Abstract
This study examines the root causes, impact on operations, and potential
remedies for the persistent late deliveries of an OEM of trackless mining
equipment located in Gauteng, South Africa, while formulating a prioritised,
evidence-based Quality Improvement Strategy (QIS) for the overcoming of loss
in delivery performance and customer trust.
The study is designed to incorporate the mix-methods triangulation technique
to retrospective analysis of the last seven years of delivery records, crosssectional
surveys involving N = 111 stakeholders, targeted interviews, and
process observations. To identify and quantify underlying delivery trends and
test hypotheses, the quantitative component of the study exercised SPSS. The
interrelated process diagnostics and root-cause methodologies included the
application of Lean Six Sigma (SIPOC, Value-Stream Mapping, Pareto/PTO)
and other tools (Ishikawa and 5 Whys, FMEA risk ranking, SPC).
In the case of long-run on-time deliveries (OTD), the company recorded an
average of 66% which recently declined to 47.17% within the last 12 months,
which is a great deal lower than the organisational target of 85%. Value Stream
Mapping identified a 45-day production lead time of which only 38% was
deemed value-adding. The survey and qualitative data pointed to persistent
problems: confirmed dates that were not feasible, engineering releases that
were not finished, supplier lead time variability, bottlenecks in painting and
assembly, loops of rework, and deficient information flows. The Pareto analysis
identified more than 80% of defects with operational continuity, confirmed-date
reliability, and information flow. From the ranks produced, FMEA assigned the
highest ranks to the failures of production equipment and delivery scheduling:
504 and 448 respectively. SPC indicates the need for targeted interventions to
the root causes of unstable process behaviour.
In a Lean Six Sigma framework, the original contribution of the work is the fusion
of statistical process control, risk assessment, and management, as well as,
cross-border OEM for trackless mining to produce a ranked actionable QIS.
The QIS combined tactical measures, engineering checklists, preventive
maintenance, scorecards, information hygiene, and strategic measures
including resource planning, predictive scheduling, supplier development, and
information system redesign. The result is a roadmap with enhanced readiness
for pilot deployment, economic appraisal, and staged change management in
a bid to secure improvements in on time deliveries.