Lean Six Sigma in automotive companies: multiples case studies to identify good practices and difficulties in its implementation and utilization

• Grant number: 14/12432-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2014
• End date: July 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Production Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Otávio José de Oliveira
• Grantee: Amira Ahmad Abou Hamia
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEG). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Guaratinguetá. Guaratinguetá , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The industrial environment is characterized by hard competition and increasingly demanding customers, that motivate the companies to search for continuous improvement in the way to manage and operate its production process in order to keep alive in a competitive market. To overcome those obstacles and face them as opportunities, the companies adopt some tools, policies, management, operation, and production methods, for example the lean six sigma. Through its development and adoption it can supposes that companies will become more competitive, innovating and improving the quality of its projects, process, products and services. Considering lean six sigma as an important tool to maximize of business results, it will be performed case study in three automobilistic companies in order to verify good practices and the main difficulties for the implantation and use of lean six sigma or part thereof to enable the formulation of some introductory recommendations to develop those good practices and the mitigation of the major industrial difficulties for others companies from the automotive sector. (AU)