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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.

This study aims to improve a construction company's overall project delivery by utilising lean six sigma (LSS) methods combined with building information modelling (BIM) to design, modularise and manufacture various building elements in a controlled factory environment off-site.

A case study in a construction company utilised lean six sigma (LSS) methodology and BIM to identify non-value add waste in the construction process and improve sustainability.

An Irish-based construction company manufacturing modular pipe racks for the pharmaceutical industry utilised LSS to optimise and standardise their off-site manufacturing (OSM) partners process and leverage BIM to design skids which could be manufactured offsite and transported easily with minimal on-site installation and rework required. Productivity was improved, waste was reduced, less energy was consumed, defects were reduced and the project schedule for completion was reduced.

The case study was carried out on one construction company and one construction product type. Further case studies would ensure more generalisability. However, the implementation was tested on a modular construction company, and the methods used indicate that the generic framework could be applied and customized to any offsite company.

This is one of the few studies on implementing offsite manufacturing (OSM) utilising LSS and BIM in an Irish construction company. The detailed quantitative benefits and cost savings calculations presented as well as the use of the LSM methods and BIM in designing an OSM process can be leveraged by other construction organisations to understand the benefits of OSM. This study can help demonstrate how LSS and BIM can aid the construction industry to be more environmentally friendly.

This study aimed to bridge the gap between the financial measurement of process improvement ideas and Lean Six Sigma measurements. It was required to increase employee engagement in process improvement initiatives.

Through both a practical and theoretical application of the Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology, the researcher was able to design a process and a benefit measuring methodology that was acceptable by finance and aligns with the benefits expected from the elimination of the Lean wastes.

The project found that benefit measurement methodology is not understood by most employees, which leads to a lack of engagement in working on improvements. The result of the study was a model for employees to identify and quantify these benefits. This has resulted in a model for cost-benefit analysis aligning financial costs with non-value add waste costs and cost of poor-quality costs resulting in increased process improvement ideas and activity.

While this study was limited to one company, applying this methodology could benefit any company experiencing the same difficulties.

This is one of the first studies to try and cost the benefits of LSS projects both from an organisational and generic viewpoint.

Diminishing local government budgets and the need to reduce highway works activities necessitate cost effective and efficient processes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate streamlining road works administrative processes to enhance coordinated working at Derby City Council.

Case study research of a local authority was undertaken using business process mapping. Specifically, Swimlane analysis enabled re-engineering of business processes from design stage, to works permit issuance. Process improvement recommendations were validated by nine industry experts through a focus group and semi-structured interviews. A logic map was developed for transferability to other councils, identifying key attributes for a successful administrative road works management process.

Research revealed inherent silo working and processes built around fragmented IT systems creating process inefficiency. Validation found numerous practices and management styles were culturally embedded and common across councils. Peer reviewed recommendations are made to improve working practices, including improving IT systems, removing process bottlenecks, and training staff.

Whilst road works management policy is generally under-researched, its strategic and negative impacts are widely acknowledged. This study highlights the day-to-day operational problems which are interconnected to the strategic impact, bridging an important gap in knowledge, as well as adding to business process re-engineering literature.

The research adds to a limited body of road works management policy research, and also presents a high-level logic map for councils to adopt as appropriate.

The paper aims at enriching the knowledge of the application of lean management (LM) in emergency department (ED), structuring the methodology for implementing LM projects and summarizing the relevant dimensions of LM adoption in ED.

In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, a systematic literature review has been performed, extracting a database of 34 papers. To answer the research purpose, a descriptive and content analyses have been carried out.

The descriptive analysis demonstrates that the dealt topic is worldwide emerging and multidisciplinary as it arouses interest by medical and engineering communities. Despite the heterogeneity in the adopted methodology, a framework can be grasped from the literature review. It points out the phases and activities, the tools and techniques and the enablers to be considered for guiding the developing of LM project in ED.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview on how to adopt LM in ED, contributing to fill in the gap emerged in the literature. From a practical perspective, this paper provides healthcare managers with a synthesis of the best managerial practices and guidelines in developing a LM project in ED.

Quality management practitioners have yet to cease the potential of digitalisation. Furthermore, there is a lack of tools such as frameworks guiding practitioners in the digital transformation of their organisations. The purpose of this study is to provide a framework to guide quality practitioners with the implementation of digitalisation in their existing practices.

A review of literature assessed how quality management and digitalisation have been integrated. Findings from the literature review highlighted the success of the integration of Lean manufacturing with digitalisation. A comprehensive list of Lean Six Sigma tools were then reviewed in terms of their effectiveness and relevance for the hybrid digitisation approach to process improvement (HyDAPI) framework.

The implementation of the proposed HyDAPI framework in an industrial case study led to increased efficiency, reduction of waste, standardised work, mistake proofing and the ability to root cause non-conformance products.

The activities and tools in the HyDAPI framework are not inclusive of all techniques from Lean Six Sigma.

The HyDAPI framework is a flexible guide for quality practitioners to digitalise key information from manufacturing processes. The framework allows organisations to select the appropriate tools as needed. This is required because of the varying and complex nature of organisation processes and the challenge of adapting to the continually evolving Industry 4.0.

This research proposes the HyDAPI framework as a flexible and adaptable approach for quality management practitioners to implement digitalisation. This was developed because of the gap in research regarding the lack of procedures guiding organisations in their digital transition to Industry 4.0.

The aim of this study is to develop an in-depth case study on the implementation on Lean six sigma (LSS) in Schnell S.p.A., Italian company leader of an important multinational industrial group, highlighting the benefits that can be achieved from a careful application of this method, the main challenges and organizational learning from its implementation.

The study has been developed with a qualitative approach, creating a single in-depth case study, with the participant observation of researchers in the project which lasted 4 months. Periodic weekly meetings were done with the working group to exchange feedback on the development of the project to share opinions and data.

A project has been developed to stabilize the procurement process of a pull-type production cell, which experienced delays in supply lead times. The causes of the problems in their process of managing the supply of the production cell were found and some inefficiencies in the internal process of fulfillment of supply orders have been intercepted, the optimization of which has allowed the generation of an automatic system for sending supply orders, coming directly from the production line.

This study described the path and dynamics of the transformation process that business organizations undertake for optimizing their profitability and competitive advantage, placing emphasis on an innovative methodology for conducting business process improvement projects, which constitutes its operating philosophy on the effective and efficient use of company resources and skills, to guarantee to the company the achievement of a lasting and defensible competitive advantage over time.

This study is focused to support an ongoing development project of the case company's current state and the challenges of the order-to-cash (O2C) process. The O2C process is the most visible process to the customer, and therefore, its punctual and fluent order management is vital. It is observed that the high degree of manual work in the O2C process causes mistakes, delays and rework in the process. The purpose of this article is therefore to analyze the case company's current state of the O2C process as well as to identify the areas of development in this process by deploying the means of Lean Six Sigma tools such as value stream mapping (VSM).

The study was conducted as a mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis. Based on both the quantitative and qualitative data, a workshop on VSM was organized to analyze the current state of the O2C process of a case company, engaged in the energy and environment sector in Finland.

The results found that excessive manual work was highly connected to inadequate or incorrect data in pricing and invoicing activities, which resulted in canceled invoices. Canceled invoices are visible to the customer and have a negative impact on the customer experience. This study found that by improving the performance of the O2C process activities and improving communication among the internal and external stakeholders, the whole O2C process can perform more effectively and provide better customer value.

The O2C process is the most visible process to the customer and therefore its punctual and fluent order management is vital. To ensure that the O2C process is operating as desired, suitable process performance metrics need to be aligned and followed. The results gathered from the case company's data, questionnaire interviews, and the VSM workshop are all highlighted in this study. The main practical and managerial implications were to understand the real-time O2C process performance, which is necessary to ensure strong performance and enhance continuous improvement of the O2C process that leads to operational excellence and commercial competitiveness of the studied case company.