Aplicação do lean ao processo de submissão de candidaturas ao Programa Horizonte 2020

Abstract

The purpose of this Final Master Thesis is to address the topic of implementing the Lean philosophy in the Portuguese Innovation Consultancy company called Inova+, in the Department of International Cooperation in the subarea of Horizon 2020. The Lean management philosophy was, firstly developed in the automotive industry and it’s nowadays widely used in the industrial sector, Its basic principle consists in the elimination of any source of waste and in the identification of opportunities for process improvement. After the beginning of year 2000, the Lean philosophy began to be adapted and implemented in the services sector and it is currently one of the sectors where its adoption is more intense: there are many examples of Lean philosophy being used in healthcare services, government institutions, financial sector, banks and insurance companies, among others. However, the application in business or innovation consulting companies is not common or even non-existent.
The main objective of this work is to propose a set of measures based on the Lean philosophy to Inova+ through a curricular internship, thus helping consultants in the preparation of calls for the Horizon 2020 and increasing the company's productivity in terms of human resources and time management. This would ultimately lead to an increase in the quality of the service provided. To achieve this goal it is imperative to identify the main sources of waste in order to minimize or eliminate them, through the usage of tools and techniques such as the 5S, 5S Digital, Value Stream Mapping, Visual Management and Poka-Yoke.
Through the application of Lean Tools in the Department of International Cooperation, it was possible to propose a plan of action which is expected to be adopted by the company in the foreseeable future. The enhancement proposal includes a set of actions, which range from the training of human resources in the Lean philosophy to the elimination of various types of waste through the 5S digitals. The results of the implementation of these proposals are solely indicative and are, therefore, expected results, since it was not possible to monitor its implementation, which is a limitation of this study. However, Inova+ is left with a clear and concise plan that delineates ways to improve its operations.

Date of Award	20 Mar 2017
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Jorge Julião (Supervisor) & Cristina Azevedo (Co-Supervisor)