This book reports the elements required for implementing Just in Time (JIT) technique in companies. The main reasons for low implementation processes and the main benefits from the successful implementation of them are highlighted in this book. Structural equation models are presented to help identify the essential elements in JIT.

This book reports a literature review on kaizen, its industrial applications, critical success factors, benefits gained, journals that publish about it, main authors (research groups) and universities. Kaizen is treated in this book in three stages: planning, implementation and control. The authors provide a questionnaire designed with activities in every stage, highlighting the benefits gained in each stage. The study has been applied to more than 400 managers and leaders in continuous improvement in Mexican maquiladoras. A univariate analysis is provided to the activities in every stage. Moreover, structural equation models associating those activities with the benefits gained are presented for a statistical validation. Such a relationship between activities and benefits helps managers to identify the most important factor affecting their benefits and financial income.


This book introduces the main concepts of manufacturing systems and presents several evaluation approaches for these systems' evaluation. The relevant macroergonomics methods are summarized and the theoretical framework for Macroergonomic Compatibility construct is explained. This book presents a Macroergonomic Compatibility Model which proposes an instrument in the form of a Macroergonomic. The authors introduce a methodology to obtain a novel Macroergonomic Compatibility Index that enables manufacturing companies to assess and follow their progress on the implementation of macroergonomics practices.


This book provides some regional aspects considered by manufacturing firms in their decisions to gain competitiveness and have effects on the performance of their supply chains (SC). Some of the main aspects considered are: government's policies, fixed costs, the availability and quality of infrastructure services. This book also discusses the risks for the SC; based on a perception approach, some aspects studied are: demand, suppliers and production processes and how these are related to other elements of the SC. The authors use structural modeling to analyze the evaluation of some manufacturing practices and their impact on customer service satisfaction, agility and flexibility of the SC. The context of this study is immersed in the Mexican manufacturing industry of exportation, also known as maquiladora industry of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. This borderland is among the top 10 manufacturing Mexican cities. World class industries are located in this region and have been recognized around the world for their competitiveness and high performance. Therefore, the methods and results exposed in this book may be valuable and useful for readers and researchers of the SC worldwide.