La alta mortalidad como factor permanente de corrección al crecimiento

The following tables summarise the responses from consultants in key words. Where

elaboration is considered useful, more complete answers are tabled. Table 4-2 shows how consultants saw their activities in relation to

training, consulting, coaching, and supporting, assessing and researching. TABLE 4-2: ACTIVITY FOCUS OF CONSULTANTS.

Does your business train, consult, do both or different?

Train 20

Consult 14

Coach 5

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4.4.2.1.Relevance of the consultants’ businesses to the investigation Table 4-3 shows the areas in which the

interviewed consultants specialised. While some had a single area, others specialised in various paradigms or approaches. Although table 4-3 shows only 15 consultants indicating Lean as their specialist area, twenty of the twenty-one (approximately 95%) respondents indicated that they assist organisations with Lean. Eighteen consultants reported assisting companies with 'Lean' in a primary industry. These included coffee, wine, aggregates, dairy, meat, forestry, animal by-products, processing, horticulture

(kiwifruit, apples), honey, fisheries, and aqua-culture. Of these eighteen, ten reported that they assisted with 'Lean' in horticultural companies. These included Kiwifruit (4), Pipfruit (4), Processing (1), Nursery (1) and Fruit (1). Eleven consultants did not work in any horticultural environment.

4.4.2.2.Consultants’ views on ‘push’ and seasonal elements of the pipfruit industry Consultants were asked to comment on the ‘push’ element of horticultural products and on the seasonal labour element. Responses to the question how ‘push’ affected Lean were significantly vague and generally did not show an established pattern of thought (Table 4-4).

TABLE 4 -4 : 'PUSH' AFFECTI NG LEAN I MPLEMENTATI O N.

Horticultural product is pushed into the market. How does that affect 'Lean' implementation?

Vague answers or evading answers 9

Push is a fundamental difference 1

Lean does not necessarily mean pull 1

TABLE 4-3: CONSULTANTS’ AREA OF SPECIALISATION.

What is your business’ specialist area?

Lean 15 Business Improvement 3 Improving profit 2 Business development 2 Leadership 1 Six sigma 1 TPS 1 TPM 1 Kaizen 1 Change/transformation 1 Removing constraints 1 Other 3

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Upstream activities are still pulled 1

Apply only what makes sense 1

The supermarket concept helps with pull 1

There can be pull from the orchards to avoid stressing the packhouse/coolstores 1 Lean accepts push and buffers to smooth the flow 1

Lean principles apply in every industry 1

You cannot be Lean and push 1

Focus on waste, not on push 1

Push industries should consider their process as high peak pull and focus on improving that

1

Don’t know 1

Consultants agreed substantially on Lean elements that could be emphasised in a seasonal environment. These elements were standardisation, training and visual management (Table 4- 5).

TABLE 4-5: SUMMARY VIEW OF LEAN EMPHASIS FOR SEASONAL INDUSTRIES.

Similarly, consultants agreed substantially when asked to give a ‘weight’ to philosophy or tools. Only one consultant stated that tools were more important than philosophy. All others felt that philosophy was an absolute requirement or needed to be integrated with tools, but without philosophy Lean would fail (table 4-6).

TABLE 4-6: PHILOSOPHY OR TOOLS/METHODS?

WHAT WORKS BETTER: PHILOSOPHY OR TOOLS/TECHNIQUES?

Integrated 13

Philosophy 7

Tools/techniques 1

Horticultural industries have some 80% seasonal workers. How does that affect 'Lean' implementation?

Call for Standardisation 10

Call for Training 9

Call for Visual management 4

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4.4.2.3.Consultants’ views on Lean and other business improvement models

Of the twenty-one respondents, twenty agreed that Lean could add value to the NZ pipfruit industry. Almost without exception responses were definitive, mostly phrased as ‘absolutely’ and ‘without a doubt’.

Asked if there were other models that they would recommend to be used by horticultural organisations rather than or in addition to 'Lean', a number of models were mentioned (table 4-7). Lean and Six Sigma appeared to be the obvious preferences by consultants,

followed by Kaizen, TQM and TOC. A number of

consultants (7) recommended no other approach but Lean.

4.4.2.4.Consultants estimates on Lean implementation in NZ and the pipfruit industry

Consultants were asked what proportion of NZ companies would be ‘seriously Lean’. This question was narrowed down asking consultants whi ch proportion of NZ horticultural

companies was ‘seriously Lean’. The definition of ‘seriously Lean’ was deliberately left open to provoke rich answers rather than merely a percentage. Consultants agreed that a low

percentage (averaging 3.3%) might be seriously Lean. The range of these estimates was between 0% and 10%. Focussing on the horticultural industry, consultants agreed that an even lower percentage of these was ‘seriously Lean, averaging 1.3% with a range from 0% to 5%.

4.4.2.5.Consultants closing comments

Finally, consultants were asked if they had any closing comments. A summary of closing comments is presented in table 4-8. Comments are random and flowed from the interview’s line of questions and the consultant’s responses.

Table 4-7: OTHER MODELS

RECOMMENDED BY CONSULTANTS.

Other recommended models?

None 7 Six Sigma 5 Kaizen 3 TQM 3 TOC 3 TPM 2 Eclectic approach 1 Best Practice 1 Supply Chain 1

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TABLE 4-8: CONSULTANTS’ CLOSING COMMENTS.

Closing comments

Engaging management can be a problem 3

Some companies do 5-S and call themselves Lean 1

Small & medium size companies are easier to engage; the relative cost benefit is lower 2 NZ needs all the help it can get to compete with mass producers; Lean and agile are key 1 Significant opportunity once over the ‘seasonal’ issue and changed attitude 1 Lean is a complete paradigm; tools alone will not work 1 Removing waste through training and maintenance is key 1

The level of training in NZ is rather thin 1

Kaizen to improve waste and flow offers significant opportunities 1