World Class Manufacturing Status Assessment for a Margarine Producing Company in Zimbabwe
Zimwara, D.1, Goriwondo, W.M2, Mhlanga, S.3, Chasara, T.4, Chuma, T.5, Gwatidzo6, O. Sarema, B.7
1Mr Davison Zimwara, Dept. Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, ZIMBABWE.
2Eng. William Msekiwa Goriwondo, Dept. Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, ZIMBABWE.
3Mr Samson Mhlanga, Dept. Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, ZIMBABWE.
4T., Chasara, MSc student, Dept. Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, ZIMBABWE.
5Tom Chuma, MSc student, Dept. Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, ZIMBABWE.
6O. Gwatidzo, MSc student, Dept. Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, ZIMBABWE.
7Blessing Sarema, MSc student, Dept. Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo, ZIMBABWE.
Manuscript received on 12 December 2012 | Revised Manuscript received on 21 December 2012 | Manuscript Published on 30 December 2012 | PP: 52-57 | Volume-2 Issue-1, December 2012 | Retrieval Number: A0373112112 /2012©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The world has become global in the way goods and services are produced and marketed. The stiff global competition faced by these companies necessitates a need to embark on radical strategies in the form of World Class manufacturing philosophies to survive, make profit and remain competitive. While companies in developing countries strive to adopt these World Class Manufacturing (WCM) philosophies into their production process, there is often lack of a measure on their progress towards world class manufacturing status besides the improvement in productivity. This paper’s focus is on how companies can assess their progress in terms of achieving a world class manufacturing status. The research starts with an assessment of the world class status of the company that has adopted best manufacturing practices. A Current State Radar Chart (CSRC) is drawn to see the company’s position on the radar. Researches methods (questionnaires, interviews, company audit) are used to identify wastes according to WCM. WCM techniques were used to minimise wastes. A Future State Radar Chart (FSRC) is drawn to assess the improvements made. The company was operating its margarine production process at 35% of a world class process. The major waste identified was the downtime. Downtime contributed to 74% of the total available time leaving production only 26% of the available time. WCM techniques realised a reduction in downtime by 30% and increased the available time for production to 56%. These changes achieved a 56% of a world class process on the FRC drawn.
Keywords: Lean manufacturing, Margarine Production, World Class Manufacturing.
Scope of the Article: Production