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Waste from raw materials has a direct influence on the final price of a product. However, since waste has no added value to products, customers are unwilling to pay for it. Reducing waste along the production process and supply chain allows companies to decrease costs and remain competitive in product prices. This research is conducted in a medical device manufacturing company located in Tijuana (Mexico). The company found a negative variation in part number 9540, a metallic foil used for hot stamping. During inventory cycle counts, the company found that they were purchasing rawer material than necessary due to a 50% of waste generated along the production process. We implemented two process improvement methodologies, namely Practical Process Improvement (PPI) and the Plan-Do-Check-Act model, to eliminate 100% of the raw material waste, specifically regarding the foil’s waste. The improvement project comprised two phases: a) adjusting the parameters of the hot foil stamping machine and b) replacing the hot foil stamping machine with a pad printing machine. In our research, the PPI methodology is presented in 8 detailed stages as a simple problem-solving method, in contrast with five stages reported in other documented cases. This case study presents how a company can apply continuous improvement programs and its managerial implications, even without having a structured and defined systems for quality, such as Six Sigma or Lean Manufacturing implemented. After the two implementation phases, the improvement project led to economic savings of $\$ $ 165,000 in a year.

A successful Just in Time (JIT) implementation is based on human resources integration (managers, operators and suppliers) and other lean manufacturing techniques applied in the production process. However, the relationship between these variables is not easily quantified. This paper reports a structural equation model that integrates variables associated with JIT implementation: management commitment, human resources integration, suppliers and production tools and technique, which affect the benefits gained, and are integrated into nine hypotheses or relationships among then. The model is evaluated with information from 352 responses to a questionnaire applied to manufacturing industry, and partial least squares technique is used to evaluate it. The direct effects, sum of indirect effects, and total effects are quantified, and a sensitivity analysis based on conditional probabilities is reported to know scenarios associated with low and high levels in variables&rsquo, execution and how they impact the benefits obtained. Findings indicate that managerial commitment is the most important variable in the JIT implementation process, since managers are the ones that determine the relationships with suppliers, integrate human resources, and approve the lean manufacturing techniques and tools that support the JIT.

This paper reports a case study using a standardization process for increasing efficiency and a better optimization of resources in a printing company with 150 operators having manual and mechanical tasks in the box assembly department along with four production lines. The current capacity is 350 boxes per day, while the demand is 650 units, where the company is expected to pay large sums for overtime. Using work standardization, studying worker movements, timing, and workstations redesign, the main goal was to increase the efficiency and productivity indexes. After applying those tools, the inefficient movements in operators decreased from 230 to 78, eliminating 66% of the unnecessary movements, as well as the standard time in a workstation decreased from 244 to 199 s (18.44%) per each assembled box, and the production rate increased by 63.2%, that is, 229 units per assembly line a day, where overtime was reduced to zero.