Implantação da metodologia lean manufacturing na soluções em aço USIMINAS S.A.

Abstract

Since the Industrial Revolution, when artisanal manufacturing became automated, there has not been much competition between companies with the emergence of new products. With that, it became necessary to devise new strategies to guarantee the permanence in such a disputed market. And one of the ways to stand out is to fight waste such as waiting time, high inventory levels, rework, among others, with the help of lean manufacturing tools, a philosophy that has been used since the 1950s in Japanese industry and extended to global companies. From the generation of implementing lean thinking in process improvement, this study sought to evaluate the process flow of Soluções em Aço Usiminas, a steel company in the city of Santa Luzia. And implement tools to make lean manufacturing that fits factory processes by reducing or eliminating waste found in it. A quick tool change was implemented in the Slitter equipment, as a pilot for expansion to other equipment and the implementation of the 5S program. In this way, it is possible to reduce excess handling, long waiting times, plant disorganization, excess inventories, among others, allowing for increased productivity and improved quality.