Design of a remanufacturing line applying lean manufacturing and supply chain strategies

Background: Remanufacturing products for sustainability involves layout and production planning, tools and equipment, material arrangement and handling, inventory management, technology integration, and more. This study presents an empirical vision through a discrete event simulation (DES) model integrating lean manufacturing (LM) and supply chain (SC) strategies with industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies, applied to a case in a railway company. Methods: The work presents scenarios following a methodology with an incremental approach to implement strategies of lean manufacturing (LM) and supply chain (SC) in the context of I4.0 and their effects represented in DES models with applicability in remanufacturing and production line management. Five simulation scenarios were analyzed according to strategies layered incrementally. Results: Behaviors and outcomes were compared across the scenarios considering the remanufactured engines, percentage of process time, human labor occupation, and the statistical analysis of the process capability. Scenario five achieved the objective of remanufacturing 40 engines in one year with a cycle time of 214.45 h. Conclusions: The purpose was to design an engine remanufacturing line incorporating LM and SC strategies via a DES model, highlighting the importance of their gradual adoption toward I4.0 implementation. The integration of previous strategies improves flexibility and productivity in manufacturing processes.