Quantitative analysis of Kaizen philosophy on productivity improvement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v12i3.2455Keywords:
Kaizen Philosophy, Medium-Scale Manufacturing Firms, ProductivityAbstract
Due to rising global competition and major changes in consumer demands, preferences, and tastes, many businesses today use the Japanese management technique known as Kaizen to adjust their production processes to meet these expectations. The sole goal of this study was to improve the overall productivity of medium-scale industries by integrating the kaizen philosophy into the production process. Most learning exercises carried out as part of kaizen initiatives were designed to improve social outcomes regarding employees’ problem-solving skills and attitudes. In particular, Kaizen coordinators are concerned with employees’ understanding of continuous improvement and their communication and problem-solving abilities. The pilot project was carried out in the production lines where vanilla extracts were being produced. The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle technique was used in this study to improve productivity in the production process. The pitch diagram was used as a supportive tool. The two prominent techniques that mainly contributed to the increase in productivity were the PDCA cycle and the pitch diagram. Kaizen implementation led to a 37% increase in the company's total productivity. To increase productivity even further, water tapping and measurement were merged. As a result, it took just 2 minutes instead of 5 to fill a bottle with 20 liters of water. This study concludes that the Kaizen philosophy and elimination of non-value-adding tasks from the production process improve output.
Downloads
References
Alamri, W. A. (2019). Effectiveness of Qualitative Research Methods: Interviews and Diaries. International Journal of English and Cultural Studies, 2(1), 65. https://doi.org/10.11114/ijecs.v2i1.4302 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11114/ijecs.v2i1.4302
Antony, J., Snee, R., & Hoerl, R. (2017). Lean Six Sigma: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 34(7), 1073–1093. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-03-2016-0035 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-03-2016-0035
Berhe, H. H. (2022). Application of Kaizen philosophy for enhancing manufacturing industries’ performance: Exploratory study of Ethiopian chemical industries. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 39(1), 204–235. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-09-2020-0328 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-09-2020-0328
Ciesielska, M., Boström, K. W., & Öhlander, M. (2018). Observation Methods. In M. Ciesielska & D. Jemielniak (Eds.), Qualitative Methodologies in Organization Studies (pp. 33–52). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65442-3_2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65442-3_2
Dimitrescu, A., Alecusan, A.-M., Babis, C., Niculae, E., & Dascalu, L. (2018). Elimination of Losses Used Lean Manufacturing Techniques And Kaizen Philosophy. 2, 7.
Isniah, S., Hardi Purba, H., & Debora, F. (2020). Plan do check action (PDCA) method: Literature review and research issues. Jurnal Sistem Dan Manajemen Industri, 4(1), 72–81. https://doi.org/10.30656/jsmi.v4i1.2186 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30656/jsmi.v4i1.2186
Jagusiak-Kocik, M. (2017). PDCA cycle as a part of continuous improvement in the production company—A case study. Production Engineering Archives, 14(14), 19–22. https://doi.org/10.30657/pea.2017.14.05 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30657/pea.2017.14.05
Kumar, R. (2019). Kaizen a Tool for Continuous Quality Improvement in Indian Manufacturing Organization. International Journal of Mathematical, Engineering and Management Sciences, 4(2), 452–459. https://doi.org/10.33889/IJMEMS.2019.4.2-037 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33889/IJMEMS.2019.4.2-037
Leksic, I., Stefanic, N., & Veza, I. (2020). The impact of using different lean manufacturing tools on waste reduction. Advances in Production Engineering & Management, 15(1), 81–92. https://doi.org/10.14743/apem2020.1.351 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14743/apem2020.1.351
Moen, R., & Norman, C. (n.d.). Evolution of the PDCA Cycle. 11.
Nithia, K. K., Noordin, M. Y., & Saman, M. Z. M. (2015). Lean Production Weaknesses in Manufacturing Industry: A Review. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 735, 344–348. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.735.344 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.735.344
Rashid, Y., Rashid, A., Warraich, M. A., Sabir, S. S., & Waseem, A. (2019). Case Study Method: A Step-by-Step Guide for Business Researchers. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18, 160940691986242. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919862424 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919862424
Realyvásquez-Vargas, A., Arredondo-Soto, K., Carrillo-Gutiérrez, T., & Ravelo, G. (2018). Applying the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle to Reduce the Defects in the Manufacturing Industry. A Case Study. Applied Sciences, 8(11), 2181. https://doi.org/10.3390/app8112181 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app8112181
Rewers, P., Trojanowska, J., Chabowski, P., & ?ywicki, K. (2016). Impact of Kaizen Solutions on Production Efficiency. Modern Management Review. https://doi.org/10.7862/rz.2016.mmr.53 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7862/rz.2016.mmr.53
Rosak-Szyrocka, J. (2019). Quality of Life Improvement in Kaizen Aspect. Quality Production Improvement - QPI, 1(1), 528–536. https://doi.org/10.2478/cqpi-2019-0071 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cqpi-2019-0071
Shan, A. W., Ahmad, M. F., & Nor, N. H. M. (2016). The Mediating Effect of Kaizen between Total Quality Management (TQM) and Business Performance. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 160, 012012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/160/1/012012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/160/1/012012
Shrivastava, S., & Jain, H. (2018). Review Paper on “Productivity Improvement using Kaizen—MUDA Elimination.” 9(5), 4.
Suárez?Barraza, M. F., Ramis?Pujol, J., & Kerbache, L. (2011). Thoughts on kaizen and its evolution: Three different perspectives and guiding principles. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 2(4), 288–308. https://doi.org/10.1108/20401461111189407 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/20401461111189407
Suárez?Barraza, M. F., Ramis?Pujol, J., & Mi Dahlgaard?Park, S. (2013). Changing quality of life through the Personal Kaizen approach: A qualitative study. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 5(2), 191–207. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQSS-03-2013-0015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQSS-03-2013-0015
Takahashi, A. R. W., & Araujo, L. (2019). Case study research: Opening up research opportunities. RAUSP Management Journal, 55(1), 100–111. https://doi.org/10.1108/RAUSP-05-2019-0109 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/RAUSP-05-2019-0109
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Laban Gasper, Beny Mwenda
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
For all articles published in IJRBS, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work, while ensuring that the authors receive proper credit.
