Part A: Case study. Each question carries 15 marks.Words count: Minimum 2500 words for all questions.Referring to the case study by Cabrera , Corpus , Maradiegue and Álvarez (2020), Answerthe following questions:
1- What is the main problem facing the SME food company? Describe the analysisfollowed by the authors in investigating the problem extent and implications, causesand root cause. Describe, define, and state the purpose of the tools used in the casestudy to analyze the problem and its root causes. What type of wastes can beattributed to the disclosed problems?
2- What were the main solutions/ approaches implemented in the case study? How didthe author justify rationally the use of these approaches and how did they connectthem with the problems and their causes? Illustrate the underlying concepts, purposeand procedures related to the SPC and Lean.
3- What were the results achieved?
4- Conduct a review of the benefits of applying Lean and SPC in any industry usingappropriate references and research publications.
5- Which is better for a company that adopts cost leadership strategy to be agile or toimplement lean? Justify your answer.
Part B (15 Marks)Word count: Minimum 1500 words.Compare and contrast the focus on reducing the cost era with the focus on quality era withinthe evolution stages that operations management has progressed through.
©Al Tareeqah Management Studies - 2022 3 Part A: Case study. Each question carries 15 marks. Words count: Minimum 2500 words for all questions. Referring to the case study by Cabrera , Corpus , Maradiegue and Álvarez (2020), Answer the following questions: 1- What is the main problem facing the SME food company? Describe the analysis followed by the authors in investigating the problem extent and implications, causes and root cause. Describe, define, and state the purpose of the tools used in the case study to analyze the problem and its root causes. What type of wastes can be attributed to the disclosed problems? 2- What were the main solutions/ approaches implemented in the case study? How did the author justify rationally the use of these approaches and how did they connect them with the problems and their causes? Illustrate the underlying concepts, purpose and procedures related to the SPC and Lean. 3- What were the results achieved? 4- Conduct a review of the benefits of applying Lean and SPC in any industry using appropriate references and research publications. 5- Which is better for a company that adopts cost leadership strategy to be agile or to implement lean? Justify your answer. Part B (15 Marks) Word count: Minimum 1500 words. Compare and contrast the focus on reducing the cost era with the focus on quality era within the evolution stages that operations management has progressed through. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering December 2020 Vol 31(4), pp 194-207 194 IMPROVING QUALITY BY IMPLEMENTING LEAN MANUFACTURING, SPC, AND HACCP IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY: A CASE STUDY J.L. Cabrera1, O.A. Corpus1, F. Maradiegue1 & J.C. Álvarez1* ARTICLE INFO Article details Submitted by authors 17 May 2020 Accepted for publication 18 Nov 2020 Available online 14 Dec 2020 Contact details * Corresponding author
[email protected] Author affiliations 1 Engineering Faculty, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru ORCID® identifiers J.L. Cabrera https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6878-3572 O.A. Corpus https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9177-3214 F. Maradiegue https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0966-4666 J.C. Álvarez http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2459-9236 DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.7166/31-4-2363 ABSTRACT Interest in ensuring the safety of food for human consumption has grown considerably owing to the economic impact of returns on products that do not meet the organoleptic characteristics that customers require. The presence of pollutants and reduced shelf life are the most common problems affecting food quality. This research applied the improving quality to a food SME company belonging to the ‘fourth range’ sub-sector based on lean manufacturing tools, statistical process control (SPC), and the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system. The Lean tools that were applied are value stream map and 5s. The value stream maps (VSMs) to identify the operations most at risk of cross-contamination in the supply chain, and use 5S to prevent the contamination and decomposition of products in work areas. The statistical process control allows the variability of products to be controlled with respect to consumer quality parameters; and HACCP insures food safety through the control of critical points of contamination risk. A pilot project was carried out for two months, which resulted in a reduction of product returns by 89.2%. OPSOMMING Belangstelling in die versekering van voedselveiligheid vir menslike verbruik het noemenswaardig toegeneem as gevolg van die ekonomiese impak van produkte wat nie aan die standaarde wat verbruikers verwag voldoen nie. Die teenwoordigheid van besoedeling en verminderde rakleeftyd is van die mees algemene probleme wat voedselgehalte negatief beïnvloed. Hierdie navorsing het die voedselgehalte van ʼn klein maatskappy verbeter deur lenige vervaardiging, statistiese prosesbeheer en gevaar-analise en kritieke beheerpunte toe te pas. Die lenige werktuie wat toegepas is, is die waardestroomkaart en 5S. Die waardestroomkaarte is gebruik om die bedrywighede wat die hoogste risiko vir kruis- kontaminasie inhou te identifiseer en 5S is gebruik om die kontaminasie en ontbinding van die produkte in werk areas te voorkom. Die statistiese prosesbeheer verseker dat die variasie van produkte binne verbruiker gehalte parameters gehandhaaf word. Die gevaar-analise en kritieke beheerpunte verseker voedselveiligheid deur kritieke punte met hoë kontaminasie risiko te beheer. ʼn Proefprojek is vir twee maande uitgevoer en die resultaat daarvan was ʼn vermindering van verwerpte produkte van 89,2%. 1 INTRODUCTION In the first half of 2018, the Peruvian food sector, exports in the fruit and vegetable sub-sector grew according to the Association of Agricultural Producers Guilds of Peru (AGAP), reaching US$ 1,389 million, which represented 26 per cent of all exports. Fresh fruit grew by 29 per cent or $1,236 million in the first half of this year, compared with the previous year. In addition, the fresh vegetable sub-sector grew by seven per cent in the first six months of the year 2018. The most important ones were fresh asparagus, at US$ 127 million, an increase of six per cent; fresh onion, at US$ 17 million, and increase of 62 per cent; and fresh peas, at US$ 3 million, equivalent to a 109 per cent increase over the previous period [1]. mailto:
[email protected] 195 The quality of processed and ready-to-eat plant products is often the result of a combination of attributes. The relevant attributes of organoleptic quality include appearance, texture, smell, and taste, along with others relating to nutritional quality and food safety. Symptoms of deterioration of these products include changes in colour, and the appearance of oxidative browning on cut surfaces [2]. These factors influence the quality compliance and quality assurance of finished food products that are perishable and need to be consumed without delay. 2 PROBLEM The case study was carried out in a food SME of the ‘fourth range’ located in Lima. The products in the fourth range are those that are processed as fresh, clean, chopped, and packaged vegetables and fruits for consumption. Their largest commercial market is through the HORECA (hotels, restaurants, and casinos) channel. The importance of this sub-sector lies in ensuring and providing quality products to the consumer. That is why the information obtained from the historical data of claims and/or returns of products by customers during 2018 was analysed. As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that the return rate of products completed in 2018 was 2.1 per cent of total production, representing a total amount of 4,352 defective bags per year. In addition, the main economic causes and consequences were identified, representing nine per cent of the total turnover in economic losses. The Ishikawa diagram of this case study is shown in Figure 1. Table 1 indicates the percentage of products returned, based on the type of problem presented for each month in 2018. It can be seen that 4,352 bags of products were returned, representing 2.10 per cent of the production in that year. Table 1: Historical record of percentage of product returns in 2018 MONTH % CONTAMINANT AGENT % USEFUL LIFE JANUARY 44% 38% FEBRUARY 33% 50% MARCH 19% 81% APRIL 10% 70% MAY 40% 20% JUNE 25% 75% JULY 11% 67% AUGUST 33% 67% SEPTEMBER 25% 75% OCTOBER 33% 67% NOVEMBER 33% 67% DECEMBER 33% 44% TOTAL 4352 bags 2,10% An analysis of the Pareto diagram was carried out to identify the main causes of product returns, and it was found that more than 80 per cent of the cause were the reduction in shelf life and the presence of contaminants in lettuce, as shown in Table 2. Once the main causes of the problem has been identified, the tools and/or methods that could address the causes of the identified problem were identified. 196 Figure 1: The pareto diagram Table 2: Problem indicators Percentage share of problem causes Reduction of shelf life and raw material and finished product 60% Presence of pollutants in lettuce 28% Does not meet the established requirements 8% Incomplete delivery 4% 3 BACKGROUND A review of the literature states that the implementation of lean manufacturing solves the problems of the food industry in relation product quality, to avoid reduced shelf life and cross-contamination. In addition, there is a structured framework that serves as a guide in the implementation of lean production for food industry companies, and that describes in detail the procedures to be followed to understand the contextual factors and to achieve the company’s maximum potential [4]. The literature also suggests adding KPIs and support from external exchange agents to control the progress of results in process improvement [5]. Managing a lean implementation programme involves working in teams and measuring the final implementation of KPIs, which suggests that control measurements should be performed in the input, production, and output processes. In addition, it shows that the use of upstream performance reports and non-financial rewards are indispensable to the performance of lean manufacturing implementation [6]. One of the most widely used tools by food companies to identify cross-contamination risks [7] and the critical points of food loss and waste in the supply chain [8] is value stream maps (VSMs). Another of the most commonly used tools is the 5S technique, in which a culture of cleanliness is established in organisations in order to ensure the reduction of food waste that is caused by pollution and decomposition [7], as well as inventory levels [9]. The main barriers to the implementation of strict manufacturing practices are sequential cleaning time, long preparation time between product types, and high product perishability. Most of the significant barriers indicated by respondents are specific to the nature of the food processing industry, including lack of knowledge, lack of availability of resources, and poor employee participation [10]. Weak business culture, poor leadership, and resistance to change should also be considered barriers. However, Vlachos [11] uses the get the knowledge to train senior managers in how to apply lean tools. 60% 28% 8% 4% 60% 88% 96% 100% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% Reduction of shelf life and raw material and finished product Presence of pollutants in lettuce Does not meet the established requirements Incomplete delivery P E R C E N T A G E CAUSES