Impact of lean practices on operations performance and business performance

PurposeFirst, this study aims to examine the level of implementation of lean manufacturing (LM) practices by the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the wooden furniture industry in Jepara. Second is to examine the impact of LM practices on operational performance (OP) and business performance (BP). Third is to examine the impact of LM practices on BP with OP as a mediating and moderating variable. OP is the quantifiable aspect of the process of an organisation, such as production cycle time, reliability and inventory turnover, whereas BP is usually related to the responsibility of the firms to their shareholders and has the goal of profit maximization.Design/methodology/approachThis study used primary data collected through an offline questionnaire. The questionnaire was intended to identify the extent of the implementation of LM practices and the level of OP and BP achieved by SMEs. The LM practices consist of 6 dimensions with 26 indicators; OP, 4 dimensions with 11 indicators; and BP, 3 dimensions with 9 indicators. The data obtained from the questionnaire were processed via partial least squares (PLS) regression using the SmartPLS software. PLS is generally used to assess the extent to which LM practices predict values in OP and BP.FindingsA total of 100 questionnaires were administered, of which 81% were properly filled, completed and returned. The result of the study confirms that LM practices should be applied collectively and comprehensively as each practice is interdependent. Moreover, it confirms that these practices have a direct effect on OP and BP and that OP can drive broader BP measures. Finally, the result confirms that these practices can improve BP indirectly with OP as a mediator variable. While the empirical evidence in this study supported the role of OP as a mediating variable between the implementation of LM practices and OB, it did not support the role of OP as a moderating variable.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, it is arguable that LM practices, OP and BP are only measured by the Likert scale, which would likely create bias and inconsistency from the owners or managers of SMEs in expressing the level of LM practices and performances achieved by the SMEs in the wooden furniture industry. Future research may help establish qualitative approaches to better measure the LM practices as well as the OP and BP through observation and probing. Second, this study was limited geographically (limited to only the SMEs in the wooden furniture industry in Jepara and did not cover all regions in Central Java as well as in Indonesia). Therefore, a wider geographical area could be considered, including the other regions in Indonesia which also produce wooden furniture.Practical implicationsThis study practically contributes to the LM body of knowledge by identifying the relationships among the LM practices, OP and BP in SMEs. Understanding these relationships will help the owner or managers of SMEs make better decisions in achieving the OP and BP. The owner or managers of SMEs who implement the LM practices individually may experience disappointing performance results as these practices should be applied collectively and comprehensively.Social implicationsThe LM practices may help the owners or managers of the SMEs to be competitive and achieve the optimum result.Originality/valueThis is the first known study that adopts the PLS framework to examine how OP measurement affects the relationship between the LM practices and BP in the case of the SMEs in Indonesia.

Manufacturing industries had embraced the trend of conceiving a robust manufacturing system and enhancing business performance with the implementation of Industry 4.0 digital technologies and lean manufacturing practices. Despite multiple studies being conducted to identify the correlation between Industry 4.0 digital technologies, lean manufacturing practices, and business performance, ambiguous and conflicting statements are often being debated among researchers. Hence, this study aims to provide empirical evidence gathered from Malaysian manufacturing industries using questionnaires to investigate and model their correlation and explore the mediating influence of Industry 4.0 digital technologies on lean manufacturing practices and business performance using PLS-SEM. Consequently, the findings from 124 respondents were compared with prior studies and revealed that both Lean Manufacturing Practices and Industry 4.0 Digital Technologies are positively correlated with one another, and they positively influence business performance, which findings are coherent with prior studies and fortifying the urgency of implementing both concepts for business performance enhancement. Moreover, this study successfully revealed that Industry 4.0 digital technologies mediate lean manufacturing practices and business performance proving the importance of Industry 4.0 to solving Lean’s limitation, which is not studied in prior studies. In addition, the framework in this study is more practical in providing appropriate theoretical and managerial insights for future action and works due to its medium predictive power associated. In a nutshell, this study effectively implies the substantial roles and reinforced the pragmatisms of implementing both lean manufacturing practices and Industry 4.0 digital technologies concurrently for business excellence.

Unlocking synergies in lean manufacturing for enhanced environmental performance: a cross-sector investigation through fuzzy DEMATEL

PurposeThe core principle of implementing Lean manufacturing is reducing waste through optimum utilization of all resources. In this research paper, the authors have examined the effect of implementing Lean practices on the overall productivity in central India-based manufacturing industries. The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the relationship between the implementation of Lean practices and overall productivity particularly in central India-based manufacturing industries.Design/methodology/approachA model in the integrated form is developed to illustrate how Lean manufacturing practices improve the overall productivity. Based on this model, a survey is performed to validate all hypotheses related to the conceptual model subject to various statistical tests.FindingsIt is established by the findings of this research that industries based in central India should implement the whole concept of Lean manufacturing practices to improve overall productivity. Industries should adopt the concept of Lean manufacturing in totality, not through the island approach.Originality/valueThe value of this research paper is to showcase the possibility for central India-based companies to become world-class industries. For this, an approach in the form of an integrated model has been developed.

Purpose The objective of this work is to demonstrate how the use of a business process management (BPM) methodology reinforced with the use of lean manufacturing (LM) tools and practices enhances information and documentation flows. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, a case study on a large wind blade manufacturing company is described, in which BPM and LM were combined to improve information and documentation flows associated to the process of quality inspections and quality controls. Findings The joint use of BPM and LM strongly contributed to the improvement of information and documentation flows. The BPM lifecycle can be used to guide the entire improvement process, while LM tools can be used to act at specific points with an emphasis in the process analysis and implementation phases. Thus, LM complements a BPM approach leading to significant process improvements. Practical implications The results show that LM can be used to support some phases of the BPM lifecycle. Furthermore, LM can contribute to identify lean waste in information and documentation flows associated to quality management processes and help in the selection of methods and tools to support process improvements. Originality/value This study is one of the first reporting the use of LM tools and practices as complementary to the BPM methodology to support the improvement of information and documentation flows associated to quality management in a large manufacturing company. This research enriches the literature by presenting empirical evidence that these two continuous improvement approaches are not incompatible in their objectives and visions and can complement each other.

Abstract: Companies strive for superior results. Focusing on return, performance, and profitability is mainstream; this reasoning is constantly present in the decisions of the strategic operational management of companies. Based on this assumption, the objective of this work is to evaluate empirically whether the degree to which a company implements a combination of Just in Time (JIT) or Lean Manufacturing practices systematically affects the company's operational, financial, and/or organisational performance. For this, a meta-analysis was carried out; the final sample consisted of 28 articles, with 41 studies and 12,708 included subjects who provided the effects that explain the proposed relationship. The data were collected in the Web of Science, EBSCO, and Science Direct databases, with an open period, considering all works available until July 2020. Among the main findings, JIT practices and the company's operational performance present a positive, significant, medium effect. Lean manufacturing practices demonstrate a positive and significant relationship in operational, financial, and organisational performance, all with an average impact on the effect size. No direct relationship was found between the JIT variables and organisational performance (financial, operational, and environmental), based on the TBL. Additional research is needed regarding the relationship of JIT and Lean Manufacturing practices with the organisational performance (financial, operational, and environmental) based on the TBL, as well as an in-depth analysis of previous research related to green Lean practices and their relationship with organisational performance, based on the TBL.

Purpose of the study: Lean manufacturing is perceived to be a significant competitive advantage of firms as it removes waste from manufacturing operations with innovations in products and processes. This research aims to know the impact of lean manufacturing practices of textile firms on their operational efficiency.
 Methodology: For this study, questionnaires were electronically sent to operation/ production managers of 122 textile firms using lean manufacturing technologies in Pakistan. Based on the literature review, nine lean manufacturing practices and five operational performance measures were included in the questionnaire survey. Just 91 operation managers replied, a response rate of 74%. Multiple regression analysis was performed to test the hypotheses of the study.
 Main findings: The results of regression analysis show that lean manufacturing practices significantly impact the operational performance of textile firms. The study's findings suggest that the involvement of customers, suppliers, and employees causes an increase in the operating performance of firms. Moreover, it is established that some lean manufacturing practices such as 5S, automation (Jidoka), Justin time (JIT), equipment layout, and continuous improvement (Kaizen) have a significant and positive effect on the operational performance of firms.
 Application of the study: The lean manufacturing practices save money for businesses and increases overall productivity by reducing waste. These are also helpful in increasing consumer loyalty and employee productivity. The study's results show that lean production methods can be adopted to improve operating performance and competitiveness.
 Originality/ Novelty: This study adds a piece of first-hand evidence by establishing a significant effect of lean manufacturing practices of firms on their operational performance in Pakistan, where most of the firms so far are using traditional techniques due to lack of financial resources.

Research at the nexus of maritime management and operational performance suggests that lean management may benefit from sociotechnical systems theory (STS) in terms of long-term business performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which lean management practices can improve operational performance. This study aims to assess the relationships between lean policy, lean practices, operational performance, and business performance in the context of container shipping. The examined data are acquired from 212 respondents in Taiwan, and a structural equation model is employed to evaluate the hypotheses. The results show that lean policy and practice positively impact both lean social practices and lean technical practices. Lean social practices and lean technical practices are positively related to operational performance. Operational performance is associated with business performance. In particular, lean policy has a direct relationship with operational performance. Based on lean policy is easily able to directly improve its lean social practices and lean technical practices, proving lean policy can strongly push organizations towards further enhanced performance. Although it will be ups and downs along the way in terms of business performance, improving long-term business value and cost advantage is very importance. Thus, this article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the effect of lean practices and discusses practical implications for container shipping companies.

Increasingly, healthcare providers are implementing lean practices to achieve quality results. Implementing lean healthcare practices is unique compared to manufacturing and other service industries. The purpose of this paper is to present a model that identifies and defines the lean implementation key success factors in healthcare organisations. The model is based on an extant literature review and a case illustration that explores actual lean implementation in a major USA hospital located in a Midwestern city (approximately 300,000 people). An exploratory/descriptive study using observation and follow-up interviews was conducted to identify lean practices in the hospital. Lean practice key drivers include growing elderly populations, rising medical expenses, decreasing insurance coverage and decreasing management support. Effectively implementing lean practices to increase bottom-line results and improve organisational integrity requires sharing goals and processes among healthcare managers and professionals. An illustration explains the model and the study provides a sound foundation for empirical work. Practical implications are included. Lean practices minimise waste and unnecessary hospital stays while simultaneously enhancing customer values and deploying resources in supply systems. Leadership requires clear project targets based on sound front-end planning because initial implementation steps involve uncertainty and ambiguity (i.e. fuzzy front-end planning). Since top management support is crucial for implementing lean practices successfully, a heavyweight manager, who communicates well both with top managers and project team members, is an important success factor when implementing lean practices. Increasingly, green orientation and sustainability initiatives are phrases that replaced lean practices. Effective results; e.g. waste reduction, employee satisfaction and customer values are applicable to bigger competitive challenges arising both in specific organisations and inter-organisational networks. Healthcare managers are adopting business practices that improve efficiency and productivity while ensuring their healthcare mission and guaranteeing that customer values are achieved. Shared understanding about complex goals (e.g. reducing waste and enhancing customer value) at the front-end is crucial for implementing successful lean practices. In particular, this study shows that nursing practices, which are both labour intensive and technology enabled, are good candidates for lean practice.

In deciding to adopt lean manufacturing, it is imperative to investigate where and how lean practices are most needed to influence manufacturing and business performance. Such an investigation becomes indispensable when lean thinking is to be considered in a production arrangement different to the conventional, repetitive, high-volume, stable-demand and discrete-manufacturing environment. This study provides explanations of how performance is improved through the adoption of lean practices in process industries. This is a relatively under-researched area compared to the performance effects associated with the introduction and implementation of lean principles in traditional, discrete manufacturing. Based on a survey of Indian process industries, this study attempts to develop an empirical relationship between lean practices and performance improvement through the use of multivariate statistical analysis. The findings have led to the conclusion that lean practices are positively associated with timely deliveries, productivity, first-pass yield, elimination of waste, reduction in inventory, reduction in costs, reduction in defects and improved demand management. However, within a process-industry context, lean practices related to pull production were found to have a marginal impact on performance improvement. A detailed discussion of the findings along with their theoretical and managerial implications is provided in the paper.

This paper introduces a literature review of 83 studies dealing with the degree of adoption of lean manufacturing practices around the world, and the links between those practices and organisation performance. The results of this study revealed that lean practices application still occurs in a fragmented way, disregarding the systemic linkage that is essential to lean manufacturing. Forty-one articles have suggested a positive effect of lean practices in at least one operational, financial and/or environmental performance metric. Nevertheless, five studies indicated that some lean practices had a negative effect on operational or financial performance. High demand variability, a perceived result of long-term lean manufacturing implementation, a country/company’s organisational culture and the difficulty of traditional costing production systems to measure and compare investments and economic gains from adopting lean manufacturing over time are some of the reasons to explain that negative effect of lean practice on performance.

The objective of this research is to explore the challenges in sustaining lean manufacturing practices with in the automotive sector. Lean Manufacturing is widely adopted to improve quality, reduce costs and enhance operational efficiency. However, sustaining these dynamic practices remains a significant challenge. Factors such as management related barriers, workforce resistance, process related and resources related barriers has considerable impact on sustenance of Lean Manufacturing practices. The research explored the sustainability of LM practices by gathering expert insights on 24 influencing factors. A survey was conducted among over 50 automotive industries in Karachi, to examine the challenges associated with management, workforce, process and resource related issues. The collected data was analyzed on SPSS to identify the key obstacle hindering the sustainability of Lean Manufacturing Practices. Findings indicate that while Lean Manufacturing practices are implemented across organizations, sustaining these practices is difficult. The impact of Workforce related, Resource related & Process related barriers was evident but Management related barriers, including lack of leadership support were found to be most influential factor. Employee resistance often stems from inadequate managerial involvement in Lean initiatives. To enhance Lean Manufacturing Practices sustainability, organizations needs to strengthen leadership commitment, provide continuous employee trainings and integrating a mechanism of follow ups and performance tracking. Future research expands the sample size and include multiple industries to gain broader insights into sustainability challenges across various sectors.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between lean manufacturing and corporate environmental performance. Scholarly literature has extensively addressed the relationship between those two areas but empirical papers present mixed and inconsistent results, calling for further analysis to establish a clearer understanding of the actual relationship and to identify the causes of conflicting findings across studies. Given the importance of sustainable practices in the current business landscape, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of this relationship through a meta-analysis of previous research, with a focus on integrating quantitative findings to shed light on the potential impact of lean manufacturing on environmental performance and report its intensity with Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyzes the data from 29 primary studies published between 2001 and 2022 that have empirically measured the relationship between lean manufacturing and corporate environmental performance and that have been identified in the Web of Science and SCOPUS databases through an exhaustive review of the literature. To integrate previous empirical results and evaluate the evidence for the lean manufacturing’s influence on environmental performance, a meta-analytic methodology was adopted through the Hedges–Olkin random effect approach, based on correlations. Findings Main findings support the notion that a significant, positive, rather moderated, relationship exists between lean manufacturing and environmental performance, with an overall correlation coefficient r¯ = 0.25. The result seems robust, as several tests confirm that publication bias is unlikely. Overall, various lean practices are correlated to varying degrees with different measures of environmental performance. The environmental efficiency of external lean practices is higher than that observed for internal practices and quality management has a more pronounced effect than other internal lean practices. The 2008 global crisis did not change these relationships and the impact of lean manufacturing on environmental performance does not seem to be moderated by the degree of environmental awareness of the country where applied. Research limitations/implications The results conclude that a significant, positive relationship exists between lean manufacturing and environmental performance (r¯ = 0.25). This study tests certain factors that exhibit varying effect sizes and moderate the overall outcome, highlighting that the environmental efficiency of external lean practices is higher than that observed for internal practices. In addition, it suggests a more pronounced effect of quality management among other internal lean practices. Practical implications This study provides companies with an opportunity to align their operational strategies with environmental sustainability goals. Understanding that various lean practices exhibit diverse levels of correlation with multiple measures of environmental performance, decision-makers can prioritize their efforts and apply the lean practices that have a stronger effect on the desired environmental outcomes to improve their environmental impact. Conversely, managers are aware that certain lean practices have a week relationship with some environmental performance so they can avoid overestimating environmental benefits of lean manufacturing. Finally, results underscore the importance of organizational commitment to environmental sustainability. Originality/value It is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first meta-analytic study to investigate the strength of the association between lean manufacturing and environmental performance and to test whether various lean practices are correlated to different measures of environmental performance. It fills this gap in the literature and therefore it represents a valuable contribution to the field. In addition, this paper explores certain factors that moderate the overall outcome.

The popularity of lean manufacturing mostly stems from empirical evidence that it enhances a company's competitiveness and quality by reducing any form of waste. However, a wide range of factors, compounded by a lack of training in essential components of lean, not achieving daily target in terms of defects per unit, straight delivery rate, run ratio, operation ratio in production lines, delay of parts from the inventory, developing personnel, and managerial support on the shop floor, make the application of lean principles extremely difficult. These difficulties have influenced South Africa's manufacturing industry, which contracted the capacity of manufacturing units in the entire Sub-Saharan African region. The purpose of this study was to assess lean manufacturing practices (LMPs) and the extent to which Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) utilises innovative strategies to improve their quality and sustainability in a highly competitive environment. The research methodology is mixed method in nature using a survey questionnaire as the primary instrument for data collection. A sample of 44 top management staff was chosen from a population of the 50 top management and other selected staff using random sampling, of these 44, 35 participated. The researcher followed five stages in the qualitative data analysis process. SPSS software version 27 was used to critically analyse the quantitative data to answer the research aims and objectives. Management was found to be aware of the elements that influence quality in TSAM. The staff members cited lack of training, lack of management support, and failure to follow standardised work as the most important factors affecting lean. Selected staff also raised the issue of sacrificing quality over volume as a key issue.

The impact of lean practices on inventory turnover