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Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a continuous improvement methodology that has been adopted by several companies as a strategy to increase their competitive advantage. However, due to the misuse of LSS theory in practice, a high rate of implementation failure results. There is a need for a structured and standardised framework to describe how the LSS initiative should be implemented and sustained over time. As a result, this study aims to develop a practical, user-friendly and accurate LSS road map for a Scottish manufacturing small and medium enterprise.

The approach was to analyse existing literature on lean and Six Sigma that included road maps and critical success factors (CSFs) in order to design an in-company, quantitative survey instrument. The aim of the survey was to evaluate employees' perceptions on the importance of LSS CSFs for the successful implementation and sustainability of a continuous improvement initiative. Based on the literature and results from the data collected, an LSS reference guide - in the form of a road map - was designed to support LSS implementation and sustainability.

A customised LSS reference guide in a road map format for the Scottish SME was proposed. This road map was developed by adopting existing successful road maps from the literature into consideration and then adapting them to fulfil the company's particular perspective on CI. This study complements current literature on LSS road maps and corroborates LSS CSFs as crucial for successful LSS implementation and sustainability, regardless of the type of company and/or culture. However, a degree of importance is ascribed to the organisation's culture.

Whilst a survey was used as the data collection instrument future interviews with employees would enhance the understanding of the organisational culture and hence further improve the road map.

The authors developed a practical and strategic roadmap for a Scottish packaging small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) which can be used by other similar SMEs. The proposed LSS road map can be replicated and/or adapted for companies in their application of LSS. The methodology by which this study's road map was designed can be used as a guide in the development of further CI road maps.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between the behavioral orientation of leaders from different hierarchical levels and the implementation phase of the lean manufacturing (LM) roadmap. In addition, it also aims at analyzing the influence of inherent contextual variables related to leadership.

The proposed method relies on both qualitative and quantitative approaches, since it combines and numerically assesses the results of semi-structured interviews with lean experts, in addition to evaluating a cross-sectional survey with 225 leaders from different Brazilian companies that are undergoing LM implementation.

The findings support the existence of a transient leadership style along the LM implementation, which is evidenced in terms of task and relation orientation and may vary according to the hierarchical level. Furthermore, the context does matter with regard to leadership style orientation along the LM roadmap phases, although not all variables matter to the same extent.

LM implementation is about changing both technical and socio-cultural aspects, which can be seen as the essence of leadership. The relevant question that arises is whether leaders’ behaviors from different hierarchical levels should be adapted according to the maturity of LM implementation and the contextual variables that surround leadership.

The purpose of this study is to carry out a comprehensive systematic review of lean implementation frameworks and roadmaps developed over the past decade and report the key findings along with the limitations and the way forward.

A systematic review methodology proposed by Tranfield (2003), was followed to identify the relevant works on the research topic. Articles were searched using a set of inclusion criteria in various databases including Google Scholar, Web of Science and Science Direct over a period of 30 years.

The high failure rate of lean system implementation, reaching a range between 70 and 90% in almost all industries, is a matter of concern. This failure rate is still high even though numerous frameworks and roadmap models exist to streamline lean implementation. There is no standard framework or roadmap identified in the literature and many organisations are implementing lean in their unique ways. However, it would be desirable to develop a practical and systematic roadmap on lean-looking into the cultural and leadership dimensions rather than focusing on a set of tools. Moreover, most frameworks and roadmaps lack the sustenance aspects of lean implementation.

This research only identifies the fundamental gaps with the existing frameworks and roadmaps on lean implementation. The next phase of the research is to develop a roadmap and validate it with a number of organisations in different cultural contexts and leadership styles.

The authors argue that this is one of the most comprehensive systematic review on lean frameworks and roadmaps, ever produced in the literature to date.

The purpose of this paper is to determine leadership styles at each hierarchic level that best support the LM implementation process in a given company.

To achieve that, the authors propose a method that combines information from two sources in three major steps. First, using opinions from experts on lean implementation from an activity sector of interest the authors determine leadership styles that best suit each phase of the LM roadmap for that sector. Next, the authors analyze a specific company within the activity sector to determine: at which lean roadmap phase the company is at the moment; and the style of its current leaderships at each hierarchical level. Finally, the authors combine information from previous steps to diagnose the suitability of company’s leaderships to its lean implementation needs.

The method points at improvement alternatives that may be developed simultaneously at different leadership hierarchical levels in companies. Further, using the matrix of ideal leadership styles, companies may be able to identify implementation phases in the lean process that are poorly served by current leadership styles, anticipating problems and developing HRM practices to mitigate them. That is quite relevant, since changes in leadership behaviors and expectations may take longer time to be implemented; therefore, it is important to understand these opportunities and have a clear vision of current gaps within the company.

The identification of leaderships’ attributes and behaviors in companies at different phases of the lean implementation roadmap contributes to the existing body of knowledge on lean manufacturing. The method is intended as a supporting tool for lean implementation, as it enables the assessment of gaps in leadership behaviors in the organization, and directs to improvements according to the phase of lean implementation. The goal is to complement existing lean roadmaps by driving improvements in leadership-related aspects of the implementation process.

The government plays a critical role in driving building information modeling (BIM) implementation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the government efforts for driving BIM implementation in three benchmark countries, namely, Singapore, the UK and the US, so as to develop appropriate roadmaps for increasing BIM implementations in other countries.

This study performs a review on the government efforts and roles in BIM implementation in three benchmark countries, namely, Singapore, the UK and the US.

Through cross comparison with existing literature, it is found that Singapore and the UK adopt a government-driven approach and a phase-by-phase development pattern is observed. The first phase focuses on the building sector to rapidly increase the use of BIM and the government generally plays the role of an initiator. In the second phase, BIM is expanded to other implementation areas, e.g. smart city. The importance of the initiator role decreases and more attention is paid to supporting roles such as researcher, educator and regulator. In contrast, an industry-driven approach is adopted in the US. The main role of the government is that of a regulator, with research institutions actively supporting the BIM implementation.

General roadmaps of the two mandating approaches are presented. The results can provide a useful reference for countries and regions that intend to develop roadmaps to increase their BIM maturity level and enhance readiness to accept and implement BIM.

This study is one of the first studies that investigate the step-by-step roadmaps for implementing BIM from the perspective of changing government roles.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the significant variables leading to successful implementation of enterprise resource management (ERM) and its predecessor concepts of enterprise resource planning, supply chain planning, electronic commerce, and radio frequency identification systems. An implementation roadmap is presented using four stages for implementing ERM systems: planning, development, implementation, and testing. The roadmap indicates when and where the significant success variables would appear and how a firm might manage the implementation process.

In the research, the key success criteria and key implementation drivers uncovered by literature, case studies, and interviews were used. A survey instrument was constructed and the survey hosted on a web site where practitioners from industry were invited to supply opinions. The data were analyzed by using correlation models and one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to develop cause‐effect diagrams (CE) for overall ERM systems and each component of ERM. Based on the controlled error of the ANOVA process, the CE diagram was used to depict the degree to which variables influence implementation success.

The research results have helped uncover the key significant variables that contribute to successful ERM implementation.

The proposed implementation roadmap indicates when and where the significant success variables would appear and how a firm might manage the implementation process.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a holistic model for reviewing business excellence (BE) concepts from a systemic perspective and to propose an implementation guideline intending to fill the gap between theory and practice of systems thinking in quality management.

The research is an exploratory investigation into the business excellence implementation based on systems thinking. After an exhaustive review of literature about BE implementation frameworks, critical barriers and success factors, system‐based integration models and change management models, a methodology was developed which describes the process of designing and implementing a sustainable BE.

The outcome of this research is a roadmap of BE implementation for sustaining organizational excellence obtained from a meta‐model proposed in this study.

The findings of this study are relevant to all different sized organizations, in different sectors and industries, for managing dynamic and complex processes in order to guarantee a sustainable BE.

The paper presents a unique roadmap for implementing BE in the light of systems thinking; such a roadmap has not been addressed in previous publications. When used properly, this roadmap can direct organizations toward sustainable excellence.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an alternative integrated approach based on the stage-gate method to implement enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems which will enhance the effectiveness of ERP projects.

A literature review was conducted on ERP system implementation and its effectiveness. The need for improving implementation approaches and methodologies was examined. Based on the insights gained, a conceptual framework for ERP system implementation is presented by combining the state-gate approach with the pre-implementation roadmap.

The proposed framework aims to enhance the overall ERP implementation outcomes, ensuring critical success factors and eliminating common causes of failures. A pre-implementation roadmap is identified as a key element for eliminating many causes of failure including lack of organisations’ readiness for ERP. The post-implementation stage can be used for further improvements to the system through internal research and development.

The development of the framework is an attempt to contribute to improving ERP implementation. This research is expected to motivate researchers to work in this area, and it will be beneficial to practicing managers in the identification of opportunities for improvements in ERP systems. Case studies will be valuable to refine and validate the proposed model.

This paper explores research in a needy area and offers a framework to help researchers and practitioners in improving ERP implementation. This framework is expected to reduce the implementation project duration, strengthen critical success factors and minimise common problems of ERP implementation projects.

Health and social care facilities are usually complex buildings that require continuous effort to provide resilient and sustainable responses to changes in demographics, technologies, diseases and models of care. Despite resilience and sustainability concepts being frequently used by practitioners and researchers, ambiguities in their definitions often result in a lack of operational solutions to record, monitor and improve the resilience and sustainability of health and social care facilities. Although the importance and complexity of the issues are widely acknowledged, there is little strategic guidance as to how they should be achieved. The purpose of this paper is to assess the suitability of developing a roadmap for improving the resilience and sustainability of UK health and social care facilities, and to identify the layers and processes needed to construct such a roadmap.

A qualitative approach was adopted, starting with a literature review of different types of roadmaps and their suitability to support the desired improvement objectives. Layers and processes were thus developed using the key issues identified in three recent research streams, and the roadmap was structured.

The major findings have been captured within a three-layer, four-step process generic roadmap for improving the resilience and sustainability of health and social care facilities that can be used to monitor performance, plans future actions and implement response to change.

This paper targets decision makers, especially estate managers, but the proposed layers and processes can be modified for other stakeholders.

This paper suggests an original approach for the development of a roadmap for resilience and sustainability of health and social care facilities, and specifically of how to structure layers and processes, envisioning a more integrated development of service provision and infrastructure asset management.

Building information modelling (BIM) implementation is a major change management task, involving diversity of risk areas. The identification of the challenges and barriers is therefore an imperative precondition of this change process. This paper aims to diagnose UK's construction industry to develop a clear understanding about BIM adoption and to form an imperative step of consolidating collective movements towards wider BIM implementation and to provide strategies and recommendations for the UK construction industry for BIM implementation.

Through comprehensive literature review, the paper initially establishes BIM maturity concept, which paves the way for the analysis via qualitative and quantitative methods: interviews are carried out with high profile organisations in Finland to gauge the best practice before combining the results with the analysis of survey questionnaire amongst the major contractors in the UK.

The results are established in the form of the initial phase of a sound BIM implementation guidance at strategic and operational levels. The findings suggest three structured patterns to systematically tackle technology, process and people issues in BIM implementation. These are organisational culture, education and training, and information management. The outcome is expressed as a roadmap for the implementation of BIM in the UK entailing issues that require consideration for organisations to progress on the BIM maturity ladder.

It paves a solid foundation for organisations to make informed decisions in BIM adaptation within the overall organisation structure.

This research consolidates collective movements towards wider implementation of BIM in the UK and forms a base for developing a sound BIM strategy and guidance.