Pule Kholopane

The application of Lean Six Sigma in alleviating water shortage in limpopo rural area to avoid societal disaster

This paper aims to illustrate the implementation of lean six sigma principles in a water management system. It draws on process information and primary data from real water shortage situations which affect the lives of rural people. Lean Six Sigma are business management strategies commonly used in production industries to improve process efficiency and quality. During the past decade, these process improvement techniques have increasingly been applied outside of the manufacturing sector, for example, in water management systems. This article presents a description of the main principles, practices, and methodologies used in Lean Six Sigma. It is based on a case study conducted in the province of Limpopo in South Africa to illustrate the application of Lean Six Sigma tools. Furthermore, literature is reviewed involving applications of Lean and Six Sigma to manufacturing together with other production related environment research. As a result, specific issues concerning the use of these techniques in different phases are identified. Assessments of the monitoring program were identified which indicated that significant savings could be achieved in water shortages whilst still meeting all operational, regulatory and other requirements to supply water to rural areas.

Some Effects of a Human Resources Strategy on Total Productive Manufacturing (TPM) improvement

Total productive manufacturing (TPM) also addresses planned maintenance as well as autonomous maintenance that determine the maintenance requirement of machines in their operating context. This paper focuses on the effect of an integrated human resource strategy on total productive manufacturing (TPM) and assesses how the combination of the two can increase a firms productivity. Some results of a South African manufacturing case study company in a unique environment are presented. The main conclusion reached in this paper is that when innovative human resources practices are applied properly, they will promote total machine system efficiency and hence increase the productivity of the company. As result TPM that does not normally focus on HR is taken to a higher level, whereby the additional human factor is taken into consideration. It suggests that operators should be nurtured and be well trained as part of the TPM focus, because they are the ones who are operating those machines with intimate knowledge. The limited research presented here as part of a doctoral thesis highlights some element of human resources practice that can be applied to enable operators to be efficient and productive as part of the TPM machine system.