Manufacturing Process Improvement; Perceived Barriers from Adoption of Good Practice by SMEs

摘要

Several waste minimisation techniques that can lead to manufacturing process improvements are available to small and medium sized enterprises, however, a recent study suggests that there is a gap between theoretically researched knowledge base and its uptake especially by small and medium size businesses. An understanding of the barriers that potentially prevent SMEs from not using waste minimisation techniques may help to explain the reasons why the uptake is low and thereby enable them to gain the benefits from abundant knowledge provided by researchers over the years. This paper aims to identify the barriers and constraints facing small and medium size businesses thus preventing them from implementing waste minimisation techniques resulting from academic research. Future research will aim to develop a suitable tool especially for small and medium size enterprises that could support waste minimisation and thereby boost productivity within their businesses.