Problem Statement
In the town of San Rafael Calería belonging to the Municipality of Córdoba, there is a bakery called “Los Parras” in which the emergence and increase of defective pieces of bread has been observed. This problem occurs due to the following causes.
- Poor handling and poor flow of materials. There is no fixed process for workers who make bread. There are no control and inspection policies for the process. Misuse of the oven.
This problem causes the following effects:
- Delays in the manufacturing process Decreased demand for bread Loss of profit for the bakery Decreased productivity
If the problem is not eliminated soon in the not too distant future, the following collateral problems will appear.
- Dismissal of workers Lack of competitiveness in the market Closure of the bakery Increase in unemployment in the community
Analysis of alternative solutions
1. Statistical process control using the 7 statistical quality tools
Why use it ?: Through these techniques, an exhaustive analysis can be carried out, looking for the origin of the problem, controlling the process and improving it. (Liven, 2004)
Advantage:
- It locates the sectors responsible for the administration, from the moment corrective measures are established. It provides information about the production process. It reduces costs and saves time by avoiding errors. It determines the causes that can be assigned to errors and attacks them in a way that maintains the process. in control Provides evidence to investigate the cause of poor results Detect unwanted process deterioration (Álvarez Borrego)
Disadvantages:
If the control charts are not used or interpreted properly or erroneous data is taken, there can be a great inefficiency in the statistical control of the process. If the process is sampled, there is a certain percentage of error and reliability in all these elements of sample. (Álvarez Borrego)
2. Six Sigma
Why use it ?: Six sigma not only detects and corrects errors, but also provides specific methods to re-create processes so that errors do not occur again. The objective of the 6 Sigma is to get very close to zero defects, errors or failures. (Herrera Acosta & Fontalvo Herrera)
Advantage:
In addition, six sigma guides companies to:
- Prevent defects Reduce variation Focus on customer Make fact-based decisions Reduce costs Increase employee engagement. (Leigh)
Disadvantages:
- It is a long and careful process. Its study and application implies a long period of time.
3. SWOT Analysis
Why use it ?: It is a strategic analysis tool, which allows analyzing internal elements of the company and therefore controllable, such as strengths and weaknesses, as well as external factors and therefore not controllable, such as opportunity and threats.
(Aldana de Vega, 2010)
Advantage:
- Place the company in an advantageous position over the entities (companies or not) with which it competes (differentiation). Identify the structural needs that improve its profitability and possibility of growth in the medium-long term. Identify new business opportunities and markets, that increase the value of the company. Possibility of diversifying and generating customers. (Promote SLNE Training Consulting, 2012)
Disadvantages:
Because the typical DOFA analysis is simple on premise, it is not regularly presented for critical consideration. If the company focuses only on list building, it may not be focused enough on ways to achieve its goals. There are other disadvantages to the list approach, in that the points may not be adequately prioritized by the company. A long list of deficiencies, for example, may appear to have been canceled by an even longer list of strengths, even if the weaknesses are significant and need to be addressed. (Uhl)
4. 5W 2H
Why use it ?: It is a tool used to clearly identify a problem, difficulty, conflict or phenomenon, constructing a complete picture of its existence. It is used when you need to identify a problem clearly and precisely with facts and data.
(Daychouw, 2007)
Advantage:
- Easy to carry out, saves research costs, adapts to any problem. (Rodríguez Martínez, 2005)
Disadvantages:
- If the correct questions are not asked, the result would not be as expected. It is a subjective analysis. (Rodríguez Martínez, 2005)
5. Technique of the 5 why?
Why use it ?: It is a very effective tool, you have to ask yourself 5 times why? This helps to find and understand the root cause of the problem and then implement a solution to eliminate it. It is used when trying to identify the most likely root causes of a problem. (Latin American quality society)
Advantage:
- Identify the most probable causes of the problem. It is easy to use by brainstorming. You are not restricted to asking more than 5 times, you can go further. (Latin American quality society)
Disadvantages:
A good structuring of the questions must be done in order to know specifically.
- It is a subjective analysis. It must be clear when to stop the analysis. The analyst must be aware of the right time to stop. (Two ideas. Com, 2008)
6. Deming Circle
Why use it ?:
It is a strategy of continuous quality improvement in four steps:
- Plan Do Verify Act (Guajardo Garza, 2008)
Advantage:
There is a daily routine of individual and / or team administration.
- It is a process that solves a problem. Project management. Continuous development. Vendor development. Human resources development. New product development. Process trials.
Disadvantages:
- The model does not address the human side of change, resistance and motivation. Leadership styles are overlooked. It does not consider 3 methods of communication between management and operators. (Change Management Consultant)
7. Kaizen
Why use it ?: The Kaizen philosophy, defined as a style of continuous business improvement done in small increments, originated in Japan. The idea focuses on improving processes and products using creativity to help define how procedures and systems can be improved. (Wagner)
Advantage:
It's based on:
- Teamwork. Increases efficiency. Employee satisfaction. Customer satisfaction. Improves safety. Increase in productivity and maintain the quality of products and services. (Wagner) Disadvantages
Disadvantages:
- When the improvement is concentrated in a specific area of the organization, the perspective of the interdependence that exists between all the members of the company is lost. It requires a change in the entire organization, since to obtain success the participation of all
members of the organization and at all levels. Since managers in small and medium-sized companies are very conservative, continuous improvement becomes a long process. There are significant investments to be made.
8. Change of raw material suppliers
Why use it ?: Search for suppliers that meet the needs of the bakery, without significantly inferring costs.
Advantage:
- Purchase of good quality raw materials.Avoid defects in products.Reduction of waste costs.Increase demand for our product.Stay in competition.
Disadvantages:
- Increased purchase costs. If it is not inspected correctly, the problem will not be solved. It takes considerable time to get to know other suppliers.
9. Carry out samples of acceptance of the raw material
Why use it ?: Acceptance sampling is the process of inspecting a sample of units drawn from a lot in order to accept or reject the entire lot. (Recchioni)
Advantage:
It can be applied in any customer-supplier relationship and can be seen as a defensive measure to protect against the threat of possible deterioration in quality. (Recchioni)
Disadvantages:
- Good batches can be rejected and bad batches accepted, even with defective averages, p, low. A series of calculations and documentation are required, which are not necessary in a 100% inspection (Ruiz-Falco Rojas, 2006)
10. Redesign of the Raw Material warehouse
Why use it ?: The objectives of the design and layout of the warehouses are to facilitate the speed of the preparation of orders, their precision and the most efficient placement of stocks. (Industrial Engineering Online)
Advantage:
- Efficient use of available space Minimize material handling Facilitate access to the stored logistics unit Achieve maximum turnover rate of merchandise Have maximum flexibility for product placement Facilitate control of stored quantities (Industrial Engineering Online)
Disadvantages:
- Great investment, control of operations Fixed cost property variable cost, It involves really specialized personnel. (Industrial Engineering Online)
conclusion
Once this comparison is made, you can see that the most feasible options to solve the problem in the bakery are:
- It will be investigated what is the root of the problem, based on the most appropriate tool, in this case it will be 5 why? Some of the statistical process control tools will be used to carry out the inspection actions of the production process. will be based on acceptance sampling as well as the implementation of Six Sigma.
Bibliography
- Aldana de Vega, L. Á. (2010). Quality management. University of La Sabana.Alvarez Borrego, J. (sf). Google. Retrieved on September 15, 2014, from Google: http://www.repositoriodigital.ipn.mx/bitstreamChange Management Consultant. (sf). Google.Daychouw, M. (2007). 40 Ferramentas and Management Techniques. Brasport.Two ideas. com. (December 2008). Google. Retrieved on September 17, 2014, from Google: http://www.dosideas.com/noticias/metodologias/366-la-tecnica-de-los-5-porque.htmlGuajardo Garza, E. (2008). Total Quality Management. Editorial Pax México.Herrera Acosta, RJ, & Fontalvo Herrera, T. Six Sigma; Statistical methods and their applications. Online Industrial Engineering. (sf). Google. Retrieved on September 17, 2014, from Google: http: //www.ingenieriaindustrialonline.com / tools-for-the-industrial-engineerLeigh, R. (sf). Google. Retrieved on September 17, 2014, from Google: http://pyme.lavoztx.com/cules-son-los-beneficios-de-six-sigma-4697.htmlLiven, RI (2004). Statistics for administration and economy. Naucalpan de Juárez, Edo. de México: Pearson Educación.Promove SLNE Training Consulting. (2012). How to prepare the SWOT analysis. Santiago de Compostela: CEEI Galicia, SARecchioni, L. (sf). Google. Retrieved on September 17, 2014, from Google: http://moodle2.unid.edu.mx/dts_cursos_mdl/pos/ME/TD/AM/11/Unidad7_muestreo_aceptacion.pdfRodríguez Martínez, M. (2005). The MR Method. Editorial Norma.Ruiz-Falco Rojas, A. (2006). Statistical process control. Madrid. Quality Latin American society. (sf).Uhl, J. (sf). Google. Retrieved on September 17, 2014, from Google: http://www.ehowenespanol.com/ventajas-desventajas-del-dofa-lista_88135/Wagner, N. (sf). Google. Retrieved on September 17, 2014, from Google:
