A digital twin-enabled value stream mapping approach for production process reengineering in SMEs

ABSTRACT Nowadays agile and practical methods for lean manufacturing and production process reengineering are in urgent need for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). However, due to the limitations in obtaining accurate performance evaluations of the production line, traditional value stream mapping (VSM) methods are insufficient or unpractical in undertaking production process reengineering tasks. By integrating the internet of things (IoT) technology and Efficiency Validate Analysis (EVA) simulation framework, this paper proposed a digital twin-enabled VSM approach for SMEs. This easy to adopt and accurate method helps manufacturing SMEs in redesigning and reengineering production processes. This study contributes to research on digital twin modeling, by proposing a theoretical framework which combines IoT data-driven production process planning and simulation methods. The novelty of this study also exists in proposing a comprehensive and practical solution for production process reengineering, which integrating the cutting-edge technologies including digital twin and IoT. The feasibility and validity of the proposed approach is proved by applying to a musical instrument factory in China.