An Application of Lean Manufacturing as a Tool for Process Enhancement and Standardization in Logistics Operations

Inefficiencies in logistics operations, such as yard congestion and longer truck turnaround times, are often associated with longer cargo offloading cycle times. This study applies an integrated Lean manufacturing, process standardization, and task optimization approach to reduce the cargo offloading cycle times in a logistics case study company. A Lean manufacturing approach was applied to identify inefficiencies and propose improvement techniques for cargo offloading operations. The simulation results indicate that the proposed future-state improvements have the potential to reduce cargo offloading cycle time from 143.75 min to 86.42 min, representing a 39.88% reduction. The key areas of improvement focus on process standardization, task optimization, and elimination of non-value-adding tasks. The study contributes to the literature by examining how Lean manufacturing techniques, process standardization, and task optimization could be integrated within a DMAIC framework in cargo offloading operations. The study concludes that the integration of Lean manufacturing with a process standardization approach has the potential to reduce the cargo offloading cycle times within logistics operations and enhance operational efficiency. Future studies should examine how automation and digital technology can be combined with Lean process improvements and explore how the proposed approach can be applied in various logistical settings to validate its effectiveness.