A Lean Assessment Tool Based on Systems Dynamics

Lean manufacturing is synonymous with a set of practices used in the identification and elimination of waste related with the manufacturing system, and focusing on what creates value for the customer. Lean assessment tools enable an overall audit of the performance of lean practices, and so are able to identify lean improvements. The interactions between lean practices and their improvements are often latent and need to be investigated: a systems approach can be used to disclose these hidden interactions. In this article, system dynamics is used as a lean assessment tool to assess and improve lean performance for a print packaging manufacturing system.