Henry Quesada-Pineda

Best manufacturing practices and their linkage to top‐performing companies in the US furniture industry

Purpose – This study aims to examine the relationship between top‐performing US furniture manufacturers and industrys best manufacturing practices.Design/methodology/approach – In the past studies, best manufacturing practices were mostly determined using qualitative methods. In this paper, a quantitative evaluating method to determine best manufacturing practices was designed by taking into consideration qualitative criterions. A sample of 122 manufacturing practices was observed in six US furniture companies, two of them considered world‐class performers and the other four considered average. A logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between best manufacturing practices and top‐performing companies.Findings – Statistical analyses showed a positive relationship between top‐performing companies and use of best manufacturing practices by these companies. A database of best manufacturing practices was created and shared with the participant companies.Research limitations/implications – One...

Using Value Stream Mapping to Analyze an Upholstery Furniture Engineering Process

This study presents a systematic approach of streamlining an upholstery furniture engineering process based on a case study in one of the largest export-oriented furniture manufacturers in China. T...

Sustaining Continuous Improvement: A Longitudinal and Regional Study

This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study of four continuous improvement (CI) leader companies in two different global regions. The goal of the research was to understand how employee perception of different factors that impact the long-term sustainability of the CI process might change over time. Quantitative data analysis was used to capture and statistically analyse employee perceptions by CI factor, time, and geographical location. After validation and reduction techniques were applied to the research model, five factors were singled out: change management, strategic planning, knowledge management, performance management, and sustainability of the CI process. For two of the four companies, no changes in perception were found during the period of study for any of the factors. For the other two, however, changes were perceived in at least one of the five constructs in the study. Changes were also found across the regions included. By leveraging the quantitative analysis with qualitative data collected through interviews and visits to the case study companies, we were able to explain the changes in perception and single out the best CI management process to sustain CI in the long term.

Educational Needs of the Forest Products Industry in Minnesota and Virginia in 2012

ABSTRACT The forest products industry has been greatly impacted by the Great Recession, with many firms reducing output or closing operations to remain competitive. Educational training has also be...

Perceptions on Internal and External Factors Impacting the U.S. Nonfood Advanced Biofuel Industry

The goal of this chapter is to introduce and discuss internal and external barriers impacting the nonfood advanced biofuel industry in the United States. Since 2005 when the EPAct was created, 59 cellulosic biofuel projects have been attempted in the U.S. with little commercial success. An initial list of internal and external barriers was extracted from secondary sources using qualitative analysis techniques such as grounded theory. Once the list was validated, a survey was sent to the biofuel industry members to gain more knowledge and clarification on the initial list of barriers. Statistical analysis revealed differences in perceptions from industry members when barriers were compared by project status, technology, and type of project. In addition, barriers for marketing and distribution of advanced biofuels coproducts and by‐ products were identified and ranked by industry members, academicians, and other stakeholders.

Comparison of the Economic Feasibility between Conventional and Vacuum Drying for 4/4 Red Oak

Abstract Vacuum drying of wood is a method to reduce drying time and inventory; however, there is limited information regarding the economic feasibility for vacuum drying 4/4 red oak compared with ...

Marketing factors impacting imported wood products in Central America

Abstract Increasing environmental pressures against deforestation in Central America has increased harvesting restrictions and subsequently caused disruption in the supply of raw materials to primary and secondary industries. A conceptual model was developed based on literature review to describe perceptions of wood products distributors, retailers, and manufacturers regarding supplier and product attributes, retailer/manufacturer and supplier promotion strategies, potential importing barriers and company performance. After verifying internal reliability with Cronbach’s alpha, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to confirm the structure of proposed marketing constructs. Results supported only one of the proposed factors in the model, (i.e. supplier attribute). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine the structure of the remaining factors. The strongest correlations were between product attributes and retailer/manufacturing marketing factors, and the second strongest correlation found was between product and supplier attributes factors. These correlations are critical to developing innovative marketing strategies to increase access to markets in Central America.

Transitioning Ideation to Commercialization: A Comprehensive Product Development Strategy with an Application in the Wood Products Industry

This article introduces a comprehensive product development strategy to transform ideas into commercial products. Although there is abundant literature on product development tools and innovation theory, the inconsistency of results in previous studies in innovation theory has not produced compatible theories that can be put into practice. To help overcome this problem, grounded theory was used to build a novel and holistic strategy that connects and relates current product development tools with marketing research, value chain, business process management, and innovation theory. The resulting strategy combines a series of product development tools that can help practitioners to easily identify customer requirements, to develop ideal solutions, and to deploy solutions. The proposed strategy was applied in the wood products industry with successful results. It is expected that this product development strategy will help researchers and practitioners better integrate theory and practice in innovation research.