Applying Kaizen and automation to process reengineering

Abstract Kaizen and automation are two different approaches to improve the performance of manufacturers. Both approaches have been widely discussed and reported in related literature. This paper proposes a framework to integrate kaizen and automation to reengineer a manufacturing process. A case project shows the procedure of process reengineering. This study concludes that using an animated simulation model is an important step during process redesign. This research also shows that a nearly 50% improvement in labor productivity at the case company is possible with the streamlined manufacturing process.