THE EFFECT OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ON PRODUCTIVITY WITH REFERENCE TO PACKAGING MATERIALS, THE CASE OF HEINEKEN BREWERY SHARE COMPANY

Abstract

Amongst beverage industries, breweries in particular face intense competition and must constantly improve their production processes to remain competitive. One of the major determinants of competitiveness at the industrial level is rising productivity. Efficient usage of raw materials is one of the key indicators of productivity in addition to other resources like labor, capital, and energy. This study examines the effect of the packaging materials quality management system on the productivity of the Heineken Brewery. The research focuses on three independent variables: quality control, quality assurance, and supplier relationship management, and their impact on the brewery's productivity measured in terms of machine breakdown and rejection percentage of a packaging line. The study employed an explanatory research design, adopting a case study strategy. The study's population is employees with direct and indirect experience with packaging materials in three departments: packaging, quality, and procurement. The target population includes operators and technicians who work on machines fed with primary and secondary packaging materials, production team leaders, quality analysts, material specialists, and managers. the sampling method utilized non-probability purposive sampling techniques. Data collection and analysis will encompass both quantitative and qualitative analyses through surveys, observations, and interviews to examine the research problem comprehensively. The results are discussed descriptively, and linear regression analysis is performed to ascertain the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The descriptive analysis gives a clear image of the perception of the shopfloor team on the quality management system and supplier relationship management of the brewery. The regression analysis presented a statistically substantial association between quality assurance, quality control, supplier relationship management, and productivity. The findings suggest that implementing good quality assurance, high quality control management, and also strong supplier communication management positively affects the productivity levels of packaging lines through the reduction of machine breakdowns and quality rejections because of packaging materials that don’t meet the company specifications.