Lean Manufacturing: Improvement Actions to Increase Performance in a Textile Manufacturing Company Based in Guaymas, Sonora

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) represent 97 % of the totality of enterprises in Mexico; nevertheless, they are the organizations with the most problems nowadays, due to the fact that they do not have the necessary support. There are several challenges faced by Mexican SMEs, mainly because they usually lack efficient planning, organization and administrative systems, and their own technologies to manage and develop productive activities. Based on the aforementioned, and with previous authorization from a sports uniforms textile manufacturing company, an intervention to their workspace was undertaken with the conviction of implementing better practices in the manufacturing process. Throughout the study, information regarding product specifications and their manufacturing processes was collected in order to create a current and future value stream mapping, where time cycles and value indicators were identified for each of the activities. Afterwards, wastes were identified in order to implement line balancing, continuous flow, and 5S, all in relation to a kaizen event. Thus, it was possible to achieve elimination of wastes, continuous flow, and provide stability to stakeholders.