Minimization of waste in the food industry by applying lean production practices

Abstract

The elimination of waste is central to the philosophy of Lean Production. Defined as any activity that consumes resources but does not create value, waste is the target of all organizations in their strive to remain competitive. This Master Thesis deals with the minimization of waste in the food industry by applying Lean practices. In this field of academic research many surveys and case studies have been conducted and contradictory results have emerged in terms of the degree of Lean implementation and the Lean practices applied. The purpose of this thesis is to reveal the wastes that exist in the production process by investigating the case of a Greek food industry and then to propose the appropriate Lean practices in order to alleviate their impact. The present study starts out by reviewing articles on Lean Thinking, on Lean Production tools such as the Value Stream Mapping, and on the Lean adoption in the food industry. Then it examines a given case of a Greek food industry, where, following the Action Research methodology applies the Value Stream Mapping tool at a product family in order to reveal wastes in the process and assesses the applicability of Lean tools towards waste minimization. Following the approach mentioned above, this thesis concludes that Lean Production can be applied to minimize waste in the food industry and that the Value Stream Mapping tool can improve Lead Time and Work in Progress when applied in the food industry. Furthermore, among the findings is that the most applicable Lean tools in the food industry are VSM, Kanban, SMED, multi-functional employees, standardization, autonomous maintenance, product leveling, layout change, and supplier involvement. Finally, the limitations of the research are mentioned along with proposals for future research.