Use of lean manufacturing by applying a kit preparation process in Formula 1 composites production

The thesis describes the analysis and design performed in the composites production plant of Ferrari Formula 1 team about the application of a kit preparation process as a logistic concept to provide materials directly at each operator’s workstation. Kits are designed to contain all the materials required for manufacturing in a selected working day, being prepared by dedicated logistic operators in advance and made available to the operators’ workstations. The introduced process is included in the wider framework of lean manufacturing: it targets operators’ time and movement wastes by optimizing material handling, eliminating non value-adding activities and standardizing as much as possible recurrent situations impacting on the daily activity of the shop floor. The thesis starts by introducing the history of lean manufacturing and how this production system is currently implemented by companies. Afterwards, the literature review highlights a research gap related to the application of lean manufacturing to the peculiar environment of Formula 1 production shops: while there is a well-established literature on lean applied to High-Mix/Low-Volume (HMLV) environments, Formula 1 case is not addressed. The thesis could be used as a case-study to address this research gap and investigate further how to handle the highly interwoven information and materials flows peculiar of this field. Following the company presentation, the kit preparation process analysis and design is described for the Clean Room (Carbon lamination shop) and Body Shop (Fitting and bonding shop) floors. The related information and materials flows of the AS IS situation are analysed, by highlighting traceability issues, bottlenecks in information and materials handling processes and recurrent problems as experienced in the daily activity. Starting from the AS IS situation, a TO BE process has been designed. Materials and information flows have been remodeled so as to enhance information transparency for operators and incorporate them within the kit preparation process. An analysis about the logic to be followed for grouping materials in kits has also been developed, assessing advantages and disadvantages of the solutions identified and the related robustness and requirements for implementation. The high-level framework designed translated into a software specification to be developed in two steps, aimed on the one hand at providing a full picking list of the material necessary for a working day, on the other hand at giving full real-time information about the location of any searched item in its supply chain. The full analysis and design of the process is concluded by describing the expected results and benefits for the company, as well as the limitations and difficulties found during the development of the thesis and the initial implementation steps of the project. The next steps for the deployment of the project are finally introduced, giving also ideas for future possible implementations to be added to the developed tool and process within the lean manufacturing framework of the composites plant environment.