AN ANALYSIS OF OCCURRENCE OF THE HIDDEN FACTORY PHENOMENON IN PRODUCTION – BASED ON THE SELECTED YIELDS – CASE STUDY

Abstract

This article describes a procedure for identifying the phenomenon of ‘hidden factory’ based on classic and Six Sigma yields, a term attributed to wastefulness during production. The paper presents a study that aims to establish a method for improving the efficiency of production by eliminating this wastefulness. The first part of this article presents a synthesized review of the current literature regarding the negative influence of the ‘hidden factory’ on production efficiency. The theoretical considerations involve a case study with quantitative data collected from a metal foundry of Zawiercie in Poland, which specializes in producing iron castings, including connectors for water, gas, and vapor installations, as well as minor machine castings. The results indicate a hidden factory within this company’s production line. The analyzed example underlines the efficiency of the applied method for detecting the undesired phenomenon of the ‘hidden factory.'