Lean 6S in Food Production: HACCP as a Benchmark for the Sixth S “Safety”

Abstract

This article presents the integration of lean 6S methodologies and hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) in the food production sector. Through the study, it is seen that non-food industrial production is not very different from that of food, and in many cases, it assimilates protocols and ideas that are already working in the food industry. Such is the case of risk analysis, critical control points or hygiene, which are part of the food production protocol and of the industry in general. After the integrative analysis, the article proposes a common lean 6S–HACCP model, which can be used both in food production and in non-food industrial production. Food quality management systems, a fundamental element of HACCP which the project must necessarily include, is analyzed in-depth. The peculiarities prior to the integration of the mandatory HACCP and the voluntary lean are analyzed, as well. Throughout the manuscript, an important series of considerations regarding lean is collected, giving practical examples of its use in the food environment. The study makes special reference to concurrent engineering, which, as is known, constitutes the link between 5S and lean. This analysis aims to present a lean 6S HACCP implementation project.