Lean Thinking Principles and an Application in Manufacturer Exporter Company

Abstract

The terms of performance and productivity have a great importance for the manufacturers operating in today’s intense international competition environment so as to counter this condensing rivalry. Performance and productivity are the key factors in terms of achieving effective use of available resources and competitiveness. In order to see the effectiveness of performance and productivity, making measurements, increasing the effectiveness of performance and productivity according to these measurements’ results and reducing wastes are necessary. In this study; to obtain these determined aims, a system analysis was carried out in an operating international manufacturing enterprise, and value added and nonvalue adding steps were identified. As a result of system analysis, it is thought that the most appropriate system to be applied is the lean thinking system and the best result can be obtained with the lean thinking principles. In terms of lean thinking principles, a value stream mapping was created and it was seen more clearly how much of the processes consist of valueadding activities. Problem definitions were made by using lean manufacturing tools like value stream mapping and observations, and solutions were produced within the framework of lean manufacturing principles.