Lean Philosophy Applied to Gemstones Certification

The intention is to demonstrate advantages of using Lean philosophy tools in Gemstones’ certification through a case study about the implementation in GemsValue´s training and certification center in Lisbon, specifically in the reports’ production department. The problem that originated this study occurred because of the company´s growth, as more client orders came with a consequent need for rapid production increase, risking either not attending the client or lose quality. To prevent this from happening and since there was space for improvement, GemsValue decided to use Lean to achieve this goal. With this action, GemsValue improved the reports’ production process in terms of waste reductions and quality results, allowing for an increase in production in the same available time without quality loss. The methodology focused on the reports’ production process details, such as the process phases, the space cleanliness and organization, the time spent and the analysis of the report as it is the important final product that also had room to be improved. The results obtained were positive, as there was a reduction in the total time required to produce each report as well as an increase in daily production capacity without quality loss or major investments. Stakeholders were made aware of the advantages associated with maintaining the implemented measures, which brought understanding and satisfaction to all. In this way, GemsValue obtained a permanent improvement for the future in the Gemstones’ certification process.

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Certification, Gemstone, Lean, Report