Waste reduction in food industries: study about application of Six Sigma approach

• Grant number: 08/09752-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2009
• End date: September 30, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Production Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Adriana Barbosa Santos
• Grantee: Bruna Maira Galaverna Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Due to changes in customers' habits, concern with quality control has continuously changed the dynamics in various productive sectors, and food industry is no exception. It is now a requisite, even for small and medium sized enterprises, to go beyond a food safety commitment to customers and improve their methodology so as to guarantee their market share. To do this, the use of consolidated methodologies to reduce waste can be an important differential to optimize production. Six Sigma substantially explores statistical appraisals which, allied to Lean manufacturing principles, has been used to improve productive processes through the Lean Six Sigma approach. However, there is still no consensus in literature about the success of this methodological combination using empirical evidence, especially in Brazilian companies. The purpose of this work is to discuss the issue as supported by literature and to clearly identify, in empirical and theoretical senses, which are the benefits of adopting Lean Six Sigma when trying to reduce waste along the food production process. Exploratory case studies will be performed to obtain empirical evidences from food and/or correlate industries. (AU)