Efficiency and effectiveness analysis of the inventory system in a testing facility by applying lean and Six Sigma tools

Lean and Six Sigma methodologies were introduced in the 40’s and the 80’s, respectively. Since then, the number of companies that have implemented their tools in order to enhance their efficiency and quality has not cease to grow. Both are defined as Continuous Improvement methods that pursue operational excellence and customer satisfaction. The purpose of this Master thesis has been to analyse the performance and efficiency of a testing lab in a company specialized in mechanical components for the automotive industry. By using concepts from Lean and Six Sigma, there have been spotted the different challenges faced by the facilities and have been offered different suggestions to improve their processes. To properly comprehend those processes, a combination of observations and interviews has formed the main source of information throughout the project. A theoretical framework constituted by the prevailing theory on Lean and Six Sigma has been linked and merged with those observations. After acknowledging that one of the highest-value processes is the management and tracking of the testing prototypes, a discussion has been started from that point. There have been approached the wastes by using tools such as VSM or Root-cause analysis. Subsequently, the provided recommendations are in the form of standardized processes, 5S or Kaizen. Moreover, there have been suggested two additional innovative solutions whose aim is to improve planning, schedule and tracking, through continuous flow, Kanban tools and PDCA approaches. The whole discussion has been carried out adopting the Six Sigma DMAIC method. Furthermore, there have been successfully detected the existing bottleneck processes, identified their influence, and provided recommendations to mitigate their effect