Longitudinal study of the results of continuous improvement in an industrial company

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to show a real experience of how a scheme of continuous improvement has been gradually transformed, from a very unsuccessful start, passing through different phases and finally delivering results for the firm. Design/methodology/approach -The authors analyse the evolution of the formal programs of continuous improvement of a firm in a traditional sector (food). The data for the research were gathered by means of participatory observation over the course of 18 months spent in the firm attending the meetings of the improvement teams. Findings -Both programs (individual and group) have proved to be very profitable for the company. However, there is no magic formula for the correct operation of the system of continuous improvement. The existing system has to be continually improved, correcting faults and trying always to contribute something new to re-launch the system regularly.Practical implications -This study has also permitted the authors to highlight the importance of continuous improvement in the firm from both the economic point of view and that of worker development. Originality/value -The investigation aims to help to cover the lack of longitudinal case studies of continuous improvement.

The relationships between shop floor management and QCCs to support Kaizen

“…For the implementation of QCCs, previous research has suggested that their successful implementations are based on few factors (Miina, 2012;Seyedhosseini et al, 2011), including the number of ideas have been submitted (Karlsson & Ahlstrom, 1996), implemented (Baides & Moyano-Fuentes, 2012;Winfield, 1994), and the time improvement participants spent in developing ideas (Marin-Garcia et al, 2008). This study followed Ma et al (2014) that the number of QCC meetings is a proxy to measure the quantity of QCCs, whilst the number of completed and presented QCCs is a proxy for quality of QCCs.…”

Sequenciamento sistemático de experimentos fatoriais como alternativa à ordem aleatória

“…Its disclosure took place in Brazil in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the first concepts of quality emerged according to the Japanese model. There are several books (Toledo, 1986;Imai, 1997;Kume, 1993) and articles on this topic, which relate the use of these techniques to continuous improvement (Marin-Garcia et al, 2008;Oprime et al, 2010) and the effects of these activities on productivity (Bessant & Caffyn, 1997;Savolainen, 1999;Harrison, 2000;Bessant et al, 2001;Delbridge & Barton, 2002;Hyland et al, 2003).…”

Barreras y facilitadores para la implantación, evolución y sostenibilidad de la mejora continua en proveedores del sector del automóvil.

“…(Eisenhardt, 1989;Yin, 1993). El caso de estudio es bastante utilizado en el área de gestión de empresas o mejora continua (Abdulmalek y Rajgopal, 2007; García-Arca y PradoPrado, 2008;Marin-Garcia et al, 2008;Prado Prado, 1998;Scoggin et al, 2003;Vazquez-Bustelo y Avella, 2006). Pero se descarta el caso de estudio para esta tesis ya que al tener como objetivo realizar un estudio sobre la evolución de la mejora continua, llevaría a plantear un estudio de mucha duración y esfuerzo, sin tener ninguna certeza de que las empresas van a conseguir evolucionar hasta etapas avanzadas.…”

“…Entre las herramientas de trabajo en grupo se encuentran los círculos de calidad, los grupos multifuncionales o los equipos de mejora de una duración predeterminada (GarciaLorenzo y Grütter et al, 2002;Kerrin y Oliver, 2002;MarinGarcia et al, 2008a;Rapp y Eklund, 2002;Sillince et al, 1996). Por otra parte, se pueden utilizar sistemas de sugerencias individuales Rapp y Eklund, 2002;Schuring y Luijten, 2001;Sillince et al, 1996), aunque sólo se obtienen resultados comparables a las mejoras de grupos si son excepcionalmente bien gestionados (Marin-Garcia et al, 2008b;Rapp y Eklund, 2002).…”

“…Tanto en sectores donde está tradicionalmente extendido, como el del automóvil, como en otros sectores, por ejemplo el de la alimentación (Marin-Garcia et al, 2008b; o el del mueble reúnen para resolver problemas muy concretos y no se vuelven a reunir, características propias de la las primeras etapas en la evolución de la mejora continua planteadas por . Otros autores muestran como la participación de los empleados en la toma de decisiones no está excesivamente extendida en España (Marin-Garcia et al, 2008a).…”