Analysis of Waste Levels from a Lean Manufacturing Perspective. Case Study in a Textile Company

The present research carries out an analysis of the classic Lean Manufacturing (LM) wastes that are present in the production processes of an Ecuadorian SME dedicated to the elaboration of aesthetic-medical use garments such as remodeling, reducing and post-surgical girdles, and is focused on proposing an action plan through the use of tools and methodologies of the LM philosophy that allow the optimization of resources, achieving a better productive flow and greater efficiency in the delivery of products to the final customer. The methodology included the collection of information through on-site visits, data processing and was complemented with the PRISMA methodology that allowed to know the most recent research in textile sectors where the LM philosophy has been used which helped to identify the most conducive techniques that allow to reduce the levels of waste identified. As a final result, it is observed that by applying the JIDOKA, TPM, APU and HEIJUNKA methodologies, the percentage of defects per unit is reduced thanks to the self-control that the product has along the production line, the general index of the equipment increases by 40.92% when going from an unacceptable OEE rating to an acceptable rating, the displaced meters are decreased by 72.86% and the unproductive time due to unnecessary displacements is reduced by 78.31%, finally, waiting times and inventories are eliminated by producing what is necessary in the required time, which provides a 77.27% improvement in product delivery days to the final customer. Thanks to this research, it was possible to use a lean philosophy and create lean and standardized working methods in the organization that allows to reduce production costs by reducing as much as possible the levels of identified waste, in this way, by quantifying the waste, processes can be controlled and consequently managed until the organization is brought to a high level of competitiveness.