Increasing steel production line productivity using lean production and simulation with uncertainty: a case study

Many large manufacturing plants implement lean manufacturing principles to identify and eliminate non-value-added activities that generate waste. A key tool in lean manufacturing is Value Stream Mapping (VSM), which helps visualize production processes and identify inefficiencies. However, VSM is a static tool and cannot dynamically assess the impact of lean improvements or compare different implementation scenarios. To address this limitation, simulation tools are valuable for identifying production bottlenecks and analyzing system performance under varying conditions. In this study, Arena simulation software was employed to enhance the VSM approach and evaluate the effectiveness of lean interventions in a steel manufacturing environment. The case study was conducted at Fouladin Zob Amol (FZA), a steel foundry in Iran, which produces steel and iron components for the automotive, heavy machinery, mining, and construction industries. The research aimed to apply VSM in conjunction with simulation to identify and eliminate waste and bottlenecks in FZA’s production line. The results of the study demonstrated significant improvements: waiting and non-value-added time was reduced by nearly 50%, from 11.5 days to 7.5 days. Furthermore, the processing time was cut down from 115.2 seconds to 94.3 seconds, while takt time was shortened from 10.8 seconds to 8.3 seconds.