Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the practices of continuous improvement that are applied in medium and large manufacturing and service companies in two Latin American countries. At the same time, benefits and barriers experienced by these companies with regard to sustainability of continuous improvement are explored. Design/methodology/approach: In order to generate a comparative study between two Latin American countries, interviews were conducted with managers linked to continuous improvement in medium and large companies in the State of Puebla and the Metropolitan District of Quito, which are important areas in Mexico and Ecuador, respectively. Data were collected by means of document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and direct observation. Findings: Companies in both countries identify the use of various techniques and/or tools for continuous improvement. The results of the empirical evidence show how the impact of the application of the techniques has been beneficial in economic and human terms. Thus, the exploratory study has permitted the identification of the drivers and inhibitors in the maintenance of continuous improvement. Research limitations/implications: The research is based on only two areas of the Latin American countries: Mexico and Ecuador. Their results can therefore not be generalized. The approach is applied in a specific environment, namely, the State of Puebla and the Metropolitan District of Quito. This study incorporates the perception of managers, directors, and/or supervisors involved in continuous improvement processes. Practical implications: This paper seeks to provide analytical input. The study is of great interest to researchers, managers, consultants, and professionals linked to projects of continuous improvement who wish to incorporate continuous improvement practices which are sustainable over time. A new managerial behavior is the basis of continuous improvement, where the training and development of the human resource increases the commitment to achieve organizational changes. Originality/value: This research makes an empirical contribution to the literature through the understanding of practices of continuous improvement in a Latin American context, highlighting the factors that improve or impede the process of continuous improvement. Particularly in Mexico and Ecuador, the empirical evidence on this subject is still scarce despite the existence of theoretical academic literature.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, a case study on the application of lean production principles in a manufacturing facility is presented to demonstrate the impact of frequent and systematic use of a Kaizen event on quality and delivery performance. Second, the detailed description and analysis of the Kaizen event and its impact are provided, including a comprehensive analysis of the role of Kaizen events on employee participation and motivation.Design/methodology/approach: The study utilizes a Kaizen event’s case study data with the help of various waste detection and elimination tools and techniques. Changes in overall productivity along with potential long-term improvements in the delivery process are also analyzed and documented.Findings: Pre- and post-quality measures are provided to demonstrate the results of the event on the production quality and on the performance of the overall manufacturing processes. Qualitative findings regarding performance measurements and the impact on the employees are reported.Research limitations/implications: The Kaizen team applied analytical techniques to one manufacturing site in North America of a company that has a manufacturing presence in 20 different countries.Originality/value: Kaizen studies involving packaging operations are quite limited. This study fills this gap by detailing the Kaizen event implementation in a packaging delivery and dispensing systems manufacturer for the cosmetic industry. The implementation of this Kaizen event is detailed along with the data and techniques utilized for process improvement. The study also reports findings regarding the impact of the Kaizen event on employee participation.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a highly effective methodology for product design teams and manufacturing managers to engage in creative problem solving utilizing the tools of the Fourth Industrial Revolution - Industry 4.0. This paper outlines the RCA problem-solving process as it is applied to detect and resolve problems in a consumer product manufacturing setting. The study presents a case study of collaborative design, testing, and implementation of a product-specific solution to resolve quality control issues caused by a flawed component specification. The provided case study details company's application of RCA. Once the problem is identified, we describe how the design and production teams collaborated to verify and validate the revised product design via 3D product simulations. Having identified a solution, the company's manufacturing managers and supervisory staff incorporate this change into their standard operating procedures, conduct staff training, and share the solution across the organization. This problem-solving approach, implemented as part of a wider continuous improvement effort, also included utilization of digital applications and smart devices to share data across the company in real-time.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore, study, analyze and implement Kaizen–Kata methodology in a service food organization (first-level restaurant), facing challenges in different operational processes that affect and influence the case company performance and customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach: The service organization implemented Kaizen–Kata methodology to improve one operational problem process. A case-study approach was used in this research to understand the effects of the Kaizen–Kata methodology in solving problems in their operational service process. Different Kaizen–Kata techniques and tools (histograms, Pareto chart and Ishikawa diagram) using the Plan, Do, Check, Act improvement cycle framework were used. Findings: Successful implementation of the proposed methodology reduced the main impact of the problem’s effects (customer’s complaints, process reworking, extra-cost, delays, among others). The effects of the problem were reduced on average by 70%. Some Kaizen–Kata routines were identified in a service process environment. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of the research is that this work is a just one-case study. A main generalization is not possible, because it involves a company within a company. Practical implications: Some other service companies can use the Kaizen–Kata methodology to solve any kind of operational problem within their processes. Service managers can learn about the methodology to apply and improve their operational performance and handle customer’s complaints. Originality/value: A continuous improvement manufacturing methodology was imported to apply in an operational service process. The Kaizen–Kata methodology contributed significantly to reduce delays, handle customer’s complaints, process reworking and deal with extra costs, among other operational problems’ effects. In addition to that, in the literature, most of the Kaizen applications are in manufacturing companies. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this was the first study of applied Kaizen–Kata in a service organization (a fast-food restaurant).

The managerial approach of Kaizen is used by different organisations around the world in order to improve the performance of their work processes and operations. Both the Total Quality Management literature and Kaizen have shown different efforts to illustrate the application of this approach in the traditional classroom-style business education. Also, business schools have a clear need for showing consistency between what is being taught in the classroom and what is being done in the day-to-day operations of the organisation. The purpose of this article is to describe the systematic application of Kaizen and its learned lessons during the last three years in the Operations Management (OM) course from the Master in Business Administration graduate programme taught at the Mexican Business School. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted. This research project provides empirical evidence of how Kaizen's continuous improvement cycle (PDCA) enables better results in students who have taken the subject of OM in a business school. The findings in each phase of the cycle show the Kaizen-oriented improvement actions and the results obtained in final grades (exam) and written reports. Finally, the study contributes to the limited existing literature on Kaizen in education and subsequently disseminates this information in order to provide impetus, guidance and support towards improvement in the quality of teaching in a business school.

Purpose: Some manufacturing and service organizations have made efforts to work on continuous improvement in the form of Kaizen, lean thinking, Six Sigma, etc. The elimination of problems and waste (MUDA for the Japanese) plays a fundamental role in the reduction of operational costs and quality rejections of finished products both internally in the organization and in the supply chain. Some of these efforts use quality control tools to remedy it. Kaoru Ishikawa proposes seven basic quality tools. In this group of quality tools is the cause-and-effect diagram (CED), also known as “The Fishbone” and “Ishikawa diagram”. Exploring this questioning can shed light on the first indications to ratify the arguments of Ishikawa and Deming, that the main problems of companies are found in their processes and perhaps, in a deep way, in some of these cornerstone root causes that have to do with the way organizations are managed. The purpose of this study is to investigate cornerstone root causes through the application of CEDs in 40 Mexican companies that began an effort to improve some of their organizational processes. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory qualitative study was conducted. As a research strategy, the case study method was applied. Using theoretical sampling, the Ishikawa diagrams of 40 companies were analyzed, and 24 semi-structured interviews in depth were conducted. Findings: The results of this research confirm the main research question: Are there cornerstone root causes that give way to one or several problems or effects of problems in organizations regardless of their sector? In other words, there were at least seven typical patterns that show the first signs of cornerstones root causes in organizations. Research limitations/implications: The method itself is a limitation; 40 case studies are not enough to generalize the results. In addition, the research was conducted only in a single Latin American country; in some cities of Mexico. However, 60 per cent of these companies are multinationals. Practical implications: This paper is fundamental to delve into the cornerstones causes that give rise to the problems of organizations of the twenty-first century. The authors understand that these are the first indications, and that they cannot be considered a conclusion of these causes. However, this first theoretical sampling presents a first light on the subject. Originality/value: The study contributes to the limited existing literature on total quality management and Kaizen in quality control tools and subsequently disseminates this information to provide impetus, guidance and support toward improving the problems of the organizations of twenty-first century.