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This study aims to investigate the effect of Lean Six Sigma elements on the Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing organizations’ business performance.

Data were collected from 120 managers out of about 300 managers by means of questionnaire. After confirming normality, validity and reliability of the study tool, correlation analysis was carried out, and then multiple regressions were used to test the hypotheses.

The results show that there is an agreement on high implementation of Lean Six Sigma variables among Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing organizations; there are strong relationships among Lean Six Sigma variables, except between non-utilized talent and transportation; there are strong relationships between Lean Six Sigma variables and business performance. All Lean Six Sigma variables have effect on business performance, except extra processing and waiting time.

This study was carried out on the pharmaceutical industry in Jordan, generalizing results of one industry and/or one country to other industries and/or countries may be questionable. Extending the analyses to other industries and countries represents future research opportunities.

Implementing Lean Six Sigma variables in all Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing organizations can improve their business performance; also, it can be applied to other manufacturing industry.

The aim of all organizations is to reduce waste, which leads to reserve the natural resources, which is considered as a corporate social responsibility.

Only few studies related to Lean or Six Sigma have been carried out in pharmaceutical industry in Jordan. Therefore, this study might be considered as an initiative study, which studies the effect of both Lean and Six Sigma on pharmaceutical industry in Jordan.

In a conventional sense, information technology has frequently been considered a source of Lean waste management. However, as the corporate world evolves, new models that provide a competitive edge by merging technical breakthroughs with the Lean paradigm must be developed. Enterprise resource planning (ERP), which is such technological advancement, is found to be highly influential for Lean implementation. However, there is a dearth of literature on the adaptability of ERP to minimise Lean waste in the construction industry. This paper, therefore, aims to investigate the possibility of applying ERP to minimise Lean waste in the construction industry.

The study used a qualitative approach, consisting of fifteen (15) expert interviews and code-based content analysis was used to analyse the empirical data.

The findings revealed the challenges faced when applying ERP with the Lean concept and the strategies that would help overcome the challenges. Most of the challenges could be overcome through training and awareness programmes and proper team management. The study also found that ERP could be applied with Lean to eliminate waste generation in the construction industry.

This paper contributes to the theory by providing an evaluation of the possibility of adopting ERP to eliminate Lean waste in the construction industry. The study will contribute to new knowledge related to strategies for proper use of ERP for Lean waste minimisation, which will be useful for future researchers in the area.

Many healthcare organizations are looking for methods, such as Lean, to reduce their costs and increase the productivity of their professionals. The Lean method looks at every step in every process to assess if this step adds value for the customer or not. The aim of this study was to explore the value adding and non-value adding process steps in stroke patient admission in an integrated care stroke service in the Netherlands.

This study focused on discharge of stroke patients from hospital acute treatment, and they were admitted for rehabilitation. According to the Grounded Theory, value stream mapping, organized interviews and expert meetings and coded was used. A configuration analysis was used to distinguish aggregates and configurations.

The most reported issues concerned in the paper are as follows: (1) insufficient internal logistics in the hospital, (2) miscommunication about medical readiness for discharge of the patient, (3) missing or delayed medical patient information, (4) overlapping discharge interviews, (5) unsafe transfer of sensitive information and (6) waiting lists and queuing up in rehabilitation facility.

At least six main areas of waste were identified in this stroke service, and they form the target for waste reducing activities. The results give insight in possible wastes in healthcare organizations and are therefore beneficial for other healthcare organizations which are planning to reduce wastes.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived effects between soft management practices, employee behaviours and the implementation of digital technologies in manufacturing plants, as well as how these relate to the emergence of digital waste.

This paper uses case-based research. Data was collected in two large manufacturing companies based in Norway and Sweden through semi-structured interviews with two management representatives and four shop-floor employees. The data was used to evaluate 29 variables describing lean- and total quality management (TQM)-associated employee behaviours and soft management practices, in light of digital transformation.

The results suggest that several variables were positively influenced by the digital transformation process. These were top management leadership, middle management involvement, employee education, corporate social responsibility focus, innovation, knowledge sharing, work-family balance, psychological capital, job satisfaction and career commitment. Training employees, creativity, discretionary effort, turnover intention and proactivity appear to be negatively influenced by digital transformation The findings also indicate that several soft management practices and employee behaviours were not only influenced by manufacturing digitalization but also themselves influenced the process. The potential for digital waste creation was also detected in several variables, including reward and recognition and training employees.

Managers, practitioners and academics may learn about the importance of certain managerial practices and employees’ behavioural needs during the digital transformation process. The findings may help in prioritizing TQM and soft lean management practices and certain employee behaviours during the digital transformation and in creating awareness of digital waste.

This study builds on several existing studies discussing the impact of digital transformation on soft management practices and employee behaviours. It provides insights from a lean and TQM angle and offers a means of prioritizing certain practices and behaviours during a digital transformation. This study also highlights the significance of digital waste.

Since few studies have explored and advanced on the development of measures of knowledge waste, the purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a scale for measuring the waste of knowledge.

A research was carried out in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) divided into five distinct stages, three qualitative and two quantitative. For the quantitative steps, a sample of 223 responses was obtained for the exploratory part and another sample of 614 responses for the confirmatory part of the study. Data analysis procedures involved Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis to test and validate the proposed scale.

A fifteen-item scale divided into four constructs was obtained after refinement of the proposed scale and validation procedures (convergent and discriminant validity). The scale also has satisfactory levels of reliability.

The resulting scale was validated in a single institutional culture environment (HEIs in Southern Brazil). So it still should be tested in different organizational contexts and cross-culturally in different countries. The scale may be useful for decision-making improvement about knowledge management and waste reduction.

A scale with a practical and quick application is provided. Additionally, a classification of the waste of knowledge level was developed and it could be easily applied in different sectors or organizations.

The literature on waste of knowledge is limited and often confused with knowledge loss. This study provides a clear distinction between these topics, and it advances on the explanation and definition of knowledge waste. Also, it is the first study to offer a scale to measure the elements of knowledge waste.

The main purpose of this study is to reveal the degree of association between lean, building information modeling (BIM) and construction project success. The study further intends to provide strategies for high and low associations of the factors.

Lean construction and BIM are two important applications that have recently gained popularity in terms of enhancing project success. Considering this impact, this study investigates the synergy between lean construction and BIM and determines to what extent these two contribute to the success of the projects. As a first step, lean, BIM and project success were examined based on an in-depth literature review. In the second stage, a structural equation model (SEM) was established to reflect the relationship among these three through hypotheses. Then, a questionnaire was designed and administered to the construction professionals experienced in both lean and BIM implementation. The SEM was tested using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS), an SPSS tool.

The results indicated that lean implementation has a significant and positive impact on BIM implementation and project success. On the other hand, BIM implementation had a lower significant impact on project success than lean implementation construct.

The results of this study can be used by both policymakers and industry practitioners in terms of developing strategies for effectively using both lean and BIM. The researchers can further develop other implementation models to investigate whether these concepts are more effective in increasing project success when used integratively.

This study considers both the impact of lean and BIM on project success through input from construction practitioners working on large projects. This way, the study fosters the use of lean, BIM or lean–BIM together in construction projects to enhance project success.

This study highlights the findings of an empirical study to investigate waste factors (WFs) affecting the performance and delivery of construction projects in developing countries. The objectives of this study are to identify non-physical WFs in developing nations and rank the identified factors based on their degree of influence on the key performance indicators (KPIs) of cost, quality and time.

In total, 34 WFs were identified through a detailed literature review and consolidated using semi-structured interviews with construction practitioners. The statistical analysis involved a normality test using the Shapiro–Wilk test to determine if sample data have been drawn from a normally distributed population, ranking the WFs using the Frequency Index (FI), Severity Index (SI) and Importance Index (IMPI), ranking the WFs based on their effect on the project KPIs of cost, quality and time, and identify clustering structures for the identified WFs to using factor analysis (FA).

The results revealed ineffective planning and scheduling, rework/repair of defective work and resource quality problems (human, material and equipment) as the three most important WFs affecting construction projects. The factor analyses showed that WFs can be grouped into five interrelated components, suggesting the need for integrated and holistic strategies to overcome the identified WF.

Understanding the effects of WFs on construction projects is a first step towards designing holistic solutions to ensuring projects deliver value to the clients and other stakeholders. The findings of this study provide direction to construction practitioners on where to focus appropriate strategies to manage the identified WFs effectively and, therefore, improve the productivity of construction projects.

This study provides the first holistic analysis of WFs affecting the productivity of construction projects in developing countries.

The application of integrated project delivery (IPD) in conjunction with building information modeling (BIM) and Lean Construction (LC) as the efficient method for improving collaboration and delivering construction projects has been acknowledged by construction academics and professionals. Once organizations have fully embraced BIM, IPD and LC integration, a measurement tool such as a maturity model (MM) for benchmarking their progress and setting realistic goals for continuous improvement will be required. In the context of MMs literature, however, no comprehensive analysis of these three construction management methods has been published to reveal the current trends and common themes in which the models have approached each other.

Therefore, this study integrates systematic literature review (SLR) and thematic analysis techniques to review and categorize the related MMs; the key themes in which the interrelationship between BIM, IPD and LC MMs has been discussed and conceptualized in the attributes; the shared characteristics of the existing BIM, IPD and LC MMs, as well as their strengths and limitations. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) method has been used as the primary procedure for article screening and reviewing published papers between 2007 and 2022.

Despite the growth of BIM, IPD and LC integration publications and acknowledgment in the literature, no MM has been established that holistically measures BIM, IPD and LC integration in an organization. This study identifies five interrelated and overlapping themes indicative of the collaboration of BIM, IPD and LC in existing MMs' structure, including customer satisfaction, waste minimization, Lean practices and cultural and legal aspects. Furthermore, the MMs' common characteristics, strengths and limitations are evaluated to provide a foundation for developing future BIM, IPD and LC-related MMs.

This paper examines the current status of research and the knowledge gaps around BIM, IPD and LC MMs. In addition, the highlighted major themes serve as a foundation for academics who intend to develop integrated BIM, IPD, and LC MMs. This will enable researchers to build upon these themes and establish a comprehensive list of maturity attributes fulfilling the BIM, IPD and LC requirements and principles. In addition, the MMs' BIM, IPD and LC compatibility themes, which go beyond themes' intended characteristics in silos, increase industry practitioners' awareness of the underlying factors of BIM, IPD and LC integration.

This review article is the first of a kind to analyze the interaction of IPD, BIM and LC in the context of MMs in current AEC literature. This study concludes that BIM, IPD and LC share several joint cornerstones according to the existing MMs.

Facilities management (FM) plays a vital role toward creating the hospitable environment that supports the core clinical business of rendering quality health care. To ensure optimal performance of FM, public hospitals require a performance measurement (PM) framework that could guide and assist facilities managers in their operations. This paper aims to respond to this need by developing a performance measurement framework useful to improve FM performance within the context of developing countries hospital FM services delivery.

The paper synthesizes knowledge from a comprehensive review of FM performance measurement literature and the results of an earlier PhD research on FM performance measurement in Ghana’s public hospitals.

The paper presents a simplified performance measurement framework which demonstrates four key performance measurement tasks: establishing performance goals; measuring the FM service delivery; evaluating FM outcomes; and performance review and reporting. The study suggests the establishment of a central coordination point to enhance performance measurement activities of public hospitals’ FM practices.

Although reference is made to research on key performance indicators (KPIs), future study is recommended to develop appropriate methodology for selecting relevant KPIs. The author also intends to pilot the framework to a health facility in Ghana to leverage its usefulness, given the fact that it has not been tested empirically.

The application of the framework is expected to lead to the identification of performance gaps and weakness which when acted upon could lead to operational effectiveness and efficiency of the FM process, ultimately leading to improved FM performance.

The paper develops a novel performance measurement framework useful within the context of the nascent FM industry in the developing world.

This study analyses the challenges in implementing lean manufacturing (LM) in the wood and furniture industry. In order to facilitate the smooth implementation of LM practices in this industry, the challenges in terms of its deployment need to be analysed and observed.

Realizing this importance, this study proposes a model, using PLS-SEM, which focusses on dealing with the challenges faced in the implementation of lean in the wood and furniture industry. The model consists of ten challenges that were determined based on a survey involving 46 SMEs companies in Malaysia.

The findings revealed that the implementation of LM is significantly affected by three main issues, namely: knowledge, resources and culture and human attitude. Furthermore, the analyses also highlighted four dominant challenges which are related to culture and human attitude issues – lack of employee commitment, lack of senior management's interest and support, difficult to implement, and LM is viewed as “current trend”. Overall, the ability to deal with the challenges involving factors of knowledge and culture and human attitude determines the success of LM implementation, especially in companies that have limited resources.

This study would help wood and furniture SMEs, government agencies, professional bodies and academics to better understand the challenges when implementing LM practices.

Overall, this study aims at investigating the relationships between the three challenges to better promote LM in the scope under study. Therefore, several activities were proposed to overcome the abovementioned challenges and subsequently contribute to the current body of knowledge.