Factors That Influence the Implementation of World Class Manufacturing Techniques in Edible Oil Industry in Kenya

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to determine factors that influence the implementation of world class manufacturing techniques in edible oil industry in Kenya. To achieve this, specific objectives were to establish the current status of world class manufacturing techniques, to determine the critical factors that underlie the drive towards WCM techniques implementation and to determine the challenges towards WCM techniques implementation at the edible oil companies in Kenya. The respondents were made up of production managers from the several manufacturing companies in the edible oil industry in Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional design which was appropriate because conclusions used objective measures and made generalizations possible based on the information provided at the time of inquiry. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and factor analysis. The analysis was carried out using Statistical Product and Services Solutions (SPSS) software. The study identified that most edible oil firms were not involved in exporting and the ones involved in exporting needed to have new techniques to have a competitive edge in the market. Using World Class Manufacturing techniques would enable them to effectively compete with the best in the world. Factors considered to evidence WCM techniques application were exceeding customer expectations and cutting operational cost. Factor analysis had its correlation matrix not having a positive definite and ended up reducing 40 variables explaining factors driving WCM implementation into 4 factors. The 4 factors explained 93.605% (cumulative percentage) of total variation. The critical factors considered to drive WCM implementation in organizations were; effective product design, statutory compliance, linkage with employees, product quality, developing leadership skills, reducing waste in the process and improving safety of employees.The major challenge was partial implementation of WCM techniques and lack of follow up activities which could be overcome by having total employee involvement in planning, implementation and monitoring systems to ensure ownership and firms organizing training sessions for all levels of employees on WCM implementation plan.