Manisha Lande, Dinesh Seth and Rakesh L. Shrivastava
One of the major challenges for developing countries is the lack of mechanisms for the evaluation of critical success factors (CSFs) of quality initiatives, which hampers the…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the major challenges for developing countries is the lack of mechanisms for the evaluation of critical success factors (CSFs) of quality initiatives, which hampers the journey toward sustainability. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has been one of the most widely used initiatives supporting quality improvement with wastes reduction and facilitating sustainability. To expedite LSS and its spread, it is important to evaluate key CSFs. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to provide an approach for the evaluation of LSS-CSFs for Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a graph theoretic approach and demonstrates the evaluation of LSS-CSFs by proposing an index. The development of index is illustrated using a set of seven prioritized CSFs based on the literature review paper (Lande et al., 2016).
Findings
This study guides about the translation of CSFs in the form of an index (number) and will benefit both researchers and practitioners, who wish to study the role of key CSFs for implementation and audit requirements for sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
Authors remain confined only to Indian SMEs.
Originality/value
LSS possesses the potential to enhance the performance of manufacturing SMEs, but its evaluation is not easy. This attempt for offering a useful evaluation scheme involving CSFs, in the areas of LSS in developing country contexts, is the first. The approach also facilitates both quality audits and benchmarking between different sets of CSFs. The approach is generalizable and can be extended in other areas.
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Dinesh Seth, R.L. Shrivastava and Sanjeev Shrivastava
The purpose of this paper is to aim for the development and analysis of green manufacturing (GM)-based framework on the identified critical success factors (CSFs) and performance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to aim for the development and analysis of green manufacturing (GM)-based framework on the identified critical success factors (CSFs) and performance measures (PMs) in the context of the Indian cement industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The research follows survey method for data collection. For framework development, it uses factor analysis on the identified CSFs and regression along with the appropriate measures for checking statistical consistency and validity.
Findings
This is the first research towards GM framework for the Indian cement industry. Till date, no framework is available which could guide researchers and practitioners of this environment unfriendly industry. Study exposes lack of connectivity between CSFs and PMs for a GM framework and highlights weaknesses of cement industry in this regard. It offers a generalised GM framework linking PMs with top management, human resource management, organisational culture, green practices, process management and supply chain management.
Practical implications
The framework is expected to help both researchers and practitioners from cement, construction and other industries who are serious towards GM implementation and are looking for appropriate mechanism. This framework if implemented properly will result in enhanced productivity.
Originality/value
This work is one of the few and pioneering efforts to investigate GM linking CSFs and PMs in Indian manufacturing sectors and the first in cement industry. Not many studies are available in the context of cement industry, which is the lifeblood of infrastructure and construction sectors. The importance of the work increases as it is conducted in the Indian context, which is undeniably an important economy of the world.
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Sanjeev Shrivastava and Shrivastava R.L.
The purpose of this paper is to survey the technical performance of the cement industry including those related to procedures; groundwork of raw materials, fuels and semi-finished…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to survey the technical performance of the cement industry including those related to procedures; groundwork of raw materials, fuels and semi-finished products for processing; accessibility of machinery, plant and equipment for various operations; arrangement and process control management.
Design/methodology/approach
A broad range of survey and research was reviewed, and all revealed the methods to recognize the key influences for development of green technology. The study explores the present scenario of green manufacturing (GM) strategies of Indian cement companies and provides the industrial ecology, ways of reducing energy consumption, environmental impact data collection, design and control of manufacturing systems and integration of product and manufacturing system. It also reveals the problems in decision-making systems owing to the impact of the green product design. Here, in this paper, all information is obtained by the medium of internet, journals, articles, and magazines.
Findings
This paper describes a problem of global warming, gas, water and other wastages emissions at the time of cement manufacturing and put forward a path that enables decision makers to assess the perception of GM in their organization and in prioritizing GM efforts.
Originality/value
This perspective survey is to provide an integrative outlook of performance methods for GM practices in the Indian cement industries. It gives important information, which expectantly will help in cement industry to adopt GM practices. This paper fills the gap in the literature on identification, establishment, and validation of performance measures of GM for Indian cement industries.
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The purpose of this study is to develop Markovian model to obtain the transient probabilities to determine mean-time-to-failure and reliability function and further steady state…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop Markovian model to obtain the transient probabilities to determine mean-time-to-failure and reliability function and further steady state availability of the repairable system. As the system parameters are uncontrollable factors; thus the life times, repair times and recovery/reboot time are assumed to be as uncertain or fuzzified distributions.
Design/methodology/approach
The fuzzy approach is introduced to investigate the reliability measures of load sharing repairable system which consists of two operating units and one standby unit. On the failure of an operating component, it is instantly spotted, located and sent for recovery procedures with coverage probability. In case of imperfect recovery, reboot takes place.
Findings
On the basis of extension principle and mathematical programming approach, the authors establish membership functions for system characteristics with the help of α-cuts. To demonstrate the practical validity of the proposed fuzzified model, numerical illustrations are performed.
Originality/value
The model proposed for reliability analysis may cheer up the continuance of the work towards more applications in repairable systems. Therefore, the reader is provided with useful intuition into the nature of fuzzy computations and practical amendments while measuring ambiguous data.
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Sadia Samar Ali, Rajbir Kaur and Jose Antonio Marmolejo Saucedo
Pravin S. Pachpor, R.L. Shrivastava, Dinesh Seth and Shaligram Pokharel
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of Petri nets in a job shop setup for the improvement in the utilization of machines.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of Petri nets in a job shop setup for the improvement in the utilization of machines.
Design/methodology/approach
The study discusses concepts such as reachable state, token and matrix equations set, and demonstrates the improvements in machines’ utilization in a job shop. It makes use of algorithms to generate reachable markings to obtain utilization. The study not only describes the application of theory, but also extends the body of knowledge on Petri nets and job shops.
Findings
In this study, machines’ utilization has been studied in a job shop with six machines and eight products. The study finds that substantial utilization improvement in job shop set up can be obtained through the application of Petri nets. The study also exposes that Petri nets are mostly used for machines, jobs and tools scheduling problems, but its use in machines’ utilization is neglected. The framework and application presented here along with generalizable findings, is the first to report about machine utilization improvement in job shop manufacturing environment.
Practical implications
Job shops are characterized by high unit production cost, low investments, low volume and high variety, complex flows, flexible and skilled work force, general purpose machines, high material handling; resulting in poor utilization of machines. Therefore, the findings of this study can help in reducing such costs through better machine utilization. This can help in increasing the competitiveness of the companies.
Originality/value
The contribution of study lies in investigating and improving stage wise utilization in a job shop setup. It has never been reported before.
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Sandra Bergamini Leonardo, Marco Antonio Pinheiro Silveira, Paloma María Teresa Martinez-Sánchez and Maria do Carmo Romeiro
This paper aimed to analyze the contribution of the interorganizational relationship (IOR) factors trust and knowledge resources to the relational and transactional performance of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aimed to analyze the contribution of the interorganizational relationship (IOR) factors trust and knowledge resources to the relational and transactional performance of a Brazilian agricultural cluster formed by small farmers.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted using a questionnaire divided into groups of variables, each group seeking to identify one of the three constructs: trust, knowledge resources and relational and transactional performance. A theoretical framework was elaborated and later compared with survey results, which were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
Correlations between trust and relational and transactional cluster performance varied according to actors involved, being significant between some actors and not significant between others. Knowledge resources, on the other hand, proved to be significantly relevant for cluster performance, considering both relational and transactional measures.
Research limitations/implications
It was made in a Brazilian single cluster and its conclusions cannot be generalized.
Practical implications
Farmers cannot innovate with the efficiency and effectiveness that the process demands. They need complementary capacity that apparently is not in the agricultural cluster. Research and development involve knowledge and techniques that empirical knowledge alone may not provide. And much of the formal knowledge is embedded in universities and research institutes. If there were investments by public entities in research and development to improve the culture and its by-products, this could contribute to improving the income of farmers.
Social implications
This study provided a photograph of the current scenario of a Brazilian agricultural cluster. Changes in trust and knowledge resources could affect cluster relational and transactional performance. Special attention is deserved to the important role of scientific research on agricultural clusters to strengthen the capacity of critical analysis by the researcher who, with the results in hand, makes them public, hoping that the shared information can contribute with the research of other scholars and improve the quality of life of farmers involved.
Originality/value
This study offers empirical evidence that trust and knowledge resources can contribute to a Brazilian agricultural cluster performance, which can be analyzed considering both relational and transactional measures. These findings brought new fact to Singh and Shrivastava’s (2013) research.
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Abhilash C.R. and Jitesh J. Thakkar
The purpose of this paper is to apply the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology in order to reduce the rejections experienced in the manufacturing of the doors belonging to a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology in order to reduce the rejections experienced in the manufacturing of the doors belonging to a telecommunication cabinet.
Design/methodology/approach
The process involved joining of sheet metal and hinge using welding operations with the help of a fixture. The methodology used is the structured DMAIC method in order to identify the root cause for the rejections and solve it.
Findings
The paper provides insights about the identification of the root cause for the defects and the solution to overcome it, and also the benefits that were obtained as a result of the application of the solution.
Research limitations/implications
This methodology has been applied to the variation observed in the dimensions of a particular component to be welded with a main part. This approach can be used to find such dimensional variations.
Practical implications
This study has been successfully carried out in a medium-scale industry which has total quality management in practice.
Originality/value
Six Sigma DMAIC was necessary for the identification and reduction of the defects which arose in the sheet metal and welding operations, and had to be resolved in order to increase the bottom-line.
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Rakesh Gupta, S.Z. Mumtaz and R Nitin Rastogi
Profit analysis of a two non‐identical unit cold standby system model with mutual changeover of the units is carried out in this paper. With mutual changeover of the unit, the…
Abstract
Profit analysis of a two non‐identical unit cold standby system model with mutual changeover of the units is carried out in this paper. With mutual changeover of the unit, the operating unit, after functioning for some random amount of time, becomes standby to take rest, and the standby unit becomes operative. The failure and repair times of each unit are jointly distributed as bivariate exponential (BVE) with different parameters. Various measures of system effectiveness useful to system engineers and designers are obtained by using the regenerative point technique. Behaviour of the mean time to system failure (MTSF) and availability have also been studied graphically.
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Anil R. Sahu, Rashmi R. Shrivastava and R.L. Shrivastava
The purpose of this paper is to identify critical factors of total quality management (TQM), for use in a possible framework that addresses sustainable quality improvements in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify critical factors of total quality management (TQM), for use in a possible framework that addresses sustainable quality improvements in technical institutes as a plausible means of TQM implementation in higher education programs.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature survey of the TQM and related quality methodologies and content analysis of TQM literature in technical institutes provide the theoretical and practical background for this work. The content analysis was carried out following the standard principles of deductive reasoning and subsequently, relevant factors were identified for implementations.
Findings
Unlike the scenario in industry, TQM philosophies have to be adopted differently for a successful implementation in technical institutes. The identified critical factors of TQM and related quality improvement methodologies provide a comprehensive guideline for an effective and efficient implementation of TQM in technical institutes.
Originality/value
This paper identifies the critical factors of quality improvement initiatives that are most comprehensive and have potential to address the quality issues of technical institutes. The critical factors identified in this study, offer a practical guidance for academics to implement TQM in technical institutes and can form the basis for delineating a mathematical model for these institutes.