Impact of lean practices on performance measures in context to Indian machine tool industry

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of lean production practices on performance measures in machine tool industry and determines the lean criteria that can have significant positive impact on performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The research paper presents a blend of theoretical framework and practical applications. Extant literature was reviewed and to achieve the research objectives, an exploratory survey was carried out in machine tool supply chains located in the national capital region of India. Reliability test, factor analysis and stepwise multiple regression analysis bring out several lean criteria that can affect key performance measures.

Findings

It was found that two lean criteria, namely, strategic partnership with suppliers and cross-functional cross-organizational design and development teams significantly influenced most of the key performance measures. Some lean criteria were found to negatively affect the overall competitive potential of machine tool firms.

Originality/value

The findings can encourage the management of non-adopter firms to adopt lean thinking and to select the lean production criteria that can be implemented to have significant positive impact on key performance indicators in machine tool value chains. This study is perhaps among the first few that focus on machine tool industry in India. The paper provides useful insights to the lean production implementers, consultants and researchers.

Citation

Sharma, V., Dixit, A.R. and Qadri, M.A. (2015), "Impact of lean practices on performance measures in context to Indian machine tool industry", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 26 No. 8, pp. 1218-1242. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-11-2014-0118