A model to design effective Production Improvement Programs

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to present a model to design effective Production Improvement Programs (PIP) in order to contribute in the solution of the problematic situations generally faced by the Mexican manufacturing micro, small and mediumsized enterprises (M?SME). In this proposal, we imply that facilitating their development is a natural way to improve their performance, especially in terms of productive efficiency. The study picked up empirical evidence from the Processes Reengineering Workshop (PRW), one of the leading services of the National Committee of Productivity and Technological Innovation (NCPTI) which is considered a Mexican successful case. We show through a comparative analysis that it is possible to have better programs when they follow a continuous improvement process involving the owner of the firm and workforce participation. Furthermore, we suggest a series of methods for planning, structuring and improvement according to the imitative, tacit and qualitative M?SME specific competence.