Implementation of a Standardized Replenishment System and Kanban Application in the Metalworking Industry

This paper presents the improvements in the internal logistical flows of material and information on the welding section of a company, specializing in the production of sterilizers for laboratories and hospitals. Based on the diagnostics phase, associated with the Action Research Methodology applied in this project, the main problems identified were the inadequate quantities of material at workstations, leading to production stoppages, lack of standardized material supply routines, and lack of stock management methods to “trigger” purchase orders. The line-side inventory of the workstations was dimensioned, based on the 2-bin system, resulting in a constant volume of production. The quantities in the containers of the supermarket, and in the containers of the line-side inventory should be the same, allowing the direct replacement of empty containers for full containers. After the implementation, a route was defined to replenish the workstations once a week, reducing considerably the number of travels each worker performed to resupply his workstation and preventing unnecessary production stoppages. A study on the references bought externally was conducted, resulting in 53% of the references will be replenished every three weeks, 22% of the references will be replenished every two weeks, and 25% of references weekly. At the supermarket, a purchase order should be placed with an amount equivalent to the Reorder Point when the material is removed from the last (second) container. To signal this request, the kanban system was introduced in these containers, facilitating the management of the developed system and reducing stockouts.