Application of TPM Tools in an Automotive Battery Assembly Line This study sets out to increase the overall efficiency of equipment in the automotive battery assembly line by reducing the number of noncompliant products. To this end, the root cause analysis was performed, and it determined that disconformities are caused by the lack of standardization of processes, paucity of working methods, and inadequate maintenance plans. The proposal of this study involves the use of total productive maintenance (TPM) tools as the modal analysis of failures and effects, selfmaintenance, and planned maintenance based on reliabilitycentric maintenance (RCM). The joint use of these tools leads to an increase in the quality of automotive batteries. The application of TPM and RCM is subject to internal and external factors affecting a company. The proposed methodology can be applied to small and mediumsized manufacturing industries with different production lines. As a result of its application, the number of noncompliant batteries was reduced by 30%, machine efficiency increased by 3.00%, and the mean time between failures was reduced by 19.96%.

Waste Reduction Using Lean Manufacturing Tools: A Case in the Manufacturing of Bricks The objective of this study was to identify those aspects of brick production in small and mediumsized enterprises (SME) that need improvement, and, from this, to propose the implementation of such improvements to increase market competitiveness. The problem identified was the presence of a high rate of waste in the production process, having two main parts: high levels of reprocessing and waiting times. According to the root cause analysis, implementation of an improvement model is proposed using tools from the Lean Manufacturing philosophy. This model has two approaches, one in processes using tools such as Poka Yoke and Jidoka, another in maintenance using tools such as TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) and SMED (Matrix Change). Implementation of these tools improved the main indicators of the company. In the milling stage, productivity increased from 62.81 kgmin to 91.48 kgmin, while efficiency increased from 81% to 84.3%. In the extrusion stage, productivity increased from 13 undmin to 16 undmin, while efficiency increased from 40% to 53.39%. With the increases in productivity and efficiency of these processes, gross margin was improved from 14% to 36.7%. These results allowed these types of companies to improve their competitiveness in the market and, over time, they may have the economic and productive capacity to acquire new technologies that will improve the quality of the brick.