Application of the Kanban Method for Improving Production in the Metalworking Sector in Latin America

Abstract

The metalworking industry faces constant challenges in optimizing its production processes to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the quality of the final product. An effective methodology to address these challenges is the Kanban method, a visual management tool that promotes continuous improvement and efficiency in production. As a result, an exhaustive investigation was carried out through a systematic review of the literature, collecting and analyzing previous related studies. This review allowed us to identify multiple investigations that support the effectiveness of the Kanban method in optimizing production processes in the metalworking sector. The reviewed studies demonstrated significant improvements in operational efficiency, reduction of cycle times, and improvement of product quality, highlighting Kanban's ability to positively transform production processes in this industry. In the present research, 40 articles were analyzed, finding that 24% of the total publications correspond to scientific articles and 76% to doctoral, master's and bachelor's theses, using Web Science, Scielo, Scopus and Google Scholar as a database. The review of the scientific literature focused mainly on projects related to the metalworking sector that apply the Kanban methodology and other tools that lead to favorable progress. 90% of the research focuses on operational efficiency, defect reduction, innovation and continuous improvement; while 10% on social and labor impact.