Title: An empirical study on Kaizen events in Indian small and medium enterprises

Authors: Thirumani Muniswami Iyer Venkatesan; Goutam Kumar Kundu

Addresses: VIT Business School, VIT University Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India ' VIT Business School, VIT University Vellore, 632014, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: Striving to keep up the competition, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India have been deploying many process improvement measures. This paper is designed to analyse Kaizen events with a few live case studies on energy conservation to enhance industry's margins. When corresponding events are practiced in SMEs, it shall also support Government of India's mission in meeting energy conservation targets apart from market competition. This paper is based on case study research design methodology from industries. Case studies are deployed for collecting data on energy savings. Tools adopted in the studies are based on Lean-Kaizen structure. Carbon emissions are assumed from international conventions on energy. Case studies leading to reduction of energy sources like, LPG, diesel and coal and, reduction electricity are tabulated. This paper dedicated on energy conservation deploying Kaizen events is one of the first initiatives.

Keywords: Kaizen; Kaizen event; small and medium enterprises; SME; energy conservation; tangible and intangible outcomes.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2020.110338

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2020 Vol.37 No.2, pp.197 - 219

Received: 12 Jan 2018
Accepted: 25 Aug 2018
Published online: 15 Oct 2020 *

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