Development of a Tool to Measure the Effectiveness of Kaizen Events Within the Wood Products Industry
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Development of a Tool to Measure the Effectiveness of Kaizen Events within the Wood Products Industry Sevtap Erdogan Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science In Forest Products Henry J. Quesada-Pineda Brian H. Bond David E. Kline August 12, 2015 Blacksburg, VA Keywords: Kaizen, Continuous Improvement, Wood Products Industry, Survey Research Copyright © 2015 by Sevtap Erdogan Development of a Tool to Measure the Effectiveness of Kaizen Events within the Wood Products Industry Sevtap Erdogan ABSTRACT Kaizen implementation and other continuous improvement practices can be used by companies to lower manufacturing costs and increase product value. Kaizen activities are one way that wood products companies can increase their competitiveness. Being able to measure the effectiveness of Kaizen events is important to factors that contribute to Kaizen’s effectiveness as well as identifying the success of Kaizen implementation. However, little research has focused on the implementation of Kaizen and other continuous improvement methods within the wood products industry or on the perceptions of employees within this industry regarding either the motivators for, barriers to, and effectiveness of perceptions of Kaizen, or the drivers affecting Kaizen implementation. The goal of this research is to develop a tool to measure the effectiveness of Kaizen and to apply this tool to companies within the wood products industry. To accomplish this research goal, a case study approach was used in examining how two U.S. wood products companies implemented Kaizen and other continuous improvement initiatives and how employees at these companies viewed such implementation. As part of this case study, interviews were conducted with staff in each company and surveys were administered to production and non-production employees at each company. A tool was developed to measure the perceived effectiveness of Kaizen events, and this tool was tested using the survey data were collected from each company. The results from these analyses show statistically significant differences in how production employees across companies viewed the following: motivators related to cost and quality outcomes, as well as the success of other companies, as motivators for Kaizen; and barriers related to middle management, time, money, technology, and poor past experiences. Poor past experience with Kaizen were also viewed significantly differently by production and non- production employees in one of the companies studied. The results also show that perceptions of productivity improvements were the most significant predictor of the perceived effectiveness of Kaizen implementation. These results and the development of a tool to measure Kaizen will help guide and improve future Kaizen and other continuous improvement efforts within the wood products industry and provide insights for future research. iii ACKNOWLEGEMETS I would like to thank my advisors, Dr. Henry Quesada and Dr. Brian Bond, for all of their continued guidance, support, and assistance both in relation to and beyond my academic work. I would also like to thank Dr. Earl Kline for his helpful advice and support as my committee member. Finally, I would like to thank those wood products industry employees who graciously offered their time for me to interview and survey them. iv Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: Literature Review ................................................................................................................................. 3 1.1. Introduction and Definition of Kaizen Continuous Improvement ................................................................... 3 1.2. Drivers of Kaizen ............................................................................................................................................. 5 1.3. Continuous Improvement Initiatives Related to Kaizen .................................................................................. 7 1.4. Application within the Wood Products Industry ............................................................................................ 19 1.5. Implementation Issues ................................................................................................................................... 26 1.6. Review of applicable survey and statistical research methods ....................................................................... 30 Chapter 2: Research Goal and Objectives ............................................................................................................ 37 2.1. Research question and Hypothesis ................................................................................................................. 37 2.2. Objectives ...................................................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 3: Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 41 3.1. Data analysis for research objectives ............................................................................................................. 41 Chapter 4: Results and Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 50 4.1. Objective 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 50 4.2. Objective 2 ..................................................................................................................................................... 52 4.3. Objective 3 ..................................................................................................................................................... 56 Chapter 5: Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ............................................................................ 100 Chapter 6: Conclusions and Guidance for Practitioners and Industry ................................................................ 103 References ........................................................................................................................................................... 106 Appendix A: Sample Interview Questions ......................................................................................................... 124 Appendix B: Survey Questions .......................................................................................................................... 126 Appendix C: Survey Results for Likert Scale Questions (Mean/Average Values) ............................................ 132 Appendix D: Survey Results for Likert Scale Questions (Median Values) ....................................................... 137 Appendix E: Categorical Questions ................................................................................................................... 142 v List of Figures Figure 1 Key Features of Kaizen.......................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 2 Six Sigma’s Calculation of Defective Product Rates ........................................................................... 15 Figure 3 Sample Pareto Analysis Chart Identifying Wood Products Nonconformities .................................... 17 Figure 4 Testing the Normality of Regression Model Residuals ....................................................................... 96 Figure 5 Distribution of Regression Model Measurement Errors ...................................................................... 97 Figure 6 Research Steps for Practitioners ........................................................................................................ 105 Figure E.1 How Often Do Employees Have Training Activities for Continuous Improvement Activities? ...... 142 Figure E.2 How Often Do Employees Have Training Activities for Continuous Improvement Activities? (Percentage of Responses) .................................................................................................................................. 143 Figure E.3 How Often Do Employees Have Training Activities for Continuous Improvement Activities? (Percentage of Responses for Production versus Non-production Employees) ................................................. 144 Figure E.4 How Often Do You Participate in Kaizen Group Activities? ............................................................ 144 Figure E.5 How Often Do You Participate in Kaizen Group Activities? (Percentage of Responses) ................ 145 Figure E.6 How Often Do You Participate in Kaizen Group Activities? (Percentage of Responses for Production versus Non-production Employees) ................................................................................................................... 146 Figure E.7 How Often Are Quality Control Goals Communicated with Management and Employees? ........... 146 Figure E.8 How Often Are Quality Control Goals Communicated with Management and Employees? (Percentage of Responses) .................................................................................................................................