A Learning Factory for Remanufacturing: A New Configuration at Valladolid Lean School

Abstract

Collaboration between university and industry is essential in today’s changing environment, where limited resources must be used by as many users as possible in an efficient manner. At the University of Valladolid we have a Lean School equipped in collaboration with Renault-Nissan Consulting where training is given to students, workers and professionals: initially in Lean Manufacturing, but with a rapid evolution and improvement towards other paradigms, also integrating the concept of Circular Economy. The main contribution of this paper is the presentation of a training in a learning factory, combining lean manufacturing and circular economy. The assimilation of knowledge by the students with this training process based on role play and simulation of a real process are much higher than those obtained with traditional methods. Furthermore, the new training contributes to the reduction of economic and environmental impacts, mainly: reduction of inventory, raw materials, solid wastes, energy and motions.