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Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation follows a structured approach called define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC). Earlier research about its application in emergency healthcare services shows that it requires organizational transformation, which many healthcare setups find difficult. The Kotter change management model facilitates organizational transformation but has not been attempted in LSS settings till now. This study aims to integrate the LSS framework with the Kotter change management model to come up with an integrated framework that will facilitate LSS deployment in emergency health services.

Two-stage Delphi method was conducted by using a literature review. First, the success factors and barriers of LSS are investigated, especially from an emergency healthcare point of view. The features and benefits of Kotter's change management models are then reviewed. Subsequently, they are integrated to form a framework specific to LSS deployment in an emergency healthcare set-up. The elements of this framework are analyzed using expert opinion ratings. A new framework for LSS deployment in emergency healthcare has been developed, which can prevent failures due to challenges faced by organizations in overcoming resistance to changes.

The eight steps of the Kotter model such as establishing a sense of urgency, forming a powerful guiding coalition, creating a vision, communicating the vision, empowering others to act on the vision, planning for and creating short-term wins, consolidating improvements and producing still more change, institutionalizing new approaches are derived from the eight common errors that managers make while implementing change in the institution. The study integrated LSS principles and Kotter’s change management model to apply in emergency care units in order to reduce waste and raise the level of service quality provided by healthcare companies.

The present study could contribute knowledge to the literature by providing a framework to integrate lean management and Kotter's change management model for the emergency care unit of the healthcare organization. This framework guides decision-makers and organizations as proper strategies are required for applying lean management practices in any system.

The proposed framework is unique and no other study has prescribed any integrated framework for LSS implementation in emergency healthcare that overcomes resistance to change.

Numerous attempts at installing Six Sigma (SS) have faced challenges and fallen short of the desired success. Thus, it becomes vital to identify the critical factors and characteristics that play a pivotal role in achieving successful adoption. Research has highlighted that a considerable number of corporate Six Sigma initiatives, around 60%, fail primarily due to the improper incorporation of essential elements and flawed assumptions.

To validate the influence of CSFs on Six Sigma accomplishment, the study employed a research design combining exploratory and mixed-methods approaches. The analysis focused on 260 completed questionnaires, and statistical methods including SEM, EFA, and CFA were utilized for data analysis.

The study acknowledged four essential components of CSFs that are imperative for sustaining the success of Six Sigma (SS): (1) Competence of Belt System employees; (2) Project management skills; (3) Organizational economic capability; and (4) Leadership commitment and engagement. These factors were identified as significant contributors to the maintenance of Six Sigma’s success.

The practical implications of this research imply that institutions, practitioners, and researchers can utilize the four identified factors to foster the sustainable deployment of SS initiatives. By incorporating these factors, organizations can enhance the effectiveness and longevity of their Six Sigma practices.

The investigation’s originality lies in its contribution to assessing critical success factors in Six Sigma deployment within the European automobile industry, utilizing a mixed-methods research design supplemented by descriptive statistics.

This research aims to establish the applicability of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 18404 standard to the service sector, identify any required amendments and identify the critical success factors and barriers to deploying the standard within the service sector.

The study used a qualitative approach by interviewing operational excellence (OPEX) professionals who work in the service sector.

The findings indicate a significant lack of knowledge about the existence of the standard and a general scepticism regarding the applicability of the current ISO 18404 standard to the service sector.

Limited examples of the application of ISO 18404 in organisations exist, as only a few organisations have adopted the standard. Therefore, the research focussed on the challenges and obstacles that experienced OPEX professionals perceived could be an issue.

The study will aid service sector organisations in understanding the standard and, subsequently, determine whether to pursue it as part of an OPEX programme. This research is the first study on the application of ISO 18404 to the service sector.

The aim of this study reported in this paper was to explore the application of operational excellence methodologies in a global context.

A qualitative interview approach was used to understand the current state, benefits, challenges, success factors, tools and techniques of operational excellence methodology implementation with relevance to logistics companies worldwide. About 16 interviews were undertaken with practitioners working in leading companies and with leading academics in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America and Australia.

The findings show that operational excellence methodologies including Lean, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma and Agile can apply in logistics firms to improve operations and productivity and save costs. Top management support and involvement play an important role in the success of operational excellence projects in the logistics service.

The findings will be of interest to top and middle managers and logistics practitioners, with a dual aim of improving logistics performance and saving costs.

The present study has been one of the first global study attempts to explore the implementation of operational excellence methodologies in the logistics sectors.

The use of technology in 4th industrial revolution is at its peak. Industries are trying to reduce the consumption of resources by effectively utilizing information and technology to connect different functioning agents of the manufacturing industry. Without digitization “Industry 4.0” will be a virtual reality. The present survey-based study explores the factual status of digital manufacturing in the Northern India.

After an extensive literature review, a questionnaire was designed to gather different viewpoints of Indian industrial practitioners. The first half contains questions related to north Indian demographic factors which may affect digitalization of India. The latter half includes the queries concerned with various operational factors (or drivers) driving the digital revolution without ignoring Indian constraints.

The focus of this survey was to understand the current level of digital revolution under the ongoing push by the Indian government focused upon digital movement. The analysis included non-parametric testing of the various demographic and functional factors impacting the digital echoes, specifically in Northern India. Findings such as technological upgradations were independent of type of industry, the turnover or the location. About 10 key operational factors were thoughtfully grouped into three major categories—internal Research and Development (R&D), the capability of the supply chain and the capacity to adapt to the market. These factors were then examined to understand how they contribute to digital manufacturing, utilizing an appropriate ordinal logistic regression. The resulting predictive analysis provides seldom-seen insights and valuable suggestions for the most effective deployment of digitalization in Indian industries.

The country-specific Industry 4.0 literature is quite limited. The survey mainly focuses on the National Capital Region. The number of demographic and functional factors can further be incorporated. Moreover, an addition of factors related to ecology, environment and society can make the study more insightful.

The present work provides valuable insights about the current status of digitization and expects to facilitate public or private policymakers to implement digital technologies in India with less efforts and the least resistance. It empowers India towards Industry 4.0 based tools and techniques and creates new socio-economic dimensions for the sustainable development.

The quantitative nature of the study and its statistical predictions (data-based) are novel. The clubbing of similar success factors to avoid inter-collinearity and complexity is seldom seen. The predictive analytics provided in this study is quite elusive as it provides directions with logic. It will help the Indian Government and industrial strategists to plan and perform their interventions accordingly.

This research paper aims to analyze the scientific and grey literature on Quality 4.0 and zero-defect manufacturing (ZDM) frameworks to develop an integrated quality 4.0 framework (IQ4.0F) for quality improvement (QI) based on Six Sigma and machine learning (ML) techniques towards ZDM. The IQ4.0F aims to contribute to the advancement of defect prediction approaches in diverse manufacturing processes. Furthermore, the work enables a comprehensive analysis of process variables influencing product quality with emphasis on the use of supervised and unsupervised ML techniques in Six Sigma’s DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) cycle stage of “Analyze.”

The research methodology employed a systematic literature review (SLR) based on PRISMA guidelines to develop the integrated framework, followed by a real industrial case study set in the automotive industry to fulfill the objectives of verifying and validating the proposed IQ4.0F with primary data.

This research work demonstrates the value of a “stepwise framework” to facilitate a shift from conventional quality management systems (QMSs) to QMSs 4.0. It uses the IDEF0 modeling methodology and Six Sigma’s DMAIC cycle to structure the steps to be followed to adopt the Quality 4.0 paradigm for QI. It also proves the worth of integrating Six Sigma and ML techniques into the “Analyze” stage of the DMAIC cycle for improving defect prediction in manufacturing processes and supporting problem-solving activities for quality managers.

This research paper introduces a first-of-its-kind Quality 4.0 framework – the IQ4.0F. Each step of the IQ4.0F was verified and validated in an original industrial case study set in the automotive industry. It is the first Quality 4.0 framework, according to the SLR conducted, to utilize the principal component analysis technique as a substitute for “Screening Design” in the Design of Experiments phase and K-means clustering technique for multivariable analysis, identifying process parameters that significantly impact product quality. The proposed IQ4.0F not only empowers decision-makers with the knowledge to launch a Quality 4.0 initiative but also provides quality managers with a systematic problem-solving methodology for quality improvement.

The purpose of this global study is to investigate the critical failure factors (CFFs) in the deployment of operational excellence (OPEX) programs as well as the key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be used to measure OPEX failures. The study also empirically analyzes various OPEX methodologies adopted by various organizations at a global level.

This global study utilized an online survey to collect data. The questionnaire was sent to 800 senior managers, resulting in 249 useful responses.

The study results suggest that Six Sigma is the most widely utilized across the OPEX methodologies, followed by Lean Six Sigma and Lean. Agile manufacturing is the least utilized OPEX methodology. The top four CFFs were poor project selection and prioritization, poor leadership, a lack of proper communication and resistance to change issues.

This study extends the current body of knowledge on OPEX by first delineating the CFFs for OPEX and identifying the differing effects of these CFFs across various organizational settings. Senior managers and OPEX professionals can use the findings to take remedial actions and improve the sustainability of OPEX initiatives in their respective organizations.

This study uniquely identifies critical factors leading to OPEX initiative failures, providing practical insights for industry professionals and academia and fostering a deeper understanding of potential pitfalls. The research highlights a distinctive focus on social and environmental performance metrics, urging a paradigm shift for sustained OPEX success and differentiating itself in addressing broader sustainability concerns. By recognizing the interconnectedness of 12 CFFs, the study offers a pioneering foundation for future research and the development of a comprehensive management theory on OPEX failures.

The lean manufacturing (LM) approach is a highly effective method that can be implemented in any industry to streamline production processes, meet customer demand and eliminate any unnecessary waste. This paper aims to propose and evaluate a generic project-based framework grounded on the LM approach for reducing lead time in foundry processes.

Using design science research (DSR), we developed a generic LM project-based framework for reducing lead time in foundry processes.

The developed framework provides an alternative method to implement LM projects to reduce lead time and nonvalue activities in foundry factories.

The findings of this research can guide better lean practitioners for lead time reduction in foundry processes.

This paper contributes to the operational excellence literature when discussing the impact of the LM approach on foundry processes. In addition, the paper provides a roadmap for reducing lead time in a foundry company.

Optimizing manufacturing processes addresses operational challenges and yields significant benefits across the business spectrum. This study aims to comprehensively analyze a manufacturing process through value stream mapping (VSM), aiming to streamline operations, reduce production lead times and minimize work-in-process (WIP) inventory levels. These improvements directly enhance competitiveness, customer satisfaction and overall business success, enabling a swift response to market demands, timely delivery of high-quality products and cost-effectiveness.

The approach integrates current and future-state VSM concepts with Lean tools across four stages: problem definition, current-state VSM analysis, future-state VSM design and improvement implementation. A team assembled to improve the manufacturing process for electronic devices has successfully implemented this approach.

Implemented improvements significantly reduced WIP inventory (88.8% equivalent to $572,171 annually) and production lead time (from 28.26 to 3.21 days), enhancing operational flexibility and competitiveness. Streamlined processes led to a 13% decrease in cycle time and a notable reduction in daily rework (63.6%), amounting to $118,127 annually. Labor reduction (45.5%) yielded annual savings of approximately $594,000, with affected individuals successfully transitioning to other roles, highlighting the effectiveness of lean methodologies without job cuts.

This initiative exemplifies the effective use of VSM and Lean tools in optimizing an electronic device manufacturing operation that produces 43 products across various processes. By leveraging these methodologies, this research offers valuable insights into enhancing production efficiency, resulting in shorter production lead times, reduced cycle times and significant decreases in WIP inventory and rework.

India’s manufacturing sector employs about 12% of the labour force and contributes to about 17% of the nation’s GDP. The Indian government intends to implement several initiatives under the “Make in India” and Atma Nirbhar Bharat banners to increase the manufacturing sector’s share of the nation’s GDP to 25% by 2025. Applying lean manufacturing, green manufacturing and Six Sigma is crucial to ensure that India’s manufacturing sectors grow sustainably in international markets. This study aims to identify sustainability indicators and ascertain their respective weights to evaluate the sustainability performance of the Indian manufacturing industry.

This research identifies 25 sustainability indicators and classifies them into the triple bottom line of sustainability based on an evaluative literature review and expert opinion. The Best Worst Method was utilised to determine the weights of the sustainability indicators. The sustainability index was developed to evaluate economic, social and environmental sustainability.

The sustainability performance of a foundry in a significant Western Indian State city was assessed by applying the developed sustainability index. After the adoption of integrated lean, green and Six Sigma (LG&SS) strategies and related practices in the foundry, there has been a notable improvement of 68.03% in the economic index, 61.62% in the social index and 13.24% in the environmental index.

The proposed sustainability index is applied and evaluated specifically for assessing the sustainability performance of Indian manufacturing SMEs. It can be used to substantiate firm’s sustainability performance and also to assess the improvement in firm’s performance in economic, environmental and social dimensions after implementing various operational excellence practices. However, it cannot serve as a benchmark tool across similar companies or organisations.

The developed sustainable index can be used to analyse the company or organisation’s sustainability performance and see how various strategies have improved things. Practitioners can use this index to assess social, economic and environmental performance and focus on areas that need improvement.

The proposed sustainability index serves as a vital tool for monitoring a firm’s progress in triple bottom line (TBL) dimensions of sustainability, tracking a diverse range of indicators and encouraging sustainable organisational practices.

This study attempts to assess the economic, social and environmental performance of Indian Manufacturing SMEs by proposing a sustainability index.