Optimización del proceso de producción de cal mediante la implementación de una máquina hidratadora y la aplicación de herramientas Lean Manufacturing en la Empresa INCOREG ubicada en el cantón Riobamba

Abstract

The objective of this degree research was to implement a hydrating machine and apply Lean Manufacturing tools to optimize the production process of obtaining lime in the company INCOREG located in the Riobamba canton. For this process, an initial analysis was carried out by applying the VSM (Value Stream Mapping) diagnostic tool to determine the initial situation of the material flow of the production chain, as well as the values of waste and time that add and do not add value to the product. Hydrated lime was selected for the study because this product involves the largest number of activities, in which through the analysis of the initial situation it was determined that out of 72.9 hours, which was the total time of elaboration of the product, only 10.8 hours add value to the product and 62.1 hours do not add value to it, and the most relevant level of waste of material was 12%, this was due to the excessive time involved in the manual hydration process of the limestone, and the waste that the exothermic reaction that this same process generated. The implementation of the hydration machine and the 5S methodology resulted in a reduction of the total time of the production process from 72.9 hours to 24.05 hours and also reduced waste levels from 12% to 4% in the improved method. It is concluded that a notable improvement in productivity was achieved, going from 0.47 bags/min to 0.70 bags/min, the reduction of waste and, consequently, the satisfaction of customer demand. It is recommended to constantly support from the management to the operational level of the company with the performance of its roles within the 5S methodology implemented, to achieve the sustainability of this in the future.