Lean structuring in a sme with model factory

Today, many companies are trying to reduce their costs and establish more efficient systems due to the demands of their customers, such as high quality, low price, speed, and production of personalized products. In this context, learning factories (known as Model Factory in Türkiye), which have examples in different locations and names worldwide, were also established in Türkiye and aimed to support SMEs in this great race. This study aims to create and maintain a lean structure from scratch within the scope of the "Learn-Transform Program" of Model Factories in a company operating in the textile sector and develop company-specific applications. The study's learning model consisting of 22 modules, which includes topics such as 5S, Lean Occupational Health and Safety, and Competence Management, is based on the Gaziantep Model Factory. Based on the presented model, a learning model that forecasts employee retention using artificial neural networks has been developed to reduce the employee turnover rate. A cand company-specific performance evaluation system and company-specific reward systems have been developed. In addition to these processes, it was observed that there was a 25.3% increase in participation in autonomous maintenance processes, a decrease of up to 45% in loss of workforce due to absenteeism, and an improvement of more than 22% in the value stream.