Abstract Paper aims This paper studies the influence of process variation on deviation from nominal control chart performance and proposes some adjustments on the control limits to make it enable on small batches. Originality Specific methods were developed to monitor small batches, mainly due to unavailability of data for precise parameters estimation, like the deviation from nominal control charts. However, Montgomery (2014) highlights some essential aspects, such as the influence of process variation on its performance. Research method The method used was mathematical modeling and computer simulation. Main findings The results validated that there is a significant influence of the process variation on the control chart performance. It has been demonstrated that small adjustments on the control limits can make it enable on lean environments. Implications for theory and practice The main contribution is demonstrating the use of deviation from nominal control chart, through the valid control limits definition regardless of the samples size.

ABSTRACT The study proposes the development of a framework that can take advantage of the Design and Analysis of Computer Experiments (DACE) more efficiently. The need for rapid product development cycles creates a demand for tools that aid in decision making. One of these tools is Computer Aided Engineering which uses the Finite Element Method that requires a long time to be executed. The philosophy of Design of Experiments and the construction of empirical models have been used together with physical simulations. After a theoretical review, two cases were applied to product development and the results were analyzed. A theoretical framework based on the experience gained from the empirical studies conducted was proposed. Despite the existence of many studies on the subject where mathematical and statistical aspects are explored, there is a lack of studies related to practical and operational issues regarding the application of DACE.

Resumo: Este trabalho tem como objetivo principal discutir o uso de métodos sistemáticos para geração de designs de experimentos com boas propriedades estatísticas e custos baixos. O foco da pesquisa é o sequenciamento dos experimentos, de maneira que são analisados os resultados de três diferentes abordagens para construção de designs fatoriais (ortogonais e não ortogonais) com dois níveis, em que o sequenciamento é feito de forma aleatória ou sistemática. Em particular, simulou-se a condução do design gerado por cada abordagem no contexto de um processo real de fabricação de embalagens de vidro, sem a presença de efeitos de tendências lineares e com a presença desses efeitos. Os resultados das análises indicam que em relação à ordem aleatória, sequências sistemáticas podem resultar em menor número de mudanças de níveis dos fatores e maior robustez a efeitos de tendências lineares, compatibilizando, portanto, o custo e a qualidade do design.

Abstract: The current study aims to discuss the use of systematic methods to generate experimental designs with good statistical properties and low costs. The research focuses on the sequence of experiments and on analysis the results of three different approaches used to build (orthogonal and non-orthogonal) two-level factorial designs, wherein sequencing is randomly or systematically performed. The study simulated the design generated by each approach in the context of an actual glass container manufacturing process, with and without the presence of linear trend effects. The results indicate that, in comparison to the random order, systematic sequences may lead to fewer factor level changes and to increased robustness to linear trend effects. Therefore, they may attach design cost and quality.

Abstract The Statistical Process Control - SPC is a set of statistical techniques focused on process control, monitoring and analyzing variation causes in the quality characteristics and/or in the parameters used to control and process improvements. Implementing SPC in organizations is a complex task. The reasons for its failure are related to organizational or social factors such as lack of top management commitment and little understanding about its potential benefits. Other aspects concern technical factors such as lack of training on and understanding about the statistical techniques. The main aim of the present article is to understand the interrelations between conditioning factors associated with top management commitment (Support), SPC Training and Application, as well as to understand the relationships between these factors and the benefits associated with the implementation of the program. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used in the analysis since the main goal is to establish the causal relations. A cross-section survey was used as research method to collect information of samples from Brazilian auto-parts companies, which were selected according to guides from the auto-parts industry associations. A total of 170 companies were contacted by e-mail and by phone in order to be invited to participate in the survey. However, just 93 industries agreed on participating, and only 43 answered the questionnaire. The results showed that the senior management support considerably affects the way companies develop their training programs. In turn, these trainings affect the way companies apply the techniques. Thus, it will reflect on the benefits gotten from implementing the program. It was observed that the managerial and technical aspects are closely connected to each other and that they are represented by the ratio between top management and training support. The technical aspects observed through SPC application directly affect the benefits from the program.

Resumo Um crescente número de trabalhos sobre controle estatístico do processo (CEP) emergiu nos últimos cinquenta anos e principalmente nos últimos quinze. Isso pode ser atribuído ao aumento da competitividade global gerada pela inovação e pela melhoria contínua de produtos e processos. Nesse sentido, o CEP tem um papel fundamental em sistemas de qualidade e de produção. A investigação deste artigo considera o contexto da melhoria tecnológica e de inovação de produtos e processos como forma de aumentar a competitividade das empresas. Existem várias outras técnicas e ferramentas estatísticas para auxiliar a melhoria contínua e inovação de produtos e processos, mas, apesar das limitações na sua utilização nos projetos de melhoria, há uma crescente preocupação sobre o uso do CEP. A diferença entre as técnicas de CEP ensinadas em cursos de engenharia e suas aplicações práticas para os problemas industriais é observada nas pesquisas empíricas; por esta razão, é importante identificar o que foi pesquisado e as tendências na pesquisa sobre CEP. O estudo bibliométrico é proposto neste sentido e usa para a investigação a base de dados Web of Science (WoS). A análise dos dados indica que houve uma taxa de crescimento de mais de 90% no número de publicações sobre CEP após 1990. Os resultados revelam a origem das principais publicações, os autores com o maior número de artigos e suas redes. As principais fontes de publicações também são identificadas; observa-se que as publicações de artigos sobre CEP estão concentradas em algumas revistas científicas internacionais, não necessariamente aquelas com os maiores fatores de impacto. Além disso, os artigos estão concentrados no campo da engenharia industrial, pesquisa operacional e gestão. O termo mais comum encontrado nos artigos foi carta de controle de soma cumulativa, mas novos temas emergiram e foram pesquisados nos últimos dez anos, como métodos multivariados e não-paramétricos para monitoramento de processos.

Abstract An increasing number of papers on statistical process control (SPC) has emerged in the last fifty years, especially in the last fifteen years. This may be attributed to the increased global competitiveness generated by innovation and the continuous improvement of products and processes. In this sense, SPC has a fundamentally important role in quality and production systems. The research in this paper considers the context of technological improvement and innovation of products and processes to increase corporate competitiveness. There are several other statistical technics and tools for assisting continuous improvement and innovation of products and processes but, despite the limitations in their use in the improvement projects, there is growing concern about the use of SPC. A gap between the SPC technics taught in engineering courses and their practical applications to industrial problems is observed in empirical research; thus, it is important to understand what has been done and identify the trends in SPC research. The bibliometric study in this paper is proposed in this direction and uses the Web of Science (WoS) database. Data analysis indicates that there was a growth rate of more than 90% in the number of publications on SPC after 1990. Our results reveal the countries where these publications have come from, the authors with the highest number of papers and their networks. Main sources of publications are also identified; it is observed that the publications of SPC papers are concentrated in some of the international research journals, not necessarily those with the major high-impact factors. Furthermore, the papers are focused on industrial engineering, operations research and management science fields. The most common term found in the papers was cumulative sum control charts, but new topics have emerged and have been researched in the past ten years, such as multivariate methods for process monitoring and nonparametric methods.

Resumo Os gráficos de controle clássicos para variáveis contínuas monitoram, separadamente, as medidas de posição central e de dispersão, conhecidas também como medidas de locação e escala. O monitoramento desses parâmetros tem como pressuposto que a distribuição de probabilidade dos dados seja conhecida e siga o padrão normal, o que, em situações práticas, nem sempre ocorre. Para isso foram desenvolvidos os chamados gráficos de controle não paramétricos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo desenvolver um método para determinar os limites de controle estatístico de gráficos de controle com distribuição de probabilidade desconhecida e que monitore simultaneamente as medidas de locação e escala. O método de pesquisa utilizado integra técnicas de experimentos computacionais com técnicas de planejamento de experimentos. Assim, foi possível: i) determinar os limites de controle de gráficos não paramétricos que monitorem simultaneamente as medidas de posição e escala para situações particulares; ii) a partir dos limites de controle calculados, estimar os erros tipo I e tipo II; e iii) comparar o desempenho desses gráficos com as cartas de controle estatístico de Shewhart para diferentes combinações de amostras (m, n) nas fases I e II. O método proposto foi aplicado em um processo de manufatura com o objetivo de identificar a combinação que minimize os erros tipo I e II. Com base nos resultados, observou-se que o gráfico de controle não paramétrico tem desempenho superior aos gráficos tradicionais de Shewhart quando a distribuição de probabilidade dos dados é assimétrica.

Abstract Classic control charts for continuous variables monitor, separately, the central position and dispersion measures, which are also known as lease and scale measures. The monitoring of these parameters presupposes that the data probability distribution is known and follows the normal pattern, which, in practical situations, does not always occur. For this reason, the so-called nonparametric control graphics have been developed. This work aims to develop a method to determine the limits of statistical control of control charts with unknown probabilistic distribution and, simultaneously, monitor the mean and variance parameters. The proposed method is not exact and allows us to estimate the limits of control charts for combinations of values of m and n. Control limits were estimated and the properties of the statistics used were analyzed to determine whether they meet the theoretical assumptions; the empirical models obtained were validated by residual analysis. An empirical application of the method was performed to test different combinations of sample sizes (m, n), respectively in phases I and II, with the goal of identifying the best performing combination for detecting special causes acting in the process. Subsequently, we tested the performance of control charts obtained using simulation methods, estimating the ARL and α and β errors. The results were compared with other designs of control charts.

The aim of this study is to characterize the relationships in innovation and business clustering processes in the productive chain of small and medium enterprises (SME) of Brazil. The object of study are SMEs the local procuctive cluster of the shoes in Franca, State of São Paulo. The conceptual model developed is based on the following constructs: vertical integration, innovation and characteristics of the cluster, and it is focused on identifying the agents that act predominantly in product innovation processes in the cluster. A survey was conducted. It was found that there is cooperation between the companies in the productive arrangement studied, and that shoe manufacturers are those who, predominantly, stimulate innovation within the cluster.

Entender as necessidades atuais e futuras dos clientes, traduzi-las em requisitos do produto e incorporá-las no projeto do novo produto são atividades consideradas críticas para o sucesso do processo de desenvolvimento de produtos. Diversas estratégias são adotadas com a finalidade das empresas obterem maior eficiência e eficácia no processo de desenvolvimento de novos produtos, dentre elas destaca-se a integração de clientes neste processo. Este artigo tem por objetivo identificar, em uma amostra de empresas da indústria de bens de capital, as práticas adotadas para integração de clientes, comparar essas práticas com as recomendações da bibliografia e apresentar sugestões para a gestão dessa integração. Foram realizados estudos de casos em cinco empresas industriais do setor de bens de capital. As empresas desse setor, por desenvolverem produtos que, de modo geral, serão implantados nos processos de seus clientes, em princípio necessitam de uma maior integração com os clientes. A análise da revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema e dos resultados do estudo de casos, aponta que práticas de integração de clientes têm efeitos positivos no desempenho do processo de desenvolvimento de produto. Por outro lado, observa-se, nessas empresas, a necessidade de um maior grau de formalização dessas práticas, com adoção de procedimentos e técnicas de suporte. Assim, são propostas um grupo de considerações e recomendações para um melhor gerenciamento da integração de clientes no processo de desenvolvimento de produto.

Understanding current and future customer needs, translating them into product requirements, and incorporating them into new product design are activities considered critical to the success of product development processes. Several strategies are adopted by companies in order to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in the development of new products. Among them is customer integration into this process. This article aims to identify in a sample of capital good firms the practices adopted for customer integration, compare these practices with those suggested in the literature, and propose suggestions for managing this integration. Case studies were conducted in five manufacturing companies in the sector of capital goods. Since they develop products that are generally implemented in the processes of their clients, companies in this sector require greater customer integration. The analysis of the literature review on the subject and findings of the case studies indicate that customer integration practices have positive effects on the performance of the product development process. On the other hand, it was observed that these companies need a greater degree of formalization of these practices by adopting standard procedures and support techniques. Therefore, a set of recommendations and considerations were proposed for a better management of these customer integration practices in product development processes.

O objetivo deste artigo é identificar e analisar fatores críticos no desenvolvimento de atividades de melhoria contínua (MC) em empresas industriais brasileiras. Um modelo conceitual de relacionamento entre práticas e resultados foi testado por meio de um survey utilizando uma amostra de 46 empresas industriais. Fatores como: treinamento em ferramentas de solução de problemas, o incentivo a sugestões, a comunicação face a face, visitas ao chão de fábrica e adoção de sistemas de incentivos, se mostraram críticos para alcance de sucesso em atividades de MC. Identificaram pela análise fatorial dois constructos críticos relacionados ao processo de melhoria contínua: 1) a promoção das atividades de melhoria contínua por meio de políticas de incentivos; e 2) o suporte e liderança da alta administração e ativa participação da gerência. Observou-se que há relação estatisticamente significativa entre o uso de técnicas de solução de problemas e mecanismos de incentivos com o desempenho das empresas.

The aim of this paper is to identify and analyze critical factors in the development of continuous improvement (CI) activities in Brazilian manufacturing companies. A conceptual model of relationship between practices and results was tested through a survey conducted in 46 manufacturing companies. Factors such as: problems solving tools training, suggestion incentives, face-to-face communication, visits to the shop floor and adoption of incentive systems, have proved to be critical at reaching success in CI activities. Through factorial analysis, two critical constructs concerning continuous improvement process were identified: 1) promotion of continuous improvement through incentive mechanisms; and 2) High level management support and leadership and management active involvement. It was observed that there is a statistically meaningful relationship between the use of problem solving techniques and the incentive mechanisms in face of the companies' performance.

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar projetos de melhoria contínua desenvolvidos por empresas industriais brasileiras com base na abordagem/programa da Manutenção Produtiva Total (Total Productive Maintenance, TPM) e da Qualidade Total (Total Quality Management, TQM). As variáveis estudadas nas análises dos projetos foram as seguintes: i) complexidade dos projetos; ii) seus objetivos específicos; iii) as estratégias competitivas relacionadas; iv) o aprendizado organizacional obtido; e v) as ferramentas e os principais pilares do TPM implementados. Selecionou-se para estudo projetos considerados de sucesso por suas empresas. Ao todo, analisaram-se 42 projetos de 12 diferentes empresas que representaram diversos segmentos industriais do Brasil. Os resultados indicaram correspondência entre a natureza do projeto, em termos da sua complexidade e estrutura organizacional, com a estratégia competitiva adotada.

This paper analyses the major goals and results of TPM and TQM processes in companies that adopt these approaches. The main variables considered in this study were: i) complexity of the projects developed by the companies; ii) projects´ specific goals iii) relationship between the projects and the company's strategy; iv) relationship between projects and continuous improvement and organizational learning; v) tools and TPM concepts that support the projects. A descriptive research was carried out using field research strategies. Forty-two processes adopted by 12 companies were analyzed in this study. The processes implemented were considered successful by the companies that adopt them and by outside specialists. The results indicated close relationship between the project`s nature (its complexity and team structure) and the company`s strategy, project goals and organizational learning.