Search results

The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of research on lean focusing on barriers in its implementation through a systematic literature survey.

A literature survey of peer-reviewed journal articles, survey reports, master theses, doctoral theses and paradigmatic books with managerial impact is used as the research methodology.

The findings derived from the evaluation of the publications analyzed have led to the identification of 24 lean barriers. The success of lean implementation will not be entirely based on application of appropriate tools and techniques alone but also on the top managements' involvement and leadership, workers' attitude, resources and the organizational culture.

This literature survey is primarily focused on lean implementation in the manufacturing sector.

This paper explores barriers for successful lean implementation and provides a concise description of the barriers that will be helpful for further studies in the domain of lean manufacturing.

Government of many countries around the world is encouraging and helping small- and medium-scale industries to understand and implement lean systems by preparing accessible database of lean consultants, providing financial assistance for training by professionals and establishing professional associations. However, many industries experienced failure in lean implementation. This research work provides a launching pad to develop a strategy to tackle barriers for successful lean implementation.

This paper puts forward the key barriers that should be tackled for successful lean implementation. It might represent new opportunities for rigorous and relevant research that would contribute to more translucent knowledge of lean being gained.

Failure in engaging shop floor employees (including supervisory staff) in lean, lacking of supervisory skills in leading workers and lacking of lean technical knowhow among the shop floor employees are some of the major obstacles in lean transformation. One of the reasons of inefficient lean transformation is the shortages in frameworks or plans in implementing lean. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the shortfalls in the current lean implementation frameworks.

The frameworks were analysed according to the following criteria: first, “What” is the approach of lean implementation, i.e. top-down or bottom-up; second, “How” to implement lean (description of steps or sequences of lean implementation along the lean journey); third, “Why” – the reason of adoption of the proposed lean tools, techniques or practices (thereafter TTPs) in each phase of lean implementation; and fourth, “Who” are the targeted internal stakeholders to use or apply the lean TTPs that were proposed in the frameworks.

Most of the current available lean frameworks were prone to top-down approach but not bottom-up. Improvement initiatives from the shop floor employees were often overlooked by researchers. In proposing their frameworks, most of the researchers have neglected the importance of “Why” aspect in the adoption of TTPs or the framework itself without giving the “reason” for each of the elements in lean implementation. Besides the aspects of “What” and “How”, the mentioned “Why” aspect is important in contributing to capability building among the shop floor employees in carrying out improvement, problem-solving or waste elimination activities. The aspect of “Who should carry out which lean TTP” was somewhat not emphasised by most of the lean researchers. In addition, the current frameworks were prone to “one-best-way” approach with lacking of contingency sense, which is one of the common criticisms against Lean Production System.

This paper provides a critical view on the shortfalls of current lean implementation frameworks, and proposes an insight of new criteria for future research in analysing and proposing new lean implementation framework towards lean transformation.

Implementation of lean manufacturing is currently performed in the production industry; however, for the airline maintenance service industry, it is still in its infancy. Indicators such as work in process, cycle time, on-time performance and inventory are useful indicators to measure lean implementation; however, a financial economic perspective taking fixed assets into consideration is still missing. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to propose a method to measure lean implementation from a fixed asset perspective for this type of industry. With the indicators, continuous improvement scenarios can be explored by value stream discrete event simulation.

From literature, indicators regarding asset specificity to measure lean implementation are found. These indicators are analysed by a linear least square method to know if variables are interrelated to form a preliminary model. The indicators are tested by value stream-based discrete event simulation regarding continuous improvement scenarios.

With the new found lean transaction cost efficiency indicators, namely, turnover, gross margin and inventory pre-fixed asset (T/FA, GM/FA and I/FA, respectively), it is possible to measure operation performance from an asset specificity perspective under the influence of lean implementation. Secondly, the results of implementing continuous improvement scenarios are measured with the new indicators by a discrete event simulation.

This research is limited to the airline maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service industry regarding component repair. Further research is necessary to test the indicators regarding other airline MRO service companies and other sectors of complex service industries like health care.

The lean transaction cost efficiency model provides the capability for a maintenance service company to simulate the effects of process improvements on operation performance for service-based companies prior to implementation.

Simulation of a Greenfield process can involve employees with possible changes in processes. This approach supports the adoption of anticipated changes.

The found indicators form a preliminary model, which contributes to the usage and linkage of theories on lean manufacturing and transaction cost theory – asset specificity.

The main purpose of this paper is to present lean implementation in hospital supply chain management (HSCM) and propose a new conceptual framework tailored specifically to the needs of Saudi health-care organizations.

This paper starts with an in-depth review of existing frameworks or models for lean implementation in health care in general and in HSCM specifically. Based on the literature studies and taking experts’ opinions into account, a new framework for lean implementation in the Saudi HSCM is presented.

A new lean implementation framework is offered to decision-makers in the health-care organization for implementing a lean approach in HSCM practices.

This study focused on health-care organizations, which were selected from hospitals operated by the Ministry of Health and only those hospitals that are accredited by both the Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions and the Joint Commission International. The framework is limited to Saudi health care.

The lean supply chain management (LSCM) framework is easy to understand and use without much complexity. This simplicity makes the LSCM applicable in health-care settings. Further, LSCM was validated in three different hospitals, and it helped them to identify and improve their non-added activities, thereby readying them for lean deployment in HSCM.

Little attention has been paid to implementing a lean approach by health-care providers in developing countries. This study presents a new framework that is considered the first of its kind for implementing lean in HSCM in Saudi. This framework could help HSCMs’ decision-makers to implement lean successfully in HSCM practices.

There has been little empirical research focused on the effect of lean on hospital performance in the form of a consolidated methodology. This paper aims to apply a more sophisticated approach to examine whether hospitals’ decision for lean implementation is endogenous and test the effects of lean on hospital performance.

This study uses a publicly available data set of hospitals across the USA from 2002 to 2019 and performs two-stage least squares (2SLS) analysis. In the first stage, a probit model is used to estimate hospitals’ decision to implement lean. The fitted probability values from the first stage are used in the second stage to test the relationship between lean and hospital performance. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression results are compared with those of the 2SLS approach.

The decision to implement lean is significantly associated with hospital-specific characteristics (the complexity of care, size and cost-to-charge ratio), indicating hospitals’ decision for lean implementation is endogenous. Moreover, there is strong evidence that lean implementation is positively associated with hospital financial and operational performance. The Hausman F-tests confirm the presence of endogeneity and this, in turn, suggests that OLS regressions result in unreliable estimates.

The findings of this study can help hospital managers benchmark performance and explore opportunities for profit and efficiency improvement. The findings are also relevant to policymakers who strive to lower health-care spending.

This study is motivated by the challenges facing the health-care industry. This study is among the first to investigate endogeneity in lean implementation and the association between lean and hospital performance using large-scale archival panel data. The use of the 2SLS approach provides more confidence in statistical findings.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the adoption of lean practices by manufacturing companies in regions of low economic and technological development and to compare findings with previous studies from more developed regions highlighting important contextual differences. The paper uses the contingency theory to explore how contextual variables and scarce resources influence the adoption of lean practices.

A survey of 233 manufacturing firms was conducted in the State of Pará in the Amazon Region of Brazil.

The results demonstrate that six internal lean practices (single minute exchange of dies, human resource management, continuous flow, total productive maintenance, pull and statistical process control) and two external lean practices (supplier feedback and customer involvement) are implemented. However, the two external lean practices of just-in-time delivery by suppliers and supplier development were not implemented. Furthermore, from the 36 operating items comprised in eight lean practices that are being used, 13 were not implemented. As such, compared to developed regions, there is evidence for a more fragmented implementation in less developed regions. The results reveal empirical evidence explained by the contingency perspective, such as national, geographical, strategic context and culture.

There is broad evidence on lean implementation in developed and developing countries in the literature. However, little is known about lean implementation in poorer regions of developing counties. This is one of the first studies mapping lean implementation in a region with low economic and technological development. This has important implications for research and practice, especially to cross-country/cultural research on operation management.

The proliferation of lean principles in the construction industry is offset by the enduring uncertainty among industry stakeholders regarding their respective roles in lean implementation. This uncertainty is further compounded by the scarcity of empirical investigations in this area. Consequently, this study undertakes the task of bridging this knowledge gap by identifying the critical roles of lean learners and their indispensable contributions to achieving successful lean implementation.

A qualitative exploratory approach informed by an interpretivism perspective was adopted. The case study strategy was employed to gather data from three contracting organisations that had implemented lean practices. Empirical data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with fifteen industry experts and complemented by document reviews. To analyse the data, a code-based content analysis approach was employed using NVivo software, while Power BI software was utilised to develop a comprehensive force-directed graph visualisation.

The research findings substantiated nine lean learners and unveiled a set of seventy-three roles associated with them. The force-directed graph facilitated the identification of lean learners and their connections to the emerged roles. Notably, the graph highlighted the pivotal role played by project managers and internal lean trainers in ensuring the success of lean implementation, surpassing the contributions of other lean learners.

The implications of findings extend to industry professionals seeking to establish a robust lean learning framework to expedite lean implementation within the construction sector. This study not only provides a comprehensive definition of lean learners’ roles but also transcends specific construction types, making it a significant catalyst for global impact.

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.

Do managers at different hierarchical levels in a firm perceive the effectiveness of a lean program differently, and does it matter for their commitment to it and the resulting lean implementation? This study answers these questions by analyzing the perceptions and behaviors of top and middle managers in a manufacturer deploying a global lean program.

The authors hypothesize that managers at different levels perceive lean programs differently, which, in turn, should affect their commitment to lean and the resulting implementation. To test these relationships empirically, the authors collect survey data from a global manufacturer in the process industry and analyze them using hierarchical linear regression and structural equation modeling.

The findings show that middle managers perceive lean programs as more effective than top managers do. They further show that higher commitment from the top and middle managers to the lean program is positively related to building the organizational infrastructure needed for lean implementation.

This research is conducted in one global company. Although the research setting implicitly controls for many possible confounding variables, such as the product and process complexity or organizational culture, future research can explore and test the findings in other organizational contexts.

This study is the first to empirically study the relations between perceptions of and commitment to lean programs across different hierarchical levels and what it means for program implementation. The paper contributes new plausible explanations for why many lean programs slow down.

Extant research documents the importance of lean thinking for organizations, however, as prior research has largely focused on hard lean practices, but little is known about the effects or the significance of soft lean practices. This research attempts to address this issue by examining how soft lean practices enhance organizational lean readiness, and in turn increase the success of lean implementation.

This research adopts a single case study design in a small-medium enterprise livestock feed manufacturing organization, and investigates the period from late 2011 through the end of 2019 covering two attempts at lean implementation – an initial failed attempt followed by a successful introduction of lean within the case organization. The research analyzes interviews with 29 managers and employees from all organizational levels and departments within the case organization. Secondary data including organizational documents and performance measures and metrics were also incorporated into the research design.

Drawing on agency theory, the authors advance a principal-agent interaction perspective to conceptualize organizational lean readiness – specifically, the authors consider the “state or condition” of four agency factors (goal conflict, information asymmetry, risk aversion and length of relationship), and explore if these four agency factors can be utilized as proxies for organizational readiness for lean implementation. The authors identify the formation of a shared vision and identity within the organization as an effective mechanism through which soft lean practices enhance organizational lean readiness. Finally, the analysis offers an understanding of how the long-term success of lean implementation is improved by the introduction of soft lean practices as a prerequisite to create organizational readiness for the implementation of hard lean practices.

The study is unique in the sense that it empirically links agency theory and the role of soft lean practices in developing organizational lean readiness in a small-medium enterprise context by defining the ideal state of four agency factors as proxies for organizational readiness.