Practical Application of Plan–Do–Check–Act Cycle for Quality Improvement of Sustainable Packaging: A Case Study

The research aims to give practical instructions for applying Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA) cycle in a packaging process. Eco-friendly, recycled material and a new packaging method for quality improvement and cost efficiency of heavily fragile product packaging are studied in this paper. A case study was conducted at GPEM laboratory, Vietnamese German University, Vietnam. In this case study, the current packaging style with Styrofoam material was analyzed and replaced by new packaging material and methods after applying the PDCA cycle for continuous quality improvement. Targets of the research were to find the new packaging method using friendly environment materials, to improve the quality, and to reduce the defect ratio due to packaging for fine-stone round surface fountains. Moreover, the extra cost should not be higher than 20% compared with the current packaging cost. The article proposes a simplified way that focuses on the combination of quality tools in the PDCA multiple phases to solve these problems. The quality tools are applied effectively through the PDCA cycle from collecting data, defining, analysis, testing, evaluation, and making decisions. New packaging design was been produced and tested successfully. One hundred percent of new packaging boxes for the mid-weight fountains (under 15 kg) passed the dropping test condition. Nearly 10% of the heavier weight products (above 15 kg) still had some small cracks on their top and bottom due to drop tests. Another PDCA cycle is recommended to continue applying for achieving a thorough solution. The conducted results show that PDCA is an effective method to tackle the damage product issue due to inappropriate packaging material and technique. It also brings good solutions for balancing sustainable packaging improvement and reducing the cost to ensure profit for companies. Besides contributing a guide reference for PDCA deployment, the authors intend to inspire practitioners and researchers to broaden exploration of the PDCA applications for sustainable packaging methodology. The research analysis shows that the PDCA methodology should be applied for defect reduction and quality enhancement in the packaging field. The field currently lacks systematic guidance for continuous improvement.