Documento - Adingor.es

D-O5MANUFACTURING PERFOMANCE: IMPACT OF KAIZEN-BLITZIMPLEMENTATION IN SEVERAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTSFIRST TIER SUPPLIERSXI Congreso de Ingeniería de OrganizaciónInternational Conference on Industrial Engineering and Industrial ManagementMadrid. September 5th-7th 2007JUAN A. MARIN-GARCIAJULIO GARCIA-SABATERCRISTOBAL MIRALLESDEPARTAMENTO DE ORGANIZACION DE EMPRESASUNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE VALENCIAResumen: The aim of this paper is to explore the possibilityof improving production indicators by means ofthe application of lean production techniques, developedthrough Kaizen-Blitz teams made up of managersand operators. To this end, the empirical research willconsist of the description of the results obtained in 11industrial companies from the automotive componentsindustry. In each of the companies, we have followed updifferent interventions over a 9-12 month period. Weshall present the initial situation; the activities carriedout by the company and the evolution of the manufacturingperformance approximately three months afterthe activities are finished. This will enable us to draw favourableconclusions on these interventions and we shalldiscuss the degree of congruence with previous researchon the subject.Key words: Human resources, productivity and competitiveness,continuous improvement.1. IntroductionCurrently, most automobile manufacturers havetransformed their philosophy of production in favourof the lean production paradigm. By doing so, theyhope to improve efficiency and to obtain better resultsin the markets in which they operate. This transformationmust occur not only in the plants, but itseems important that first tier suppliers should alsomodify their production systems in line with the leanproduction philosophy Liker y Wu (2000). In thefuture, the effects of this wave will probably also reachsecond level suppliers, with the result that oneintegrated supply chain can be built.Nevertheless, in the interventions that we have carriedout in recent years in the automobile auxiliary industry,we have been able to observe that the suppliers companiesare still not convinced of the profitability of leansystems, in spite of the favourable opinions expressedin scientific publications. One of the main reasonsis that they lack information and clear examples relatedto their activities. For the supplier company managers,the fact that lean production is a success in automobilemanufacturers does not guarantee, from theoutset, that they too will have this success.Moreover, for the supplier companies there is noquestion that the advance towards lean productionrequires investments, not just in facilities but also inworker training and time to develop the improvements.They are also aware that the way is not freeof risks, such as the loss of the buffer provided bystocks or the greater pressure on workers, amongothers. Some of these risks have been discussed inrecent research Cooney (2002), Fairris (2002).On the other hand, in the academic world it is consideredthat certain management actions in humanNº 35