Relationship between Just in Time, Lean Manufacturing, and Performance Practices: a meta-analysis

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.

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.

The study focuses on the analysis of the direct effect of Lean Manufacturing (LM) practices on operational performance in manufacturing industry. A model for evaluating the effect of LM is developed taking into consideration as a fundamental variable that affects the causal relationship between LM practices and operational performance. A structural equation model was proposed and investigated across the manufacturing industry in India. A structured survey questionnaire was used to collect empirical data from 400 Indian companies. A total of 203 usable responses were obtained giving a response rate of 53%. The data was analyzed using SPSS- AMOS software. The results revealed that LM practices directly and positively affected operational performance. The results indicated that the structural equation model remained invariant across the Industry. The study provides further evidence to managers and practitioner on the effect of LM practices on operational performance in developing countries like India.

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

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.

This research article aims to examine the relationship between lean manufacturing practices and operational performance of small and medium sized manufacturing enterprises, operating in India. Using a survey questionnaire, responses were collected from 121 manufacturing firms in India. Bivariate correlation and linear regression analyses were employed to investigate the effects of lean manufacturing methods on operational performance. Overall, the results from Indian manufacturing perspective indicate that lean strategy implementation is important predictor of operational performance. By testing the effect of lean manufacturing practices on operational performance of small-medium sized manufacturing businesses, this study shows strong foundation on lean manufacturing practices as an effective way of improving operational performance.

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.

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.

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.

The management accounting and operations management literatures argue that the adoption of advanced manufacturing practices, such as just‐in‐time (JIT), necessitates complementary changes in a firm's management accounting and control systems. This study uses a sample of JIT and non‐JIT plants operating in the Canadian automotive parts manufacturing industry to study the interaction among performance outcomes, intensity of JIT practices, and productivity measurement. This study provides evidence that productivity measurement mediates the relationship between performance outcomes and intensity of JIT practices. Specifically, both JIT and non‐JIT plants that use a broader range of productivity measures are more efficient and profitable than other plants. Also, plants that employ industry‐driven productivity measures are more profitable and efficient than plants that employ idiosyncratic productivity measures, especially if the former are more JIT‐intensive than the latter. Furthermore, plants that employ quality productivity measures are less efficient and less profitable than those that do not, especially if they use more intensive JIT practices. The latter result is consistent with JIT‐intensive plants overinvesting in quality. This study also finds that plants that invest more in buffer stock are less efficient and less profitable, especially if they use more intensive JIT practices. Despite the fact that plant profitability and efficiency are highly correlated, JIT‐intensive plants are more profitable but less efficient than plants that are not JIT‐intensive, after controlling for productivity measures, plant size, and buffer stock. This result suggests that despite wasting resources, JIT‐intensive plants are still able to generate relatively higher profits than plants that are not JIT‐intensive.

Simulation of Integrated Total Quality Management (TQM) with Lean Manufacturing (LM) Practices in Forming Process Using Delmia Quest

Lean manufacturing practices (LMPs) and corporate environmental sustainability are becoming inextricably linked. Throughout the lean and green debate, many organisations have recognised that LMPs have implications for their sustainable development and competitive positioning. Not only LMPs are complex on their own, but when perceived from an environmental sustainability perspective, the decision to implement an LMP can become even more intricate. Although general tools exist, the lack of effective decision-making tools to help in the implementation of LMPs with an environmental sustainability dimension is palpable. Thus, this study tackles the aforementioned decision problem by incorporating environmental and operational performance outcome expectations as these expectations are viewed in light of the ease of implementation of various LMPs. A novel multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model for evaluation of LMPs is developed in this respect. The model integrates a three-parameter interval grey number with rough set theory and the TODIM method. The model is run using empirical data from six manufacturing organisations. The findings facilitate the identification of a ‘locus of investments’ for a better selection of LMPs. The robustness of the decision support model developed is assessed through sensitivity analysis.

Providing affordable, safe, and reliable care while improving performance and efficiency remains a challenge in the healthcare sector. This study reviews the previous researches on the effect of lean manufacturing practice (LMP) and industrial revolution 4.0 technologies (IR 4.0 tech) on sustainability; however, there is still a paucity of literature on the implementation of the practices in the healthcare sector. Although studies have shown that LMP has significantly impacted organizational performance in the manufacturing industry, the integrated effects of LMP and IR 4.0 technologies on sustainable performance have not been empirically examined in the healthcare sector. This study, therefore, intends to have a preliminary conceptual approach to the joint effect of LPM and IR 4.0 technologies on sustainability before subsequently going for an empirical study to address the gap in the sector. The study aimed to confirm the future direction of the public health sector that has recently been employing new technologies in its service systems. The consequent study shall be based on data collected from the health practitioners who are working and familiar with the smart tools to expedite services for healthcare. However, this present study unfolds the significant contribution of operations management practices and how sustainable performance can be enhanced through performance variation and strategic implementation in the healthcare sector. Lean practices and IR 4.0 technologies lead to improvement and operational sustainability when fully implemented in the healthcare sector.

The company's performance must be continuously improved to be able to face the increasingly fierce global competition. The improvement of the company's performance can be made by implementing supply chain practices. The implementation of supply chain practice is a policy set by the company's top management by making the system integrated. Integration of all functions, internally and externally, is done by using integrated information technology. This study takes data from companies in East Java, engaged in machinery that has a workforce of more than 100 people categorized as medium and large companies. Respondents were set on employees with a minimum of 2 yr of working experience and a middle manager position. There were 55 respondents in this study, with data analysis using partial least square (PLS) to test the research hypothesis. The result of the data processing found that the commitment of top management affects the supply chain practices and the use of information technology. This is because the management has shown its commitment by providing the necessary human resources. The top management commitment directly influences the company's operational performance. The use of information technology directly affects supply chain practices and the company's operational performance. Supply chain practices affect the company's operational performance. This is because the company has carried out the process of information sharing with the company's suppliers to control and facilitate the procurement of quality raw materials.

In this research, postal questionnaires and personal interviews are used to reveal the current status of Just-in-Time (JIT) implementation in Taiwan. Changes in the business climate in Taiwan have led many manufacturers to adopt JIT. Ninety-eight per cent of the manufacturers in Taiwan are small and medium size enterprises, for which the problem of inventory is not serious. Therefore, the firms in Taiwan care more about reducing manufacturing costs and improving product quality than reducing inventories. The most frequently adopted JIT practices are improvement within workshop, automation and quality control circle etc., in order to reduce cost and improve quality. Lack of supplier and worker support are the major problems in JIT implementation, which render the manufacturers incapable of completely and successfully adopting JIT practices. Although JIT practices are only partially implemented in Taiwan, the benefits of implementing JIT are significant and valuable. Results of this study show that...