Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to investigate the internal material flow to identify bottlenecks, areas for improvement and to propose possible improvements for a manufacturing company within the process industry.

Method – To achieve the purpose of the study , a case study with an abductive approach has been executed. Firstly, a feasibility study was conducted to create a broader picture of the topic and problem area. A literature review was carried out to identify previous knowledge in the field. Later empirical data was collected through interviews, observation and document studies.

Findings – The thesis conducted shows that the lean approach is applicable in identifying capacity problems within the manufacruring process industry. The research conducted shows that capacity is not evenly distributed throughout the production line. The research enabled the identification of bottlenecks in the internal material flow by observing the material flow of two products. Through the identified bottlenecks, suggestions for improvements to a future state has been presented. The improvements are related to the capacity differences found and the large amount of stop time in production. The presented suggestions are considering a lean approach and have a connection to sustainable development.

Implications – This study applies existing theories in the context of finding capacity problems in a producing company within the process industry with a successful result. The result of the report indicates how the capacity problems of material flow in the process industry can be solved. The lean tools used in the study can work as a foundation for other organisations when searching for capacity problems and highlighting problem areas in production.

Limitations – The main focus has been on the internal flow of material a manufacturing company in the process industry. The thesis applies lean tools in the internal material flow and is not considering the information flow, the financial flow or personnel.

Keywords – lean, bottleneck, value stream mapping, material flow, batch production, process industry, sustainability and capacity problem.