Lean-Kaizen startup in panela production processes: the case of a trapiche

Abstract

The non-centrifugal cane sugar (panela) subsector stands out in Colombia as one of the most important agro-businesses, with economic growth and projection for the export of its products. For its part, the application of the Lean-Kaizen philosophy has proven to be effective for organizations to achieve continuous improvement in quality and productivity. This paper exposes the implementation of the pillars of Kaizen for the improvement of the panela manufacturing process applied in an artisan mill (Trapiche) in the Santander region, Colombia. Through the case study methodological approach, a Trapiche was selected and its production process was studied in terms of waste, order and cleanliness, and standardization. The results evidenced the types of waste that occur throughout the panela production process, the current state of order and cleanliness, and the way in which the operations are carried out to obtain the finished product. With the implementation housekeeping program (5S) and the standardization of the operational procedures, the main waste, sources of dirt and the reduction of the time used for the manufacture of panela were eliminated. The Kaizen actions improved the order and cleanliness of the Trapiche by 63% and the panela manufacturing time by 10%, complying with product quality standards.

Reviewing Editor:

• Qingsong Ai, Wuhan University of Technology, China

Keywords:

• Agroindustry
• panela
• kaizen
• muda
• housekeeping
• standardization

SUBJECTS:

• Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing
• Production Systems
• Quality Control & Reliability
• Production Research & Economics
• Lean Manufacturing
• Engineering Productivity
• Production, Operations & Information Management
• Quality Management
• Agriculture & Related Industries
• Food Manufacturing & Related Industries

Introduction

Worldwide, panela is technically known as non-centrifugal sugar (NCS), this is the technical term used by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (FAO, 2022; Zidan & Azlan, 2022). India is the world leader in the production of NCS and Colombia is in second place (Mohan & Singh, 2020; Zidan & Azlan, 2022). Since 2009, on average world per capita consumption of NCS was 1,9 kg with a maximum of 10 kg in Colombia and world production of NCS was 7.662 million tons, whose main exporting countries were India and Colombia; and the main importing countries were Japan and Hong Kong (China) (Mohan & Singh, 2020). The NCS at the end of its manufacturing process is presented in solid form (blocks or bricks) or in granulated form through agro-industrial processing of sugar cane that is carried out in an artisan mill better known in Colombia as Trapiche (Mohan & Singh, 2020; Ramírez Gil, 2017).

Currently, small panela producers make great contributions to society, since the panela subsector in Colombia is the second most important rural agroindustry in the country, surpassed only by coffee, because it benefits more than 350,000 families and generates more than 287,000 direct jobs, with an employment rate of 12% of the active rural population for work, with coverage in 511 municipalities of 28 departments and is the main axis of the economy of about 117 municipalities (Chamber of Representatives, 2017; Ministry of Agriculture of Colombia, 2019). The National Administrative Department of Statistics in Colombia (DANE, for its acronym in Spanish) reported in the third national agricultural census that the cultivation of sugarcane for the production of panela per year is 2,116,403 tons, cultivated on 220,783 hectares nationwide (National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), 2016), which shows the importance of this agroindustry in the national economy.

Regarding the generation of value, the manufacture of panela continues to be a low and medium production process in terms of infrastructure and technology, where the peasant family plays a central role in the organization and throughout the production cycle (Congress of Colombia, 2019; Davila, 2019). This economic activity is carried out in small and medium-sized companies called ‘Trapiches’ in which all activities are carried out in an artisanal and empirical way, in addition to having a low level of investment in improving both processes and product quality (Gutiérrez-Mosquera et al., 2018; Rodríguez-Borray et al., 2020; Vélez, 2020).

Due to the importance of panela production in the country and the need to improve its transformation processes, especially in the Hoya del Río Suárez, the need arises to answer the research question: How to improve the production process for the artisan elaboration of panela through the Kaizen pillars of waste elimination, 5S and standardization? To find out the answer in this study, the general objective was to implement Lean-Kaizen actions to improve the panela elaboration process applied in a Trapiche in the municipality of Güepsa, Santander in Colombia. The specific objectives were: to identify the waste generated in the production process of the Trapiche, in order to eliminate or reduce those elements that do not add value to the final product; implement the 5S program to tidy up and clean workplaces in the Trapiche; and propose standardization alternatives in the production process of the Trapiche, with the purpose of complying with the demands required by the stakeholders.

The Kaizen philosophy pursues continuous and constant improvement in the processes of an organization, in fact, the idea of applying Kaizen in a company is to make small and incremental improvements from the Gemba (in Japanese site or workplace) and this will bring surprising improvement results over time (Aoki, 2008; Imai, 2012). The word Kaizen is derived from two Japanese ideograms ‘Kai’ which means change and ‘Zen’ which means to improve, which translates into continuous improvement (Imai, 1986; Singh & Singh, 2009). This continuous improvement can be carried out through three essential pillars for the administration of the site or workplace: elimination of waste (Muda by its term in Japanese), which represents everything that does not add value to the product or service, 5S which is a program that is based on maintenance of the company, its machinery, its operators and facilities and the standardization whose purpose is to systematically establish and use standards that guarantee quality, low cost and delivery in the manufacture of the product (Georgise & Mindaye, 2020; Imai, 2012; Sundararajan & Terkar, 2022).

Based on the pillars of continuous improvement, this research intervenes in the production process of a Trapiche to eliminate or reduce those elements that do not generate value to the final product, that limit productivity within the company and do not allow compliance with the requirements from market. This, due to the lack of standardization and legal documentation that is deteriorating the correct development of the activities of the productive process in the Trapiche. Likewise, to demonstrate how Kaizen can be applied in the manufacture of panela and provide practical experience so that future studies can continue with its development both at a theoretical and practical level.

In this sense, this article is made up of a previous literature review about Kaizen. Then, the methodology that was followed for the execution of the case study is presented. Next, the results are presented, where a diagnosis of the current situation of the Trapiche production process was made, with which the seven types of waste due to overproduction, inventory, defects, movement, over-processing, waiting and transport were identified, these are not adding value to the finished product. In addition, the 5S program was implemented in order to keep the workstations clean and tidy. Finally, the main conclusions and recommendations for the development of future work are disclosed.

Literature review about Kaizen

Since 1986 Kaizen as a term has become one of the key management concepts (Imai, 1986, 2012). Kaizen as a word composed of two Japanese ideograms ‘Kai’ change and ‘Zen’ improve, means continuous improvement that involves all the people in an organization and as a philosophy guides people so that their family, work and social life are improved in a way constant (Imai, 1986). In the business field, adopting Kaizen means that a company cannot remain static, since this philosophy implies making subtle and incremental changes, which over time will bring surprising results (Imai, 2012).

Doing Kaizen implies adopting a series of administrative practices that are essentially of Japanese origin, but that have achieved worldwide recognition, these practices are framed under the concept of what Imai (1986) called the Kaizen umbrella. Within the Kaizen umbrella there are practices such as customer orientation, total quality control (TQC), quality circles, total productive maintenance (TPM), kanban, just in time, zero defects, among others (Imai, 1986).

Imai, (2012) indicates that to implement Kaizen it is necessary to master the following concepts: Kaizen and management, process versus result, continuous improvement cycles, putting quality first, talking with data, and the next process is your customer. He also points out that, in order to achieve the objectives of quality, cost reduction, and delivery speed, it is necessary to develop three activities: standardization, the 5S program and the elimination of Muda. Likewise, to solve problems in an organization, a standardized procedure can be followed with the following eight steps: (FAO, 2022) identify the problem as a project; (Zidan & Azlan, 2022) understand the current state and set goals; (Mohan & Singh, 2020) analyze data and identify the root cause; (Ramírez Gil, 2017) formulate countermeasures; (Chamber of Representatives, 2017) implement countermeasures; (Ministry of Agriculture of Colombia, 2019) verify the solution; (National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), 2016) standardize the solution; and (Davila, 2019) review the preceding process and continue to improve.

From the perspective of (Imai, 1986), different studies have been developed throughout the world, such as those indicated below (Japan Human Relations Association, 1992). proposed a guide for continuous improvement through a system of suggestions, where each employee can and should participate in Kaizen activities to overcome daily struggles in any area of work within the organization (Womack & Jones, 1996). allude to Kaizen as lean thinking and present a systematic approach to reduce waste and turn it into value, assuming that within lean thinking the precise specification of value is the first step for continuous improvement. Once the value is identified, the lean company must chart the value stream looking for the elimination of waste.

Brunet and New, (2003) carry out a study of kaizen as it is practiced in Japanese manufacturing companies, proposing a clear definition of the kaizen concept and rejecting synonyms such as the so-called ‘small-group activities’. They indicate that an important result of kaizen is that it helps create an innovative mindset in the workplace. They conclude that kaizen evolves uniquely within each organization, following changes in the organization’s business environment.

Aoki, (2008) examines management practices in the transfer of Japanese kaizen activities to overseas plants based in China, providing further insight into organizational capabilities that facilitate incremental innovation across the organization (Suárez-Barraza & Miguel-Dávila, 2008). analyze kaizen in academic and practical literature in order to improve, explore and make a contribution to its potential theoretical profile, identifying three perspectives of kaizen namely: as a managerial philosophy, as an element of total quality and as a theoretical principle of improvement methodologies and techniques.

Suárez-Barraza and Miguel-Dávila, (2011) empirically explore the implementation of kaizen in two multinational organizations in the automotive sector based in Mexico, in order to analyze and compare them with the theoretical schemes of the subject, evidencing that there is a gap between the theoretical schemes of kaizen and the practical reality studied in the two selected case studies. In addition, the authors propose four theoretical propositions associated with the application of the guiding principles of kaizen combined with its techniques and tools.

In the field of related studies between Kaizen and the sugarcane industry, the study by Desta, (2014) stands out, which is part of the application of Kaizen principles to improve the productivity of a sugar company in Ethiopia. The study focused on the application of 5S, implementation of lean thinking, redistribution in the plant and elimination of waste. As a result, sugar production increased by 37% and production time efficiency increased by 20%.

Higuchi et al., (2015) conduct a randomized controlled trial of short-term management training for small manufacturers at two study sites in Vietnam, finding that kaizen training had favorable effects in practice, and that these effects lasted for at least two years in the companies under study (Machikita et al., 2016). indicate that most of the suppliers in Southeast Asia cannot meet the requirements of potential buyers for quality, cost, and delivery control. Therefore, they investigate whether kaizen practices facilitate knowledge transfer to local suppliers from their buyers (that is, knowledge transfers from a buyer to its supplier), evidencing association of kaizen activities with knowledge transfer for process improvement.

Ghazali and Mahmud, (2016) review a select group of factors that contribute to the successful implementation of kaizen and its challenges among small and medium-sized companies, finding that factors such as good communication between senior management and their employees, clearly defined corporate strategy, presence of a kaizen champion staff in the organization, good knowledge management and employee empowerment all contribute to successful kaizen implementation. In contrast, resistance to change and difficulties in managing continuous improvement itself are some of the challenges in implementing kaizen.

In the studies by Prashar, (2014), Kumar et al. (2018), Kumar et al. (2018) they apply the Lean-Kaizen with the use of the value stream map (VSM) to identify and reduce sources of waste. Lean-Kaizen is defined as the continuous elimination of waste through making small improvements, the objective of which is to achieve competitive SMEs (Kumar et al., 2018, 2018; Prashar, 2014) they point out that the VSM can be integrated with the Kaizen activities of: 5S, elimination of waste and standardization, since VSM is adequate in the identification of inventory and movement waste to reduce the cost of the product. Finally, it is concluded that applying Lean-Kaizen promotes a better flow of processes by reducing waste and improving the image of the organization before its clients in order to obtain a competitive advantage.

Based on the identified problems and the literature review in the field of Kaizen, it is necessary to apply Kaizen activities and combine it with the use of lean tools such as VSM to identify and eliminate waste in the artisan panela manufacturing process in the Trapiche object of study. In addition, in light of this review, there is a practical gap in the use of Lean-Kaizen for the improvement of the panela industry in Colombia.

Materials and methods

This research was developed at an exploratory and descriptive level under the case study method (Yin, 2003). According to (Yin, 2009, 2014), in this type of study, empirical research is presented that studies a contemporary phenomenon (called a case) in depth and within its real context. According to (Mendez & Vila-Alonso, 2018), in the design of this type of study it is advisable to embrace the naturalistic, interpretive and phenomenological position following symbolic interactionist pragmatism (Creswell, 2014; Denzin et al., 2023). In that sense, and as in the studies by Kumar et al. (2018) or Mendez and Vila-Alonso, (2018), it was decided to use the hermeneutic interpretation method and also to descriptive data analysis.

With this method, the milling and production process of panela elaboration was observed in a Trapiche located in the municipality of Güepsa, Santander in Colombia, with the objective of knowing in detail the elaboration of panela, the waste generated that delays the process and affect your productivity. Based on the methodological approach of (Yin, 2003), the elements for the development of the case study were adapted as follows:

• Determination and design of the case study.

• Data collection

• Data analysis

• Report of findings

The first element was to establish the research question for the case and the information needs. The research question was derived from the problems related to the production of panela in an artisanal and empirical way, with a low level of investment and ignorance of improvement methods (Kaizen) both in the processes and in the quality of the product. In this sense, the research question of the case was: How to improve the production process for the artisan elaboration of panela through the Kaizen pillars of waste elimination, 5S and standardization? In order to answer this research question, a general objective and three specific objectives were formulated, which are presented in the introduction to this paper. The information needs corresponded to the identification of the waste present in the productive process, the duration of the operations in the elaboration of the panela, the state of order and cleanliness of the Trapiche and the level of standardization of its productive process.

Likewise, the unit of analysis was defined, in this case a Trapiche whose product is panela was selected. This Trapiche is located in the municipality of Güepsa, department of Santander and its main function is the processing of sugar cane to turn it into panela. Figure 1 shows the satellite view of the Trapiche object of study, which is specifically located in the San Isidro community at the geographical coordinates: 6°02'25.5’N 73°35'17.7’W with an approximate extension of 2 hectares.

Figure 1. Geographical location of the Trapiche under study.

Source: Google earth.

The Trapiche falls under the category of small business working in one shift of 8-h duration and within its process most of the operations are carried out manually. The particular interest in this study is the improvement of the its productive process through Lean-Kaizen actions that manage to reduce waste, disorder and promote the standardization of the process. The Trapiche was selected due to the particular interest of his manager who allowed the team of researchers from the LOGyCA research group of the Universidad de Boyacá to access the information and facilities of the plant. Figure 2 shows the panela production process in the Trapiche under study. The process begins in quadrant one with the milling of sugar cane and ends in quadrant four with panela as a finished product.

Figure 2. Panela production process in the Trapiche under study.

Source: own elaboration.

The second element was data collection, for which the procedures suggested in Yin, (2003), Yin, (2009), Yin, (2014) and applied in Prashar, (2014), Kumar et al. (2018), Kumar et al. (2018) were followed. With the approval of the Trapiche manager, the data was collected through on-site visits guided by both the manager and the production manager. The data collection period was 30 days, for which the direct method was used with the observation technique using the data recording sheet and the indirect method with the semi-structured interview technique. The indirect method was used with the semi-structured interview technique applied to both the general manager and the production director of the Trapiche to identify the different stages of the panela production process, waste and the current state of order and cleanliness. According to (Kumar et al., 2018), both Lean and Kaizen tools can be used to improve a production process. In this sense, from Lean thinking a reconnaissance of the Trapiche was carried out as a diagnosis of its current situation, reflected through a process diagram, as indicated in Reid and Sanders, (2020), of each of the activities carried out in the manufacture of panela.

The data recorded by the direct method with a recording sheet was related to the Cycle Time (TC), number of operators at the workstations, availability of machinery, available time, tack time, time with added value, weekly product requirements, product movement, WIP/inventory and waste from the production process. From these data the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) was elaborated, which consists of graphically representing the operations, information flows and the times of the processes, indicating both the activities that add value and those that do not (Serrano et al., 2008; Shou et al., 2017). For the construction of the VSM, the method suggested in Nash and Poling, (2008) and applied in Prashar, (2014), Kumar et al. (2018), González Ruiz et al., (2022) was followed. From the Kaizen method, the postulates of (Imai, 1986, 2012; Suárez-Barraza et al., 2011) were followed to collect information directly from the production process of the Trapiche through checklists focused on the identification of the muda and the current level of order and cleanliness.

The third and fourth element of the case study corresponds to the analysis and presentation of the data. Figure 3, based on the proposal suggested in Suárez-Barraza et al., (2011), shows Lean-Kaizen as a theoretical principle for methodologies and improvement techniques. Under this umbrella are the different principles and techniques that an organization can implement for the continuous improvement of its processes. For the purposes of this case study in the Trapiche, the principle of Remove muda was adopted through the techniques of flow charts, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), 5S and standardization. The application of this principle and its techniques was carried out in three stages.

Figure 3. Kaizen as a theoretical principle for improvement methodologies and techniques.

Source (Suárez-Barraza et al., 2011).

In the first stage, the muda (waste in Japanese) corresponding to the seven categories of overproduction, inventory, defects, movement, processing, waiting and transportation, defined in Ohno, (1988), was analyzed. The analysis of the seven wastes present in the production process of the Trapiche under study was carried out under the methodology proposed in Contreras-Castañeda et al., (2018), Contreras-Castañeda y and Pérez-Uribe, (2021) with the application of a checklist and an equivalent assessment scale ranging from 0% which means absence of waste up to 100% which indicates a strong presence of waste.

In the second stage, the 5S program was implemented, a Japanese method to organize the workspace, in a clean, efficient and safe way, in order to achieve a productive work environment through five steps Seiri (sort), Seiton (straighten), Seiso (scrub), Seiketsu (systematize) and Shitsuke (standardize) (Imai, 2012; Veres et al., 2018). In the development of the 5S program, the methodology of (Imai, 2012) was used as follows: the necessary and unnecessary elements were classified in each Trapiche workplace by means of red and green cards, once classified, all unnecessary items were removed from the workplace (red cards); then the necessary elements (green cards) were ordered, assigning them a location, a name and a volume, leaving only the minimum necessary number of elements in each work site for the development of the activities; then, an order and cleanliness program was created in order to keep the facilities clean and eliminate sources of dirt; Next, a standardized procedure was designed to maintain the implementation of the 5S program over time; Lastly, a 5S audit checklist was designed for each job position to create a culture of self-discipline among employees.

In the third stage, the standardization of the panela manufacturing operating procedure in the Trapiche object of study was carried out. Standardization through operating procedures consists of finding the best, easiest, cheapest and safest way to carry out an activity or a process (Imai, 2012; International Organization for Standardization [ISO], 2015). To this end, the characterization of the process and the design of the standard operating procedure for the manufacture of panela were carried out in conjunction with the Trapiche management and those responsible for the production process, under the methodological and regulatory guidelines of (Contreras-Castañeda et al., 2020; International Organization for Standardization [ISO], 2004; Ministry of Health & Social Protection of Colombia, 2013). After starting the proposed procedure, a future VSM was proposed following (Kumar et al., 2018) with the purpose of visualizing the time savings achieved with the Kaizen activities implemented.

Results and discussion

Description of the process and analysis of the Muda in the trapiche

To understand the current state of the Trapiche, the flow chart of the panela manufacturing process was made. In Figure 4, the different stages of the process are presented, starting from the preparation of the sugar cane, through grinding, cooking, mixing and molding, until reaching the final stages of packaging, storage and delivery of the finished product to the customer. This process comprises a total of 30 activities divided into 15 operations, 6 transports, 4 storages, 2 waiting times, 2 inspections and 1 combined operation.

Figure 4. Flow chart of the panela manufacturing process.

Source: own elaboration.

The mapping of the panela manufacturing process began with several tours of the facilities of the three large workstations of the Trapiche under study (grinding, juicing, mixing and molding). There it was possible to observe the traceability of the panela in its different activities, measure the manufacturing time, observe the flow of the production process and identify the activities with and without added value. To identify the flow of activities with value and without added value, the lean VSM tool was used. Figure 5 shows the VSM of the Trapiche object of study, which represents the current situation of the panela manufacturing process in the three workstations, the execution times of the activities and the required weekly product demand. To prepare the material requirement plan (MRP), information was collected about the demand for the product, which was obtained from the historical production of the farms in the panelero sector, which is an average of 20.160 kilograms per week. Following the order of the process established in the VSM, the flow of information from the client to the supplier was identified, the demand for the product is generated through weekly orders, which are satisfied through daily deliveries of approximately 226 loads.

Figure 5. Current value stream map.

Source: own elaboration.

With the use of the flow chart and the VSM, the presence of waiting waste was evidenced in each of the workstations. This is because the manufacturing system is continuous flow and a task cannot be started until the previous one has been completed. This creates bottlenecks that affect the performance of manpower and machine resources. Likewise, in Figure 5 the time delays between the stations are reflected, which correspond to 29, 12 and 40 minutes respectively per cycle, becoming times without added value that represent a third of the total cycle of the production of a panela batch of 180 kilograms, whose duration is 243 minutes.

Table 1 illustrates the results of the presence of the seven different types of Muda in each of the workstations of the Trapiche under study. With the application of the checklist proposed in Contreras-Castañeda et al., (2018) and under an assessment scale of 1 to 100% for each Muda, it was identified that the waste with the highest percentage of incidence in the Trapiche are movements, waiting and transport. Therefore, it is necessary to intervene in the production process with the 5S program and standardization in the workplace.

Table 1. Percentage of waste by workstation in the Trapiche under study.

Workstation VS Muda	Milling	Juice Processing	Mixing and molding
Overproduction	0%	0%	0%
Inventory	0%	0%	0%
Defects	0%	26%	26%
Motion	51%	51%	76%
Over-processing	26%	26%	26%
Waiting	51%	51%	51%
Transportation	51%	76%	51%

Fuente: own elaboration from Denzin et al. (2023).

In the mixing and molding station, more occurrences of movements were found (76%). This means that in 76% of the mixing and molding activities unnecessary movements were found due to the lack of standardization of the process and training of the operators. For example, the elements necessary to carry out the activities of this station are out of the reach of the operator, which implies that the operator must move from his workstation to reach a tool. As there is no standardized process in the manufacture of products, unnecessary movements are generated that delay the processes, creating a waste of time and money. Although the tasks in the Trapiche are distributed in an orderly manner, they are not executed in that order, since the tasks are interrupted by other tasks that were not executed on time. This generates delays and in turn repetitive movements that affect the well-being of the worker and the productivity of the company.

Likewise, in the three Trapiche stations it was found that waste due to waiting is occurring (51%). This means that 51% of the activities carried out in the three stations present delays because the process develops linearly and the production rate is given by the slowest station. In this case, and as can be seen in the VSM of Figure 5, the slowest station is number 2, where the panela cooking process is carried out, its cycle time is longer since a greater number of tasks are carried out there, this generates downtime at station 1 and 3. The percentage of operation time at station 1 is only 38.87%, which generates idle time in manpower and machinery resources. At station 3, a dead time is generated in the labor resource, because the workers have to wait for a while for the panela, once unmolded, to dry and cool so that it can be packed and stored.

It was also observed that the waste with the highest percentage of incidence in the cooking station is transport (76%). Therefore, in 76% of the activities carried out in cooking, transport must be carried out. This is due to the lack of specialized equipment for the transfer of the product, since the operator must repeatedly travel a distance greater than one meter, so sometimes the tasks of more than one operator must be interrupted, generating waste of waiting and unnecessary movements that do not add value to the product.

5S program implementation

With the application of the 5S program, a reconnaissance of order and cleanliness was made in the three large areas of the Trapiche, finding mostly elements without a specific location that were identified through the use of red cards. Items needed in the workplace were identified with green cards. As can be seen in Figure 6, for the necessary and unnecessary classification stage, a tour of the plant was carried out, where the elements were evaluated with red and green cards, according to their degree of utility within the Trapiche. For example, necessary elements such as the bagasse collector, shovel, greaser, sweep, impurity filter, molds, among others, were labeled in green. With a red label, residues of panela, molasses, cachaça, dirt on the floor, remains of bagasse, deteriorated brooms, among others, were identified, which were removed from the workplace, because they generated disorder and hindered the normal development of the process.

Figure 6. Labeling of necessary and unnecessary elements.

Source: own elaboration.

After sorting out the necessary and unnecessary items, we proceeded to the second S, straighten. As an example, the upper part of Figure 7 shows the Trapiche tool store with disorder and lack of visual controls. The lower part of Figure 7 shows the warehouse ordered after the implementation of the second S, for this stage the tools were ordered taking into account their frequency of use and type.

Figure 7. Warehouse before and after applying the second S.

Source: own elaboration.

Similarly, as shown in Figure 8, an organized tool board was available so that operators could quickly locate the necessary tool and return it there once it was no longer in use.

Figure 8. Trapiche tool board.

Source: own elaboration.

For the third S, a cleaning and disinfection program was implemented, which consisted of ensuring the cleanliness of the gemba, removing dirt, detecting anomalies and premature wear in the facilities and machinery. The implements, detergents and disinfectants that are required for sanitation were indicated, with indications of the concentrations with which they should be applied. Likewise, the cleaning and disinfection activities were defined, as well as their periodicity, since some must be carried out at the time of production, others at the beginning and at the end of the manufacturing process, according to the requirements stipulated in Ministry of Health & Social Protection of Colombia, (2013).

In the fourth and fifth S, the habit of cleanliness and safety at work was promoted in operators and administrative staff, through laminated infographics of how workstations, machines and tools should be kept, with safety and cleaning instructions. Also, a standard procedure was proposed so that the operators of the different work areas of the Trapiche follow the instructions regarding Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu and Shitsuke. A 5S audit checklist was designed for operators and supervisors to apply periodically and assess the level of compliance with each of the S implemented. In this way, the Trapiche complies with the regulatory sanitary conditions and guarantees the safety of the panela.

In this sense, the implementation of the 5S program is consistent in results with what is indicated in Imai, (2012), Georgise and Mindaye, (2020), Veres et al., (2018), since it allowed the Trapiche under study to sort, straighten, relocate and eliminate unnecessary and necessary elements in each workstation, for the correct development of each of the company’s mission activities, which contributed to having a better view of the gemba, facilitating the cleaning and disinfection of the infrastructure and the surroundings of the plant, as well as of the equipment and tools used during the production process. To verify compliance with the program, a checklist was applied before and after implementing the 5S. Figure 9 shows an improvement of approximately 63% between the initial and final situation of the Trapiche in terms of sort and cleanliness.

Figure 9. 5S program performance.

Source: own elaboration.

Proposal to standardize the panela production process

In order to standardize the necessary activities to manufacture panela in safe, efficient, quality conditions and meeting the requirements of the stakeholders, the characterization of the panela manufacturing process was developed in compliance with quality standards such as those required in International Organization for Standardization [ISO] (2015), Ministry of Health & Social Protection of Colombia, (2013). In Figure 10, the elements that make up the characterization of the process proposed for the Trapiche under study are presented. In the first section, there are the identification elements, as well as the objective, person in charge and participants in the panela manufacturing process. In the second section, the inputs, activities of the Plan, Do, Check and Act (PDCA) cycle and the outputs or results of the process are shown. In the third section, the resources, ISO requirements, performance indicator and documents associated with the Trapiche production process are observed.

Figure 10. Characterization of the panela manufacturing process.

Source: own elaboration.

In Figure 11, a synthesis of the standardized procedure for the manufacture of panela in the Trapiche object of study is presented. Some specific details have been omitted in the activities of the procedure in order to protect the know-how of the Trapiche. Through this standardized procedure, the operators carry out the panela manufacturing activities in a safe, easy and fast manner, with the purpose of achieving a quality, safe, fast and low-cost product, as is pursued in Aoki, (2008), Imai, (2012).

Figure 11. Standardized procedure for panela manufacturing.

Source: own elaboration.

Once the standardized procedure was implemented in the Trapiche, the future VSM was carried out in order to demonstrate the improvements in time obtained in the flow of the panela manufacturing production process. These improvements are due to the reduction of waiting, movement and transport Mudas due to the 5S Kaizen actions and the standardization of the panela production process. In Figure 12, the future VSM of the Trapiche is presented, which shows an improvement of 10% in cycle times and added value compared to the current VSM. Basically, the times in the three workstations are reduced, which indicates that with the Kaizen activities implemented, manufacturing a batch of panela of 180 kilograms takes 10% less than the original time. These results show, as in the studies of (Ghazali & Mahmud, 2016; Sundararajan & Terkar, 2022), that implementing subtle and incremental actions will bring results over time that benefit small and medium-sized companies both in quality and productivity.

Figure 12. Future Value Stream Map.

Source: own elaboration.

Through the results obtained in this case study, it is possible to answer the question posed: How to improve the production process for the artisan elaboration of panela through the Kaizen pillars of waste elimination, 5S and standardization? The improvement evidenced both in time and in a better organization of the Trapiche under study was possible by identifying waiting, movement and transport waste, to later reduce it through the 5S program and the implementation of the new standard operating procedure for the manufacture of panela. Consequently, it is demonstrated in this study that the use of Lean-Kaizen tools are effective to improve the performance of the production process in the manufacture of artisan panela and comply with the quality standards for its commercialization. These results reaffirm the postulate of (Imai, 1986, 2012) who points out that, in order to achieve the objectives of quality, cost and speed in delivery, the three activities of eliminating Muda, 5S and standardization must be developed.

In the same way, with the changes generated by this study in the production process of the Trapiche, the manager has changed his perspective on the way in which a process can be improved with subtle changes, with low investment, but with good results over time. This allowed both the manager and the employees of the Trapiche to participate directly in the Kaizen activities and somehow change their mentality, to make the necessary changes in favor of continuous improvement. This aspect is consistent with the studies of (Brunet & New, 2003; Mendez & Vila-Alonso, 2018) who indicate that Kaizen helps create a mindset of change, new habits, beliefs and feelings in the workplace and evolves uniquely in each organization. Which is why Kaizen can be understood as a set of guiding principles aimed at improvement and continuous learning (Aoki, 2008; Singh & Singh, 2009; Suárez-Barraza et al., 2011; Suárez-Barraza & Miguel-Dávila, 2008).

In any case, the implementation of Kaizen continues to present barriers to its effective implementation as evidenced in the Trapiche under study, since the management and employees of the Trapiche at the beginning of the project were reluctant due to their lack of knowledge of the Kaizen terminology. Situation that was coherent with what was stipulated in the investigations of (Aoki, 2008; Suárez-Barraza et al., 2011; Suárez-Barraza & Miguel-Dávila, 2011) who indicate that the transfer of Kaizen in Western companies requires a clarification of the concepts before its implementation.

On the other hand, with the development of this case study, empirical evidence is provided to the agro-industrial sector of sugarcane. As in the study (Desta, 2014; Rodríguez-Borray et al., 2020), the application of Kaizen and lean tools promote continuous improvement in terms of productivity and quality in this sector. Likewise, as was done in the studies by Prashar, (2014), Kumar et al. (2018), Suárez-Barraza et al., (2011), it is evident that it is possible to integrate Lean and Kaizen tools. In the Trapiche under study, the VSM was used to describe the value flow of the panela production process and intervene with Kaizen actions (Muda, 5S and standardization) to improve order, cleanliness, comply with quality standards and thus improve the process flow.

With the results obtained in this investigation, a process of continuous improvement begins in the Trapiche under study that brings several implications for management. This allows top management to follow a course of action aimed at consolidating the Kaizen culture. Beyond the reduction achieved in panela manufacturing times, the most important thing for this Trapiche was the organization of the production process through the 5S program and the creation of the standardized procedure with a view to meeting the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practices. By complying with the requirements demanded by the Stakeholders, the quality and safety of the product is ensured.

In the execution of this project there were limitations related to the difficult access to the plant facilities, due to the state of the roads due to the rainy season. Likewise, the high turnover of workers and their availability of time was a barrier when implementing the proposed improvement actions.

The challenge both for the Trapiche and for the companies in the panelero sector is to ensure the quality and safety of the product. In this sense, future studies can develop projects aimed at the implementation of Integrated Food Quality and Safety Management Systems, under the guidelines of international standards such as ISO 9001 and 22000. Similarly, in future studies functions and skills manuals can be developed, specifying the descriptions of the activities and responsibilities performed by the operators in each of the plant areas. Also, it is recommended to carry out a layout study in which investments in material handling, ventilation, lighting of the physical plant and ergonomics are considered, in order to reduce fatigue and increase the performance of the labor resource.

Along the same lines, it is advisable to follow the technological trends proposed in Flórez-Martínez et al., (2023) related to the design and development of processing technologies, which include the extraction of sugar cane juice by mill and preservation, clarification by filtration. Concentration evaporation with heat exchangers and heat transfer modeling, and packaging through evapotranspiration and humidity control (Aguilar-Rivera & Olvera-Vargas, 2021; Meerod et al., 2019). Finally, it is recommended to appropriate the food processing technologies used in the design of product patents (spray drying, ultra-high performance chromatography, organic-based flocculants and ultrafiltration membranes), which improve the characteristics of NCS, such as flavor, shape, palatability and aroma (Flórez-Martínez et al., 2023; Vera-Gutiérrez et al., 2019).

Conclusions

In this study, the pillars of the Lean-Kaizen method were applied in a company in the panela sector in the Santander region, Colombia, to demonstrate how the production process of panela manufacturing can be improved. From the field visits and the study of the panela production process, movement, transportation and waiting in manufacturing operations were identified as the main waste. This waste was due to the difficulties of organization, material handling and lack of standardization in the different workplaces of the Trapiche under study.

With the implementation of the 5S program, the necessary and unnecessary elements in the workplace were identified and classified. This program allowed Trapiche to have a better spatial conception of the gemba, prevent accidents, reduce the time spent searching for tools and the distance between panela manufacturing operations. Likewise, with the cleaning and disinfection program, it was possible to improve the image of the company and avoid contamination of the product. Therefore, with the implementation of the 5S program in the Trapiche, an improvement in order and cleanliness of 63% was achieved with respect to the initial situation.

To ensure the quality of the product, a standardized procedure adjusted to the regulatory framework required for the manufacture of panela was established. The procedure facilitates the development of production activities safely and efficiently, in such a way that operators can follow a clearly defined course of action that allows them to prevent errors and obtain a quality product. In short, standardization ensures compliance with the quality parameters of the panela for its commercialization and also avoids waste in unnecessary activities that do not add value to the manufacturing process.

Consequently, the application of Lean-Kaizen in the Trapiche object of study led to improving the production times of panela batches by 10%, at the same time that the workplaces were better organized, visual management was improved, as well as compliance with regulatory requirements regarding quality and safety. In this way, Kaizen and the combination with lean tools demonstrate once again its effectiveness as a practical and economical method to initiate the development of a true culture of quality and continuous improvement. By adopting the Lean-Kaizen approach, Trapiches can optimize their limited resources and achieve adequate results in terms of quality, on-time delivery and reduced costs. Additionally, these methodologies empower employees by actively involving them in decision-making and problem-solving. In short, the implementation of Lean-Kaizen represents a valuable opportunity for Trapiches to boost their competitiveness, growth and sustained success.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Juan José Gordillo Galeano

Juan José Gordillo Galeano,industrial engineer graduated from the University of Boyacá, since his professional training he worked on projects associated with the standardization of processes, with the aim of improving quality in small and medium-sized companies.

Karol Juliana Olaya Rodríguez

Karol Juiana Olaya Rodríguez, an industrial engineer graduated from the University of Boyacá, focuses her research interests on quality for the continuous improvement of small and medium-sized enterprises.