International Journal of Lean Six Sigma

Application of continuous improvement techniques to improve organization

performance: A case study
Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan, Mohamad Amin Kaviani, Brian J. Galli, Palvisha Ishtiaq,
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Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan, Mohamad Amin Kaviani, Brian J. Galli, Palvisha Ishtiaq, (2019) "Application
of continuous improvement techniques to improve organization performance: A case study",
International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLSS-05-2017-0048
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Continuous
Application of continuous improvement
improvement techniques to techniques

improve organization performance

A case study
Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan Received 25 May 2017
Revised 11 November 2017
Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, 25 March 2018
University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Accepted 29 April 2018

Mohamad Amin Kaviani

Young Researchers and Elite Club, Shiraz Branch,
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Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran

Brian J. Galli
School of Computer Science, Innovation and Management Engineering,
Long Island University, Brookville, New York, USA, and
Palvisha Ishtiaq
ASPIN Pharma Private Limited, Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study, analyze and implement continuous improvement (CI)
techniques in an interior design case company, which faces challenges in different departments that affect the
case company performance.
Design/methodology/approach – The proposed methodology implemented in three departments of an
interior design company in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). First, the authors analyzed and identified
problems using Pareto chart and cause and effect diagram. After that, they improved identified problems
using Kaizen, 5S, developed project selection form and modified organization chart. The result has been
shown savings regarding money and time.
Findings – Successful implementation of the proposed methodology reduced project in pipeline time from
16 weeks to nine weeks, profit margin increased from 25 to 27 per cent, sales win ratio increase from 11 to 32
per cent, better project and financial forecasting and 92 per cent of tender submission deadline achievement. A
habit of clean, tidy and organized workplace has been developed among workers.
Originality/value – Proposed solutions contributed significantly to saving time and effort spent to
accomplish different tasks in the case company. The company approved the proposed solutions and
implemented them, which show that these proposed solutions are feasible and practical. In addition to that, in
literature, most of the CI applications are in the manufacturing or production sectors. This was the first study,
which implemented CI techniques in an interior design company.
Keywords Process improvement, Kaizen, Continuous improvement, 5S, Cause and effect diagram,
Waste minimization
Paper type Case study

International Journal of Lean Six

Authors would like to thank the studied case company management and their staff for a corporation Sigma
with us in doing the current research. Authors are also thankful to Miss Lina and Miss Anoud for the © Emerald Publishing Limited
2040-4166
initial collection of data and its analysis from the case company. DOI 10.1108/IJLSS-05-2017-0048
 IJLSS 1. Introduction
Because of ever-rising customers’ demands, their expectation, globalization and increasing
competition are forcing organizations to continuously improve their way of doing business.
There is always a potential for improvement in components of any systems, but it is also
essential to identify the particular areas of the components that need improvement (Khan
and Zaidi, 2012). This will help organizations to remain competitive in the market and fulfill
customer demands effectively and efficiently. Previous studies on continuous improvement
(CI) demonstrate that the applied tools in this area are the planned, organized and systematic
approaches, which lead to improving the organizational performance (Aleu and Van Aken,
2016; Galli and Kaviani, 2018). It is also evident from the literature that CI techniques are
useful in improving process performance and help organizations in minimizing wastes,
organizing the process and information flow and increase facilities utilization. Moreover, it
also helps in continuously improve the processes within the company as well as to enhance
their work productivity and efficiency (Sidhu, Kumar and Bajaj, 2013; Indrawati and
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Ridwansyah, 2015; Randhawa and Ahuja, 2017). The popularity of CI tools in general and
Kaizen in particular also has been caused by increasing the application of these effective
tools (Glover et al., 2014).
Globalization and ever-rising customer demand forcing organizations and decision
makers to come up with strategies to improve process and products continuously. To do
that, they need a commitment from all stakeholders and the effective and efficient
implementation of CI tools and techniques. However, organizations pay more attention to
improving their technical skills rather than human behaviors that required implementing
quality improvement programs (McLean and Antony, 2014; Assarlind and Gremyr, 2016).
Processes providing the products and services should be improved with the aim of
preventing defects and increasing productivity by reducing process cycle times and
eliminating waste. Process improvement occurs through value-added process mapping,
problem isolation, cause analysis and problem resolution. Many processes develop over
time, with little concern for whether they are the most effective manner in which to provide a
product or a service. To remain competitive in the world marketplace, companies must
identify wasteful processes and improve them. The key to refining processes is to
concentrate on the process from the customer’s point of view and to identify and eliminate
non-value-added activities (Summers, 2011).
In the present era, CI tools and strategies are growing as an essential element to survive
among the fastest growing industries worldwide. To compete with rivals and to fulfill
customer demand effectively, different organizations have used CI techniques, and still
many of them are striving for more improvements for overall system’s enhancement. In the
past 50-55 years, some researchers have been working on this including a comprehensive
review of the past and current practices of CI methodologies and their implementation,
survey-based studies and case studies. Indrawati and Ridwansyah (2015) used different lean
tools in Iron Ore Industry (Indonesia) to improve manufacturing process capability. Waste
analysis has been done using process mapping approach following by failure mode and
effect analysis method. After gap/waste analysis, a CI program has been developed and
implemented based on redesigning of equipment.
Notably, if an organization tends to be successful, its managers should develop and
implement high-quality standards for their products, process and workers’ skills (Oropesa
Vento et al., 2016). Implementing the CI technique in an enterprise need leadership attitude
and support from top managers. It also requires supporting from middle managers to
encourage workers and all members involved in the process to be committed to increase
process performance. Quality improvement is a philosophy and needs to be implemented at
 all levels of an organization (Galli and Kaviani, 2018). For example, according to Topuz and Continuous
Arasan (2013) study, effective and efficient implementation of Kaizen brings economic improvement
benefits not only to the process but also for human resources.
Professional service (PS) companies are unique as they straddle both the manufacturing
techniques
and service contexts. Therefore, traditional CI tools used predominantly in manufacturing
environments (SPC, Statistical Testing, etc.) are not directly relatable to the PS
environments. As PS environments are more of a hybrid of manufacturing and service in
that they have process traits of both environments, the traditional tools had to be tweaked
by the company and team leaders. It is not to say that the traditional tools are not directly
relatable to PS environments, but to use them, they have to be appropriately modified to fit
the process traits of a PS context.
The contribution of this paper is divided into three parts, which are as follows:
(1) We identified the problem area that has an impact on a case company efficiency
and productivity by using Pareto chart and cause and effect diagram.
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(2) We implemented CI techniques in a case company to improve their sales

department, shop floor and the project team department.
(3) The proposed methodology has been successfully implemented and after two
months of implementation, case company experience savings regarding time and
money.

The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a research background in
the area of application of CI tools and technique in different sectors. Section 3 provides the
company overview and problem description, Section 4 proposes the methodology to solve
the identified problems as described in Section 3. Section 5 draws the conclusion and
identifies the limitations of the study and the recommend future research directions.

2. Research background
The scope of CI methodologies has been enlarged due to substantial advancements in
technologies, modern innovations and rapidly changing market demands. In this section, we
will provide the background of widely used CI techniques and tools as well as the objective
of this research.
The 5S method appears as an expeditious tool adopted by numerous organizations
working at different small/large scales, globally. It would not be wrong to call 5S a base of
Lean House. It has been exploited by all sectors of manufacturing and services.
Organizations initiated using 5S as a CI methodology from the late 1970s, and currently, it is
considered as the most dominant and fruitful tool of Lean tool case. A 5S methodology is a
lean tool developed by Japanese manufacturing companies, comprising five stages: sort
(seiri), set in order (seiton), shine (seiso), standardize (seikatsu) and sustain (shitsuke). These
five terms are interrelated with each other and play an important role in the achievement of
the Lean system, if implemented systematically. Hence, they serve as an essential
foundation of lean systems (Krajewski et al., 2009).
On the other hand, 5S is a systematic technique, which often used by companies to
organize, sorts and cleans the workplace to improve productivity and efficiency. It also helps
organizations in continuously improving the performance of the organizations (Singh et al.,
2014). It also helps in reducing downtime, lead time, wastes and defects. Pranckevicius et al.
(2008) implemented the 5S technique in a plastic cap manufacturing company. In addition to
that, they implemented the DMAIC cycle to improve the process. Randhawa and Ahuja
(2017) presented a comprehensive literature review on 5S applications and identified
 IJLSS research gaps based on their findings. This study is focused on 5S initiatives for the
sustainable performance of the organization.
Sorooshian et al. (2012) studied the experience of implementing of 5S in an organization
in the context of its influences on the work environment. Bayo-Moriones et al. (2010) tried to
identify the relationship between 5S use, contextual factors and operating performance. This
study was based on surveys of 203 Spanish companies and hypotheses were verified using
analysis of variance and correlation analysis. Gapp et al. (2008) identified and presented key
concepts of 5S from the perspective of Japanese management. They collected data from
different Japanese companies who implemented 5S, and data were analyzed using computer-
aided lexical analysis (Leximancer). Results indicate that 5S implementation has visible
(technical) and intangible (philosophical) benefits. Gupta and Jain (2015) implemented the 5S
technique in an instrument manufacturing company. Findings reveal that tool-searching
time on the shop floor has been reduced from 30 to 5 min and improved in overall
organization performance.
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5S aims to create a productive environment by appropriate categorization and an orderly

arrangement of all workplace stuff. 5S philosophy develops discipline and working standard
among employees (Hilton and Sohal, 2012). Organization of workplace not only achieves
optimized production but also builds a safe, secure and under control atmosphere. Patel and
Thakkar (2014) implemented 5S in Storage and Insulator departments of Ceramic
manufacturing factory in India. In this regard, red tags, workstations organization, GEMBA
board to highlight KPIs and in last 5S monitoring check sheets are used. After implementing
successfully space utilization, worker’s safety, improved inventory systems, increased
productivity, clean environment and many other benefits are observed. History of Lean
shows that 5S adoption is not only done to increase productivity but also for improvement of
safety systems within organizations.
On the other hand, Kaizen is a Japanese terminology means, “change for the better.” It is
the process of CI in small increments that make the process more efficient, effective, under
control and adaptable. Improvements are usually accomplished at little or no expense,
without sophisticated techniques or expensive equipment (Cherrafi et al., 2016). It focuses on
simplification by breaking down complex processes into their sub-processes and then
improving them. The Kaizen improvement focuses on the use of value-added and non-value-
added work activities; Muda, which refers to seven classes of waste-overproduction, delay,
transportation, processing, inventory, wasted motion and defective parts; and the 5S’s for
workplace organization (Singh and Singh, 2009).
Kaizen relies heavily on a culture that encourages every employee to improve the jobs/
process or provide suggestions about the enhancement of particular process efficiency, as it
is believed that employees know better about their specific jobs. Suárez-Barraza et al. (2011)
conducted a literature review to analyze the application of Kaizen in academic and
practitioner literature. Findings demonstrate that the literature of Kaizen is displayed fewer
than three umbrellas, which include a series of principles and techniques. Arya and
Choudhary (2015) implemented Kaizen in a machine vice manufacturing company in India.
Results show that Kaizen has the significant impact on production techniques and lead
times. Paul Brunet and New (2003) implemented Kaizen in Nippon Steel Corporation in
Japan to assess uniformity. Results indicate that Kaizen is an integral element to improve
operations management systems operations. Arya and Jain (2014) implemented Kaizen in a
small-scale Indian company. Results prove that processing time has been reduced by 44.4
per cent and the amount of Rs. 64,000 has been saved by better utilization of area and
workflow. Farris et al. (2008) describe results related to Kaizen event effectiveness regarding
primary event outcomes and its sustainability. Oropesa Vento et al. (2016) analyze the
 effects of managerial commitment and professional development of the workforce on benefit Continuous
in obtaining Kaizen implementation specifically in the planning phase. A survey-based case improvement
study has been conducted and implemented in Mexican maquiladora companies. Based on
the obtained results, the managerial commitment has a direct impact on economic benefits.
techniques
In addition, Pareto analysis and cause and effect diagram are also statistical process
control tools mostly used where quality-related problems are the center of attention. Pareto
Charts highlights the major problems (the reason behind most many defects) and supports
management in decision-making, whereas the cause and effect diagram is a brainstorming
technique used to identify the principal cause of the problems. If Pareto charts help us to
prioritize our efforts and to focus on the most serious issues, then cause and effect diagram
supports to isolate the cause of that identified problem (Ahmed and Ahmad, 2011). The core
idea of lean manufacturing is to maximize customer value and to minimize waste by
controlling the extra use of resources. A lean organization understands customer value and
focuses its key processes to continuously increase it. The ultimate goal is to provide perfect
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value to the customer through a perfect value creation process that has zero waste. To
accomplish this, lean thinking changes the focus of management from optimizing separate
technologies, assets and vertical departments to optimizing the flow of products and
services through entire value streams that flow horizontally across technologies, assets and
departments to customers (Summers, 2011).
Anything that does not add value to the product or for which customer is not willing to
pay can be defined as a Waste. To avoid/determine Waste, Lean defines five simple steps
“Define Value, Identify value stream, Eliminate waste, Pull Production, Strive for perfection.
The basic objectives of a lean system are as follows:
 eliminate waste within the organization; this refers to all types of waste including
downtime;
 reduce costs within its operations, not only in production but also office and
administrative expenses; and
 improve customer satisfaction; this should be the main driver of implementing
lean, as differentiation through customer service can be a powerful competitive
advantage; this can be achieved through the reduction in lead times, increase in
product and service quality and price competitiveness.

Table I summarizes some of the recent related works on CI tools implementation in different
industries.

Author(s) Application domain

Suarez Barraza et al. (2009) Service industry

Suárez-Barraza and Ramis-Pujol (2010)
Sidhu et al. (2013)
Shang and Sui Pheng (2013)
Gupta and Jain (2014)
Jiménez et al. (2015)
Arya and Choudhary (2015)
Dweiri et al. (2015)
Kanamori et al. (2015)
Gonzalez and Martins (2016)
Omogbai and Salonitis (2017)
Public sector organizations
Agriculture industry
Construction industry
Educational equipment of laboratory manufacturing industry
Metalworking manufacturing industry
Machine vice manufacturing industry
Software developing industry Table I.
Health-care services Applications of CI
Automobile industry tools in various
Manufacturing industry domains
 IJLSS 2.1 Research gap
Focusing on the research background, presented in the previous section, CI tools and
techniques have been successfully and vastly implemented in many improvement projects
and various industries. The effectiveness of the CI tools such as Kaizen, 5S and Pareto
methods is proven and well argued in the literature. Taking Table I into consideration, there
is no study in the literature in which the role of CI in quasi-manufacturing or services
industry has been investigated, the current study aims to fill this gap by implementing the
CI tools in an interior design company and to analyze the obtained findings. Obviously, the
application of various CI tools in different industries will give the managers of companies a
deeper view of how they can implement these techniques in their companies.

2.2 Significance of the study

This study is unique and has been implemented in a different business environment
(Interior Design Company in service industries) as compared to the manufacturing/
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production sectors in terms of the following aspects:

 In the manufacturing/production sector, knowledge gained by the managers and
experts directly affects the performance of the improvement tools. On the other
hand, in the studied company, the operations and processes vary and are somewhat
customized. Therefore, this study is unique in the sense that we have gathered all
the knowledge and experiences of the managers and the decision makers from the
company to improve the performance of the CI tools and techniques.
 In a manufacturing or production sector, lessons learned are categorized by
specialty group or working group. In contrast, in the studied case company the
lessons learned are limited to the specialty group who is responsible for a certain
project or product. Therefore, this study expands the horizon of lessons learned and
increases the domain of the knowledge from specialty group to key personals that
are usually involved in process or product.
 Employer involvement is essential for the successful implementation of the CI
techniques, however, in any sector other than manufacturing or production
operations where employee involvement is dominant. On the other hand,
improvement suggestions at the operational level are limited to the interior
design company. This study increases the participation of workers who are
involved in operations in the case company, which shows the uniqueness of the
application of the CI techniques.

3. Research methodology
Following the objective of the study, we evaluated and analyzed an interior design company
and tried to implement some CI tools like 5S, Kaizen, Pareto and cause and effect diagram
approaches to improve the organizational performance of the studied company. In this
regard, we applied a framework, which was based on five main steps as follows:
(1) Step 1. Case selection: In this step, we select the company for the doing the CI
project.
(2) Step 2. Current situation analysis of the company: In this step, we assess the
primary situations of the company for identifying the challenges and problems,
which the company faces too. Moreover, collecting the required data by different
process observations and investigating the documents would be done.
 (3) Step 3. CI tools implementation: In the current step, we implement the CI tools Continuous
based on their principles and procedures. improvement
(4) Step 4. Improvement results analysis: In this step, we compare the before situation techniques
which was evaluated in Step 2 to the results have been obtained after implementing
the CI techniques.
(5) Step 5. Recommendations for the company: Finally, some recommendations would
be provided to the managers of the company.

Figure 1 depicts the mentioned steps of the research framework.

4. Case study
In this section, we explain in details the conducted steps of CI, noted in Section 3, in an
interior design case company as below:
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4.1 Step 1: Case selection

In the first step, we choose XYZ Interior Design Company (the name is withheld due to
confidentiality) which is based in one of the developing countries in Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC). It is evident from the literature that CI improvement techniques have been
implemented successfully in many sectors especially in the manufacturing and production
industries. The reason behind it that in the manufacturing sector, a set of steps is constant
and process redesigning is not mandatory. However, focusing on the literature, very little
applications of CI technique are available in organizations which are not basically
manufacturing oriented. This is because of the reason that companies apart from the
manufacturing sector, have to deal with a variety of products and customer expectations
which are diverse from customer to customer. Therefore, we decided to select an
organization in which the nature of the business is somewhat different than manufacturing-
oriented companies. Moreover, ease of access to the case company is another main reason to
select such a case company. Since 1991, XYZ Interior Design Company has to provide
turnkey construction solutions in the field of Design, Contracting, Interior Fit-Out, Specialist
Ceiling and Partition Systems, 3D Rendering and Custom-made Joinery with an emphasis on
detail and quality. It is a private company, located in the industrial area of the city and has

Figure 1.
The steps of the
research
methodology
 IJLSS 180 staff members. So far they have successfully finished around 620 different projects for
different customers such as 3M, CISCO, The address and DHL.

4.2 Step 2: current situation analysis

After choosing the XYZ Company, we started noticing and identifying some problems
within the XYZ Company such as unorganized painting section, inappropriate
organizational structure and problems in project quotation phase were the most significant
problems affecting the company efficiency. To identify the problems in each department, we
used the quality tools to help us in identifying causes, understanding processes, collecting
and analyzing data and finally proposing solutions. Some of the required data were collected
manually from the drawings, check sheets and documents, while the rest were obtained
from our contact person in a case company as well as the rest of the employees. Then we
analyzed and studied the data collected to find the best solutions to the identified problems.
We started observing the process of each department in the company on a daily basis.
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However, we focused on the departments that redound in accomplishing the projects, which
were sales and marketing department, project team department and the shop floor/factory.
This helped us to understand the flow of the project execution process from receiving it until
its submission. Thus, the current situation of the major departments of XYZ Company was
analyzed to specify the challenges the company faces. The screened departments included
the sales and marketing, shop floor and project team departments. First, we had a meeting
with the operation manager, the sales manager and the project manager to discuss the
current problems that the company is going through. They identified problems in the
mentioned departments. After detailed discussions with the managers, we decided to spend
some time to observe the process in each department to identify the real causes. After the
observation procedure and consultation with the managers of each department, the list of
problems we found in each department was listed as below:
4.2.1 Sales department challenges
 They waste a lot of time and effort while pricing a project spending two to three
weeks; eventually, they will lose the opportunity to get the project due to the lack of
the project selection process.
 The sales manager attends all the meetings and negotiations with customers to get
the projects by him due to the lack of enough resources, i.e. no assistant.
 No documentation of data, as there is no specific person to enter the data, i.e. bill of
quantity (BOQ), causing delays and defects in getting the exact estimation for the
customers leading to problems even before starting the project.

4.2.2 The shop floor challenges

 An inappropriate designed cell; this results in excess motion which causes fatigue, lack
of concentration, waste of effort and failing in achieving the exact design. Also, it led to
the higher potential of having damaged products because of the excess transportation
of materials and finished well between different cells on the shop floor.
 Lack of resources; the same worker performs different jobs leading to lack of focus.
Also, no training and motivation programs provided to workers resulting in
untrained workers and hence increasing the defects in the final products.
 The operator is under pressure because the workers refer to him directly when
having a problem, which needs to be solved in addition to his job that he needs to
finish on time.
  Half of the machines on the shop floor are either not working or need an urgent Continuous
maintenance. improvement
 Downtime/breakdown. Due to the poor maintenance, interpreting the production techniques
line causing delays in addition to the time wasted in waiting for machines to get
repaired.
 The staff in the painting section of the factory face problems due to the disorganized
area, and complaining about the time wasted searching for tools and equipment as
everything is misplaced.

4.2.3 Project team challenges

 When they start executing the project, NOCs must be obtained from various
departments and government authorities. Therefore, this task will be borne by the
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Sales manager due to the lack of resources in the department.

 Miscommunication due to the absence of a built-in designer, communication
between the draughtsman and the designer (outside the company) is vague.
Therefore, there is no direct relationship between them. The project manager is the
link between the two parties, and that causes some undesired deviations in design,
as the draughtsman do not know what the designer exactly needs. This requires
them to draw it more than one time (Scrap and rework).
 Some of the workers on the site are unused well as the management is not providing
testing for the new workers. Testing the workers can help the project manager
knowing each worker capabilities and putting them in the right position.

By assessing the whole three departments, we analyzed the procedure of each department in
details in coordination with our contact person in the company to indicate the existing
problems. Moreover, data were gathered regarding the main challenges. Then we used the
lean concept as a tool to classify the problems into the seven types of waste. Table II lists
the types of waste existed in the different departments of the case company. Notably, the
percentages of occurrences and the related data were collected from our meetings with
the departments’ managers based on their experiences and knowledge and the data
available on the timesheet and check sheets. Data have been collected over a period of
eight weeks. We have divided data collection time (eight weeks) equally in every
department and at the end, all percentage occurrences and categorization of types of
wastes were discussed with each department head for their approval.

4.3 Step 3: continuous improvement tools implementation

By recognizing the challenges and problems, the best solutions were proposed to the
management board of XYZ Company. We implemented CI techniques to solve the problems
and effectively doing the improvement project. The tools, 5S, Kaizen, Pareto and Cause and
effect diagram, selected for the execution of the improvement project were each selected due
to their application purpose. Based on the objective defined for the problem and the project,
we reviewed the list of the available tools, and as the project progressed through the project
lifecycle, the tools were selected based on their application and how the problem or task that
needed to be addressed for the project phase and lifecycle. As is common knowledge, Lean
Six Sigma encompasses many tools, but using team leader experience and input from the
company stakeholders, the tools that were used was selected due to their purpose and ability
to solve the question/problem at hand.
 IJLSS Cumulative
Types of Percentage of percentage
S. no. wastes Description occurrence of occurrence

1 Waiting Sales and marketing: lack of enough human 35 35

resources, the workload will be borne by the
sales manager, which causes delays to the
other departments involved in the process
Shop floor: Poor machines maintenance leads
to a delay in the production process
Project team: The project manager is
overloaded with the tasks and responsibilities
due to the lack of resources
2 Motion Shop floor: Due to the inappropriate layout 25 60
design, which is causing excess motion and
material, handling between the factory areas?
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3 Defects Shop floor: Due to the inappropriate layout 20 80

design resulting in workers making an extra
effort in which it will negatively affect their
efficiency and lead to a higher rate of defects
in finished products
Disorganized painting section: causing
frustration to employees as well as time and
effort wasted searching for tools
Project team: Due to the absence of a built-in
designer, some defects arise from the designs
of the project
4 Over-processing Sales and marketing: No followed procedure 10 90
for selecting the project, this process is done
randomly. It is time wasting, and they might
lose the opportunity to win the project
5 Underused Project team: Improper utilization of 6 96
People employee’s knowledge, skills and abilities
6 Transportation Shop floor: Excess movement of material 3 99
handling, equipment, and finished goods
between the factory areas due to the
inappropriate layout design. This may cause
Table II. damage to the materials and products
Types of wastes 7 Inventory Excess inventory hides problems on the shop 1 100
exist in different floor, consumes space, increases lead times
departments and inhibits communication

4.3.1 Using Pareto and cause and effect analysis approaches. In this part, Pareto analysis
was used to identify the types of wastes affecting the company efficiency. Also, a cause and
effect analysis was carried out to target the causes of the problems that the sales department
struggles. The Ishikawa diagram acts as a first line for the solution of problems by
exhaustively generating possible causes. This creates a visual or pictographic representation
of a process and leads to the immediate identification of possible causes of issues.
We focused on the problems that represent at least 80 per cent of the occurrences. We
used the data from the table to identify and target the most significant problems; we found
that solving 20 per cent of the causes will solve 80 per cent of the problems. A Pareto
diagram was constructed with the data from Table II and is shown in Figure 2. As shown in
Figure 2, the significant few causes will produce a large majority of the problems.
 When we deal with a serious problem, it is important to explore all the potential reasons Continuous
that could cause the problem, before we start thinking about a solution. By doing this, we improvement
would be able to solve the problem completely, first time around, rather than just addressing
part of it and having the problem run on and on. Cause and effect analysis helps to identify a
techniques
useful way of doing this. At the end of a successful brainstorming session, we had a long list
of ideas, and we created a manageable list of feasible ideas that were worthy of further
investigation. A cause and effect diagram was created for the existing types of waste.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 illustrate the cause and effect diagram for the main three types of the
wastes exist in the aforementioned departments.
It is noteworthy that the purpose of using the cause and effect diagram was to get the
answer to three “Whys.” For example, Figure 3 is a cause and effect diagram for excessive
motion. Three Whys here are “Why there is excessive motion?” The answer to this question
is because of the inadequate training and poorly design layout. Another question is “Why
there is inadequate training?” The answer is because of lack of resources, and the last
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question is “Why layout poorly designs?” and the answer to this is because they do not have
a standard operating procedure. These three Why’s lead to excessive motion. Similarly, the
other two figures (Figures 4 and 5) were constructed to get the answer to three Whys.
4.3.2 Implementing kaizen. We implemented Kaizen in XYZ Company in the previously
noted departments according to the following steps:

Pareto Diagram
40 100
35 80
30
25 60
20
15 40
10 20
5
0 0
Waiting

Inventory
Processing

Underutilized
Motion

Defects

Transportation
Over-

People

Figure 2.
Pareto chart

Figure 3.
Cause and effect
diagram for the
excessive motion
waste
 IJLSS
Method Machine

No documentation
of data
Failure
Ineffective production
planning
Design Issue
Downtime/
Breakdown

Waiting

Lack of Enough
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Resources
Poor
No Customer Maintenance
Service

Load and Pressure on

Operation Manager Lack of Mu ltiskilling /
Flexib ility
Figure 4.
Cause and effect
diagram for waiting
for waste Management Man

4.3.2.1 Analyze the process. We selected the sales department and the painting section
on the shop floor because their employees were facing various problems in their sector.
The managers also suggested implementing kaizen in these departments. First, we
observed the current practices in the painting section with the supervisor. After that,
we identified the wastes generated in the current procedures.
4.3.2.2 Identify the problem. After a thorough analysis of both departments in
coordination with the manager and the supervisor, we identified the following problems:
 waste of time and effort;
 low efficiency; and
 poor safety.

4.3.2.3 Set the goals. After we identified the problems in the last step, we discussed with the
manager to set the targets to minimize the waste and mitigate essential problems. After
discussion, we set the following goals:
 reduce cost;
 improve the processes;
 increase sales;
 reduce time and effort that spent in the process of selecting the right project;
 improve customer satisfaction; and
 improve employee morale.
 Continuous
Method Machine
improvement
techniques
Machine
Inaccuracy
No
Inspection
Poor
Maintenance

Defects

Lack of Motivation Programs Inaccurate Design and

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Engineering Issues

Lack of Knowledge Lack of

Build in
Lack of Designer
Resources
Lack of
Coordination Improper Lack of Skill and
Supervision Train ing Figure 5.
Cause and effect
diagram for defect
Management Man waste

4.3.2.4 Gather the required data. To increase the participation of the employees in both
departments, we consulted several employees of the departments and collected data and
information from them to analyze the problems in more details.
4.3.2.5 Make the change. After data collection, we moved on to the most important step,
which is to make a change based on the data that we collected in the previous step. We
focused on improving the process in the two areas (sales and marketing department and
painting area on the shop floor). Our proposed solutions are listed below:
 development of new project selection form in the sales and marketing department;
 development of new organizational structure for the company; and
 implementation of 5S technique in the painting section of the shop floor.

4.3.3 Implementation of 5S technique. For this purpose, we scheduled a discussion session

with the managers to select the area on the shop floor, which needs an urgent action to
improve the process and to enhance the performance. The painting section on the shop floor
was selected as a 5S model because the work environment was inappropriately organized,
dirty and cluttered; moreover, the work efficiency and quality were very low in that part.
The 5S system consists of five stages. According to the Folk group (2009), these stages are
defined in Table III.
4.3.3.1 Stage 1: Sort. We started sorting the items by letting the staff going through each
item and decide whether it is necessary to keep it. The needed items were returned and
stored, whereas the unneeded items were re-evaluated by the staff to decide whether they
can be recycled, reused or discarded.
 IJLSS 5S Stages Definition

Sort Sorting means distinguishing needed items (such as materials, tools, gauges) from
unneeded items, and removing unnecessary items such as broken tools, scrap,
unusable or not frequently used items
Set in order It can be described as organizing the layout so that the items are easier to find and
accessible to everyone, putting items in a logical storage location according to their
importance or how frequently they’re used and marked with signs and labels
Shine This stage concentrates on keeping the work area neat and clean on a regular basis.
The benefits include an improved worker attitude, making it easier to identify
abnormal conditions, reducing contamination, and improving safety. The key point
here is that cleanliness is a regular part of the daily work effort, not an effort
initiated when the workplace gets too messy
Standardize Standardizing the work practices means operating in a consistent and standardized
fashion. Everyone knows their role and exactly what his or her responsibilities are.
Actions are taken the same way – the right way – every time. Some of the tools used
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in standardizing the 5S procedures are visual cues (e.g., signs, placards, posters,
and display scoreboards), job cycle charts and scheduling of “five-minute”
5S periods
Sustain Sustaining stage is the most difficult S to implement since people always tend to
return to the way they did thigs in the past. Practicing and repeating until it
becomes a way of life. The benefits include establishing a culture of competence and
Table III. shortening training cycles. Tools for sustaining 5S include 5S training, checklists,
5S Stages definition department Tours, performance reviews, and management support. To prove that
(Folk group, 2009) the company is serious about “5S”, an audit must be performed on a regular basis

4.3.3.2 Stage 2: Set in order. We located the items, which were more frequently used in the
workplace close to the worker. On the other hand, the items that are used together were
stored together.
4.3.3.3 Stage 3: Shine. We then removed the non-essential items and the remaining items
were put in their proper places, then we cleaned and washed the two work areas.
4.3.3.4 Stage 4: Standardize. We focused on developing standard daily practices in which
each employee should maintain the work area tidy and cleans it during and at the end of
each shift. To emphasize the idea, we created a standardize poster which helps to ensure the
first three steps are maintained. Desks should be organized before going home for the day.
Each employee had to do his/her part to ensure that the 5S standardization is being
implemented.
4.3.3.5 Stage 5: Sustain. The supervisors were asked to check that each job has duties
based on the 5S stages, and each employee knows his/her responsibilities to fill the standard
5S audit form weekly.
4.3.4 Solutions for the project team department. In this part, we shared our solutions
with the concerned managers and supervisors in the company including the project selection
form, improved organizational structure and 5S method in the painting section, where we
took their feedback and notes and made adjustments to them according to their
requirements. Once the case company approved our proposed solutions, we implemented
our solutions as follows:
4.3.4.1 Project selection form. The company had no systematic way for the projects
selection process; therefore, we developed a new project selection form. A Project Selection
can be defined as a process to assess each project idea and select the project with the highest
 priority. The selection is often made based on some criteria, which have been set by the Continuous
company. improvement
According to the company requirements and after consultation with the sales manager, we
created a project selection form in which each project was scored against the selection criteria,
techniques
and the total project score was calculated. The distribution of grades in each section was
determined according to the sales manager requirements. This method gives the sales manager
the ability to take some possible projects and identify which project deserves attention and is
viable. Our proposed project selection form consisted of seven sections, which were as below:
(1) client details;
(2) project details;
(3) estimation;
(4) project information;
(5) relationship;
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(6) score;
(7) approval.

The first section covers the client details along with the score, where it is essential for the
sales manager to receive detailed information about their potential client. Figure 6
demonstrates the client details section as follows:
It consists of few subsections, which are listed as below:
(1) Project name and brief
(2) Types of the project, which includes three types:
 Design-build: in which the sales manager receives the information about the
available space, while the company will handle the design and the materials
used.
 Build only: the client provides the sales manager with the design and the
information about the available space, the sales manager decides what material
will be used and manufactures it in the company.
 Joinery: Only Wooden work is done for one section, for example, the reception desk.

Figure 6.
Client details section
in the project
selection form
 IJLSS (3) Location of the project. According to senior managers’ opinions, Dubai and Abu
Dhabi are the most desired target markets for their projects, as the company has
two branches there.
(4) Sector. The scoring is done based on their experience; for example, they have more
experience in manufacturing furniture for hotels. Therefore, it will be less risky for
them to handle such a project.
(5) A grade for the project. The studied company prioritizes the project with the large
budget and high-end furniture such as Executive offices.

Figure 7 illustrates the project details section as follow.

The third section covers the estimation details, which discusses the financial matters of
the project. Figure 8 indicates the estimation section.
Section four discusses the project information that the client should provide. Figure 9
shows the project information section.
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The description of the business relationship with their clients was discussed in section
five. Figure 10 depicts the relationship section.
Finally, the last two sections, Score and Approval, were included the summation of the
scores of all sections that are used to decide the priority of the project. Also, it included the
final decision, date and the signature of the sales manager. Figure 11 demonstrates the Score
and Approval Sections.
4.3.5 Development of new organizational structure. After we observed and analyzed the
case company, we found that the current organizational structure is not defined and they
need more resources to use in achieving their goals. Therefore, the following issues were

Figure 7.
Project details section
in the project
selection form
 Continuous
improvement
techniques
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Figure 8.
Estimation section in
the project
selection form

Figure 9.
Project information
section in the project
selection form

added to improve the existing organizational structure based on our analysis and
observation of the process:
 Design department (including senior interior designer, a team of three interior
designers and a team of two 3D animators) were added to the organization why the
 IJLSS company faced the problem of miscommunication between the designer (outside the
company) and the draughtsmen in the project team department. By adding this
built-in department, the time spent on the designing phase will be decreased, and
fewer errors on the drawings will occur.
 Production supervisor in the project department. As there was no link between the
foremen and the operation manager and due to the pressure on the operation
manager, the new production supervisor fills the gap and helps to reduce the
pressure on the operation manager.
 Two sales executives to assist the sales manager. One will assist him in the negotiations
with the clients, and the other will be specialized in recording the data and documenting
them, which will reduce the delays and defects in any project.
 QHS (Quality Health and Safety) section which combines both the safety department
and quality department. As XYZ Company does not have such a department, this
will help them to take the right actions and caught the errors before they become
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defects. Also while taking care of the workers, they will feel safer and more
confidants.
 Project Manager Assistant. Who will help the project manager in collecting and
getting the required NOCs and documents, and that will save the project manager
time and effort to focus on his job and responsibilities.

Figure 10.
Relationship section
in the project
selection form

Figure 11.
Score and approval
sections in the project
selection form
 The improved organizational structure is mentioned in Figure 12. Continuous
improvement
4.4 Step 4: Improvement results analysis
techniques
Once we implemented all the above CI approaches, two months later, the sales manager
provided us with the results. Table IV shows the comparison of results as follows:
Table IV summarized the results and compared it with the initial analysis. After successful
implementation of CI tools and techniques, we found that results are motivational and give
management a confidence to implement similar CI tools and techniques in other departments
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CEO

General
Manager
Operations
QHS
Sales Procurement Manager
Manager Manager

Project Sr.Draught Production Warehouse Project

Mgr. Mgr Supervisor Mgr. Coordinator
Head of (Team of
Sales Executive
Estimation 2) Draughts Man Project
(Team of 2) Assistant
(Team of 2) Assistant
(Team of 2)

Project Mgr.
Factory Manager
Marketing Quantity Assistant
Executive Supervisor (Team of 2)
Foreman
Estimation Foreman (Team off 3)
(T
Team of 2 (Team of 2)

Admin and HR Design

IT Officer Chief Accountant
Manager Manager

Sr.Interior
PRO
Design Sr.Accountant
Figure 12.
Interior
Receiptionist Designer Improved
(Team of 20 Accountants organizational
(Team of 2) structure of the
3D Animator
Added (Team of 2) case company

Description Before After

Projects in pipeline 16 Weeks 9 Weeks

Sales win ratio 11% 32%
Increased profit margin 25% 27% Table IV.
Tender submission deadline achievement 92% increased Improvement results
 IJLSS as well. Projects in pipelines lead time reduced to nine weeks, and this improvement allows
management of a considered case company to improve customer satisfaction and service
level. This will also allow them to use resources effectively and efficiently. Successful
implementation of CI tools and techniques also has a positive impact on sales volume, which
increases from 11 to 32 per cent and leads to increase profit by 2 per cent, which is significant.
Finally, by applying 5S and changes in organization charts smoothen the process and
information flow and allow the case company to achieve tender submission deadline
promptly.

4.5 Step 5: Recommendations for the company

At last, we presented the following recommendations to the case company for future:
 As a recommendation for the developed project selection form, an update and
adjustment for the content should be done every year as many changes may occur.
This will make sure that the project selection form is going in the current direction
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of the case company.

 It is highly recommended for the 5S technique to be implemented not only in the
painting section but also in the entire shop floor area. Also, the 5S Audit must be
performed on a regular basis for the painting section, in which we implemented 5S,
to ensure the five stages are being implemented and sustained.
 Concerning the organizational structure, we recommend the management to revisit
it on a regular basis to modify the organizational structure that we proposed if any
major changes occur in the company.

4.6 Challenges faced during the implementation of continuous improvement tools and
techniques
Aforementioned results were achieved by overcoming the following challenges:
 Selected case company did not have the continuous and pre-defined set of a process
like in manufacturing or production industry. To overcome this challenge, we
first created a culture in which we encouraged the management and workers to
identify the “hidden” and “unidentified” reasons that lead to ineffective process
and operations. Once they started experiencing the improvement, they adopted a
proactive approach to improve process and operations using CI tools and
techniques.
 Initially, management response to facilitate this project was not very much positive.
To overcome this challenge, we met with the concerned managers and decision
makers in the company and discussed the potential benefits of this project. In this
regard, we arranged several meetings with the managers to convince them about
the project.
 Cooperation with the shop floor workers and supervisors were the most annoying
challenge that we faced during this project. We spent ample time with the workers
and their supervisors and explained about the benefits of CI tools by relating it to
their everyday tasks. Once they saw the initial benefits, most of the workers were
motivated and participated in this project.
 Delivering a comprehensive project report in a short period was another challenge
we faced. As agreed by the management, we had to deliver a comprehensive report
within three months. Thus, we distributed tasks related to each department among
 the group members and conducted weekly meetings to discuss any difficulty and Continuous
the progress of the project. improvement
techniques
5. Concluding remarks
The primary goal of this paper was to study, analyze and provide the solutions to the
most significant problems in different departments that affecting the case company
efficiency and productivity. In this regard, the three main problems were addressed in
this paper are:
 problems in project quotation phase;
 unorganized painting section; and
 inappropriate organizational structure.

To solve the aforementioned problem, we proposed and implemented the following solutions.
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 For Project selection problem, we developed a project selection form. The main
objective is to guide the organization about the important details they need to
consider before choosing a project. Also, it will assist the sales manager by
providing a procedure for comparing the importance of the different projects then
prioritize them. Finally, select the most suitable project to undertake.
 The importance of having an organized work area is to avoid the storage of unneeded
items as well as to eliminate the time wasted searching for tools and equipment. The
existing work area in the painting section is disorganized and cluttered, and it is affecting
the employees’ morale. Employee morale is directly related to company productivity, thus
keeping their morals high will enhance productivity. Therefore, a 5S technique needed to
be implemented there to save the employees some space, time, money and energy.
 The current organizational structure does not include enough human resources, and
it is causing role confusion to the employees. The proposed organizational structure
is clearer and well defined in a way that each knows his/her responsibility; also it
includes enough human resources and departments within the company to enable
them to accomplish the targeted goals.

5.1 Practical implications

One of the practical implications of this case study is that it shows how basic LSS tools can be
used to solve complex problems in a PS environment, which as discussed earlier, is a mix of
both manufacturing and service environments. Second, the results of this project show that to
effectively use LSS tools in PS environments, the team leaders need to modify the approach of
how LSS tools and concepts are applied in PS environments. This project shows that if done
properly, the applied LSS tools can be used to solve complex issues in PS environments. A third
practical implication is in PS environments that are new to LSS projects; the team leaders
demonstrated that using basic tools to start projects and gain momentum is an effective
strategy toward ensuring sustainability of the project. A fourth implication is that despite the
environment, for an LSS project to be effective, communication at all levels is vital (from
champion down to the frontline staff).
From an academic point of view, a key implication is that the results of this case study
help to build in the area of applying LSS tools and concepts to hybrid environments such as
PS environments. This project is academics and researchers to help explore the use of LSS in
different environments can use a great case study. It is a great exploratory study of applying
 IJLSS LSS tools to a different type of environment. Finally, by performing this project in a different
environment, this helps to introduce new avenues of research for academics, and it helps to
build bodies of knowledge for CI and other fields.

5.2 Limitations
During doing this study, we faced several limitations as follows:
 Employee training to work in CI environment required both time and money, in
addition to the costs of training to perform the main job.
 Due to the lack of resources (workers and personals) that were assigned to this
project from the company management, we implemented CI technique in areas and
departments, which had the biggest impacts on the company performance.
 As compared to any firm in the services industry in which many opportunities for
incremental improvements exist, the case company had lack of incremental
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improvement opportunities because of the lack of standardized processes and

operations.
 As any other qualitative research, the results of this study cannot be generalized to
the other industries and sectors.

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Corresponding author
Mohamad Amin Kaviani can be contacted at: aminkaviani1366@yahoo.com

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