A diagnosis framework for selecting operational improvement opportunities for Malaysian industries

Organizations need to diagnose their current operation performance and identify the opportunities for improvement in order to stay competitive. However, there seems to be lack of studies that focuses on operation diagnosis that align quality audit, business excellence (BE) assessment and project selection for lean six sigma. Hence, this study was undertaken with the objective to develop, evaluate and refine a diagnosis framework that selects operational improvement opportunities. The operational diagnosis framework which was aimed at identifying and selecting operational improvement opportunities was developed through multiphase mixed methods. Qualitative data was used more dominantly than quantitative data. The first phase of the research was to develop of the conceptual framework. The conceptual framework was formulated based on the literature review and semi-structured interviews. Then, it was included in the case study protocol to conduct the actionbased case study. The second phase of the research was to evaluate and refine the diagnosis framework through action-based case study and evaluation survey. Four organizations were involved in the case studies and the results were analyzed. Evaluation survey was conducted to assess the proposed framework in term of design and contents. The final diagnosis framework consists of diagnosis steps and the diagnosis enablers. The diagnosis steps included; 1) evaluate the operational performance through BE categories; 2) determine the ISO9001 elements as the cause of operation performance; 3) determine the available operational improvement tools and techniques, and 4) select the improvement opportunities. The diagnosis enablers include; (1) diagnosis initiation, (2) leadership, (3) person who conducts the diagnosis, and (4) teamwork. Based on the final diagnosis framework, a diagnostic instrument was developed and tested. Hence, both the diagnosis framework and diagnostic instrument can be effectively employed in a wide range of Malaysian industries

A review on the selection of lean production tools and techniques

There has been numerous published literature related to lean production. However, very limited studies have been found focussing on the selection of lean production tools and techniques especially for Malaysian context. The review is based on the contemporary literature that published between year 2004 to 2014. The main databases used were Science Direct, Scopus and Emerald. The review gives general pictures of the selection and implementation of lean tools and techniques in various industries and the factors that affect the selection process. The analysis showed that there was no study yet on the selection of lean production tools and techniques specifically in Malaysia by using rational decision making process. Therefore, this gap requires further research on the selection of appropriate lean production tools and techniques by considering several critical decision criteria

A review on the selection of lean production tools and techniques

There has been numerous published literature related to lean production. However, very limited studies have been found focussing on the selection of lean production tools and techniques especially for Malaysian context. The review is based on the contemporary literature that published between year 2004 to 2014. The main databases used were Science Direct, Scopus and Emerald. The review gives general pictures of the selection and implementation of lean tools and techniques in various industries and the factors that affect the selection process. The analysis showed that there was no study yet on the selection of lean production tools and techniques specifically in Malaysia by using rational decision making process. Therefore, this gap requires further research on the selection of appropriate lean production tools and techniques by considering several critical decision criteria

Lean tools and techniques: a comparison between Malaysian manufacturing and services organisations

The purpose of this study is to compare lean tools and techniques in terms of the awareness, usage, effectiveness and potential future adoption between Malaysian manufacturing and services organisations in order to help Malaysian organisations to select, adopt and implement the right lean tools and techniques based their context. An online questionnaire survey of 114 respondents from 15 states in Malaysia was conducted. The quantitative data were gathered and analysed using the Statistical software. The findings of the survey indicated that there are no significance differences (p<0.05) between both manufacturing and services organisations for majority of lean tools and techniques. Nevertheless, Malaysian manufacturing organisations has indicated more prone to adopt some lean tools and techniques compared to services organisations

2008, &quot;Effectiveness of quality management system audit to improve quality performance – A conceptual framework

ABSTRACT Quality Management System audit is one of the quality tools to assist organization to improve quality performance. They are commonly used in the effort to diagnose, maintain and improve quality management system. It is made compulsory for the organization to maintain their quality management system based on ISO9001 standard to undergo series of audit. However, similarly to any other physical or conceptual system, they may fail to achieve the objectives set forth, to assess effectiveness and at the same time fail to recognized area for improvement. Based on an extensive literature review, the issues relevant to quality management system audit and quality performance are examine, and discussed the several issues to identify the conceptual framework to ensure the quality management system audit deliver the results

Manufacturing audit to improve quality performance-a conceptual framework

Manufacturing process audit is one of the many quality tools to assess the effectiveness of manufacturing process and quality performance. They are commonly used in the effort to diagnose, maintain and improve quality management system. It is made compulsory for the organization to maintain their quality management system based on ISO9001 standard to conduct an internal audit. However, similarly to any other physical or conceptual system, they may fail to achieve the objectives set forth, to assess effectiveness and at the same time fail to recognized area for improvement. Based on an extensive literature review, the issues relevant to manufacturing audit and quality performance are examine, and discussed the several issues to identify the conceptual framework of manufacturing audit