 2.70 US$/Kg Operational efficiency of plastic producing firms in Iran: a
US$ $145,731,600 $148,622,428 DEA approach. Benchmarking: An International Journal,
2126–2144.
Difference 1,606 Tons
US$ $2,890,828.80 [4] Rojas, C., Quispe, G., Raymundo, C., “Lean Optimization
Model for Managing the Yield of Pima Cotton (Gossypium
Penalty 1,606 Tons Barbadense) in Small-and Medium-Sized Farms in the
US$ $433,624.32 Peruvian Coast”, 2018 Congreso Internacional de
Innovacion y Tendencias en Ingenieria, CONIITI 2018 –
Proceedings, 8587062.
The Table IX shows that by reducing the unproductive [5] Singh, J., Singh, H., & Singh, G. (2017). Productivity
times and improving the OEE of the BOPP 4 line, the Improvement using lean manufacturing in manufacturing
company's sales norm would be fulfilled, which indicates Industry of Northern India-A Case. International Journal of
Productivity and Performance Management, 1394–1415.
that the non-fulfillment of orders should not exceed 2%.
[6] Becerra, A., Villanueva, A., Núñez, V., Raymundo, C.,
After implementing the proposal, the company would Dominguez, F., “Lean manufacturing model in a make to
achieve an annual improvement in its profits of $ order environment in the printing sector in Peru”, Advances
5,812,938.72 for the fulfillment of orders, and would be in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 971, pp. 100-110.
saving $871,940.81 to avoid penalties. [7] Morales, J., & Silva, R. (2016). Set-up reduction in an
interconnection axle manufacturing cell using SMED.
International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing
VI. CONCLUSION Technology, 1907–1916.
[8] Basri, E., Abdul, I., Ab-Samat, H., & Kamaruddin, S.
To mitigate the problem of non-fulfillment of orders (2017). Preventive Maintenance (PM) planning: a review.
from the BOPP business unit, an innovative proposal was Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, 114–143.
developed that combines the preventive maintenance and
SMED techniques of the Lean Manufacturing
methodology to reduce unproductive times of the BOPP 4
line that delay the production. The proposal consists of
converting some internal activities into external ones,
eliminating activities that add no value, combining

978-1-7281-3804-6/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE550 550