Lean Manufacturing Tools Applied to Material Flow and Their Impact on Economic Sustainability

Jorge Luis García-Alcaraz, José Roberto Díaz Reza, Cuauhtémoc Sánchez Ramírez, Jorge Limón Romero, Emilio Jiménez Macías, Carlos Javierre Lardies and Manuel Arnoldo Rodríguez Medina
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Jorge Luis García-Alcaraz: Department of Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing, Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juárez 32310, Chihuahua, Mexico
José Roberto Díaz Reza: Department of Industrial Engineering, Tecnológico Nacional de Mexico/I.T. Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juárez 32500, Chihuahua, Mexico
Cuauhtémoc Sánchez Ramírez: Division of Research and Postgraduate Studies, Tecnológico Nacional de Mexico/Instituto Tecnológico de Orizaba, Orizaba 94320, Veracruz, Mexico
Jorge Limón Romero: Faculty of Engineering, Desing and Architecture, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California—Campus Ensenada, Ensenada 22860, Baja California, Mexico
Emilio Jiménez Macías: Department of Electric Engineering, University of La Rioja, 26006 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
Carlos Javierre Lardies: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain
Manuel Arnoldo Rodríguez Medina: Department of Industrial Engineering, Tecnológico Nacional de Mexico/I.T. Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juárez 32500, Chihuahua, Mexico

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-18

Abstract: This paper presents a second-order structural equation model that analyzes three lean manufacturing tools associated with material flow, such as 5S, SMED, and continuous flow related to economic sustainability. The variables relate to each other through six hypotheses, tested with 169 responses to a questionnaire applied to the Mexican maquiladora industry, using the partial least squares technique and 95% confidence to estimate direct, the sum of indirect, and total effects. In addition, an analysis with conditional probabilities appears to determine how low and high implementation levels in independent variables affect the dependent variables’ occurrence. Findings indicate that 5S is a lean manufacturing tool with the most increased direct effects on SMED and continuous flow. Additionally, values indicate that SMED is essential to maintain continuous flow in production lines and is vital for economic sustainability due to the time reduction in setup.

Keywords: 5S; SMED; continuous flow; economic sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:19:p:10599-:d:642453

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