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This paper aims to introduce a model using a digital twin concept in a cold heading manufacturing and develop a digital visual management (VM) system using Lean overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) tool to enhance the process performance and establish Fourth Industrial Revolution (I4.0) platform in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This work utilised plan, do, check, act Lean methodology to create a digital twin of each machine in a smart manufacturing facility by taking the Lean tool OEE and digitally transforming it in the context of I4.0. To demonstrate the effectiveness of process digitisation, a case study was carried out at a manufacturing department to provide the data to the model and later validate synergy between Lean and I4.0 platform.

The OEE parameter can be increased by 10% using a proposed digital twin model with the introduction of a Level 0 into VM platform to clearly define the purpose of each data point gathered further replicate in projects across the value stream.

The findings suggest that researchers should look beyond conversion of stored data into visualisations and predictive analytics to improve the model connectivity. The development of strong big data analytics capabilities in SMEs can be achieved by shortening the time between data gathering and impact on the model performance.

The novelty of this study is the application of OEE Lean tool in the smart manufacturing sector to allow SME organisations to introduce digitalisation on the back of structured and streamlined principles with well-defined end goals to reach the optimal OEE.

The purpose of this study was to improve the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) of the production process of the shredder operation of ABC company, an industrial waste management company which supplies pre-processed industrial waste as alternative fuel to a cement plant.

This case study investigated all possible availability and performance losses that caused the shredder system’s OEE and various problem-solving techniques, such as root cause analysis and Pareto analysis, were used to find the root cause of the reduced OEE.

After analysing this case study, three significant loss factors were identified from all the availability and performance losses, which caused the shredder system’s OEE losses. Practical solutions were found for the effect of those loss factors to improve the machine’s OEE and productivity.

This case study has been concentrated on only analysing of losses and improvement of OEE in the production process and not about cost analysis between loss and improvements.

This paper shows how to improve the OEE of a production process through various problem-solving techniques by identifying its losses and how to achieve the best solutions for those losses in a practical manner.

The various quality improvement (QI) frameworks and maturity models described in the health services literature consider some aspects of QI while excluding others. This paper aims to present a concerted attempt to create a quality improvement maturity model (QIMM) derived from holistic principles underlying the successful implementation of system-wide QI programmes.

A hybrid methodology involving a systematic review (Phase 1) of over 270 empirical research articles and books developed the basis for the proposed QIMM. It was followed by expert interviews to refine the core constructs and ground the proposed QIMM in contemporary QI practice (Phase 2). The experts included academics in two academic conferences and 59 QI managers from the New Zealand health-care system. In-depth interviews were conducted with QI managers to ascertain their views on the QIMM and its applicability in their respective health organisations (HOs).

The QIMM consists of four dimensions of organisational maturity, namely, strategic, process, supply chain and philosophical maturity. These dimensions progress through six stages, namely, identification, ad-hoc, formal, process-driven, optimised enterprise and finally a way of life. The application of the QIMM by the QI managers revealed that the scope of QI and the breadth of the principles adopted by the QI managers and their HOs in New Zealand is limited.

The importance of QI in health systems cannot be overstated. The proposed QIMM can help HOs diagnose their current state and provide a guide to action achieving a desirable state of quality improvement maturity. This QIMM avoids reliance on any single QI methodology. HOs – using the QIMM – should retain full control over the process of selecting any QI methodology or may even cherry-pick principles to suit their needs as long as they understand and appreciate the true nature and scope of quality overstated. The proposed QIMM can help HOs diagnose their current state and provide a guide to action achieving a desirable state of quality improvement maturity. This QIMM avoids reliance on any single QI methodology. HOs – using the QIMM – should retain full control over the process of selecting any QI methodology or may even cherry-pick principles to suit their needs as long as they understand and appreciate the true nature and scope of quality.

This paper contributes new knowledge by presenting a maturity model with an integrated set of quality principles for HOs and their extended supply networks.

Despite differing strategies towards environmental sustainability in developed and developing nations, the manufacturing sector in these regional domains faces substantial environmental issues. The purpose of this study is to examine the green-lean-six sigma (GLSS) enablers and outcomes for enhancing environmental sustainability of manufacturing firms in both, a developed and developing country context by using an environment-centric natural resource-based view (NRBV).

First, a framework of GLSS enablers and outcomes aligned with the NRBV strategic capabilities is proposed through a systematic literature review. Second, this framework is used to empirically investigate the GLSS enablers and outcomes of manufacturing firms through in-depth interviews with lean six sigma and environmental consultants from New Zealand (NZ) and Pakistan (PK) (developed and developing nations).

Analysis from both regional domains highlights the use of GLSS enablers and outcomes under different NRBV capabilities of pollution prevention, product stewardship and sustainable development. A comparison reveals that NZ firms practice GLSS to comply with environmental regulatory requirements, avoid penalties and maintain their clean-green image. Conversely, Pakistani firms execute GLSS to reduce energy use, satisfy international customers and create a green image.

This paper provides new insights on GLSS for environmental sustainability which can assist industrial experts and academia for future strategies and research.

This is one of the early comparative studies that has used the NRBV to investigate GLSS enablers and outcomes in manufacturing firms for enhancing environmental performance comparing developed and developing nations

This study aims to develop an extended social attachment model for expatriates, integrating a multiple stakeholder perspective, to understand evacuation decisions during disasters.

Through interviews with 12 Tokyo-based expatriates who experienced the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters, this study collects the lived experiences of a diverse set of expatriates. This data is analyzed abductively to map relevant evacuation factors and to propose a reaction typology.

While the 2011 Tohoku disasters caused regional destruction and fears of nuclear fallout, Tokyo remained largely unscathed. Still, many expatriates based in Tokyo chose to leave the country. Evacuation decisions were shaped by an interplay of threat assessment, location of attachment figures and cross-cultural adjustment. The study also discusses the influence of expatriate types.

Disaster planning is often overlooked or designed primarily with host country nationals in mind. Expatriates often lack the disaster experience and readiness of host country nationals in disaster-prone regions in Asia and beyond, and thus might need special attention when disaster strikes. This study provides advice for how to do so.

By unpacking the under-researched and complex phenomenon of expatriate reactions to disasters, this study contributes to the fields of international human resource and disaster management. Specifically, seven proposition on casual links leading to expatriate evacuation are suggested, paving the way for future research.

Lean management tools are becoming increasingly applied in different types of organizations around the world. These tools have shown their significant contribution to improving business performance. In this vein, the purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of lean management on both occupational safety and operational excellence in Tunisian companies.

A survey was conducted among Tunisian companies, and it resulted in the collection of 62 responses that were analyzed using the software SPSS. In addition, a conceptual model linking the practices of the three basic concepts was designed to highlight the hypotheses of the research. Subsequently, factor analysis and structural equation method analysis were conducted to assess the validation of the assumptions.

The results obtained have shown that lean management has a significant impact on occupational safety. Similarly, occupational safety has a significant impact on operational excellence. However, lean management does not have a significant impact on operational excellence.

This work highlighted the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprise’s managers from emerging economies in the studied concepts’ practices. Likewise, it testified to the impacts of lean management on occupational safety and operational excellence in the Tunisian context.

This study aims to analyze lean wastes for the poultry sector in Turkey and link lean tools to this study, focusing on identifying each lean waste that affects poultry production and proposing solutions for preventing these lean wastes in the sector. The proposed solutions aim to improve processes by suggesting different lean tools and their applications for the poultry sector.

The study consists of two different applications. First, the waste relationship matrix (WRM) was created to reveal the relationship between seven lean wastes and their importance order. Then, after determining lean tools for eliminating lean wastes, the optimum weight ranking and consistency ratio of the most suitable lean tools were calculated for these wastes and ranked with the best-worst method (BWM).

Results showed that overproduction is the most critical waste that impacts other wastes, followed by defect waste. Due to the nature of the sector, these wastes not only result in economic loss for the company but also in food waste and loss and issues related to animal welfare. Furthermore, the Kaizen approach and 5S implementation are the methods to eliminate these wastes. Detailed discussion on the link between lean tools and lean wastes is provided for the poultry sector.

This is the first study that theoretically and empirically identifies the potential lean waste affecting the poultry sector and provides lean tools for eliminating these wastes. Sector-specific explanations and discussions are presented in the study to show the applicability of lean approaches in the poultry sector to eliminate waste. In addition, this study is the first to integrate the WRM and BWM.

The aim of this paper is to explore the implementation of an integrated lean and ISO 14001 approach in meat industry for environmental performance and examine a proposed conceptual framework by capturing insights from lean and ISO 14001 experts in New Zealand (NZ).

Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with a group of consultants (lean and ISO 14001) to evaluate the suitability of an integrated lean and ISO 14001 approach in the meat industry for environmental performance. A conceptual framework from literature has guided this study leading to its further development based on the empirical evidence collected.

Findings have illustrated a synergistic positive impact of lean and ISO 14001 implementation as an integrated approach for sustaining environmental performance in the meat industry. A joint implementation program provides more clarity in aligning ISO 14001 operational procedures with lean tools and techniques for an enhanced environmental performance outcome.

The application of an integrated lean and ISO 14001 framework is proposed in this paper, which can help industry practitioners and academia in developing a joint implementation strategy and conducting future research.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to assess the effective implementation of lean and ISO 14001 as an integrated approach in the NZ meat industry.

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.

Racial stigma and racial criminalization have been centralizing pillars of the construction of Blackness in the United States. Taking such systemic injustice and racism as a given, then question then becomes how these macro-level arrangements are reflected in micro-level processes. This work uses radical interactionism and stigma theory to explore the potential implications for racialized identity construction and the development of “criminalized subjectivity” among Black undergraduate students at a predominately white university in the Midwest. I use semistructured interviews to explore the implications of racial stigma and criminalization on micro-level identity construction and how understandings of these issues can change across space and over the course of one's life. Findings demonstrate that Black university students are keenly aware of this particular stigma and its consequences in increasingly complex ways from the time they are school-aged children. They were aware of this stigma as a social fact but did not internalize it as a true reflection of themselves; said internalization was thwarted through strong self-concept and racial socialization. This increasingly complex awareness is also informed by an intersectional lens for some interviewees. I argue not only that the concept of stigma must be explicitly placed within these larger systems but also that understanding and identity-building are both rooted in ever-evolving processes of interaction and meaning-making. This research contributes to scholarship that applies a critical lens to Goffmanian stigma rooted in Black sociology and criminology and from the perspectives of the stigmatized themselves.