Many manufacturing companies in Ireland are turning towards Lean Manufacturing to cut costs and increase sales. In implementing this philosophy, it is essential that Lean benefits are measured in order to benchmark savings. Conventionally time and method study approaches are used to measure day-to-day outputs. Although these studies are time consuming, they provide an accurate snap shot of line performance.

RFID is suggested as a means to speed up this measurement process. The application of the technology is widened into the process improvement field through its innovative implementation. This application provides real time data for management and technical teams to continually improve their processes. It is best suited to multiple work step manufacturing processes.

This paper introduces the concept of Lean Manufacturing and benefits which result in its implementation. RFID is then introduced and its application to improve processes is described. Amalgamation of both these concepts is proposed in the concluding comments.

Reprinted with Permission from http:www.efast.ie