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Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management
Investigation into the implementation stages of manufacturing and quality techniques

and philosophies within the Libyan cement industry
Rajab Abdullah Hokoma Mohammed K. Khan Khalid Hussain
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Rajab Abdullah Hokoma Mohammed K. Khan Khalid Hussain, (2008),"Investigation into the implementation
stages of manufacturing and quality techniques and philosophies within the Libyan cement industry",
Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 19 Iss 7 pp. 893 - 907
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The TQM Journal, Vol. 22 Iss 2 pp. 209-221 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17542731011024309
Mustafa Graisa, Amin Al-Habaibeh, (2011),"An investigation into current production challenges
facing the Libyan cement industry and the need for innovative total productive maintenance (TPM)
strategy", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 22 Iss 4 pp. 541-558 http://
dx.doi.org/10.1108/17410381111126445
Fuzi M. Abusa, Peter Gibson, (2013),"TQM implementation in developing countries: A case study of
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Investigation into the

implementation stages
of manufacturing and quality
techniques and philosophies
within the Libyan cement
industry
Libyan cement
industry
893
Received November 2006
Revised October 2007
Accepted November 2007
Rajab Abdullah Hokoma

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
University of Elmergib, El-Khums, Libya, and
Mohammed K. Khan and Khalid Hussain

School of Engineering, Design and Technology,
University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation level of just-in-time
(JIT), manufacturing resources planning (MRPII) and total quality management (TQM) within the
cement industry in Libya.
Design/methodology/approach This paper covers an overview of the investigated
manufacturing and quality techniques and philosophies. A survey methodology has been applied
in this investigation using an intensive questionnaire to the correspondent organizations.
Findings Based on the analysis of the survey questionnaire responses, the results show that the
management body does not have a clear strategy towards most of the areas that are considered as
being crucial in any successful implementation of the JIT and MRPII techniques/philosophies, with
slightly better results for TQM. The research has identified limitations within the investigated areas
and has pointed to areas where the management should take immediate action in order to achieve
successful and effective implementation of JIT, MRPII and TQM within their organisations. This is an
important finding for the future success of the cement industry in particular, and the manufacturing
industry in general, within Libya.
Research limitations/implications Future research could be applied to cover other industries, in
order to investigate how widely the findings from this study are reflected in other industrial sectors
within Libya.
Originality/value This research is the first to investigate the implementation status of
manufacturing, planning, control and quality techniques and philosophies within the cement industry
in Libya. It makes a contribution by providing an insight into what extent JIT, MRPII and TQM are
understood and implemented within the Libyan cement industry.
Keywords Total quality management, Just in time, Manufacturing resource planning, Cements, Libya
Paper type Case study
The authors are grateful to Mr Mansor Esbiga, Director of the Commercial Department, Ahlyia
Cement Company (Libya) for his assistance in the questionnaire survey.
Journal of Manufacturing Technology

Management
Vol. 19 No. 7, 2008
pp. 893-907
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1741-038X
DOI 10.1108/17410380810898804
JMTM
19,7
894
1. Introduction
Organisations, both services and manufacturing, in recent competitive business
environments, are being challenged to improve their performance to ensure their
position in the marketplace. This could be achieved by continuously improving
their processes and operations, reducing costs of their services/products, and
increasing the capacity of their outputs with a satisfactory quality level, and acceptable
prices. These challenges compel the organisations to change beyond the old traditional
management systems, and implement a new way for managing their businesses
towards continuous improvements, with a serious focus on the organisations internal
and external customers. To achieve these aims, manufacturing and quality techniques
and philosophies should be used as effective management systems that can help
organisations provide a dramatic increase in customer satisfaction (Li et al., 2000).
Most authors identify the top management as the most important factor in achieving
successful and effective complete implementation of manufacturing and quality
techniques and philosophies. The full acceptance of these techniques and philosophies
by the management body is crucial to empower the related teams and individuals to
overcome the barriers in the implementation processes throughout their organisations,
especially within the Libyan environment (Oral et al., 2003).
Libya was relatively poor until the discovery of oil and natural gas in the early
1960s. Since then, the country has turned to industrialisation by engaging in petroleum
processing as well as iron and steel, cement and textile industries. Libya is committed
to developing enhanced abilities to produce goods that meet the quality requirements
of present markets with all the possible products and services, which could be achieved
through the most appropriate and highest technology available (Hokoma et al., 2006a).
Cement is the basic component of making concrete, and was patented and produced
in 1824 by a British stonemason. Presently, more than 1,700 million tonnes a year of
cement are used worldwide with different manufacturing types and procedures to meet
various physical and chemical requirements and interactions (World Report
International, 2004). In addition, the cement industry is considered as one of the
most energy intensive industries around the globe, and is one of the large energy users,
consuming about 2 per cent of the globally produced electricity and about 1.5 per cent
from the total global fuel production (Benzer et al., 2001). A clear understanding and
careful planning and control of the manufacturing operations and processes are
required to efficiently produce these huge amounts of cement every year.
Very little investigation and modelling studies have been carried out over the recent
years in the area of cement industry. However, the available published work was
focused on modelling of the cement manufacturing operation processes rather than
investigating the manufacturing and quality strategies and policies that are applied
within this industry. This paper investigates this area of research to see how
effectively and efficiently the industry being run and to provide an insight into
improvement.
2. An overview of JIT, MRPII and TQM
Just-in-time (JIT), is a management pull system used for planning and control
operations that are used for producing, manufacturing and supplying the requested
products and services at the right place, at the right time they are needed, and at the
exact ordered quantities. The distinctive philosophy of JIT is to eliminate all kinds of
waste by organising the entire system of operations and activities (Azmi et al., 2004).
The JIT system represents the continuous improvement processes throughout the
entire company system, and it can be applied in both production and purchasing
systems within any organisation (Bedia and Martinez, 2002). JIT focuses on the
complete elimination of waste, which is defined as anything that does not add any
value to the products and services. In addition, the modern manufacturing
organisations consider the successful JIT implementation as a key factor for
minimising inventory and maximising the quality of products and services (McMullen,
2001; Lai et al., 2003). This could be achieved through setting well-organised networks
for producing and transporting the right items exactly at the right time with the right
quantities needed, establishing a long-term relationship with vendors to maintain
regulated shipments to minimise ordering cost, and to buy enough parts as needed to
avoid paying holding costs (Henry, 2004; Hokoma et al., 2006a).
Manufacturing resources planning (MRPII) is a management push planning and
control system, established as a second generation of the material requirement
planning (MRP) to address the shortcomings of MRP. It is based on a company wide
database and it includes all elements of MRP and uses master production scheduling
and bill of material as its starting point for creating the initial scheduling (McBurney
and Green, 2002). MRPII is presently a closed loop system which considers all the
manufacturing resources (materials, machines, human, space, tool, etc.) needed to
complete the task in hand. In essence, the final aim of MRPII is the same as JIT,
however, its methodology is a push as apposed to a pull system of JIT.
MRPII has become a key information technology within many manufacturing
environments, used to accomplish production scheduling and extracting data from
several production information systems (Zaho et al., 2002). However, lack of
management involvement within MRPII systems could be the main cause of many
failures throughout the entire manufacturing and managerial operations within
any organisation. The poor attitude towards the MRPII system and inability of the
management to cope with and maintain the implementation of MRPII practices at
the highest level of priority may result in a limited MRPII. A precondition for effective
operation of applying MRPII systems is a high level of file data integrity as the data
must be complete, accurate and up-to-date. It must be collected and filled accurately by
understanding the prime objective for this collection and eliminating all possible
causes of any type of errors (Aghazadeh, 2003; Bindra and Hokoma, 2004; Hokoma
et al., 2006b). However, the greatest factor for successful implementation is the human
one (Ip and Kam, 1998; Power and Sohal, 2000).
Total quality management (TQM) is a management philosophy, which focuses on
the customers needs and requirements, working toward a continuous quality
improvement for the entire organisations production activities (Harrison and Petty,
2002). It has also been described by Cua et al. (2001) as a manufacturing programme
aimed to achieve a continuous high-quality improvement by capitalising on the
involvement of management, suppliers and workforce. The customer dissatisfaction
and the loss of organisations profits could be as a direct result from poor TQM system.
Generally, TQM is considered to be an integrated management approach of an
organisation, applied to achieve a continuous quality improvement throughout the
entire working environment. It aims to satisfy and delight both internal and external
Libyan cement
industry
895
JMTM
19,7
896
customers by encouraging every one to be involved for continuously improving quality

of the produced products/services by using up-to-date technology (Pyzdek, 2001).
For all successful organisations, certainly those that are claiming to be world class
manufacturers (WCM), the implementation of JIT, MRPII and TQM is critical to their
success. This study will investigate the use of these philosophies in the cement
industry in Libya, thereby, investigating its present status and what it needs to do to
improve its path on the road to achieving WCM status. It will also allude to the use of
these three philosophies in other areas of the manufacturing industry within Libya.
3. The current status of the cement industry in Libya
The cement production field is considered to be a high level competitive industry
because of its strong relations to gross domestic products growth for many countries.
Libya has paid strong attention to this industry as all the raw materials required to
produce the cement are locally available. The importance of the cement in the
construction sector as well as for the infrastructure buildings is paramount and
extensively used in most of the major civil engineering projects. This makes the cement
industry an extremely important manufacturing entity requiring further development
and better organisation.
The cement manufacturing in Libya is the sole domain of two main firms,
producing about 10 million tonnes of cement annually from six plants. This production
satisfies most of the domestic needs, and the surplus is exported. However, as evident,
the average capacity utilisation and the manufacturing efficiency are about 50 per cent,
due to a number of manufacturing planning and control reasons (Mobbs, 2001; World
Report International, 2004).
Because of its importance, the cement industry in Libya has been made a high
priority to be upgraded with advanced manufacturing technologies, as well as to be
managed effectively, requiring application of the recent advances in manufacturing
technologies and managerial techniques.
4. Investigation of the cement industry
Considering the importance of the cement industry in any construction developments
around the globe and moreover for Libya, this industry has been considered for
investigation in order to suggest improvements in the managerial activities and
manufacturing operations.
To assess the management commitments on implementing the most effective
managerial techniques and philosophies such as JIT, MRPII, and TQM within
organisations dealing with the cement industry in Libya, a survey questionnaire was
selected to be the research methodology for this study. The questionnaire was designed
to investigate the senior management strategy towards implementing manufacturing,
planning, control and quality techniques and philosophies within the cement industry
in Libya, depending on the perceived opinions from top and senior managers involved
in the decision-making process within the targeted industrial organisations. The
participants in this study were top and senior managers, working for the surveyed
organisations, and all are involved in the key decision-making processes. The surveyed
sample organisations were selected from the archives of The Libyan Ministry of
Industry.
Three separate questionnaire-based surveys were designed to elicit the respondents
answers and suggestions. The goal was to learn about the respondents views,
perceptions, knowledge and commitment towards implementing the investigated

manufacturing and quality techniques/philosophies within their companies, in terms of
planning and development processes, and the strategies being applied towards
implementing these techniques/philosophies. Top and senior managers who were
involved in the decision-making processes within the targeted companies were the
main respondents.
Each questionnaire was developed to cover a particular technique/philosophy, as all
three (JIT, MRPII and TQM) are considered to be different (but inter-related) and cannot
be investigated by only one questionnaire. The three questionnaires were developed to
collect the needed data for JIT, MRPII and TQM, including questions covering almost
all the related areas of the investigated manufacturing and quality control
techniques/philosophies that are related to the entire strategic level within the
Libyan cement industry. Each questionnaire was structured into two main sections.
Section A (general questions) investigated the organisational profile and the
demographic information that included the characteristics of the surveyed company
and the respondents details. The questions were in the form of multiple-choice answers.
In Section B, the questions concentrated on the JIT, MRPII and TQM strategy/strategies
being implemented within the targeted organisations. The questions mainly focused on
the state of the commitments and the emphasis towards implementing the investigated
techniques/philosophies and other related issues within the surveyed companies. Each
question had a multiple-choice answer and the respondents were asked to state on a
yes/no/do not know scale.
A total number of 60 copies of the questionnaire were sent to those organisations.
This represented the total population (100 per cent) available for this survey within the
Libyan cement industry. Each copy of the questionnaire was accompanied with a
formal letter providing explanations about the research being conducted, and
providing some contact details in the case of any inquiries or clarifications. Out of the
60 copies sent to the targeted sample, a total of 36 copies were returned with the
full-completed questionnaire, giving a response rate of 60 per cent, and thus also
representing 60 per cent of the cement industry within Libya. Taking in view of the
small number of the total population and the returned questionnaires, not too much
weight should be placed on the precise numerical values obtained.
4.1 Data analysis
As a first step of analysing the gathered data, a reliability test was conducted for the
entire questionnaire, Cronbachs a is used as the coefficient of reliability for testing the
internal consistency of the constructs validated by the factor analysis. The calculated
value of Cronbachs a was found to be 0.79. According to Pallant (2005), Cronbachs a
coefficient of 0.70 or above is considered adequate for testing the reliability of the entire
questionnaire.
A summary of the data about the approximate total number of employees within the
surveyed organisations is shown in Figure 1. It shows that about 46 per cent of the
respondent organisations have an approximate total number of more than 1,000
employees, whereas the lowest per cent rate (9.1 per cent) of the respondent
organisations is the smaller organisations, with an approximate number of employees
between 50 and 100. This number is for the supplier companies to the cement industry,
which are usually on a much smaller size.
Libyan cement
industry
897
Figure 1.
Showing the approximate
number of employees
within the respondent
organisations
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
From 50 to 100
From 101 to 500
From 501 to 1,000
More than 1,000
Number of employees within the surveyed organisations
The managerial level of the respondents is shown in Figure 2. It shows that about
67 per cent of the respondents are from the middle management level and about
30 per cent are from the lower level of management. The directors and the general
managers of the surveyed organisations also participated, but were only 3 per cent
from the total respondents. This modest participation could be the result of the heavy
duties which these top managers and directors are involved in. This situation was
clearly realised throughout the one-to-one interviews, which were also carried out
during this survey. Another reason which may cause this situation is that these top
managers are depending on their middle and lower managers to deal with such
activities as they are more involved in the organisations strategic business operations.
The respondent organisations size based on their annual turnover shows that most
of these organisations were with an annual turnover of more than 10 million Libyan
Dinars (1LYD 0.43). These participating organisations are considered to be large
companies, making about 61 per cent from the overall participation. The medium
70.0%
Figure 2.
Showing the managerial
position of the
respondents
Percent of respondent managers
898
50.0%
Percent of company respondents
JMTM
19,7
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Top management
Middle Management
Lower Management
The position level of the respondents
Libyan cement
industry
899
80.0%
Implementation level (percent)
organisations, whose turnover is between 5 millions and less than 10 million Libyan
Dinars, did not show much interest in this survey. Their participation was only
18 per cent of the total targeted organisations, where as about 21 per cent from the
respondents preferred not to mention their annual turnover.
Concerning the implementation status of manufacturing, planning, control and
quality techniques and philosophies within the Libyan cement industry, the analysed
data is shown in Figure 3, showing about 14 per cent of the surveyed organisations
are implementing JIT practices, whereas only 7 per cent had implemented MRPII. More
interestingly, a range of about 79 per cent from the surveyed organisations had
indicated that they are TQM implementers partially or fully. This highlights a major
concern for the cement industry. The subsequent tables and discussions focus on the
reasons for non or part implementation of these three philosophies.
Table I shows the question response for not implementing JIT, MRPII and TQM
philosophies. Firstly, looking at the JIT column, it is clear that JIT is not being
implemented for a number of reasons within the cement industry. The two major
reasons for none implementation is lack of top management support (21.4 per cent) and
unfamiliarity with JIT philosophy and practices (57.1 per cent). Surprisingly, there is a
60.0%
40.0%
Figure 3.
Showing the
implementation level of
the JIT, MRPII and TQM
practices within the
surveyed organisations
20.0%
0.0%
JIT
Reason for not implementing

Lack of top management support
Lack of interest within the organisation
The implementation requires formal approval
The technique/philosophy does not fit well with the
organisation
The organisation is not familiar with practices
The technique/philosophy is too expensive to
implement
The technique/philosophy is too complex to
implement
MRPII
TQM
JIT
(per cent)
Technique/philosophy
MRPII
TQM
(per cent)
(per cent)
21.4
00.0
14.3
00.0
00.0
00.0
33.3
00.0
66.7
00.0
57.1
00.0
100.0
00.0
00.0
07.2
00.0
00.0
00.0
00.0
00.0
Table I.
Showing the reasons for
not implementing
JIT/MRPII/TQM
(per cent)
JMTM
19,7
900
small number of respondents (14.3 per cent) which incorrectly assume that JIT requires
some formal approval. One final point to note for JIT is that only 7.2 per cent of the
respondents think that it will be too expensive to implement JIT. On a positive note,
with a potential for incomplete implementation, the zero responses within Table I,
indicate that the JIT philosophy is seen as a positive methodology.
Referring to the MRPII column, a 100 per cent of the respondents are not familiar
with the MRPII philosophy. This is a very stark finding for the cement industry as it is
not possible to have any efficient manufacturing planning and control system which
does not use MRPII or part of it.
With respect to TQM implementation, the reasons given for not implementing this
are lack of top management support (33.3 per cent) and that TQM implementation
requires a formal approval (66.7 per cent). This shows a very little understanding by
the respondents as only one part of TQM (ISO 9000) requires formal approval. There is
no mention of either the cost or the complexity of implementing the TQM philosophy.
One would have expected these two points to have been raised as concerns for not
implementing TQM.
In summarising Table I, different reasons have been given for not implementing
JIT, MRPII and TQM. The major concern, which this table highlights, is the lack of
knowledge and understanding of the three philosophies, and therefore its limited
implementation.
Tables II-IV explores further the management commitment and participation of JIT,
MRPII and TQM practices, respectively. Referring to Table II for the JIT philosophy,
again it highlights a very worrying picture: the top management commitment to
implementing JIT is only 18 per cent with the remaining respondents either stating no
comments (18 per cent) and do not know (63 per cent). Similar results are also found for
managing clear visionary goals and the sharing of this vision with the employees.
Subsequently, the top management have neither committed the necessary resources to
Management commitment and participation
on JIT practices
Table II.
Showing the top
managements
commitment level
towards implanting JIT
The top management is committed to

implementing JIT
The top management hold clear visionary
goals for JIT
The top management shared the vision of
fulfilling the total JIT implementation with all
the employees
The top management developed a detailed
implementation plan for JIT
The top management ensured the necessary
resources to implement JIT
The top management identified the necessary
champions for the implementation of the JIT
programme
The top management ensured a clear
definition of JIT to all the employees
The top management is committed to increase
the customer satisfaction
Yes
(per cent)
No
(per cent)
Do not know
(per cent)
18.2
18.2
63.6
27.3
27.2
45.5
18.1
45.5
36.4
00.0
54.5
45.5
36.4
09.1
54.5
09.1
36.4
54.5
18.2
45.5
36.4
72.7
09.1
18.2
Management commitment and participation

on MRPII practices
The top management is committed to
implementing MRPII
The top management hold clear visionary
goals for MRPII
The top management shared the vision of
fulfilling the total MRPII implementation with
all the employees
implementation plan for MRPII
resources to implement MRPII
champions for the implementation of the
MRPII programme
The top management ensured a clear
definition of MRPII to all the employees
The top management is committed to increase
the customer satisfaction
Management commitment and participation on TQM

practices
The top management is committed to implementing
TQM
The top management hold clear visionary goals for
TQM
The top management shared the vision of fulfilling
the total TQM implementation with all the
employees
implementation plan for TQM
resources to implement TQM
champions for the implementation of the TQM
programme
The top management ensured a clear definition of
TQM to all the employees
The top management is committed to increase the
customer satisfaction
Yes
(per cent)
No
(per cent)
Do not know
(per cent)
16.7
16.6
66.7
00.0
16.7
83.3
00.0
50.0
50.0
00.0
33.3
66.7
00.0
50.0
50.0
00.0
50.0
50.0
00.0
50.0
50.0
72.7
09.1
18.2
Yes
(per cent)
No
(per cent)
Do not know
(per cent)
86.7
00.0
13.3
66.7
00.0
33.3
73.3
13.4
13.3
73.3
13.3
13.4
86.6
00.0
13.4
73.3
20.0
06.7
73.3
20.0
06.7
93.3
00.0
06.7
implement JIT nor has the detailed implementation plan been developed with the
assignment of JIT Champions.
All the above results from Table II point to no implementation of JIT or more
worryingly no knowledge of JIT implementation. Contradicting this, the top
managements commitment to customers satisfaction is as high as 73 per cent. It is
difficult to see how this will be achieved with such poor implementation of the JIT
philosophy.
Libyan cement
industry
901
Table III.
Showing the top
managements
commitment level
towards implanting
MRPII
Table IV.
Showing the top
managements
commitment level
towards implanting TQM
JMTM
19,7
902
Table III shows the top management commitment and participation towards
MRPII implementation. This is even more worrying than JIT implementation as only
16.7 per cent of the respondents were committed to implementing MRPII. For the rest
of the results of Table III (for all of the question categories) the respondents had
0 per cent Yes response. There is a very little knowledge, understanding and
consequently the vision to implement MRPII philosophy. The customer satisfaction
results are same as for JIT implementation. There is a definite need for training and
education for top and middle management on the MRPII philosophy.
Table IV shows the management commitment and participation for TQM
philosophy. As can be seen, the results contained within the table are markedly
different and better from the results for JIT and MRPII. It is clear from this table that
the management is very committed to implementing TQM philosophy with no results
being less than 66 per cent (clear visionary goals), with most results above 70 per cent.
This shows that the management has clear understanding of TQM and the necessary
resources required to implement it. Results are clear from this table in that the TQM
practitioners hold the customer satisfaction to a higher level at 93.3 per cent compared
with the value of JIT and MRPII, which were at 73.2 per cent. However, it must be said
that it will be difficult to achieve both the quality standards and customer satisfaction
level without parallel implementation of JIT and MRPII. A case in point is the
low-efficiency levels of the cement plants (50 per cent), pointing to impossibility of
meeting customer due dates and hence satisfaction with such low levels of efficiency. It
is also a known fact that less efficient plants reflect poor management, which further
lead to low-quality levels.
4.2 Discussion
The findings showed that the implementation levels of JIT, MRPII are at modest and
poor levels, whereas the TQM survey showed slightly relatively higher levels within
the Libyan cement industry. The findings indicate to the urgent need for ensuring the
proper training and education programmes on JIT, MRPII and TQM to all the
leadership and management body, as well as the remaining employees.
It was also found that the top leadership of the surveyed companies did not show
much interest in responding to the survey questionnaires, which reflected the previous
finding concerning the lack of top management support towards implementing these
techniques and philosophies within the Libyan cement industry.
The paper also investigated the strategy applied towards implementing JIT,
MRPII and TQM within the surveyed companies through investigating management
commitment and participation towards this implementation. The results again showed
modest levels of the top management commitment towards the implementation of most
of the categories being crucial for achieving a successful implementation of JIT,
MRPII and TQM within the surveyed industry. The findings indicate to evidence
that there is no structured strategy applied towards implementing JIT, MRPII
and TQM philosophies and techniques within the Libyan cement industry. Even
when companies had indicated themselves as implementers of JIT, MRPII and TQM
(or their sub-elements), it was found that this was being done at a very poor, inefficient
and partial levels.
Finally, the overall result reflects difficulties that the Libyan cement industry is
suffering from. The paper identified problems and issues that the decision makers
might face towards implementing these techniques and philosophies within their
companies. The results also conclude that the cement industry in Libya did not follow
any detailed strategic plan towards achieving a successful and effective
implementation of the JIT, MRPII and TQM philosophies and techniques.
In fact similar findings have been found for other key industries, such as oil and gas,
iron and steel and construction within Libya (Hokoma, 2007). The experiences of
ineffective implementations of JIT, MRPII and/or TQM by organisations in other
countries such as China, Egypt, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan,
South Africa (to name a few), have been cited by Hokoma (2007) and Sayeh (2007). The
findings from these studies reflect those for Libyan industries, particularly for the
current cement industry and point to change management as the way forward.
Based on the present study within the cement industry, the findings from other key
industries within Libya and the findings from other countries, the following key areas
of focus for improvements have been identified: micro level (internal to the company)
and Macro level (external to the company).
4.2.1 Micro level. The achievement of WCM status is at the heart of the proposed
framework. Soft elements such as leadership, teams, communication, culture
and commitment are crucial to the successful achievement of WCM, as they are all
centred around human resource development. The micro level contains these soft
elements which are essential in the proposed improvement process towards
implementing JIT, MRPII and TQM philosophies and techniques successfully, along
with their sub-elements and related issues which support the implementation process.
The following sections explain the contents of the proposed strategy for change
management for the Libyan cement industry:
.
Leadership and culture to change towards continuous improvement throughout
the entire cement industry.
.
A strategic and operational plan to achieve company objective of performance
excellence.
.
Specific training, development and on-going education programmes should be
planned and implemented, at all levels, to realise the potential of all the human
resources.
.
Financial resource commitment for the delivery of the strategic and operational
plan so that training, education and learning, along with implementing the latest
technologies and techniques that are needed to improve the cement industry.
.
Teamwork approach should be used throughout the company. This will allow
the cultural change to develop so that all stakeholders have ownership of the
changes being implemented. However, the teamwork approach will need
openness, communication and a suitable environment for criticising and
suggesting ideas for updating and improving the current status within the
cement industry.
4.2.2 Macro level. The macro level consists of the proposed strategy for the related
institutions within the country along with their roles that can be applied in order to
contribute to improving the industries as whole within Libya. The vision of improving
the surveyed industry can be fully realised only if all the related institutions such as
Libyan cement
industry
903
JMTM
19,7
904
governmental, academia, business, consultancy and technical training centres, work

together to attain this common goal:
.
The governmental institutions can play essential role to encourage all the cement
industry to move towards achieving WCM. The manufacturing strategy is the
government response to the challenges that most of the manufacturing
organisations face. It should be developed in partnership between key
stakeholders and manufacturing industries within the country.
.
The educational strategy within universities and tertiary education institutions
within Libya should include comprehensive manufacturing education, as it is the
major driver for promoting excellence in the manufacturing industries.
Collaboration between industry and academic institutions should be
considered of strategic importance to developing the manufacturing industry
throughout all levels.
.
Training centres for human resource development should be created, which
emphasis on lifelong learning and on-going training programmes for the
manufacturing industry.
.
The quality standards institutions within Libya should provide the needed
consultancy to all the industries based on the related international standards,
and evaluating the impact of domestic and international economic policy on the
Libyan market competitiveness.
.
Finally, the consultancy and advisory institutions should be considered as a key
element of the governments manufacturing strategy by playing a vital role in
assisting the Libyan manufacturing industries to improve their quality,
productivity and work towards achieving WCM. The consultancy and advisory
institutions should contribute strongly to create the conditions of manufacturing
business success and helping the country to respond to the challenge of
globalisation.
For successful achievement of WCM, the cement industry can immediately focus on the
micro level factors, where immediate benefits will be noticed. The macro level factors
will take longer to implement. However, for long-term and permanent improvements,
both levels will need to be implemented.
5. Conclusions
This study is the first to investigate the implementation of the manufacturing,
planning and quality control techniques/philosophies within the cement industry in
Libya. It makes a contribution by providing an insight into what extent JIT, MRPII and
TQM are implemented within the Libyan cement industry. The commitments as well
as the emphasis level of the senior management body were widely investigated in order
to demonstrate the actual status of the applied strategy/strategies. On the basis of the
survey analysis and the response from the related senior managers, the shortcoming
and limitations throughout the applied policy/policies were clearly identified, showing
that the implementation level of JIT and MRPII practices within the cement industry in
Libya is still modest for JIT and non-existent for MRPII. On the other hand, the
implementation level of the TQM practices was at a higher level, but in fact this high
level does not make much impact unless these organisations also work towards a full
implementation of JIT and MRPII. This is because implementing TQM and not paying
much attention towards implementation of JIT and MRPII will not achieve the desired
benefits to the organisations. Although the implementation of TQM is high, without
the implementation of JIT it is difficult to believe that there will be a successful
implementation of TQM.
In addition, the study has identified problems, issues and attitudes that the decision
makers within the industrial environment might face towards this implementation.
From the study of other key industries within Libya and from other countries, a
suggested way forward was proposed at the micro (internal to the company) and macro
(external to the company). The senior management body should pay more attention
through applying a clear strategy towards most of the areas that are considered as
being crucial in any successful implementation of the JIT, MRPII and TQM
techniques/philosophies. Furthermore, more attention should be paid towards
generating improved management commitments in the implementation process, and
taking the full responsibility to encourage and motivate all the involved teams to take
part in the task. Generally, training and ongoing education is essential and should be
provided to all the involved teams/employees at all levels. Ensuring a high level of
understanding of the whole process to all the involved teams may lead to a complete
implementation of all the manufacturing and quality control techniques and
philosophies, thereby moving the cement industry towards world class manufacturing.
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About the authors
Rajab Abdullah Hokoma began his career in Industrial Engineering in 1990, after
his graduation from Industrial Engineering University of Garyounis, Libya, he
received his Masters Degree in Enterprise Management at Warsaw University of
Technology, Poland. In 2007, he was awarded his PhD in the area of
Manufacturing and Quality Control from The University of Bradford, England
(UK). Presently, his duties and research at the University of Elmergib El-Khums
(Libya) are in the area of manufacturing and quality control, JIT, MRPII, TQM,
operations management, logistics and supply chain management. His non-lecturing duties
include, among others, (acting as) the consultant and advisor for manufacturing and quality
control and liaison with industry and education. Rajab Abdullah Hokoma is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: rhokoma@hotmail.com
Mohammed K. Khan received his BEng, PhD and MBA degrees from the
University of Bradford in 1983, 1987 and 1997, respectively. His PhD area of
research was experimental and theoretical (Computational Fluid Dynamics
CFD) study of air turbulence. During 1987-1990, he worked for Pepsi-Cola
International as a Technical Services Manager (covering the whole spectrum of
manufacturing and quality) in the Middle East, Far East and Africa Regions. In
1990, he returned to the Department of the Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering, University of Bradford, as a full time member of the academic staff. Presently he is
an Associate Dean within the School of Engineering, Design and Technology. His current
research interest is in the area of AI/knowledge-based systems and their application to
manufacturing systems, strategy, planning and control.
Khalid Hussain received his BSc in Applied Mathematics from Manchester
Metropolitan University in 1990. In 1993, he received his PhD from
Loughborough University. His PhD area of research was Boundary Element
Analysis of Vehicle Interior Noise. During 1990-1993 he worked as a Noise and
Vibration Project Engineer at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA).
In 1993, he worked as a Research Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University
working in the area of Computational Fluid Dynamics. In 1994, he joined the
Department of Industrial Technology at the University of Bradford as a full time member of the
academic staff. In 1997, he joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of
Bradford. Presently he is the Director of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering Study at the
School of Engineering Design and Technology at the University of Bradford. His current
research is in the area of mathematical modelling and computer simulation of the dynamics of
mechanical systems, vehicle dynamics, and environmental computational fluid dynamics.
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