Abstract
Lean Management has been an important instrument for the design of production systems in the last years. Changing towards lean systems unifies lead-time, cost, and quality as key performance indicators. Keeping people and ergonomics at the core of lean thinking makes sure that waste removal in the process does not create new wastes of overburden on the workers [1]. Unfortunately, ergonomics and lean concepts are often not at the forefront of a company’s thought process when it has to decide about investments in material handling equipment. This paper gives a closer look at lean principles and guidelines and will identify and highlight through Axiomatic Design an approach to derive generally applicable rules and parameters for the Design of agile material handling systems successfully proven in an industrial case.