Lean thinking: an essential mindset

Lean thinking is a fundamental mindset to promote societal transformations and prepare society to properly adopt and use Industry 4.0 technologies. These technologies continue to rapidly develop and have started to evolve to Society 5.0 and Industry 5.0. Although these technologies may provide economic, social, and sustainability benefits, their use must fit society's needs. Society's digital path must be aligned with workers' physical and safety conditions. These technologies should promote creativity, responsibility, resilience, and critical thinking for individuals to be prepared when digital systems do not work or when disruptive events happen - such as pandemic, catastrophic, and violent conflict situations. Lessons and challenges for practice and organizations are identified and summarized.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia(UIDB/00319/2020

A aprendizagem implícita do Empreendedorismo no desenvolvimento de projetos interdisciplinares

A aprendizagem baseada em projetos interdisciplinares num contexto da metodologia de aprendizagem Project-Based Learning (PBL) tem sido usada há mais de dez anos no primeiro e quarto ano do Mestrado Integrado de Engenharia e Gestão Industrial de uma universidade portuguesa. O projeto a realizar pelas equipas de alunos do primeiro ano (realizado no primeiro semestre) envolve seis unidades curriculares, sendo que três pertencem às Ciências Básicas e três às Engenharias. Embora não tendo nenhuma unidade curricular sobre Empreendedorismo, este é promovido no âmbito do projeto a desenvolver que consiste em projetar um sistema de produção para produzir um produto específico. O projeto do sistema de produção implica também criar a empresa onde vai funcionar este sistema. É nesta criação que as equipas são estimuladas a serem empreendedoras. Para isso são muitos os elementos que estas usam para promover a empresa criada, desde logotipos atrativos a campanhas publicitárias. Este artigo vai mostrar estes elementos e de que forma promovem nos alunos o espírito de empreendedores. Para isso vai ser usada uma metodologia de investigação baseada na análise do conteúdo dos relatórios finais dos projetos. Nesta metodologia de ensino/aprendizagem, os alunos pesquisam o que precisam para concretizar o projeto

Lean companies in the track of sustainability

This paper will present a literature review on companies’ practices of sustainability and this relationship with the Lean concept, if there is any. When this relationship is established, normally, it is coined as Lean-Green. In today´s highly competitive markets, with accelerating global development, the increasing resource use and environmental impacts, the business as usual is not a choice for a sustainable future. A true Lean company is a sustainable company by the Lean culture embed, that is “doing more with less”

Threats and opportunities for workplace ergonomics in lean environments

Lean Management Systems (LMS) have become very popular among the manufacturing industry, services and large commercial areas. A LMS must develop and consider a set of work energizers to bring compatibility with workplace ergonomics, namely at a muscular, cognitive, and emotional demands level. The goal of this study is the identification of the most relevant impacts of a LMS adoption from the ergonomic point of view and cited in the literature and the synthesis of some possible drawbacks in workplace ergonomics due to a flawed application of the LMS. A final discussion about the most important, positive and negative, impacts are present at the end of the paper

Implementation of the pull levelling project in a car radio assembly firm

This paper presents some results from the implementation of pull levelling strategy between the final assembly lines and the Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) clients of a car radio assembly firm. In order to respond quickly to the clients the firm maintained a stock level of, approximately, ten days of finished product for each client. This implies high costs for the firm. The implementation of the pull levelling strategy reduced these costs and increased the flexibility approaching the production to the demand, in quantity and in diversity, required by the clients. Additionally, this implementation permitted the detection of deviation, identification of problems, creation of standards and continuous improvement, stabilization of the upstream processes and the reduction of components stock. The performance indicators used by the firm to measure the performance of this implementation were the fulfillment (the achievement of the production levelling plan supplied by the Production Planning Department), the stock level, the Every Part Every Interval (EPEI) number and LIWAKS (accomplishment of the due date negotiate with the client)

A review of design methodologies for manufacturing systems

This paper presents a review of design methodologies for manufacturing systems, with focus on Product Oriented Manufacturing Systems (POMS). POMS organization is discussed and compared against function oriented manufacturing. The methodologies for manufacturing systems design are described and grouped in three classes: generic, specific and product oriented focused. Several methodologies in the first class are referred. They tend to be suitable for whatever kind of product that is necessary to develop or design, including manufacturing systems. Usually, they arrive to a general, conceptual first approximation manufacturing system solution, which need refinement. Manufacturing systems specific methodologies are more objective being able to offer a clearer picture of the manufacturing system ultimate solution. A number of them are reviewed. The product focused class of the manufacturing systems design methodologies is divided in two groups: methodologies for designing new manufacturing systems, referred as construction methodologies, and methodologies for reengineering or reconfiguring existing ones. A few methodologies are referred and a methodology referred as the GCD methodology is explained in more detail due to its particular focus on POMS design. Through it a better understanding is given of the POMS design needs. The GCD methodology is also put in perspective in relation to other reviewed methodologies

Detailed design of product oriented manufacturing systems

This paper describes a procedure for the detailed and repetitive design of manufacturing systems within an approach of constantly fitting production system configuration to the varying production needs of products and, therefore, designing Product Oriented Manufacturing Systems – POMS. The detailed design procedure depart from a set of conceptual manufacturing cell configurations and develops from there, through conceptual cell and workstation instantiation, with basis on available methods, the required manufacturing system and control mechanisms for a product or a family of similar products.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Sustainability in engineering programs in a Portuguese Public University

Rethink the interventions, human practices and their effects on the natural environment, for the preservation of life and biodiversity, threatened by the capitalist model of production, consumption and disposal, becomes each day more indispensable. The role of universities as knowledge building space is fundamental for the insertion of the environmental approach (greening) in its various fronts (education, research, extension, and management). Following the line of several types of researches about the subject, this paper aims to identify if and how the issue of sustainability (e.g. through Project-Based Learning use) is taught in the various engineering programs of a Portuguese Public University. This study was carried out by a documental research based on the programs' curricula published in the official website of the university. The engineering programs selected included integrated master, master (second cycle) and doctorate (third cycle). In this study, it was identified programs that are more focused on sustainability concepts than others, so the programs were classified in three categories: strongest, medium and weakest focus.This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI­01­0145­FEDER­-07043 and FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An industrial application study of the GCD design methodology for product oriented manufacturing

This paper presents an application and test study, carried out in a garment company in the Minho region in the North of Portugal, of the Generic - Conceptual-Detailed (GCD) methodology for designing Product Oriented Manufacturing Systems (POMS). The methodology is in an advanced stage of development and is now being submitted to a refining process based on findings from application tests in industry