The use of Kaizen philosophy to improve the production process - case study

In times of innovation, rapid economic development and high competition, each producer tries to improve the condition of his company. Then the quality of services or products is improved, losses are minimized, production processes are optimized and costs associated with running a business are reduced. The Kaizen philosophy can be used to solve any problem and issue related to work in the organization. Its main value is to strive for the continuous company’s development through small ideas, which incrementally cause continuous improvement of the company. The paper presents how the functioning of the Kaizen philosophy in a company affects the initiatives of employees, which directly affect the optimization of processes. The presented research results show how innovative solutions consisting in limiting the use of masking tapes influence the improvement of product assembly process

AN ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES OF PRODUCT DEFECTS USING QUALITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS

To stay or strengthen its position on the market, a modern business needs to follow the principles of quality control in its actions. Especially important is the Zero Defects concept developed by Philip Crosby, which means flawless production. The concept consists in preventing the occurrence of defects and flaws in all production stages. To achieve that, we must, among other things, make use of quality management tools. This article presents an analysis of the reasons for the return of damaged or faulty goods in the automotive industry by means of quality management tools such as the Ishikawa diagram and Pareto analysis, which allow us to identify the causes of product defectiveness. Based on the results, preventive measures have been proposed. The actions presented in this article and the results of the analysis prove the effectiveness of the aforementioned quality management tools

Suppliers and their role in modern enterprise – Case study

For each company, the process of selecting and evaluating suppliers of both the components needed for production and the implementation of production process is a very important aspect of their business, as the selection of appropriate contractors has an impact on the quality of final product, which is offered to customers. Dynamically changing situation in the company’s environment causes that success is achieved by those companies which implement new solutions and tools in their relations with suppliers. One such solution may include the PN-EN ISO 9001:2015 standard, which requires the organization to evaluate and select suppliers, taking into account their ability to provide a product compliant with the organization’s requirements. This paper presents a proposal to supplement the procedure of supplier qualification in a selected company. Attention was drawn to the fact that it is necessary for the modern organization to have access to database of qualified suppliers, who at the time of arising demand are able to meet the requirements set for them. It is also important for the enterprise to have at least two qualified suppliers for the same component in its database. Such an approach results from the current market requirements. The paper is based on a case study as a recognized method of analyzing and discussing authentic situations applied in management sciences

New technologies and quality of customer service – case study

Nowadays, companies are increasingly forced to fight against competition. The number of competitors on the market is constantly growing, and customer’s demands on the products offered by the companies are increasing. The role of customers on the market has changed in recent years. Customers are more active than before, i.e. they started to actively co-create value, so they stopped being passive to the purchase process. Organizations that make appropriate use of the increase in customer activity can count on large benefits for the company. One of the methods to increase competitiveness is continuous introduction of new technologies based on the Internet, which recently resulted in easier cooperation between customers and suppliers, making and settling transactions, coordination of orders in the supply chain thanks to e.g. solution supporting electronic exchange of EDI documents. Therefore, the development of information and communication technologies has significantly influenced the development of organization through its improvement. This paper presents the importance of new technologies for the customer that improve the process of its service in a selected clothing sales network in Poland

Innovation in coal mining management as an intelligent specialization

In Poland, one of the industries that has to take action to increase innovation is mining, as it is still a strategic branch of the Polish industry. The analysis of the structure of expenditure on mining innovation shows that there are innovations in the product sphere and solutions related to mechanical coal mining, while the sphere of widely understood management is omitted and expenditure on this field is negligible. Bearing in mind, among other things, the above challenges facing the Polish economy in the near future and in particular Polish coal industry, the author of the article attempted to analyse the most important challenges facing the mining industry in Poland. This article will attempt to answer the question in which direction innovative measures should be taken in Polish hard coal mining industry to allow for the development of this industry

Innovation in coal mining management as an intelligent specialization

In Poland, one of the industries that has to take action to increase innovation is mining, as it is still a strategic branch of the Polish industry. The analysis of the structure of expenditure on mining innovation shows that there are innovations in the product sphere and solutions related to mechanical coal mining, while the sphere of widely understood management is omitted and expenditure on this field is negligible. Bearing in mind, among other things, the above challenges facing the Polish economy in the near future and in particular Polish coal industry, the author of the article attempted to analyse the most important challenges facing the mining industry in Poland. This article will attempt to answer the question in which direction innovative measures should be taken in Polish hard coal mining industry to allow for the development of this industry

Significance of the quality of short - link chains for work environment

In the article basic elements influencing the quality and safety of the chain are discussed. The conducted analysis clearly indicates that price ought not to be the only determinant to take into account when choosing a supplier - instead, the users of these products should first of all consider certificates and approvals provided with the product by its manufacturer

Statistical Process Control as a Failure Removal Improvement Tool

Continuous improvement should be a part of the strategy of every modern company that wishes to meet the requirements posed by the demanding, competitive market. The article presents a concept of applying a tool known from quality engineering, i.e. Shewhart control charts, for the improvement of the maintenance process in a small company providing services for the agricultural and construction industries. The improvement of the process included the reducing of the downtime of belt conveyors due to failures. Using control charts allowed the detection of interferences in the process and defining of their nature. Using other tools such as 5 WHY allowed the identification of the root causes of overly long downtimes and, consequently, formulation and implementation of improvements and preventive measures that were optimal for the organisation. The verification of actions taken has shown their positive impact on the process, which was reflected in the shortening of downtime and, subsequently, streamlining the failure removal process. The paper presents a possibility and validity of utilising quality engineering tools, such as Shewhart’s charts, 5 WHY or Ishikawa diagram, for improving the maintenance processes

INNOVATIVE USE OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT METHODS FOR PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT

Organisations constantly look for new, innovative solutions and methods which could be used to improve their efficiency and increase the quality of their products. Identifying the causes for returns is an important issue for modern compa-nies, as returns are the cause for the increase in production costs and, most importantly, the loss of credibility in the eyes of the client. Therefore, for the company to be able to sustain or strengthen its position on the market, it has to follow the rules of quality management. Especially important is the rule of constant improvement. This rule is primarily connected with preventing errors and defects from occurring at all the stages of the production process. To achieve that, one must, among other things, use quality management tools. The article presents an analysis of causes for returns of a vibrating screen produced by a company which manufactures machinery and equipment for the extractive industry, using quality management tools such as the Ishikawa diagram and Pareto analysis. The analysis allowed for the identifi-cation of the causes of client returns which could not be previously identified, and proposing solutions for them

Recertification of a Quality Management System based on ISO 9001 - is it a must for a modern manufacturing company?

Diabetes, adjudged a risk factor for coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19), can be managed through consumption of plantain and its associated products. Plantain is usually processed into flour and other storable/value-added products due to its very short shelf-life. To process unripe plantain pulps into flour, there is a need for size reduction after drying. This paper presents the development and performance evaluation of a size reduction unit for pulverizing, sieving and conveying material to the next processing stage in a plantain flour process plant. Its model was developed using solidworks application software. After design analysis, the model was simulated to establish its suitability/adequacy for fabrication. The pulverizer was fabricated using locally available materials. Its performance evaluation gave 400kg/h throughput, 96% crushing efficiency and 96% efficiency based on the required particle size. The average particle size of flour obtained was 236μm using 500μm screen. Effect of cyclone control-valve on the pulverizer’s overall efficiency was also investigated by allowing it to operate when the valve was completely closed, partially closed and fully opened. It was observed that the control-valve’s positions significantly influenced the machine’s performance/efficiency. It can thus be inferred that the position of cyclone control-valve has significant effect on a pulverizer’s efficiency/performance. Hence, leaving control-valve fully opened during operation would help a pulverizer perform with optimum efficiency, as the pulverizer was able to convey material, efficiently in that position, to the next processing stage during performance evaluation