Search Results (10)

In organizations, social benefits are expected to positively influence employee engagement and job satisfaction. Likewise, organizational socialization becomes key to achieving work commitment and can also be improved by the introduction of social benefits. Thus, the main aim of this research is to determine how the variables social benefits, bonuses and incentives, work commitment, and organizational socialization are related, taking data gathered from the maquiladora industry of northern Mexico as a reference. This research used a cross-sectional study design to collect data from workers at the operational level, obtaining 377 complete questionnaires for analysis; later, using the structural equation modeling technique, it was concluded that social benefits had a positive impact on work commitment as well as on organizational socialization, whereas a lack of bonuses and incentives negatively impacts on the organizational socialization. Understanding these relationships could provide important information to the managers of companies in the manufacturing sector that would allow them to carry out strategies focused on the sustainability of human resources to increase their well-being and thus their performance at work. Full article

Managers implement several Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices to improve sustainability and economic performance, such as environmental management systems (EMS), eco-design (ED), source reduction (SR) and attending to external environmental management (EEM) requirements; however, the relationship among them requires a deep study. This paper reports the case of the Mexican maquiladora industry, analyzing the main relationships among GSCM practices with environmental impact (EI) and environmental cost savings (ECS). The analysis reports three structural equation models (SEM) developed as simple, second-order, and mediating models. Those relationships are tested using 160 responses to a survey applied to the Mexican maquiladora industry and with partial least squares algorithms (PLS), where conditional probabilities for different scenarios in latent variables are also reported. Findings indicate that EMS has a direct effect on EI (β = 0.442) and ECS (β = 0.227), indicating that EMS reduces EI and cost associated with the production process; however, ED has no direct effect on EI (β = 0.019) and ECS ((β = 0.006), and it can be due to the maquiladora nature as foreign companies focused on manufacturing and not to product design. Full article

This paper reports a structural equation model (SEM) to quantify the relationship between Lean Manufacturing (LM) tools associated with machinery and sustainability. The LM tools are independent variables and include Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Jidoka, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), whereas dependent sustainability variables comprise environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The SEM proposes ten hypotheses, tested statistically using information from 239 responses to a questionnaire applied to the Mexican maquiladora industry and the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique for quantifying relationships among variables. Additionally, we discuss conditional probabilities to explain how low and high levels of TPM, Jidoka, and OEE impact sustainability. Findings reveal that TPM, Jidoka, and OEE directly impact social, environmental, and economic sustainability, thus indicating that safe workplaces improve employee commitment, safety, delivery time, and morale. Full article

This paper presents a second-order structural equation model that analyzes three lean manufacturing tools associated with material flow, such as 5S, SMED, and continuous flow related to economic sustainability. The variables relate to each other through six hypotheses, tested with 169 responses to a questionnaire applied to the Mexican maquiladora industry, using the partial least squares technique and 95% confidence to estimate direct, the sum of indirect, and total effects. In addition, an analysis with conditional probabilities appears to determine how low and high implementation levels in independent variables affect the dependent variables’ occurrence. Findings indicate that 5S is a lean manufacturing tool with the most increased direct effects on SMED and continuous flow. Additionally, values indicate that SMED is essential to maintain continuous flow in production lines and is vital for economic sustainability due to the time reduction in setup. Full article

Companies implement lean manufacturing (LM) tools in their production processes to reduce waste; however, it is difficult to quantify the effect on benefits gained after their implementation. This article proposes a structural equations model (SEM) that relates three LM tools associated with quality as total quality management (TQM), waste, and right first time (RFT) as independent variables associated with commercial benefits gained as a dependent variable. Those four variables were related by six hypotheses that were validated with information from 169 responses to a survey applied to the Mexican maquiladora industry. Partial least squared was used to validate the hypotheses as direct effects. The sum of indirect and total effects was also estimated, and a sensitivity analysis was developed for relationships between variables. Findings indicate that TQM directly affects waste reduction, drives doing RFT, and directly and indirectly affects the commercial benefits gained. Full article

Temperature gradient changes on the surface of the skin or in the middle of the body are signs of a disease. The aim of this study is to develop quantitative models for the prediction of cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) arising from highly repetitive activities, considering risk factors, such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), respiratory rate (RR), and heart rate, to prevent injuries in manufacturing factory operators. This research involved 19 individuals from the area of sanding and 14 individuals from the area of tolex in manufacturing factories who had their vital signs and somatometry taken, as well as thermal images of their hands in the dorsal and palmar areas; an evaluation by the OCRA method was also applied. Factors such as BP and heart rate were determined to significantly influence the injuries, but no strong association with BMI was found. Quadratic regression models were developed, the estimates of which were adequately adjusted to the variable (R² and R² adjusted > 0.70). When integrating the factors of the OCRA method to the generated models, a better fit was obtained (R² and adjusted R² > 0.80). In conclusion, the participants who present levels out of the normal range in at least one of the factors have high probabilities of developing injuries in their wrists. Full article

Due to globalization and the accelerated growth of technology, ever more employees of companies are affected by burnout syndrome, the psychological nature of which requires a prolonged response to chronic interpersonal stressors in work environments. The present research aims to validate the operability of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) using a sample of 378 professionals belonging to middle and senior management working in companies within the IMMEX sector (comprising the industrial-manufacturing, maquiladora and export services) located in the state of Baja California, Mexico. Firstly, an exploratory factor analysis using the principal components method and Varimax rotation was performed and the results revealed the existence of three factors representing more than 67 percent of the total variance. Secondly, a confirmatory factorial analysis was carried out performing appropriate results for the indices Chi-square goodness-of-fit model, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), Normed Fit Index (NFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Relative Fit Index (RFI), Parsimony Ratio (PRATIO) and Parsimony Normed Fit Index (PNFI), which are highly recommended by literature in these types of studies. Additionally, construct validity was satisfactorily verified. The factorial solution coincided with the Maslach Burnout Inventory original proposal so that this instrument can be considered a valid and reliable option to analyze the burnout levels in people pertaining to middle and senior management in these types of industries. Full article

The aim of this study is to quantify the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) and its technological updates on the success of the green supply chain (GSC) implementation, as well as the benefits this affords. This research is applied to the Mexican maquiladora export industry. A model of structural equations is presented to know the importance of the integration of ICT, combined with the implementation of GSC and the generation of benefits with the use of ICT. The results indicate that there is a direct, positive effect (PE) and significant among the four latent variables (LTV) analyzed but the most noteworthy is the indirect effect that the variable updating the ICT has on the benefits of GSC, through the variable mediators’ implementation of a GSC, since the direct effect of updating the ICT on the benefits of the implementation of GSC does not become significant. Whereby, it is recommended that the industry integrates and updates its ICT since, using the integrated and updated ICT and the implementation of a GSC, a series of economic, productive and environmental benefits will be created. Full article

Nowadays, Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) has achieved great industrial popularity. However, it remains unclear to what extent and how SMED implementation at its different stages benefits industries. To address this gap, this research proposes a structural equation model to quantitatively measure SMED effects. The model has six hypotheses that link SMED stages and benefits. To statistically validate such hypotheses, a questionnaire was administered to 373 Mexican maquiladoras located in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Results show that before starting SMED implementation process, companies must be appropriately familiarized with their production process. Mainly, manufacturing companies in Ciudad Juárez need to focus their efforts on the SMED planning stage (Step 1) in order to identify important internal production activities and turn them into external activities. In fact, SMED planning stage has direct and indirect effects on subsequent stages and SMED benefits. Full article

Companies seek to stand out from their competitors and react to other competitive threats. Making a difference means doing things differently in order to create a product that other companies cannot provide. This can be achieved through an innovation process. This article analyses, by means of a structural equation model, the current situation of Mexican maquiladora companies, which face the constant challenge of product innovation. The model associates three success factors for new product development (product, organization, and production process characteristics as independent latent variables) with benefits gained by customers and companies (dependent latent variables). Results show that, in the Mexican maquiladora sector, organizational characteristics and production processes characteristics explain only 31% of the variability (R² = 0.31), and it seems necessary to integrate other aspects. The relationship between customer benefits and company benefits explains 58% of the variability, the largest proportion in the model (R² = 0.58). Full article