Optimization of Production Plant Material Flows

Details

Supervisors

Catanzaro, Daniele

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de gestion (horaire décalé à Mons)

Abstract

The efficiency of material flows within a production company is a key parameter for its productivity. This Master Thesis is interested in materials transfer inside Klüber Lubrication production plant active in the manufacturing of specific lubricants. The risks, such as collision with pedestrians, related to the important circulation of forklifts achieving the required transfer is the focus of this work. It aims at minimizing the total distance travelled by forklifts with a target of risk reduction. The process was analyzed according to the Lean Sigma approach following the DMAIC methodology. The material flow process was first divided is four sub-processes which were described in details: raw materials; empty packages; finished goods; and waste and extra raw materials. Then those sub-phases were analyzed in order to highlight the waste and defects and identify the root causes of those issues. Lots of temporary storages were found to be the main non-value added steps in the material flow process. The important shares of responsibility within the process as well as the current plant layout were identified as the main root causes of waste. Transfer process related data’s have been recorded in the data collection plan such as the distance and the required demand of transfers from origin to destination. Those collected data were used as input for the optimization. A model was then developed for minimizing the total distance. Several scenarios were computed and results were compared to the current situation. Finally the selected and improved case results in a 30% reduction of the total distance travelled by forklifts. Those results are encouraging as this scenario may be implemented in a short term period without important investment. The total gain was estimated to 300.000 € in 5 years. Some limits of the model are pointed out such as the pre-defined paths from origin to destination. The modeling of different possible paths and the optimization of travels are suggested as possible improvements for future development.