В выпускной квалификационной работе рассматриваются теоретические аспекты повышения вовлеченности сотрудников в процессы перехода компании на бережливые технологии, проанализированы и оценены результаты внедрения практик бережливого производства на российских предприятиях, по результатам исследования разрабатывается методический подход для повышения вовлеченности сотрудников в процессы перехода компании на бережливые технологии. В рамках исследования предлагается проект по созданию авторской маркетинговой системы «бережливого отношения» компании к сотрудникам, включающую в себя основные аспекты, имеющие значение для сотрудников. / In the final qualification work, the theoretical aspects of increasing the involvement of employees in the processes of the company's transition to lean technologies are considered, the results of the implementation of lean manufacturing practices in Russian enterprises are analyzed and evaluated, based on the results of the study, a methodological approach is developed to increase the involvement of employees in the processes of the company's transition to lean technologies. As part of the study, a project is proposed to create an author's marketing system of the company's "lean attitude" towards employees, which includes the main aspects that are important for employees.

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The new Industry 4.0 technologies have the potential to increase the operational performance of lean-driven manufacturing organizations, however, there is a lack of guidance on how to select and implement Industry 4.0 technologies which often leads to digital waste. In essence, these organizations want to preserve the value of their current lean manufacturing system, without missing out on improved operational performance potential from exploiting new I4.0 technologies. Furthermore, recent research suggests that there is a complementary effect between lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0 where higher use of both domains in a factory results in higher operational performance. However, in theory, it has not been established what influencing factors lead to the increase in operational performance when the two domains, lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0, are in high concurrent use. The purpose of this study is to identify the influencing factors in the implementation process of Industry 4.0 technologies that facilitate higher Industry 4.0 maturity within factories. In this case study, a qualitative method was used to obtain the empirical data by conducting a series of interviews with individuals working in a multi-national lean-driven manufacturing organization. From a thematic analysis, seven influencing factors were identified that contributed to higher Industry 4.0 maturity: three in the governance structure, two in the selection of Industry 4.0 technologies, and two in the implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies. In the governance structure, a shared digital vision, following a roadmap, and a standardized way of working with digitalization in place facilitated a more successful implementation process. In the selection, a demand-based selection and identification of a business case around the Industry 4.0 technology increased the possibility of the technology selected reaching an implementation stage. Further, in the implementation, having local cross-functional teams and actively developing the employees' knowledge, and providing training in digitalization resulted in more successful implementations. Further, a ripple effect was seen between the influencing factors: having an effective governance structure led to more demand-based selections and thereby more successful implementations that resulted in higher Industry 4.0 maturity. / De nya industri 4.0 teknologierna har potentialen att öka de operativa resultaten inom lean-drivna industriföretag, men det saknas vägledning för hur man väljer och implementerar industri 4.0 teknologier vilket oftast resulterar i digitalt slöseri. Industriföretagen vill bevara värdet av de lean-drivna tillverkningssystemen utan att gå miste om förbättrade resultat med hjälp av industri 4.0. Dessutom tyder den senaste forskningen på att det finns en kompletterande effekt mellan lean produktion och industri 4.0 teknologier, där högre användning av båda domänerna i en fabrik resulterar i bättre operativa resultat. I teorin har det dock inte fastställts vilka de påverkande faktorerna är som leder till ett förbättrat operativt resultat när de två domänerna, lean-produktion och industri 4.0, används i hög grad samtidigt. Syftet med studien är att identifiera vilka de påverkande faktorerna är i implementeringsprocessen av industri 4.0 teknologier som främjar en högre mognadsgrad av industri 4.0 i tillverkningsfabriker. I fallstudien användes en kvalitativ metod för att erhålla empirin genom att utföra en serie av intervjuer med individer som arbetar på ett multinationellt lean-drivet industriföretag. Utifrån en tematisk analys identifierades sju påverkande faktorer som bidrog till en högre mognadsgrad av industri 4.0: tre i styrningsstrukturen, två i valet av industri 4.0 teknologier och två i implementeringen av industri 4.0 teknologier. I styrningsstrukturen återfanns att en delad vision, att följa en roadmap och att ha ett standardiserat arbetssätt för digitalisering främjade en mer framgångsrik implementeringsprocess. Inom valet av teknologier återfanns att ett val baserat på efterfrågan och generering av ett business case för industri 4.0 teknologier ökade möjligheten för den valda teknologin att nå en implementeringsfas. Till sist, i implementeringsfasen visade det sig att lokala tvärfunktionella team och att aktivt utveckla medarbetarnas kunskaper, samt att ge utbildning i digitalisering, resulterade i mer framgångsrika implementeringar. Slutligen sågs en kedjeeffekt mellan de påverkande faktorerna, nämligen att ha en effektiv styrningsstruktur ledde till fler val baserade på efterfrågan och därmed fler framgångsrika implementeringar vilket resulterade i en högre mognadsgrad av industri 4.0.

[pt] O propósito geral da pesquisa é gerar conhecimento sobre como e por que alcançar um produto de classe mundial na indústria de transformação brasileira, locus do design industrial, com foco conclusivo na indústria do móvel residencial de madeira maciça. Isto é importante pelo fato da indústria de transformação ser o setor de maior capacidade indutora da economia, sendo este seu valor estratégico, e por trazer a ideia de resgate da indústria diante do processo de desindustrialização. A pré-condição para esta proposta é que a indústria seja competitiva a nível internacional e para tal iremos precisar de produtos de classe mundial. A pesquisa é um estudo de caso envolvendo quatro indústrias do móvel residencial de madeira maciça para validar a hipótese de que a conjunção simultânea do design como ferramenta estratégica para os negócios, produção enxuta e incorporação de tecnologia digital no ecossistema da indústria cria as condições favoráveis para o alcance de um produto de classe mundial. A escolha dos casos foi feita de modo a propiciar replicações da teoria prevista. Utilizamos sete categorias de fontes de dados e adotamos a estratégia de seguir nossa proposição teórica que forneceu subsídios ao plano de coleta de dados. Como técnica analítica demos forte ênfase à sobreposição entre coleta e análise, através de percepções registradas ao lado dos dados em matrizes de exposição. Estas também trazem as consistências com a literatura revisada e as evidências entre os casos, de onde extraímos os padrões cruzados que resultaram em um conjunto de balizadores de referência para o alcance de um produto de classe mundial. A conclusão traz os casos selecionados mostrando resultados similares e proporcionando assim consistência com nossas proposições teóricas. Como toda pesquisa, esta também apresenta limitações a serem exploradas: promover generalização analítica com outras tipologias de indústrias de transformação, com outras categorias de indústrias pois as quatro selecionadas são indústrias familiares, e que os balizadores de referência não se esgotam nos encontrados, com novos podendo ser mapeados. / [en] The overall purpose of this research is to generate knowledge on how and why to achieve a world-class product in the Brazilian manufacturing industry, locus of industrial design, with conclusive focus on the solid wood residential furniture industry. This is important because the manufacturing industry is the sector with the greatest inductive capacity of the economy, this being its strategic value, and for bringing the idea of industry rescue in the face of deindustrialization process. The precondition for this proposal is that the industry is internationally competitive and for that we will need world-class products. The research is a case study involving four industries of solid wood residential furniture to validate the hypothesis that the simultaneous conjunction of design as a strategic tools for business, lean manufacturing and incorporation of digital technology into the industry ecosystem creates favourable conditions to reach a world class product. The choice of cases was made in order to provide for replications of the predicted theory. We used seven categories of data sources and adopted the strategy of following our theoretical proposition that provided subsides to the data collection plan. As an analytical technique we strong emphasis on the overlap between collection and analysis through perceptions recorded alongside the data on display matrix. This also brings the consistencies with the revised literature and the evidence between the cases from where we extracted the cross-patterns that resulted in a list of reference beacons for reaching a world-class product. The conclusion brings the selected cases showing similar results and thus providing consistency with our theoretical propositions. Like all research this one also presents limitations to be explored: to promote analytical generalization with other typologies of manufacturing industries, with other categories of industries since the four selected ones are familiar industries and that the reference beacons are not exhausted in the found ones, with new ones being mapped.

[pt] O Lean Six Sigma (LSS) vem impulsionando diversas organizações ao redor do mundo, aprimorando seus negócios através da melhoria de qualidade e de desempenho. Diversos estudos apontam os resultados esperados pela abordagem LSS depende do sucesso do processo de implementação. Embora existam alguns frameworks que guiem as organizações no processo de implementação, poucos estudos consideram as especificidades dos sistemas produtivos Engineer-to-Order (ETO). Esta dissertação de mestrado se propõe a preencher essa lacuna desenvolvendo um framework de implementação desenvolvido em Pesquisa-Ação. Para isso, foi utilizado um modelo de maturidade híbrido cujos principais parâmetros são os Fatores Críticos de Sucesso (FCS). O modelo e os parâmetros foram levantados e explorados na literatura por meio de Revisões de Escopo. Para refletir e avaliar o contexto ETO, esses parâmetros foram validados, estruturados e ponderados por grupos focais de especialistas, através dos métodos Item-Objective Congruence (IOC), Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) e a estatística Kappa de Fleiss. Em seguida, uma Pesquisa-Ação foi realizada junto a uma empresa do setor midiático, perseguindo ciclo checkaction-plan-do (CAPDo). Como resultado, a organização direcionou seus esforços de melhoria contínua, resultando no rápido aumento do nível de maturidade. Essa pesquisa exploratória deu origem um framework apresentado como um guia de implementação LSS para organizações ETO. Algumas oportunidades de melhoria e limitações, como a subjetividade da ferramenta de avaliação e a necessidade de novas aplicações práticas, que requerem tempo, são indagadas como sugestões de melhoria para pesquisas futuras. / [en] Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has been driving many organizations around the world, enhancing their business through quality and performance improvement. Several studies point out the results expected from the LSS approach depend on successful implementations. Although there are some frameworks that guide organizations through the implementation process, few studies consider the specifics of Engineer-to-Order (ETO) production systems. This master dissertation proposes to fill this gap by developing an implementation framework developed in Action Research. For this, a hybrid maturity model was used, whose main parameters are the Critical Success Factors (CSF). The model and parameters were identified and explored in the literature through Scoping Reviews. To reflect and evaluate the ETO context, these parameters were validated, structured and weighted by focus groups with experts using Item-Objective Congruence (IOC), Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods and Fleiss Kappa statistic. Next, a Research-Action was conducted within a media sector company, pursuing the check-action-plan-do (CAPDo) cycle. As a result, the organization directed its continuous improvement efforts, resulting in a rapid increase in maturity level. This exploratory research gave rise to a framework presented as an LSS implementation guide for ETO organizations. Some opportunities for improvement and limitations, such as the subjectivity of the assessment tool and the need for further practical applications, which require time, are inquired as improvement suggestions for future research.

[ES] Debido a la globalización y al mercado competitivo actual, a la gran variedad de productos y servicios, a los clientes cada vez más exigentes y que demandan productos de alta calidad al mejor precio y a que la tecnología está continuamente mejorando; la mayoría de las pymes industriales decidieron implementar en sus instalaciones normas y sistemas de gestión con la intención de perfeccionar sus procesos y mejorar su nivel de competitividad y así asegurar su permanencia en su sector del mercado. Esto llevó a que una gran cantidad de empresas implementaran sistemas de gestión en sus instalaciones. Lo que a su vez provocó la necesidad y urgencia de crear nuevos sistemas de gestión relacionados con diferentes aspectos que pudieran afectar al desempeño organizacional y, por tanto, a la competitividad de la empresa. Todo esto se traduce en una gran cantidad de empresas que poseen en sus instalaciones varios sistemas de gestión independientes, con los que gestionar aspectos tan diversos como la calidad, el medio ambiente o la salud y la seguridad de sus trabajadores. Sin embargo, existe la posibilidad de administrar varios sistemas de gestión como si fueran uno solo, mediante los sistemas integrados de gestión. Con estos, las empresas pueden ayudarse de las sinergias que presentan en común para obtener una gestión más eficiente y sencilla que si se administraran por separado cada sistema de gestión. No obstante, al llevar a cabo una revisión literaria completa, se apreció que ningún sistema integrado de gestión está relacionado conjuntamente con los aspectos de calidad, mejora continua, riesgos y que ayude a eliminar aquellas actividades que no aportan valor añadido a la empresa. Es por este motivo por lo que el principal objetivo de la presente Tesis Doctoral es crear una metodología que integre las normas ISO 9001:2015 e ISO 31000:2009, Kaizen y Lean Manufacturing. Con esta metodología se intenta ofrecer ayuda a las empresas para mejorar la calidad de sus productos, afrontar los riesgos que pueden encontrarse diariamente y, al mismo tiempo, mejorar continuamente y prescindir de aquellas herramientas y actividades que no generan valor para la empresa. Para poder desarrollar dicha metodología de integración, una vez terminada la revisión literaria, se realizó un análisis empírico univariante y bivariante en el que se empleó una muestra de treinta pymes de la Comunidad Valenciana y una muestra de nueve empresas españolas ubicadas en la República Checa con dos o más sistemas de gestión implementados. De este estudio se concluye que la mayoría de las pymes examinadas han integrado sus sistemas de gestión examinando los elementos comunes de los sistemas de gestión que querían integrar y mediante su propio mapa de procesos. Esta integración tardó entre uno y dos años y en el que afrontaron barreras como "Falta de recursos humanos", "Falta de colaboración entre los departamentos" y "Empleados poco motivados". Gracias al sistema integrado de gestión, las empresas consiguieron mejorar su imagen externa, perfeccionar la calidad de sus productos y aumentar su ventaja competitiva en el mercado y su eficiencia organizacional. También se observó que la totalidad de las pymes valencianas de la muestra, antes de empezar con el proceso de integración y en un plan de integración, determinaron "los Objetivos de calidad y la planificación para lograrlos", la "Gestión de la Infraestructura" y el "Control de las no-conformidades". Mientras que las pymes españolas ubicadas en la República Checa crearon un plan de integración en el que determinaron el "Control de las no conformidades", la "Información documentada (documentación, registro)", los "Roles, responsabilidades, autoridades" de cada trabajador, la "Revisión del sistema" y las "Acciones preventivas y correctivas". / [CAT] A causa de la globalització i al mercat competitiu actual, a la gran varietat de productes i serveis, als clients cada vegada més exigents i que demanen productes d'alta qualitat al millor preu i a que la tecnologia està contínuament millorant; la majoria de les pimes industrials van decidir implementar en les seves instal·lacions normes i sistemes de gestió amb la intenció de perfeccionar els seus processos i millorar el seu nivell de competitivitat, per així assegurar la seva permanència en el seu sector del mercat. Això va fer que una gran quantitat d'empreses implementaren sistemes de gestió en les seves instal·lacions. El que al seu torn va provocar la necessitat i urgència de crear nous sistemes de gestió relacionats amb diferents aspectes que poguessen afectar a l'acompliment organitzacional i, per tant, a la competitivitat de l'empresa. Tot això es tradueix en una gran quantitat d'empreses que posseeixen diversos sistemes de gestió independents, amb els quals gestionar aspectes tan diversos com la qualitat, el medi ambient o la salut i la seguretat dels seus treballadors. No obstant això, hi ha la possibilitat d'administrar diversos sistemes de gestió com si foren un, mitjançant els sistemes integrats de gestió. Amb aquests, les empreses poden ajudar-se de les sinergies que presenten en comú per obtenir una gestió més eficient i senzilla que si s'administraren per separat cada sistema de gestió. No obstant això, en dur a terme una revisió literària completa, es va apreciar que cap sistema integrat de gestió està relacionat conjuntament amb els aspectes de qualitat, millora contínua, riscos i que ajude a eliminar aquelles activitats que no aporten valor afegit a l'empresa. És per aquest motiu pel que el principal objectiu de la present Tesi Doctoral és crear una metodologia que integre les normes ISO 9001: 2015 i ISO 31000: 2009, la filosofia Kaizen i l'eina Lean Manufacturing. Amb aquesta metodologia es pretén ajudar a les empreses a millorar la qualitat dels seus productes, afrontar els riscos que poden trobar-se diàriament i, a la vegada, millorar contínuament i prescindir d'aquelles eines i activitats que no generen valor per a l'empresa. Per poder desenvolupar aquesta metodologia d'integració, una vegada acabada la revisió literària, s'ha realitzat una anàlisi empírica univariant i bivariant en la que s'utilitza una mostra de trenta pimes de la Comunitat Valenciana i una mostra de nou pimes espanyoles situades a la República Txeca amb dos o més sistemes de gestió implementats. D'aquests anàlisis es conclou que la majoria de les pimes estudiades han integrat els seus sistemes de gestió analitzant els elements comuns dels sistemes de gestió que volien integrar i mitjançant el seu propi mapa de processos. Aquest procés d'integració va durar entre un i dos anys i en el que van afrontar barreres com "Falta de recursos humans", "Falta de col·laboració entre els departaments" i "Empleats poc motivats". Però gràcies al sistema integrat de gestió, les empreses van aconseguir millorar la seua imatge externa, perfeccionar la qualitat dels seus productes i augmentar el seu avantatge competitiu en el mercat i la seua eficiència organitzacional. També s'ha observat que, abans de començar amb el procés d'integració i en un pla d'integració, la majoria de les pimes valencianes de la mostra van determinar "els objectius de qualitat i la planificació per a aconseguir-los", la "Gestió de la Infraestructura" i el "Control de les no-conformitats". Mentre que les pimes espanyoles situades a la República Txeca van crear un pla d'integració en el que van determinar el "Control de les no conformitats", la "Informació documentada (documentació, registre)", els "Rols, responsabilitats, autoritats" de cada treballador, la "Revisió del sistema" i les "Accions preventives i correctives". / [EN] Due to globalisation and the current competitive market, the wide variety of products and services, customers are increasingly demanding and ask for high-quality products at the best price and technology is continuously improving; most industrial SMEs decided to implement management standards and systems in their facilities to improve processes and their level of competitiveness, to ensure their permanence in their market sector. This led many companies to implement management systems in their facilities. Which in turn, caused the need and urgency to create new management systems related to different aspects that could affect organisational performance and, therefore, the company competitiveness. All this means that many companies have several independent management systems to manage aspects as diverse as quality, the environment, or the health and safety of its workers. However, there is a possibility of running several management systems as if they were only one, through integrated management systems. With them, companies can benefit from the common synergies presented by the systems to obtain more efficient and simple management than if they ran each management system separately. Nevertheless, after conducting a complete literary review, it was found that no integrated management system is related to aspects of quality, continuous improvement, risks and, simultaneously, helps eliminate those activities that do not add value to the company. This reason motivates that the principal purpose of this essay is to design a method that integrates the ISO 9001:2015 standard, the Lean Manufacturing tool, the Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement, and the ISO 31000:2009 standard. This methodology can help companies to improve the quality of their products and face the risks that can be found daily and, at the same time, continuously improve and disregard those tools and activities that do not generate value for the company. To develop the integration methodology after the literary review is conducted did a univariate and bivariate empirical analysis was done using a sample of thirty SMEs from the Valencian Community and a sample of nine Spanish companies located in the Czech Republic, in all cases implementing two or more management systems. The conclusion from this study is that most of the SMEs in the sample have integrated their management systems analysing the common elements of the management systems that they wanted to integrate and through their own process map. This process of integration lasted between one and two years and in which they encountered barriers such as "Lack of human resources", "Lack of collaboration between the departments" and "Employees with little motivation". Thanks to the integrated management system, the companies managed to improve their external image, the quality of their products and increase their competitive advantage in the market, and their organizational efficiency. It was also observed that, before starting the process of integration and in an integration plan, most of the Valencian SMEs from the sample determined "the objectives of quality and the planning to achieve them", "Infrastructure Management" and "Control of non-conformities". While the Spanish SMEs located in the Czech Republic created an integration plan in which they determined the "Control of non-conformities", the "Documented information (documentation, registration)", the "Roles, responsibilities, authorities" of each worker, the "System Review" and the "Preventive and Corrective Actions". / Palacios Guillem, M. (2021). Propuesta de un nuevo procedimiento basado en la norma ISO 9001 para la gestión conjunta de la norma ISO 31000, la filosofía Kaizen y la herramienta Lean Manufacturing en pymes industriales de la Comunidad Valenciana [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/178979

This study determined whether local manufacturers of light vehicles in South Africa employ supply chain best practices and strategies. The research design employed was a combination of exploratory and descriptive research design using qualitative and quantitative approaches based on a survey of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. A face-to–face, semi-structured interview questionnaire was used, based on purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software were used for the data analysis and interpretation. The findings of the study revealed that across the supply chain, best practices were implemented to a large extent by all manufacturers. Light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa, however face supply chain challenges, which include technological, infrastructural, cost, market/service and production/skills challenges. The most important supply chain performance indicator that contributes to optimisation of performance is quality, followed by final product delivery reliability, and then cost and supplier reliability. All the manufacturers followed a lean strategy for their inbound supply chain and some had a lean supply chain strategy for their outbound supply chain. A number of them also had an agile supply chain strategy in the outbound supply chain which suggests a leagile supply chain strategy. It was also found that in some instances there was a mismatch between strategies and practices in the area of product characteristics, manufacturing characteristics and the decision drivers of supply chain. One of the conclusions of the study was that local manufacturers of light vehicles do not always make decisions and implement practices in line with their chosen supply chain strategies. The study concluded by developing a framework for determining supply chain best practices in line with a chosen strategy that could guide supply chain managers (in locally manufactured light vehicles) in the automotive in South Africa in their decision making. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

<a>Global trends and factors, such as the increased level of globalization, climate change, resource scarcity, and awareness of social and environmental responsibilities, as well as fiercer competition and lower profit margins in all industries, force organizations to act to retain, regain, or sustain their competitive advantages for long-term survival. These trends and factors are historically known to bring about innovations that drive the evolution of industries. Sustainability is considered to be such an innovation to achieve fiscally sound, environmentally conscious, and socially progressive organizations and supply chains. Sustainable Development and Sustainability notions are among trending topics of 21st century. Elevated sustainability concerns of various stakeholders have been forcing members of all industries to evolve into their more environmentally and socially responsible versions. This study was initiated through a comprehensive literature review phase that reviewed 477 articles published in five major databases from 1990 to 2018. The purpose of this review was to assess the current state-of-the art on the subject of lean-driven sustainability. Based on descriptive and contextual analysis, synergies, divergences, and the extent of two-way permeability of lean and sustainability concepts from the perspective of intra- and inter-organizational operations were identified along with future research opportunities. Fundamental strengths and weaknesses of both concepts, existing strong synergies and untapped potential, along with their key contributors, the potential-use cases of lean tools to derive sustainable solutions are highlighted in this review. Next, based on the findings of systematic literature review, an innovative, holistic, versatile and scalable tool was developed to assess and benchmark sustainability performance of organizations and supply chains. The proposed framework was established upon trivet structure of Triple Bottom Line philosophy and fueled by Lean, Six-Sigma and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies for accurate and effective measurement of sustainability performance. Completeness of the framework was ensured through development of first-generation Key Performance Indicator (KPI) pool with 33 indicators, a unique work environment assessment mechanism for safety and environmental protection issues in terms of 11 risk categories and by construction of an ownership structure for ease of framework deployment. Proposed framework is expected to help with true sustainability performance improvement and benchmarking objectives at a range of business levels from facility to sectoral operations. Upon completion of the development phase, the Sustainability Benchmarking Tool (SBT) Framework was validated at the facility level within the context of value-added wood products manufacturing. Strengths and weaknesses of the system were identified within the scope of Bronze Frontier maturity level of the framework and tackled through a six-step analytical and quantitative reasoning methodology. The secondary objective of the validation phase was to document how value-added wood products industries can take advantage of natural properties of wood to become frontiers of sustainability innovation. In the end, True Sustainability performance of the target facility was improved by 2.37 base points, while economic and environmental performance was increased from being a system weakness to achieving an acceptable index score benchmark of 8.41 and system strength level of 9.31, respectively. Social sustainability score increased by 2.02 base points as a function of better gender bias ratio. The financial performance of the system improved from a 33% loss to 46.23% profit in the post-improvement state. Reductions in CO₂ emissions (55.16%), energy consumption (50.31%), solid waste generation (72.03%), non-value-added-time (89.30%) and cost performance (64.77%) were other significant achievements of the study. In the end, SBT Framework was successfully validated at the facility level and target facility evolved into its leaner, cleaner and more responsible version of itself. Furthermore, manufacturing industries of all sorts are key stakeholders, which rely on universities to satisfy the demand for competent workforce. Society also expects universities to educate youth and contribute to their self-development by achieving both, scientific and intellectual knowledge saturation. To expand the contribution of the study to the body of knowledge in the fields of Sustainability and Modern Management techniques, an undergraduate level course curriculum that integrates modern management techniques and sustainability concepts with wood products industry dynamics was developed. Students’ pre- and post-education awareness of, and familiarity with sustainability, potential consequences of ignored sustainability issues, modern management techniques, global trends, innovation waves, and industry evolution were compared through a seventeen-question survey. Results showed that course content was successful at increasing sustainability awareness at both overall and individual sustainability pillar levels, At the end, 100% of students were able to develop complete understanding of various modern management techniques and stated that they felt confident to apply learnt skills to real life issues within their profession upon graduation. Overall, this study empirically documented how synergies between Lean, Sustainability, Six-Sigma and Life Cycle Assessment concepts outweigh their divergences, demonstrated viability of SBT Framework and presented a proven example of modern management techniques powered transdisciplinary sustainability curriculum.</a>

This study determined whether local manufacturers of light vehicles in South Africa employ supply chain best practices and strategies. The research design employed was a combination of exploratory and descriptive research design using qualitative and quantitative approaches based on a survey of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. A face-to–face, semi-structured interview questionnaire was used, based on purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software were used for the data analysis and interpretation. The findings of the study revealed that across the supply chain, best practices were implemented to a large extent by all manufacturers. Light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa, however face supply chain challenges, which include technological, infrastructural, cost, market/service and production/skills challenges. The most important supply chain performance indicator that contributes to optimisation of performance is quality, followed by final product delivery reliability, and then cost and supplier reliability. All the manufacturers followed a lean strategy for their inbound supply chain and some had a lean supply chain strategy for their outbound supply chain. A number of them also had an agile supply chain strategy in the outbound supply chain which suggests a leagile supply chain strategy. It was also found that in some instances there was a mismatch between strategies and practices in the area of product characteristics, manufacturing characteristics and the decision drivers of supply chain. One of the conclusions of the study was that local manufacturers of light vehicles do not always make decisions and implement practices in line with their chosen supply chain strategies. The study concluded by developing a framework for determining supply chain best practices in line with a chosen strategy that could guide supply chain managers (in locally manufactured light vehicles) in the automotive in South Africa in their decision making. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)