Revista

de la

Universidad

del Zulia

Fundada en 1947

por el Dr. Jesús Enrique Lossada

DEPÓSITO LEGAL ZU2020000153

ISSN 0041-8811

E-ISSN 2665-0428

Ciencias del

Agro

Ingeniería

y Tecnología

Año 12 N° 32

Enero - Abril 2021

Tercera Época

Maracaibo-Venezuela

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Quality improvement of energy management: an analysis of

industries in a developing country

Edson Pacheco Paladini *

Bismayda Gómez Avilès **

Geonel Rodriguez Perez **

Noel Cardoso Nunez **

Jean Carlos Araldi ***

ABSTRACT

Energy management is a critical question for the progress in developing countries. In fact, it

is one of the most important foundations of sustainable development. Optimizing the use of

energy resources is an issue with notable multiplier effects on the social evolution of the

people of these regions. Similarly, the civil construction industry is also relevant, since it

represents a strong economic and social contribution for these countries. It is important to

remark that the demands of the construction material industry in combustible consumption

for their productions, frequently with low rate efficiency, require a systematic management

activity able to detect improvement alternatives, based on process approaches to contribute

to the energy efficiency and the quality of the final production. This paper proposes a set of

procedures to implement technological and organizational improvements of the combustible

consumption practice in brick production plants in the construction material industry in a

developing country (Cuba). Quality improvement opportunities are detected, together with

the energetic characterization of the process. Some well-defined parameters and indicators

have evidenced the improvement potentialities and its execution. The placement of domes in

the furnace defines a new zone of quality control with losses from 0.5 - 1.5%, that at the

beginning of the research were 2.4 - 4.5%. This enabled to plan a loss level rate at least 1.6%

lower and a variability two times lower. Besides it is achieved a consumption rate average of

0.2739 to 0.2387 liters per brick in the covered furnace, saving 11,000 liters of fuel in the

semester. The generalization of the procedure in the entity producing roof tiles and clay pipes

in Sancti-Spíritus municipality (Cuba) showed a significant contribution since the

reductions in the fuel consumption rate were greater than the achieved in the brick

productions. As these industrial processes are similar to those in many other countries, this

case study shows some analyses, practical applications and results that can be used abroad.

KEYWORDS: Energy management improvement; construction industry; developing

countries; product quality.

*Departamento de Engenharia de Produção e Sistemas. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina -

Trindade CP 476 88.040 – 400 - Florianópolis SC – Brazil. E-mail: paladini@floripa.com.br

**University os Sancti Spíritus “Jose Marti Perez – UNISS Sancti Spiritus – Cuba.

***Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - Trindade CP 476 Florianópolis SC – Brazil.

Recibido: 25/09/2020 Aceptado: 20/11/2020

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Mejora en la calidad de la administración de energía: un análisis de

las industrias en un país en desarrollo

RESUMEN

La administración de energía es una cuestión fundamental para el progreso de los países en

desarrollo. De hecho, es uno de los pilares más importantes del desarrollo sostenible. La

optimización del uso de los recursos energéticos es un tema con notables efectos

multiplicadores en la evolución social de los habitantes de cada región. Asimismo, la industria

de la construcción civil también es relevante, ya que representa un fuerte aporte económico

y social para cada país. Es importante resaltar que las demandas de la industria de materiales

de construcción en el consumo de combustibles para sus producciones, frecuentemente con

bajo índice de eficiencia, requieren una actividad de gestión sistemática capaz de detectar

alternativas de mejora, basadas en enfoques de proceso para contribuir a la eficiencia

energética y la calidad de la producción final. Este trabajo propone un conjunto de

procedimientos para implementar mejoras tecnológicas y organizacionales de la práctica de

consumo de combustibles en plantas de producción de ladrillos en la industria de materiales

de construcción en un país en desarrollo (Cuba). Se detectan oportunidades de mejora de la

calidad, junto con la caracterización energética del proceso. Algunos parámetros e

indicadores bien definidos han evidenciado las potencialidades de mejora y su ejecución. La

colocación de domos en el horno define una nueva zona de control de calidad con pérdidas

de 0.5 - 1.5%, que al inicio de la investigación eran 2.4 - 4.5%. Esto permitió planificar una

tasa de nivel de pérdidas al menos un 1,6% menor y una variabilidad dos veces menor. Además,

se logra una tasa de consumo promedio de 0.2739 a 0.2387 litros por ladrillo en el horno

cubierto, ahorrando 11.000 litros de combustible en el semestre. La generalización del

procedimiento en la entidad productora de tejas y cañerías de arcilla del municipio Sancti-

Spíritus (Cuba) mostró un aporte significativo ya que las reducciones en la tasa de consumo

de combustible fueron mayores a las logradas en las producciones de ladrillos. Como estos

procesos industriales son similares a los de muchos otros países, este estudio de caso muestra

algunos análisis, aplicaciones prácticas y resultados que se pueden utilizar en el extranjero.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Mejora de la gestión energética; industria de construcción; países en

desarrollo; calidad del producto.

Introduction

Nowadays, an organized production process has vital importance, even more with the

world economic crisis and the unavoidable exhaustion of the conventional energy sources.

The rational use of the energetic resources depends on the consciousness that people might

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have of the unplanned use in the consumption societies and the environmental pollution that

generates an over exploitation of the fossil combustibles (Fernandez et al, 2014; Aguilera,

2020). Referring to this, Nueno (1996) states that management is looking for models that

contemplate the integration among people, technology and economic reality. In this context,

the quality concept that it is necessary to generate an acceptable product or to work with

rejection rates of less than a certain percentage in a production line, is not enough anymore.

It is required to consider the client perspective (Abu-Jarour, 2016), and the losses that each

product brings to the society. In fact, productive organizations have long been concerned

with energy management (Selmer, 1993; Fielden and Jacques, 1997).

In Cuba, the improvement of the productive organizations management is of great

importance (Del Castillo Sánchez, 2016) for the continuity of the present growing process. It

is a way to place enterprises in indispensable conditions of effective use of resources,

guarantee their economic situation, put into practice salary and stimulation systems,

implement new tributaries and financial mechanisms, as well as introduce the most updated

approaches of the international practice.

Mahto and Kumar (2008) refer that the identification of the relative root causes to the

quality problems and the productivity are crictical in the manufacture process execution. In

the case of the construction material industry in Cuba, and specifically in Sancti-Spiritus, the

root cases are related to its aged technology.

The construction material enterprise in the case study for this research produces more

than 60% of the total clay wall elements of the province: mud bricks (hollowed and solid),

Creole and French tiles, floor tiles and lattices. It also produces concrete materials as floor

tiles and blocks, which represents an annual cipher of 6,200,000 units, equivalent to one

thousand houses annually. However, to reach a primary objective of the red ceramic

construction enterprises (to achieve the technological leap), they need to work with

processes with high energy efficiency (Reyes, 2012). It should be noted that the priority in

the search for energy efficiency is in residential buildings or commercial buildings (Guarin,

Morano and Sica, 2019; Ylmén, Penaloza and Mjornell, 2019). It must be considered that these

enterprises work in a business context characterized by market fluctuations and difficulties

in supplying its main inputs and raw materials. These problems are analyzed by Nordelo

(2006) and Fernández et al. (2014). These authors consider the importance of these

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situations in the competitiveness of the Cuban companies, from the perspective of energy

efficiency.

Based on the above arguments, the activity of management and assurance of the

managerial function gives the enterprise the ability to satisfy, in an efficient way, the energy

needs of the productive process, as an alternative to face the problems of high production

costs. These costs are associated to the following: high energy consumption of the

equipments (fuel oil and fuel wood); poor quality of ceramic productions; customer

complaints for poor quality of production; and the emanation of toxic gases into the

atmosphere generated by the furnaces.

This paper proposes to implement technological and organizational improvements in

fuel consumption practices in brick production industries to facilitate management activity

related to energy efficiency and the quality of the finished product. Focusing on the energy

issue, which is a critical business problem, it is also a favorable approach to achieve

improvements in other identified problems.

This article addresses two key elements for the progress of developing countries:

Initially, transformations in the improvement of the productive processes of companies that

operate in the area of civil construction, commonly important industrial sector in any

economy. Then, energy management is considered, a crucial component for these countries

since it is one of the most important foundations of sustainable development. Several

examples in the literature prove this statement (Alcorta et al., 2014; Cantore, 2017). This

study intends to optimize the use of energy resources, a problem with distinguished

multiplier effects on the social, economic and cultural progress of the people that live in these

countries.

1. Theoretical background

In this section some concepts that support this article are presented.

1.1. Quality and process improvement

The decision to face the process of improvement requires an analysis of the

circumstances in which it will be developed. Typology of the process, general

charactheristics of the studied organization and the objective that is pursued are critical

elements in this analysis (Gómez, 2007; Abu-Jarour, 2016; Montgomery et al., 2016).

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The conception of quality improvement is a decisive component in all business

activities and as the operations of industrial processes are presented, increasingly subjected

to the emerging factors of the environment, new approaches are required for the quality

concepts. Quality needs constant adjustments to "best production practices", with other

forms of comparison and regulation that may differ from those used up to now (Juran and

Gryna, 2001, Domínguez and Barroso-Castro, 2017; Leffakis, 2016).

Juran and Gryna (2001) argue on how quality problems are underestimated and what

they represent in long-term financial returns. So, the purpose should be oriented to set the

tools to achieve the timely detection of the causes that provoke such alterations and to obtain

the expected benefits.

As shown by Nofal et al. (2016), the management of quality improvement is adjusted

to several elements like technology level and background of organizations, markets, human

resources and their cultures. In this sense, the perspective of these authors is how to use the

critical factors of the Total Quality Management (TQM) to promote the transformational

orientation, in order to create a culture of sustainable efficiency and obtain commercial and

competitive benefits in a continuous way. In the Cuban context, experiences in industrial

processes have been decisive in the proposed quality practices, to reconcile technological and

organizational perspectives with a favorable effect on stability, from the reduction of

variability in the process (Gómez et al., 2008).

1.2. Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a series of relevant practices (Vasantharayalu

and Surajit, 2016) which structures a management approach to long-term success through

customer satisfaction. The main idea of TQM is to include all members of an organization in

participative efforts to improve processes, products, services, and the culture in which the

organization works (Aquilani et al, 2017).

Vasantharayalu and Surajit (2016) state that the American Society for Quality

recognizes as fundamental elements of TQM: politics, planning and administration; product

design; material supply; Production Quality Control; customer relationship; preventive and

corrective actions and selection, training and motivation of employees. The identification,

contribution and new ways of researching the critical success factors of TQM is a subject

under study, which requires the adoption of a broader view regarding the role of the quality

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process as a support to the commitment of the enterprise in the activities with the client

(Aquilani et al., 2017; Tenner and DeToro, 2007).

Many authors, like Paladini (2011) as well as Juran and Gryna (2001), associate the use

of TQM practices with the best operational performance, with an impact on technological

growth.

1.3. Quantitative methods for improvement

Mizuno (2005) proposes the use of qualitative and quantitative methods for

identifying improvement opportunities (mainly the last ones) to transform diffuse and

unstructured knowledge into structured knowledge. While Banks (2004) points out that

the introduction to the quality function in modern manufacturing and service organizations

generates statistical information, which is analyzed and discussed in a specific way, and with

the resources to manage quality control (Goetsch and Davis, 2016; Marshall, 2006).

The quality problems in industrials processes are often the result of uncontrolled or

excessive variability. In studying and solving these problems a crucial role is played by

statistical tools and other analytical and quantitative methods.

The application of quantitative methods for improvement must be carried out in a

management-based structure to guarantee the success (Montgomery et al., 2016; Carvalho et

al., 2017).

1.4. Innovation and energy efficiency in developing countries

The empirical study of Honarpour et al. (2017) establishes that the innovation process

is more impacted by TQM than the product itself. It is not surprising considering the fact

that new elements introduced into the organization (e.g. material input, task specifications,

work and information flow, and equipment) generate innovative products or provide better

services. TQM practices, on the other hand, are related to better supply management (raw

materials), people management (task specifications), and information and data analysis

(working mechanisms and information flow). Similarly, by acquiring, disseminating and

applying new knowledge of competitors, suppliers and customers, the generation of ideas

from research teams can be increased, leading to new technical specifications and better

product functionality (Paladini, 2016).

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Regarding the case study of this research in the manufacture of ceramics for

construction, Salas and Oteiza (2008) report on the approach of Latin America Economic

Commission that it is important to perform regulatory and technological adjustments aimed

at improving the development and application of materials, using local and regional

techniques. All these situations should be expressed in formalized processes that show

potential for further development, based on process analysis and statistical data. The

information generated becomes a decision-making tool for the operation of key variables that

ensures improvements in indicators of productive and organizational performance.

The technological progress of the red ceramic enterprises in Cuba, as Reyes (2012)

states, needs for few but qualified personnel. It also needs lineal processes, intensive in

capital and mostly automated.

On this issue, Reyes (2012) also argues that substantial improvement in energy

efficiency comes from processes with some characteristics. It means processes with

substantial improvement in energy efficiency through: the use of hot gases from the furnaces

for the dryer; cogeneration installations with recovery of energy from exhaust gases; hot air

from refrigeration as a source of heat for dryers, clay preparation; computer control of drying

and cooking; the replacement of electrical surpluses to the national electric system and the

use of natural gas.

From the energetic point of view, the improvements and innovations increase the

performance of the different operations in terms of: (1) Reduction of the heat of reaction and

of drying; (2) Decrease in temperature levels used; (3) Decrease in the time of operations; (4)

Reduction of heat and material losses (breaks); (5) Improvement of the quality of final

products; and (6) Use of residual heat.

All the above items are of vital importance for the Cuban economy and constitute a

technological advancement that poses challenges to the universities and investigation

centers (Reyes, 2012). The country has small and medium-sized plants according to installed

resources, which also differ in terms of product quality with high levels of inefficiency due to

heat losses through the walls and chimneys. These industries consume large amounts of fuel

to heat the structure in each material load as well as the amount of heat that is totally lost

during cooling (Reyes, 2012). However, it is a productive sector with material responsibility

in the annual housing plan of the territories and its observance is relevant in the global

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environment, due to the world population growth that demands the production of more than

600 million cubic meters of construction materials (Salas and Oteiza, 2008).

It is also relevant for this research to take into account the complexity of

administrative change that implies the implementation of continuous improvement, from the

perspective provided by McLean et al. (2017). It includes failure factors of the TQM which

are described in eight issues: motives and expectations, culture and environment,

management leadership, implementation approach, training, project management, employee

performance levels, and feedback and results.

It should be noted that the search for methods that increase energetic efficiency is

permanent in developing countries (for instance, see Berg, 2015; Goldemberg et al., 1994).

This effort can be found in studies that analyze the question in countries as Saudi

Arabia (Matar et al., 2017; Matar, 2016); Canada (Cai et al., 2008), Nepal (Islar et al., 2017),

Brazil (Mesquita and Kós, 2017), Thailand (Foran et al., 2010), Malaysia (Hosseini and

Wahid, 2014), Taiwan (Ning et al., 2013), Argentina (Filippín et al., 2017), Peru (Lillo at al.,

2015), Mozambique (Jones et al., 2016), Portugal (Capelo et al., 2018) or Mexico (Martínez-

Montejo and Sheinbaum-Pardo, 2016). . Different situations have been considered in the

studies about energetic politics, like prices (Matar and Anwer, 2017) or sustainable

development strategies, a very important dimension of this kind of analysis (Owedraogo,

2017). In addition, success factors for energy management are always considered in different

situations (Sivill et. al., 2013). The role of government has been also discussed (Zhang and

Huang, 2017).

Even developed countries or in more advanced stages of development prioritize

processes to increase the efficiency of the use of different energy sources, prioritizing policies

for this purpose (Zierler et al., 2017; Bhati et al., 2017).

Civil construction has also been highlighted in different studies, especially when one

considers environmental management resources (Rodriguez et al., 2011; Do and Cetin, 2019),

energy performance (Poddar et al., 2017) or even economic performance of accessories

(Cetiner and Metin, 2017) or reuse of wastes (Yellishetty, 2008). Characteristics of buildings

are also considered for purposes of increasing energy efficiency (Mikola, Simson and

Kurnistski, 2019; Marcello, Pilloni and Giusto, 2019).

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This same concern appears in various situations that involve energy management, in

the most different areas (Balali et al., 2017). The use of natural aspects also is considered

(Almeida et al., 2017).

In this way, the present study focuses on a critical issue, especially for developing

countries, and in this context, the energetic efficiency of an important productive sector in

these countries is analyzed.

2. Materials and methods

This paper presents an applied scientific research, because its results are used later in

the solution of problems present in the day-to-day of organizations (Turrioni and Melo,

2012). In fact, this research is inserted in the context of scientific knowledge and without

commercial purposes as a main objective (Appolinário, 2006).

Based on the objective, a descriptive research is considered for the development of data

acquisition techniques in the studied organizations (Turrioni and Melo, 2012; Gil, 2016)

refers that descriptive research is the most requested by organizations such as educational

institutions, commercial companies, political parties, etc.

The methodology adopted here is the case study since this paper evaluates a specific

situation in a business environment (Cauchick, 2007) and addresses a deep diagnosis of an

object, so as to allow its wide and detailed knowledge (Berto and Nakano, 2000).

For the development of the work, the analysis methodology takes into account that

the increase in fuel costs is one of the factors leading to innovative technologies in the ceramic

industry. Most of the development focuses on improving the energy efficiency of furnaces by

decreasing the energy consumption of the production processes (Agrafiotis and Tsoutsos,

2001).

The actions to overcome problems of the process constitute the basis for planning new

areas of control, conception of the Quality Trilogy (Quality Planning; Quality Control and

Quality Improvement – as defined by Juran and Gryna, 2001), considered in the development

of the procedure in Figure 1. It has been evaluated the energy consumption and also the

performance of the production process, considering the behavior of the technological

variables and the quality assessment of the finished product.

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The development of this study involves four phases: (1) energy characterization; (2)

process evaluation, with the definition of improvements; (3) execution of improvements and

(4) definition of expected results.

The procedure begins with the energy characterization, by the necessity test of the

Technology of the Total Efficient Management of Energy (TGTEE, Spanish acronym) by

Nordelo (2006). The second phase (evaluation) uses the Beltrán’s approach (Beltrán et al,

2001). There are four steps here: (1) Identification and sequencing; (2) description; (3)

monitoring and control, and (4) improvement. Phase 3 is oriented to the improvements in

energy efficiency of greater incidence in the technical requirements of quality in the finished

product.

Fig. 1 Procedures to implement technological and organizational improvements in the fuel

oil consumption practices in brick production industries

Phase 4 is established in two moments of the process:

(i) If the objectives are not fulfilled, the management defines the corrective actions

to ensure conformity of the outputs. The actions prioritize control variables related to energy

management and the efficient use of the energy that affect the fulfillment of technical quality

requirements of the finished product.

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(ii) If the planned results are achieved, opportunities for improvement are

identified by their impact on global improvement, to increase the capacity that efficiently

meets the energy needs and satisfies technical quality requirements of the finished product.

In phase 3 the implementation of the improvement is considered. The improvements

are classified as structural and operational. Structural improvements refer to fundamental

conception of the process (redefinition of recipient, expectations, results of the process,

sequence of activities). Creative tools and techniques for quality management; customer

surveys and reengineering approach are useful here. Operational improvements are basically

related to changes in capacity and efficiency.

The estimation of the improvement (phase 4) is analyzed using indicators of energy

efficiency and process effectiveness. These indicators evaluate the impact of both on the

technical quality requirements of the finished product. The non-conformity in the evaluation

requires a return to the execution, and so, the characterization is restarted, in order to plan

improvements in a new control zone. The implementation of the procedure involves directing

efforts to:

- Management leadership: It is necessary for the enterprise staff to perceive that

the management knows and evaluates issues related to process supervision. Personnel

training and the allocation of human and material resources to develop energy management

activities are considered here.

- Employee participation: The actions here try to create process management

teams and effective recognition for the tasks developed by employees.

- Training: It includes equipment operation and also tools and techniques for

improvement.

3. Practical support: analysis of the study case

To structure the practical support of this study, three stages have been considered: (1)

Analysis of the structure of processes, (2) Characteristics of the realization of the product

and (3) Study of causes of the recognized problems.

Stage 1:

For the identification of the structure of processes of the business management in the

construction material enterprise in Sancti Spíritus (Figure 2), the relationship with energy

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management was established as a basic criterion in the categorization of processes. Based on

this criterion, in order to guarantee the availability of resources and the necessary

information in the implementation of regulatory actions, to fulfill the planned objectives and

the continuous improvement, three dimensions have been considered: strategic, tactical and

operational.

CLIENT

Strategic Management

I. Management responsibilities

II. Analysis and improvement.

CLIENT

Operational Management

III. Realization of the products

IV. Analysis of efficiency indicators.

Tactical Management

V. Purchasing Management

VI. Human resources management.

VII. Commercial Management

Fig. 2 Classification of the processes for an approach centered on energy management

These dimensions include:

(A) Strategic Actions: Those linked to the scope of responsibilities of the

management, related to general planning and others plans linked to key or strategic factors

of business management.

(B) Operational Actions: Those related to product realization operations. These

actions intervene directly in the efficient use of energy and determine the technical quality

requirements of the finished product.

(C) Tactic Actions: Refer to support of operational processes, related to resources

linked to the quality of the finished product.

The concepts of Strategic Management, Tactical Management and Operative

Management follow the positions of authors in the Quality Management area (Carvalho et

al., 2017; Goetsch and Davis, 2016; Marshall, 2006). In order to provide the managerial

capacity to efficiently satisfying the energy needs of the production process, the

manufacturing process is described.

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Stage 2:

During the product realization process, more than 70% of the high energy

consumption equipment is dispended.

The sub-process of burning requires much time (approximately 26 days), due to the

high dependence of the relative humidity conditions, and the season of the year, what

influence the duration of drying. It consumes the total of energy suppliers and the technical

specifications should be closely observed since it causes the greatest amount of losses due to

poor quality. A bad operation can imply the loss of all the products.

The typology for the brick production and the requisites are defined in branch norms

(NC 360: 2005) that are achieved through process norms (figure 3). Brick production has

been a permanent reason for concern and attention in different countries, due to the

characteristics of the production process (Luby et al, 2015; Gomes and Hossain, 2003).

In the burning process of the ceramic products the cooking is done, with high

temperature level (higher than 850ºC). Homogeneity is needed in all the furnace equipment

to avoid heat, fume leaking to the atmosphere and guarantee the main quality parameters of

the finished production.

In the evaluation of the preheating and cooking stages, the efficiency and effectiveness

indicators were considered: percentage of absorption, with incidence in the resistance to the

rupture of the finished product (it defines the use); percentage of defective units, that affects

the cost of production; and indices of consumption of fuel oil and fuel wood that determine

the energy efficiency.

These indicators of energy efficiency and finished product quality are essential in

making strategic decisions that have improvements in the customer value chain, as well as

the incorporation of new knowledge and skills in the management team (Domínguez and

Barroso-Castro, 2017). According to Paladini (2011), the goal of analyzing and evaluating

processes effectively is a fundamental element of quality management.

Stage 3:

For the study of causes, three years of activity of the enterprise were analyzed, in

which 68.5% of the combustible used was fuel oil and 19.9%, fuel wood.

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ENTERPRISE:

Construction Material production

Brick Production Process

Process: Brick production Process

Owner: Central Administrator

Mission: To perform brick production achieving the quality

parameters established for the satisfaction of customers.

Documentation:

FD7.

SCOPE

Starts: When there is raw material, technology and qualified

personnel.

Includes: Preparation of the raw material forming the product,

drying, baking and selection.

Inputs: Orders from customers. Raw materials and energy carriers.

Suppliers: Logistics.

Departures: Signed contracts, finished production and realizes sales.

Clients: External customers.

Inspections: Weekly inspection of

quality and evaluation of consumption.

Records: Control by qualities.

CONTROL VARIABLES

 Dosing

 Times of the stages

 Optimum temperatures

 Energy intensity.

INDICATORS:

 % of defective units

 % absorption

 Consumption index

Fig. 3: File of the brick production process

Based on the result obtained from the relationship between production and fuel oil

consumption (Figure 4), the emphasis was on reducing production losses, on meeting the

technical quality requirements of production and on observing the conditions for efficient

energy operation. The production of Trinidad municipality was selected due to the analysis

of its representativeness (approximately 50% of the hollowed bricks), in addition to the

characteristics of the energy scheme, which is aggravated by technological obsolescence, and

clay characteristics of the deposits (high content of iron oxides and silicates), which imply a

higher melting point. The behavior of losses in the brick production plants of the

municipality of Trinidad is shown in figure 5.

The production losses in process are above average (5%). Santa Bárbara production

plant, in April (2017), doubles the losses compared to the average. This situation implied a

loss of income in the enterprise of US$ 3,743.64 in a year, what represents about 118,469

thousands of units (bricks).

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Fig. 4 Relation between production and fuel oil consumption (a year analysis)

Fig. 5 Loss rate in Trinidad brick production plants

4. Diagnosis and project of improvement for the study case

The Pareto analysis obtained from the technical reports of the nonconformities

allowed to identify that in the process losses, low resistance caused 61% of the

nonconformities in the finished production (>16% of absorption).

Other nonconformities are classified as cracks, out of dimensions and as contraction

which are achieved in the drying sub-process (inefficiency in the productive process).

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In the burning, where the causes of higher incidence of nonconformities are

concentrated (see Table 1), almost all the high energy consumption equipment are used since,

as stated above, it is a very extensive process (approximately 26 days). This demonstrates the

need for an improvement process approach in burning.

NONCONFORMITY

CAUSES

 Products with low resistance (more than

16% absorption)

 Difficulties and inefficiency in burning

 Products out of dimension

 Difficulties in molding and shrinkage

during drying.

 Products with cracks

 Poor preparation of mixtures

Table 1. Nonconformities and their causes. Source: Technical reports.

In preheating, the bricks are baked in different percentages of moisture and fuel wood

has irregularities in drying, which involves additional time and energy costs to bring the total

mass of the furnace to the optimum temperature. While cooking, burners are open to the

atmosphere, which have high temperature variability. Their heat dissipates to the

atmosphere in the superior area, which implies the increase of temperature in the inferior

area in a value greater than 900°C. The fusion of the material placed often occurs. The entire

situation requires attention and monitoring, to detect opportunities for improvement in the

efficient use of energy, and in the consumption practices for the technological process. For

this purpose, the causes associated with the insufficiencies in the flaring (grouped by

categories) were classified (Figure 6).

To achieve the quality parameters of the finished product, the analysis of

nonconformities has been structured. The conclusions are reflected on brainstorm process

and they are weighted by the Delphi Method (Oliveira et al., 2016). The consensus is

evaluated by the Kendall coefficient (W = 0.857).

The following priorities were obtained:

(1) Required temperature levels are not achieved in the upper half of the furnace.

(2) There are lack of air-tightness and leakage of heat into the atmosphere.

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(3) It is necessary to identify personnel who decide on energy efficiency, and to

train in a specialized way the management and personnel involved in the production,

transformation or use of energy.

(4) The brick closed position in the furnace.

(5) There is not heat circulation.

(6) The frames of burners were stuck (archery of the ovens jammed).

(7) There were leaks in the burning systems.

(8) The drying of wood for preheating was insufficient.

(9) The quality of fuel oil was low.

(10) The temperature control was inaccurate.

The analysis of the indicators of the first semester in this study (year I) in the “Mártires

de Girón” production plant from Trinidad bricks production industry (deposit with high

content of iron oxide and silicates) evidences the criticality of the process (utilization of

Creole burners and centralized ventilation systems). Figure 7 shows the case of water

absorption. The non-homogeneity of the burner temperature affects the non-compliance of

the resistance parameters of the ceramic (not transformed). In addition, the inefficient

combustion implies insufficient heating of the furnace and also generates great amount of

smoke to the atmosphere.

Fig. 6 Possible causes that influence on the burning inefficiency

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This behavior is characteristic of the Trinidad Municipality (the same raw material),

and constitutes the main cause of the customer complaints, related to the nonconformity in

the quality requirements of the finished product.

4.1. Analysis of improvements for the study case

The situation analyzed is recurrent for years in the enterprise. However, due to the

lack of a process approach, the magnitude of the problem had not been recognized. Figure 8

represents the scheme to follow in implementing the improvements. From the main cause

categories (Figure 6), the structural and functional stages for improvements are established

for improvement opportunities, namely, the structural and the functional stages.

- Structural stage: Organizational and personnel phases are established, involving

actions related to improvements in supply management, requirements, flow of activities and

training of personnel.

- Functional stage: Improvements are made on phases of capacity and control and are

linked to actions of changes in the process.

Once the actions are implemented (date / deadlines / participants / responsible), the

process indicators are evaluated as a contribution to the organization and planning of the

work. Once favorable results are reached, new opportunities are identified. If an unfavorable

result is observed, the phases and actions executed are reconsidered.

The constructive technology of the furnaces is similar in all the production plants of

the province. Burners are open in their superior parts, with great heat blasting. It is necessary

to homogenize the temperature, in particular by the valued characteristics, in the industries

of the municipality of Trinidad, which does not reach the planned results. The actions in this

respect, according to the specialized literature (Reyes, 2012), are oriented towards

technologies for the construction of the furnaces, which includes the artisan ones, closed

with a hermetic roof, dome-typed, to make better use of heat, with closed gas circulation,

better distribution of the internal temperature and minimum heat loss by emanation into the

atmosphere.

With these elements and as shown in Table 2, the improvement for Trinidad´s

“Mártires de Girón” production plant was designed.

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Fig. 7 Indicators file: percentage of water abortion- consumption index

Fig. 8 Flow Diagram to implement the improvements

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The placement of domes and the other actions brought about a decrease in production

defects, improvements in the quality requirements of the finished product, and a reduction

of the consumption index. In six months fuel oil consumption decreased in 11,000 liters (US$

330.00). Figure 9 shows the improvement of the “Mártires de Girón” production plant, based

on the Juran Quality Trilogy, in a new "quality control zone" with values of losses between

0.5 - 1.5%, which represented loss rates at least 1.6 times lower.

Type of

improvement

Action

Date /

fulfillment

Year of

study

Participation

Responsible

Structural

Include in the contract

with the refinery and

forestry clauses regulating

the quality of fuel oil and

fuel wood.

July

Commercial and

legal technician

Director

and Head of

Supply

Responsible

Instruct staff working on

quality issues related to:

- Moisture of the baking

bricks.

- Correct endague in the

furnaces so that there is

adequate circulation.

- Correction of leaks and

correct manipulation of

the burner.

November

Technical staff

and experts

Technical

Head and

trainer

Functional

Calculation, design and

installation of ovens with

vault dome on the

“Mártires of Girón” that

reduce the escape of smoke

and heat to the atmosphere

and keep the heat in the

top of the oven.

December

Civil

construction

technician and

construction

brigade

Director

U/B

Trinidad

and

Production

Manager

Manage the purchase of

pyrometers to achieve

temperature control.

October

Purchasing

specialist

Director

and Head of

Supply

Table 2. Action Plan for the improvement

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Fig. 9 Analysis of losses before and after the improvement actions in “Mártires de Girón”

production plant

The evaluation of the significance of the improvement shown in Figure 10 compares

loss reduction from year to year, in range, and median (4 to less than 1).

Fig. 10 Improvement signification in range and median

These reductions in losses, in relation to the fulfillment of the quality requirements,

are shown in Figure 11, with the decrease of the amount of raw brick with more than 16% of

humidity in year II.

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The monitoring and measurement of the process improvements by changing the

furnace cover, are expressed by indicators (Table 3). They include decrease in "% of defective

units"; reduction of production costs and compliance with the quality requirements of

finished production. It is important to point that the "% of absorption" indicator has meant

a greater effectiveness in the burning and also a reduction in the consumption of fuel oil and

fuel wood.

Fig. 11 Improvement in the quality requirements in Trinidad brick industries

Process

Improvement

Actions

Improvement

type

Indicator

Plan

Current

Result

ST

FU

Bricks

Producti

on

Calculation,

design and

assembly of

valuated dome

furnaces on the

“Mártires de

Girón” roof that

reduce the

escape of smoke

and heat to the

atmosphere and

keep the heat in

the upper part of

the furnace.

X

% of

defective

units

3%

2.38%

-

% of

absorption

<16%

13.48%

-

Index of

consumptio

n

4.1

4.12

-

Improvement type: ST: Structural; FU: Functional.

Table 3. Result of the observation and the indicator measurements

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The same concern regarding the use of ovens exists in relation to other forms of

burning, such as the use of stoves, for example (Jones, 2015). Different areas have been

considered when the use of ovens is necessary (Despotovic and Babic, 2018).

These processes involve high-consumption equipments with more than 88.4% in the

consumption structure of the enterprise. Besides, resistance to rupture increased. With that

improvement, the possibility of using the products in more complex constructions and

edifications was verified.

To maintain the improvements and extend them to the remaining production plants

of Trinidad and to other type of productions, the managing structure of the enterprise

elaborated an action plan (Table 4) where elements such as personnel training, university

supervision and investment planning have been incorporated.

Action

Fulfillment

Participation

Responsible

Observations

1

Train the company’s personnel

in the energy field,

fundamentally those related to

the areas with highest

consumption of energy

carriers.

Annual

All workers

Enterprise

manager

2

Create mechanisms to

motivate staffs who decide on

energy efficiency and

dissemination about the need

for energy saving in the

enterprise

Permanent

Workers at

key positions

Energy

specialist

Permanent

execution.

Use of moral

and material

simulation

3

Include in the planning the

replacement of the ceiling of

the furnaces by vaults in all the

centers of Trinidad

July

Year II

Centers of

Trinidad

Manager

Enterprise

manager

It is foreseen

in the plan of

economy

4

Use energy intensity as an

instrument to measure

efficiency and for decision

making

Permanent

Enterprise

manager

5

Implement the Total Efficient

Energy management

Technology (TGTEE) in the

enterprise by defining IT

resources for the energy area

December

Year I

Enterprise

manager

Participation

of university

specialists

Table 4. Action plan to maintain the achieved improvements

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From this plan to maintain the improvements and generalize the procedure in the rest

of the production plants, two plants of the Municipality of Sancti Spíritus were selected

which manufacture (1) clay tiles and (2) clay pipes. The clay used has more plasticity than

that of production plants from Trinidad and requires a maximum heating temperature of

about 45°C, a parameter that facilitated the optimization of the burning process. With the

proposed generalization, it was possible to achieve greater reductions than those achieved in

the production of bricks (Table 5).

Other type of

productions

Fuel consumption Liter / units

Before the improvement

After the improvement

Roof tiles

0.1125

0.0952

Clay pipes

1.2937

1.0990

Table 5. Improvement in the consumption index - procedure generalization for roof tiles

and (2) clay pipes

With these indicators and according to the monthly production of clay tiles (60,000

units and 10,000 pipes), they consumed in the semester 6,228 liters less in floor tiles and, in

pipes, 11,682 liters less (Figure 12). These elements support the effectiveness of the procedure,

which has a positive impact on one relevant indicator for the management in the construction

material enterprise.

Fig. 12 Reduction of the fuel oil consumption in a semester per production

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The procedure conception, the outcomes obtained in the study case and the

generalization realized in other types of productions, allowed the authors to obtain a model

that support a structure to organize the execution of energetic improvements in the

industrial process of the oriented actions. It is presented in four stages: training, motivation,

instrumentation and evaluation (Figure 13).

Fig. 13 Procedure to maintain the improvements

It must be noted that the experiences of the construction material production are

conceptualized, departing from the quality improvements in energy management. It is an

experience that can be extended to other organizations.

Continuous improvement in productive processes has an impact on several areas of

the organizations, like enterprise perspicacity and leadership; critical and analytical

thinking; employee performance and cultural change. It also affects the process management,

improvement tools and quality value. All these changes come from a perspective strategy,

related to the organizational sustainability (Cudney and Keim, 2017). Not unreasonably,

alternative sources of energy, such as wind, are always considered and a permanent source of

study (Jones and Gautam, 2014).

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Conclusions

The conclusions obtained in this case study are the following:

1. The quality improvement in industrial processes, particularly in the manufacture of

building materials, when analyzed from the perspective of quality approaches, facilitates

the projection of quality practices with impact on business strategy. This is essential in

the development of managerial activities. These activities systematically detect

alternatives for improvement through the selection and development of tools, which with

a process approach, integrate organizational and technological aspects. With better

exploitation of available technology, it is possible to raise current levels of energy

efficiency and production quality.

2. In the brick production process, the highest consumption of energy is observed (>70%).

In the production plants of Trinidad municipality, the clay that is processed has a high

content of iron oxides and silicates (higher melting point), and although they have low

technological development, they assume approximately 50% of the brick production of

the territory. This situation results in non-compliance with technical requirements for

the low quality of the finished product, with losses higher than average (5%), so that no

more than US$ 3,743.64 is allowed in the year. The evidence of the opportunity for

improvement is clearly present here.

3. In the analysis of the total losses of the five brick-making production plants of Trinidad

in years I and II a decrease of the crude brick (≥16% of humidity) in the factories was

evidenced by improvements made only in one production plant. A new quality control

zone (according to Juran Quality Trilogy) was defined in year I (2.5-4.5% losses). For year

II, losses were fixed on 0.5-1.5%. This involved planning a level of losses at least 1.6 times

lower and variability 2 times lower. In addition, a reduction of the consumption index of

0.2739 to 0.2386 L/brick, in the furnace was achieved, for a saving of 11,000 liters of fuel

oil in 6 months.

4. The actions established by the management staff were aimed at preserving the

improvements achieved and extending them to other production centers. This way,

significant improvements were achieved in fuel consumption rates, in units of the

municipality of Sancti Spíritus dedicated to the manufacture of roof tiles and clay pipes.

For both products the raw material used had parameters that facilitated the optimization

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of the burning process, expressed in significant savings in fuel consumption according to

the volume of production executed: 6,228 L/ semester in roof tiles and 11,682 L/ semester

in pipes.

5. This research identifies best quality management practices and approaches to improve

production performance based on the quality product degree and the orientation of the

process technology used in the manufacturing system (Leffakis, 2016; Sarosky, 2017).

This study dealt with an industrial sector that plays an important role in the economy

of developing countries, which is that of construction materials, a sector that generates many

jobs and produces resources for the people involved.

For this sector, this research shows considerable improvements, particularly in terms

of energy management, which is also a major priority for developing countries. In this sense,

a model is presented to execute actions aimed at energy improvements in an industrial

process, where experiences are conceptualized, and according to the development of

competences in quality professionals as proposed by Cudney and Keim (2017).

It should be noted that the conclusions presented here, the results displayed and the

recommendations made are directed to the studied industry. The generalization of these

aspects is limited to the analytical context of the study.

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