Implementation of total quality tools to increase the level of environmental managementin a Peruvian agro-industrial company

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine how the implementation of quality tools increases the level of environmental management in an agro-industrial company, through a pre-experimental design evaluated 150 days before (January) and 150 days after (September) of the intervention. Prior to implementation, key problems were identified in the irrigation system, such as lack of staff training (27.8%), inadequate installation of equipment (25.9%) and unfavorable weather conditions (18.5%), which generated inefficiency, high costs and water loss. During the pretest, the accumulated data reflected: 278 kg of agrochemicals used (environmental dimension), 7.7% participation in activities (social dimension), 9,880 soles in associated costs (economic dimension), 42 audits carried out and an average regulatory compliance of 86% (institutional dimension). The intervention, based on the PDCA Cycle, showed significant improvements: 261 kg of agrochemicals and 308 m3 of water consumed (environmental dimension), 20 trainings with 273 participants (social dimension), 11,770 soles in total costs distributed in 25 activities (economic dimension), 53 audits carried out and an average regulatory compliance of 88% (institutional dimension). In global terms, environmental management scores went from 10,279 in the pre-test to 12,151 in the post-test, with a total improvement of 1,872 points. Student's t-test (p = 0.003) confirmed significant differences, concluding that the implementation had a positive impact on the company's environmental management.