Javier Santos

Universidad de Navarra | UNAV · Department of Industrial Organisation

This paper addresses the dearth of studies examining the status of Operational Excellence (OE) implementation and offers a roadmap for enhancing OE maturity levels. The study encompassed three phases: (1) face-to-face interviews with industry OE experts in 57 companies across seven sectors, (2), classification of companies based on their maturity l...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose a new mapping tool called Circular Value Stream Mapping (C-VSM) that combines Circular Economy principles with Lean tools to enhance sustainability performance in operations. Design/methodology/approach To develop the C-VSM tool, the researchers conducted a literature review and a focus group. The to...

Sustainability is a paramount concern for manufacturing companies, necessitating the adoption of sustainable production and circular economy strategies. However, quantifying these sustainability efforts remains a formidable challenge due to the absence of a standardized framework, consequently hindering the development of effective strategies. This...

Purpose This paper proposes a maturity model to indicate the operational excellence (OE) implementation status of businesses in emerging countries, considering its importance in Industry 4.0. Design/methodology/approach The study involves four steps. First, undertake a study of the literature to identify the variables to consider in the maturity m...

The concept of Sustainable Production is evolving with changes triggered by the emergence of new economic and industrial models such as Circular Economy and Industry 4.0. However, most studies that currently link these concepts are based on the principles of Sustainable Production defined 20 years ago. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to...

Purpose This research has the following specific objectives: provide an overview of the literature addressing operational excellence (OE) and OE in emerging countries; propose an integrative framework of OE attributes; and propose future research directions for the OE literature. Design/methodology/approach To remain competitive in industry, many...

Purpose Green Lean tools are aligned with the Circular Economy strategy as they aim at reducing waste, however, they miss the creation of value through waste. Therefore, this paper investigates whether the current implementation of the Green Lean strategy promotes the introduction of the Circular philosophy to achieve sustainable management product...

In the last century, there was a general perception that scheduling theory was highly irrelevant to scheduling practice. Many recent studies, however, have suggested that the applicability of scheduling approaches is highly intertwined with the manufacturing environment in which the scheduling task is carried out. In this paper we used the construc...

Environmental efficiency should not be treated independently of production efficiency. Several studies have demonstrated that lean management can be a major part of the answer to improving the environmental performance of companies. In this context, this work integrates existing methodologies and approaches from lean thinking, Industry 4.0 and math...

Lean and green are major compatible management initiatives because of their joint focus on waste reduction, efficient use of resources and emphasis on satisfying customer needs at the lowest possible cost (economic and environmental). From this angle, this paper presents a bibliometric analysis of the integration of lean and green management. To th...

It is expected that the so-called Industry 4.0 brings a multitude of benefits toward more sustainable industrial value creation. However, scientific literature presenting success stories related to Industry 4.0 and sustainability are limited. Using some technologies included in the Industry 4.0 strategy, we present a research project application ba...

Operational excellence is directly related to improving performance and efficiency in every dimension of sustainability (i.e., economic, environmental and social). Consequently, companies are implementing this initiative to remain competitive in their industries. Previous works measured operational excellence in first-world companies. However, it i...

ater has become a critical resource due to increased manufacturing activities. However, there is a lack of detailed information on water management and consumption by industries. In the recent bibliography, lean–green was established as a good approach for achieving sustainability in manufacturing industries, but few studies have aimed to achieve b...

Growing concerns about the environmental impact caused by industrial operations is spurring companies to seek more sustainable modes of production. In this context, adopting sustainable manufacturing (SM) practices still represents a challenge, especially for small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). In order to address this issue, this study iden...

Purpose: Urban logistics presents a series of challenges, as the interests of the different stakeholders are not always aligned. The aim of this research is to explore the potential of applying Lean principles to reduce waste in urban logistics. Design/methodology/approach: As a structure for “going to gemba,” the authors implemented the shadowing...

In a circular economy (CE) environment, it is important to make good and efficient use of resources and consider that the waste generated in production processes can be a valuable resource. However, the tools and methodologies conventionally used to analyze and evaluate production systems are based on techniques focused on linear production managem...

There is no doubt about the impact that the 4th Industrial Revolution is having in our factories. New technologies are being developed, and huge quantities of money are being invested for modernizing our plants. Theses technologies are also impacting on operational and people management, and new professional competences are required for being able...

Purpose This paper aims to identify key middle manager trustworthy behaviours that encourage employees’ participation in continuous improvement activities in industrial contexts. Design/methodology/approach The list of behaviours has been developed in two different phases. First, the authors conducted two concept mappings with operators and middle...

Most companies operate on a linear economy that consists of "take, make, use and waste." However, the growing impact of industries’ emissions on the envi-ronment has aroused global concerns about their activities. As a result, companies are becoming more and more aware of the importance of implementing a circular economy (CE) model by closing the l...

During the last two decades, the concept of sustainable development has gained more and more importance to start rebuilding our society and living conditions for the welfare of everyone. However, this initiative cannot be developed by its own and needs the support of different areas and new strategies, technologies, and developments. Therefore, it...

Environmental sustainability is a requirement for modern urban freight transport systems. On a global scale, most resources are currently consumed in cities, contributing to the economic importance of urban freight transport as well as its poor environmental performance. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how to correctly quantify the envi...

Sustainability and Industry 4.0 are trending concepts today. It is expected that Industry 4.0 brings a multitude of benefits toward more sustainable operations such as manufacturing. In manufacturing, monitoring and control approaches are the most common tools included in the Industry 4.0 strategy. In this context, this paper presents a literature...

Nowadays, urban freight transport networks must be environmentally sustainable. As a consequence, collaboration strategies have been implemented as one alternative to enhance the efficiency of the supply chain and to reduce its environmental burden. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how to correctly quantify the environmental impact of co...

La exposición temprana y creciente a la tecnología de los llamados millennials hace que, como alumnos universitarios, tengan preferencia por enfoques de aprendizaje interactivos y experienciales. En este contexto, se han desarrollado nuevas metodologías de enseñanza que mejoran el compromiso, la motivación y el rendimiento de los alumnos utilizando...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze gaps and trends, as well suggest approaches and methodologies that should be addressed by future studies for implementing the lean and green management in the agri-food sector. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a sample with 117 papers, this paper presents a systematic review on the integration...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are key actors in the implementation of the circular economy (CE) concept as a basis for creating sustainable societies. Thus, the main objective of this study is to identify key strategies and resources that may favor CE implementation in SMEs. These key strategies should encourage SMEs to develop eco‐innovation...

Digitalization is impacting almost every aspect of people’s life and is greatly affecting supply chain processes. At the same time, supply chains are becoming progressively more aware of their impacts on people, the planet and profits (triple bottom line perspective) and the concept of sustainable supply chain has received increasing attention amon...

This paper assesses the effectiveness in scheduling independent jobs with earliness/tardiness costs and variable setup times applying the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). The OEE is a common metric for measuring the manufacturing productivity. We defined a mixed-integer linear programming formulation of the parallel machine scheduling problem...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new methodology called overall greenness performance for value stream mapping (OGP-VSM). Using value-added concepts, this approach has the potential to integrate, measure, control and improve productive and environmental performance in accordance with a company’s context. Design/methodology/appr...

This paper aims to improve the applicability and relevance of contingency theory research in the field of Operations Management. Based on the results of previous studies, we have identified a systems-based single definition of organisation types that could describe the fit between organisational environment and organisational structure. This defini...

Nowadays companies are trying to become ‘greener’, which requires integrating the environmental dimension into their traditional performance metrics. However, managers may not have the complete information and data for their environmental problems and, crucially, there is a lack of knowledge about how these environmental issues affect a company’s p...

There is no doubt about the impact that the 4th Industrial Revolution is having in our factories. New technologies are being developed and huge quantities of money are being invested for modernizing our plants. Theses technologies are also impacting on operational and people management and new professional compe-tences are required for being able t...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology that is based on the concept of environmental comfort and can serve as a tool that can help companies and employees to implement Kaizen projects. This methodology focuses on the worker’s participation in analyzing and developing improvements related to their workplace. Design/methodolo...

Manufacturers have become progressively more aware of their operations' impacts on the triple bottom line (social, environmental and financial), and they are under increased pressure to account for their resource consumption and environmental footprint. These challenges are forcing companies to implement and combine different management approaches,...

The transport of goods is essential for the economic growth of cities and regions. Urban freight transportation makes up a very small percentage of the total transportation time for goods, but it can represent up to 28% of total transportation costs. To reduce overall costs and increase revenue from this operation, one common methodology used by de...

The increase in environmental awareness has triggered numerous green initiatives at companies. This paper presents the Overall Greenness Performance (OGP), a metric based on the well-known Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). The OGP is a hierarchy of metrics based on the Lean Manufacturing framework that measures how environmentally efficient a...

Análisis del impacto de la Industria 4.0 en la gestión operativa y en el factor humano en empresas industriales. El estudio –pionero en España- identifica también el estilo de liderazgo y las competencias, tanto técnicas como personales, que deberán adquirir los trabajadores de una organización como consecuencia del nuevo paradigma industrial.

Purpose Environmental management is becoming increasingly important in all types of organizations. The food industry represents the top industrial sector of the Spanish economy; however, there is still little knowledge about how it is managed environmentally. This paper presents a descriptive analysis of the Spanish food sector. Design/methodolog...

The increase in environmental and social awareness has triggered numerous green initiatives at companies. Traditionally, companies’ training related to environmental management focuses on technical aspects and theoretical concepts. In addition to these theoretical contents, it is necessary to carry out practical activities to impart the desired beh...

Circular Economy (CE) is fast becoming a matter of high importance for researchers, governments, and firms, to pursue social prosperity and to increase the resilience level of the natural environment. In this context, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have an important role because they represent some of the most important motors of development a...

This special issue of the Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management is focused on the most recent and relevant research, theories and practices in Industrial Engineering and Operations Management presented at the International Joint Conference (IJC2016). This International Joint Conference is a result of an agreement between ADINGOR (Asocia...

Purpose: This research analyzes the maturity of environmental management as well as the degree of to which the Circular Economy has been implemented in Basque SMEs. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 17 case studies were carried out in industrial SMEs companies in the Basque Country. Findings: The main results show that companies are limited t...

Environmental management has emerged as an issue of great interest among companies. Circular Economy, proposes to change from a linear economy to a circular economy trying to promote the sustainability of economy while it also achieves sustainable environmental protection. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) represent a 99% of the European companie...

Most studies regarding real scheduling constraints only consider the constraints related to the specific manufacturing environment studied, limiting the possibility of drawing general conclusions. A survey of 50 companies was conducted in order to discover which constraints were present and what their relationship was with the scheduling context. T...

This paper suggests a fit between production environments and scheduling methods depending on the scheduling needs of each production environment type. Two types of planning environments are considered and, depending on their needs, various scheduling methodologies are proposed to support the execution of the scheduling task.

This research presents a description of the manufacturing environments that exist in the industry by studying 50 factories in order to propose the utilization of scheduling methodologies according to the manufacturing environment. Two clusters of plants were found to describe the global planning needs of the industry. Finally, various techniques ar...

Paper for the EurOMA Conference 2015. Abstract: Our research develops a case study that analyzes the experience of the Business Chair Volkswagen Navarra – University of Navarre in the development of Action Research projects during the period 2011-2014. The main aim of this research is to determine which factors are crucial for the successful develo...

The aim of this paper is to present what we believe are the most relevant findings and results regarding practical scheduling in order to define practical production scheduling and create a framework that helps researchers to study the various topics that fall under the umbrella of practical production scheduling and to identify the current state o...

Las decisiones que toman los responsables de planificación de la producción de una empresa están condicionadas por el entorno de producción en el que se sitúa la empresa. Tradicionalmente se considera que este entorno sólo depende del tipo de demanda. En este trabajo, mediante un estudio empírico realizado en 50 empresas productivas, se distinguen...

Although lean production tools are considered an urgent prerequisite for producers everywhere, in the process industry, and particularly the seasonal process industry, there is surprisingly little use of these techniques. The aim of this paper is to analyze and facilitate the implementation of the core tools for lean in the seasonal process industr...

The main objective of this chapter is to present the logical framework ap-proach (LFA) as a tool that prepares companies and workers to implement contin-uous improvement programs. This methodology encourages worker participation in different steps in order to reach consensus in the organization. In addition, the application of LFA improves the capa...

Many researchers consider absenteeism to be a significant problem for employers. Absenteeism lowers the overall level of worker expertise, which may affect product quality and trigger an increase in customer complaints. This research was carried out in a prominent automobile manufacturing company, with an assembly line–driven rigid production proce...

This chapter presents some tools mentioned in Kobayashi's book. These improvement methodologies have been grouped into four characteristics: human resources–related keys, efficient materials use–related keys, visual control–related keys, and technology-related keys. The chapter also includes a discussion of the jidoka (autonomotation) tool within t...

The basic analysis necessary to transform a traditional factory into a cellular layout requires a unique development and implementation methodology. This chapter presents some design and analysis tools focused on getting a company ready to progress to cellular manufacturing. When a production line is being designed, it is important to distribute th...

The single-minute exchange of dies (SMED) methodology is a clear, easy-to-apply methodology that has produced good results in many cases very quickly and amazing results in some other cases. SMED implementation improves the availability rate as well as the quality rate because SMED reduces all the setup process time. The benefits of SMED are center...

This chapter explains inspection processes based on unnoticed mistake-proving devices (called poka-yoke). This type of inspection strategy complements statistical process control (SPC) and is used primarily for inspecting logical features. Poka-yokes are visual and physical tools that are used in conjunction with source inspection in order for the...

This chapter examines the second equipment efficiency indicator based on two factors: equipment performance losses owing to minor stoppages and equipment performance reduction caused by equipment component deterioration and/or wear. Time and motion study allows one to optimize the relationship between the worker and the machine, as well as to inves...

In the last decade, the number of implementation projects based on a methodology known as the 5S methodology has increased significantly. The main objective of the 5S tool is to educate workers and encourage an attitude that supports worker habits. These habits will allow workers to maintain the work environment in an orderly manner with little eff...

The role of maintenance is to ensure the survivability and proper functioning of all company hardware. Efficient maintenance management and equipment conservation are contemplated in both just-in-time (JIT) and the 20 keys for lean manufacturing. Breakdown reductions improve the availability and performance rates of the equipment thereby improving...

This chapter discusses the different types of industrial processes and plant layouts. Plant layout (changes in resource or even factory location) is an activity that all companies are forced to deal with sooner or later. Cellular layouts—where labor and machines are grouped in cells—are presented in the chapter because they are becoming increasingl...

Within the business environment, Japan has contributed greatly to the language of business with numerous concepts that represent continuous improvement tools (kaizen tools) and with production philosophies such as just-in-time. Just-in-time (JIT) philosophy is also known as lean manufacturing. In this chapter, both of these production philosophies...

Lean manufacturing has been increasingly applied by leading manufacturing companies throughout the world, led by the major automobile manufacturers and their equipment suppliers. The aim of this case study is to show the applicability of lean manufacturing’s body of knowledge to a different environment: a seasonal food industry. Several techniques...

Purpose: Companies survive in saturated markets trying to be more productive and more efficient. In this context, it becomes critical for companies to manage the entire supply network to optimize overall performance. Hence, the supply strategy plays an important role because it influences the way in which production and logistics network has to be...

Purpose – Teamwork is one of the most powerful tools to ensure success across any activity. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that actively contribute to the effectiveness of teams. This research looks at two different types of teams: care delivery teams representing healthcare and improvement teams representing the manufacturing...

The 5S methodology is a very appropriate way to initiate and achieve the process of continuous improvement. This paper studies management practices in successful Japanese companies in order to determine what 5S principles are behind them. After visiting and conducting interviews at five different plants, a multi-case study analysis was developed to...

In the current dynamic, volatile and competitive playground, the design and managing of global production and logistic networks has become a crucial issue even for SMEs, although with the difficult added that they have limited resources. Thus, how dealing with these complex production networks present a real challenge for this kind of companies. In...

The purpose of this paper is to assess the utility that one particular commercial advanced planning and scheduling system (APS) has in supporting the scheduling task of a plant. To attain this, the production process and environment of two plants have been studied through a case study. Results show a lack of performance in the schedules generated b...

By means of a case study of an automotive manufacturer, this paper aims to study the impact of a continuous improvement (CI) programme on quality defects. The analysis aims to ascertain if several independent variables such as production, CIs, and shifts are correlated to each of two dependent variables: internal quality defects and auditor quality...

This article presents a model, adapted from the literature, to measure the application of factors that foment teamwork effectiveness. The goal of this article is to publish the actual experience of developing and assessing teamwork activities which were carried out during the past academic year, 2009-10, by freshmen students at an Engineering Schoo...

Este artículo presenta un modelo adaptado de la bibliografía para medir la aplicación de los factores que promueven la efectividad del trabajo en equipo. Se quiere dar a conocer la experiencia real del desarrollo y evaluación de trabajos en equipo realizados con alumnos de 1er curso de distintos grados de Ingeniería durante el curso académico 2009-...

Scheduling production has been a deeply studied aspect in scientific literature. However, it has not had any real impact in the manufacture so far. This study is focused on exploring the reason of this disconnection between science and factories in the North of Spain through a survey to more than fifty companies. In the survey, the processes of pro...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: to evaluate the importance of the factors reported in the literature as enablers of Continuous Improvement (CI) programmes and to determine the perception of managers of different companies in the Basque Country and Navarre (Spain) regarding the relevance of these factors to their improvement programm...

Manufacturers continue facing the never ending challenge of finding the best way to increase productivity levels in order to remain competitive. Significant level of productivity are given by the efficient utilization of production equipment, thus manufacturing companies use the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) rate as an indicator to control...

Manufacturers have the challenge to increase productivity given complex manufacturing environments. A source that provides substantial levels of productivity is the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) metric, which is an indicator to improve not only equipment utilization; but also the overall manufacturing operations, because of the valuable inf...

Purpose Since the field of healthcare was a latecomer to the quality movement, knowledge transfer has generally flowed in one direction, from industry to healthcare. However, organisations can also be enriched by healthcare. In particular, this paper aims to show industry that important lessons can be learned regarding how teamwork is generally man...

Introduction To investigate the adoption and transfer of some good practices in the Construction Sector is the aim of the following research. The GRAI Methodology and the DGRAI technique are associated to improve the operational performance of the supply chain. They are already known and have been studied by researchers; however the development of...

Item Citation: Intangible Capital, 2011, Vol. 7, Issue 1, p.143

Equipment efficiency can be measured and improved by the availability, performance and quality rates provided by the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) metric. Because today's managers operate in a complex manufacturing scenario, measurement systems play an important role in transforming data into decisions, and this task needs to be strengthene...

After Taylor and Ford's approaches, the Japanese industry, with its main leading exponent Toyota, showed that it is possible to have a greater level of flexibility and productivity through its principles of "just in time, versatility of labor, any inventory, continuous flow production and continuous improvement. Diversity of concepts, proposals and...

Purpose: During the last 50 years industrial companies have adopted continuous improvement systems to improve their competitiveness. However, the maintenance of improvement systems is not an easy matter. Some companies, after an initial period of one to two years, abandon the system for various reasons. This article aims to examine the level of app...

Sectors associated with the distribution of products and goods have become more and more important in recent years. Globalisation and changing market demands are increasing competitiveness in these sectors, and as a result many companies have adopted new improvement methods to assure their survival. The adoption of improvement philosophies and a le...

DYNA - Ingeniería e Industria

Item Citation: Intangible Capital, 2011, Vol. 7, Issue 1, p.143

In this paper, the use of a graphical simulator called TOCNUN is presented. It helps users to understand plant operations conducted under the philosophy of Theory of Constraints (TOC) developed by Goldratt. TOCNUN is an alternative tool developed to support the teaching of TOC in just six or seven steps, which correspond to six or seven, 90-min lea...

La materia Dirección de Producción y Operaciones está presente en todos los planes de estudio de Ingeniería. Las reformas en los planes docentes de los distintos países han ampliado la oferta de asignaturas enmarcadas en esta disciplina, que deben coordinar y repartir sus contenidos. Por otro lado, las empresas necesitan ingenieros formados en técn...

This research aims to investigate the adoption of good practices in the construction industry based on practices applied in other sectors that could help to gain competitive advantage. Typical practices such as Concurrent Engineering and Supply Chain Management are already established and have been applied by other researchers, however their deploy...

A consensus exists that there is a lack of applicability of the scheduling theory. One of the reasons of this gap between theory and practice is the common conception of the production scheduling function, which is associated to the sequencing task. Thus, to enhance the scope of scheduling studies, there is a need to revise the definition of produc...

This article will examine the level of sustainability for companies in Continuous Improvement Management and the factors which are supporting sustainability during time, through a survey to 350 companies of Basque Autonomous Community and Navarra in June of 2009. The study presents some data about the development of the improvement systems. Then, f...

This article will examine the level of sustainability for companies in Continuous Improvement Management and the factors which are supporting sustainability during time, through a survey to 350 companies of Basque Autonomous Community and Navarra in June of 2009. The study presents some data about the development of the improvement systems. Then, f...

Purpose This research paper aims to explore how intranet mechanisms for knowledge transfer in a multinational automotive company can be improved with the inclusion of a human interface, specifically a resident engineer. A resident engineer is an assembly line employee who spends the majority of their time in the Advanced Engineering Center, which a...