Lean Program Research Articles

Context‐driven implementation strategies: Exploring three approaches to implement a lean capability framework within a global production company

AbstractThis paper explores global implementation of capability building projects as part of an corporate lean programme. The aim is to identify the core parameters in global implementation of complex knowledge in various contexts within the corporation. The empirical research investigates the global implementation of a lean capability project in three regional clusters within a large pharmaceutical multinational production company. The findings indicate that contextual situations in regional clusters, for example, maturity levels, national culture, and previous experiences, influence the design of the implementation approaches embedding knowledge management principles in various ways. Three types of implementation approaches (horizontal, parallel, and delegated) are identified, which highlights the strategically different pathways to realise new frameworks for knowledge management. This study shows how adjustments to contextual situations influence the implementation process and identifies various hallenges with various approaches that may hinder the execution of lean strategy. This paper puts forward five identified implementation parameters that could guide future research and knowledge management practitioners in opex, HR, and learning and development functions.

The Effect of Lean Training Program for First Line Nurse Managers on their Knowledge, Readiness for Lean Transformation and Lean Culture in Healthcare

The Effect of Lean Training Program for First Line Nurse Managers on their Knowledge, Readiness for Lean Transformation and Lean Culture in Healthcare

Maude2Lean: Theorem proving for Maude specifications using Lean

Maude is a specification language based on rewriting logic whose programs can be executed, model checked, and analyzed with other automated techniques, but not easily theorem proved. On the other hand, Lean is a modern proof assistant based on the calculus of inductive constructions with a wide library of reusable proofs and definitions. This paper presents a translation from the first formalism to the second, and the maude2lean tool that predictably derives a Lean program from a Maude module. Hence, theorems can be proved in Lean about Maude specifications.

Preventing the re-establishment of malaria during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka: implications for health security

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic—with its first reported case in Sri Lanka in March 2020—had the potential to impact the risk of re-establishing malaria, a disease which was eliminated from Sri Lanka in 2012. Post-elimination, the country remains highly vulnerable to a return of malaria on account of high vector mosquito densities and the inflow of imported malaria cases.MethodsParallels between COVID-19 and malaria after its elimination as health security threats were drawn, and the many ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the prevention of re-establishment of malaria programmes in the country in 2020 were examined. The implications of this experience for global health security are analysed.ResultsIn 2020, imported malaria cases were fewer than in the previous 3 years, due to restrictions on international travel. Yet, a high level of malaria case and entomological surveillance was sustained through surveillance strategies modified to focus on quarantine centers, in response to the pandemic. As a result, more imported malaria cases were detected by active case detection than by passive surveillance. Some of the operational shifts adopted by the Anti Malaria Campaign were moving rapidly into functioning as an intersectoral player by reinforcing its collaborations with the Ministries of Aviation and Defense, switching to the use of online communication systems, and integrating and synergizing its field activities with the COVID-19 control programme.ConclusionsThe experience highlights the need for disease control programmes to be agile, flexible and responsive, and underscores the importance of maintaining even a lean focal programme for diseases such as malaria after they have been eliminated. Sustaining public health leadership and robust technological capacities in communication and data management were paramount in preventing the disruption of the malaria prevention programme during the pandemic and sustaining the malaria-free status of the country.

Integrate or separate: lean and digitalization programs through the lens of boundary work management

Integrate or separate: lean and digitalization programs through the lens of boundary work management

Remote kaizen events: a response to COVID-19 and the new normal

Kaizen events are an important part of lean programmes. Traditionally, these events bring a small team to work together over a 3-to-5-day period with a facilitator. This paper explores how these events can be run remotely. We ask: What are the impacts and challenges posed by COVID-19 on kaizen events? What would you need to change in their design and deployment to run them successfully remotely? Could remote kaizens be the way forward for firms with advanced Lean in place? These RQs are investigated in a multi-method approach with multi-national construction technology group Hilti. We found, after readjustment, that it was possible to run successful kaizen events on a global basis with remote facilitation. The cost of running the events was lower due to the savings in travel, they provided a better work-life balance for facilitators, allowed for a more expert work teams although events did involve a greater preparation time. The cost-saving results were as good as or better than physical events. However, the events often felt worse for the participants raising questions about future success. Even so, within the advanced Lean Hilti organisations remote kaizen events will be the de facto new normal standard going forward.

Cedar: A New Language for Expressive, Fast, Safe, and Analyzable Authorization

Cedar is a new authorization policy language designed to be ergonomic, fast, safe, and analyzable. Rather than embed authorization logic in an application’s code, developers can write that logic as Cedar policies and delegate access decisions to Cedar’s evaluation engine. Cedar’s simple and intuitive syntax supports common authorization use-cases with readable policies, naturally leveraging concepts from role-based, attribute-based, and relation-based access control models. Cedar’s policy structure enables access requests to be decided quickly. Cedar’s policy validator leverages optional typing to help policy writers avoid mistakes, but not get in their way. Cedar’s design has been finely balanced to allow for a sound and complete logical encoding, which enables precise policy analysis, e.g., to ensure that when refactoring a set of policies, the authorized permissions do not change. We have modeled Cedar in the Lean programming language, and used Lean’s proof assistant to prove important properties of Cedar’s design. We have implemented Cedar in Rust, and released it open-source. Comparing Cedar to two open-source languages, OpenFGA and Rego, we find (subjectively) that Cedar has equally or more readable policies, but (objectively) performs far better.

COVID-19's impact on lean programs and implementation in energy-based utilities

PurposeLean is a continuous improvement methodology that has succeeded in eliminating waste in a variety of industries. Yet, there is a need for more research on Lean implementation in several under-studied contexts, including crisis situations such as those created by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This research investigates how Lean programs were impacted by COVID-19, while previous research has primarily explored how Lean was used to solve problems created by the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method research approach was used to analyze employee feedback on how COVID-19 impacted the Lean programs using data from various levels of four energy-based utilities in the United States. First, an online questionnaire collected qualitative and quantitative data from a broad sample of participants. Then, a follow-up semi-structured interview allowed the elaboration of perceptions related to the research question using a smaller sample of participants.FindingsOut of the 194 responses from the four companies, only 41% of the respondents at least somewhat agreed that COVID-19 impacted the Lean program at their company; of the remaining 59%, 35% indicated they were neutral, while 24% disagreed. The themes from the qualitative portion indicated that, while employees believed their companies had successfully found a new way to do Lean within the constraints of not always being in person, the collaboration and engagement were more challenging to sustain, and COVID-19 also otherwise made it more difficult to implement Lean. Meanwhile, some believed there was no impact on the Lean program.Originality/valueThe COVID-19 and Lean peer-reviewed literature published from 2020 to September 2023 focused primarily on using Lean to address problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic vs studying the pandemic's impact on Lean programs. This research partially fills this literature gap in understanding the impact COVID-19 had on Lean initiatives.

Sustaining lean changes: the influence and significance of different change sustainability factors in maturing lean change programmes

PurposePrevious research has identified factors that enable lean change to be sustained. What remains unknown is how the interaction effects amongst these factors vary as lean change programmes mature. When are particular factors at their most influential?Design/methodology/approachUsing a data and investigator triangulated qualitative research strategy, this paper tests an a priori model of change sustainability factors. In phase one, the research reveals the influence and significance of the model's change sustainability factors within 13 manufacturers. In phase two, four factors (Leadership, Political, Individual and Managerial) were selected for in-depth case study analyses in three manufacturers.FindingsThese point to when in the lean change, certain factors have the most influence on its sustainability. The Leadership factor and political factor are essential at the beginning and remain influential throughout. Employees' individual commitment (Individual factor) is significant in sustaining the change but it is at its most influential in the later stages. The Managerial factor (management approach) is influential in the mature stages of the programme.Practical implicationsRecognising where to put maximum focus during a lean change programme as it matures is crucial for management.Originality/valueSustaining lean change has not been studied from the perspective of what factors need to be emphasised at different stages in the programme for successful maturity to occur. Through empirical validation, this study helps address this knowledge gap.Quick value overviewInteresting because – Researchers have found that the majority of lean implementations fail – changes to structures and working practices are made only to see the gains dissipate. Previous research has suggested that multiple factors including leadership, culture and politics influence the change towards a lean organisation. While studies have shown that such factors play a role, what has not been studied is the time, that is, when the factors influence the change process. This study investigated when 11 factors have the most influence on lean implementation. Theoretical value – The study extends the state-of-the-art understanding of implementation of lean in organisations by adding a time element. It is found that in order to have a change that is sustainable, that is, lasting at least 18 months, factors that indicate the importance to the organisation are influential during the entire implementation process. This includes how central the change is to the organisation, the influence of leadership that sets vision and goals, and the implementation methods. Factors that can set things in motion such as the influence of important stakeholders are important at the beginning of the implementation process but then decline in influence over time. While factors that seem to have to do more with how companies operate have less influence at the start but become more influential over time. These include employees' commitment, the managerial style and approach, the organisational policies and structure, and the organisational culture. Practical value – Introducing lean into an organisation and gaining its sustained benefits is often not successful. While factors have previously been identified that influence the success of lean implementation, this study provides additional practical insight. It helps manufacturers be more effective by pinpointing which factors should be focused on during the various stages of the implementation process.

Exploring lean team development from the Tuckman’s model perspective

This study explores lean teams through the developmental stages of the Tuckman model. Twenty-seven interviewees commented on the teamwork of a lean programme deployed in their organisations. The results reveal that forming lean teams involves excitement, anticipation, and a desire for acceptance. However, frustration, competition, and a need for individual recognition follow in the storming phase. Training programmes that foster cooperation, compromise, and unity sometimes inadvertently create a 'them vs. us’ divide in an organisation’s workforce in the norming phase. Additionally, work commitments hinder the development of shared mental models among team members. Lean teams achieve synergy, support, and goal focus in the performing phase, delivering six functions. However, challenges like prioritisation disagreements due to project overload still exist. The adjourning phase evokes mixed emotions: satisfaction with transitioning to a permanent team and sadness when the team disbands. The findings extend the Tuckman model to explain a lean team development lifecycle.

Effect of Lean Management Training Program on Nurse Managers' Innovation and Crisis Management

Effect of Lean Management Training Program on Nurse Managers' Innovation and Crisis Management

Effect of Lean Management Training Program on Nurse Managers' Innovation and Crisis Management

Effect of Lean Management Training Program on Nurse Managers' Innovation and Crisis Management

Understanding Lean Awareness Gaps between Management and Operations in an Aerospace Manufacturing Company in Malaysia

Lean planning is usually performed by the management team, while lean implementation by the operations team. Lean implementation can be more successful if the gap in lean between the management and operations teams are understood. By knowing the gaps, the right resources can be allocated to the right people doing the right things. This study aims to investigate the gap in lean awareness between both teams. The survey, via Google Form, took place in an aerospace manufacturing company in Malaysia. 360 valid responses received and analyzed with SPSS. Based on the findings, the management team was found to have more working experiences with higher qualifications compared to the operations team. Consistently, the findings have also found the management team has better awareness on lean terminologies, types of waste, and benefits of lean, followed by the technicians and operators, respectively. As a result, there was a clear gap in lean awareness between the management and operations teams. This gap might possibly be influenced by the level of qualifications, and number of experiences. Meanwhile, the findings within the operations team have shown the technicians' awareness on lean is better than the operators. This study implicates that a specific lean awareness program should be designed to suit different level of understanding on lean, for the right people with the right resources. With effective lean program, the implementation will be more successful, and firms can achieve better efficiency and waste reduction.

Implementation of Total Productive Maintenance and Lean Manufacturing in the Pharmaceutical Industry: An Empirical Study

This study aimed to determine the relationship between the implementation of total productive maintenance and lean manufacturing on overall equipment effectiveness at PT Kimia Farma Tbk Plant Banjaran. This research design is quantitative, with multiple linear regression methods to determine the independent variable on the dependent variable. Data was collected by giving questionnaires directly to respondents. This study's results show a positive and significant relationship between the Total Productive Maintenance program and the Overall Equipment Effectiveness measured at PT Kimia Farma Tbk Plant Banjaran. A positive and meaningful relationship exists between the Lean Manufacturing program and the Overall Equipment Effectiveness measured at PT Kimia Farma Tbk Plant Banjaran. TPM is one of LM's tools in terms of equipment, apart from other tools that measure process aspects such as Standard Work, 5S, VSM, JIT, Line Balancing, and SMED. A positive, simultaneous, and significant relationship exists between the combination of Total Productive Maintenance and Lean Manufacturing programs on Overall Equipment Effectiveness as measured at PT Kimia Farma Tbk Plant Banjaran. The combination of a good TPM and LM program directly causes an increase in the effectiveness and efficiency of the production process. It reduces the occurrence of production defects so that OEE also increases.

Case study of the collaborative design of an integrated BIM, IPD and Lean university education program

The increased interest in BIM and the related technologies of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Lean Construction (Lean) highlights the need for enhanced education regarding rapidly evolving technologies within integrated construction-related disciplines. Because of the importance of strong collaboration and open communications to optimal outcomes, the education involved must incorporate soft skills emphasising open mindedness, ability to adapt, teamwork, leadership and communications. In response to the lack of any integrated courses of this nature, this exploratory case study involves the novel development of a university BIM-IPD-Lean Masters-level degree course. This was developed in four phases starting with an initial investigation by thorough contemporaneous review of the relevant education literature and in-depth research to determine the industry’s education requirements in full consultation with industry stakeholders, followed by a review of preliminary findings and obtaining approvals, major investigations and program structuring, final approvals and launch. 53 students graduated from the program, with every one becoming employed as a BIM professional within two months of graduation, with some employed during studies, and others immediately after graduation.

The role of managerial perceptions and behaviors across hierarchical levels during lean implementation

PurposeDo managers at different hierarchical levels in a firm perceive the effectiveness of a lean program differently, and does it matter for their commitment to it and the resulting lean implementation? This study answers these questions by analyzing the perceptions and behaviors of top and middle managers in a manufacturer deploying a global lean program.Design/methodology/approachThe authors hypothesize that managers at different levels perceive lean programs differently, which, in turn, should affect their commitment to lean and the resulting implementation. To test these relationships empirically, the authors collect survey data from a global manufacturer in the process industry and analyze them using hierarchical linear regression and structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings show that middle managers perceive lean programs as more effective than top managers do. They further show that higher commitment from the top and middle managers to the lean program is positively related to building the organizational infrastructure needed for lean implementation.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is conducted in one global company. Although the research setting implicitly controls for many possible confounding variables, such as the product and process complexity or organizational culture, future research can explore and test the findings in other organizational contexts.Originality/valueThis study is the first to empirically study the relations between perceptions of and commitment to lean programs across different hierarchical levels and what it means for program implementation. The paper contributes new plausible explanations for why many lean programs slow down.

A comparison between chaos theory and Lévy flights in sunflower optimization for feature selection

AbstractFeature selection is a knowledge discovery tool to understand the problem by analysing features. In particular, the application of feature selection in data mining can not only improve the quality of extracted patterns and knowledge but also decrease computational costs. Various techniques have been applied to this complex optimization problem, in which metaheuristics have been validated to be superior. This study introduces a new metaheuristic known for having lean and fast programming, inspired by the sunflower's motions for feature selection for the first time. It is equipped with a v‐shaped transfer function and associated with the KNN classifier to become the binary sunflower optimization (BSFO). A total of 12 variants of BSFO are designed based on the chaos theory and Lévy flights, called improved binary sunflower optimization (IBSFO). A discussion between these improvement theories for feature selection has also not been made yet, and it is performed in this paper using 15 benchmark datasets from the UCI repository. The experimental results show that all variants can advance the fitness value of BSFO, and nine of them considerably decrease the computational costs. Furthermore, the chaotic BSFO with the Chebyshev function, taking replacement to normal rand, has the lowest fitness value (−11.37%) and execution time (−9.31%) than the original BSFO. Further, IBSFO is compared with another eight metaheuristics and outperforms these competitors on average fitness value and execution time. Overall, IBSFO proved to find subsets with reduced dimension and high accuracy with meagre computational cost due to its robust explorative and exploitative capacities.

How to develop standardized work for business processes in the transactional office environment

Standardised Work (STW) is one of the most effective but least utilized Lean tools for business process improvement initiatives in the transactional office environment known as the ‘Lean office’. The STW not only establishes a baseline for continuous improvement initiatives but also facilitates them by giving indications of key improvement opportunities in the present best practice. The STW is a thorough document in which the process workflow is broken into a number of consecutive work elements whose processing times are labelled according to their nature and required resources. Developing the STW for business processes in the manufacturing environment is quite common; however, it is quite rare and limited in the transactional office environment. This is primarily caused by the business-office processes’ complexity or underestimating their influence on overall business success. In this study, we position and highlight the importance of the STW in the Lean office programme and propose a pragmatic and tractable framework for developing the STW for business-office processes through the use of a pilot process. The proposed STW framework was implemented successfully in the pharma industry. Finally, the paper is concluded by discussing the possible obstacles and providing future research directions.

The integration of lean and human resource management practices as an enabler for lean deployment –a systematic literature review

PurposeThe current research aims to map and investigate how human resource management and lean practices can be integrated. This investigation will help identify the HRM aspects critical in the success of lean initiatives while exploring the research gaps in the existing literature. The review also aims to delineate the benefits and challenges of integrating lean with HRM systems to discuss further research and practice areas.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes a systematic literature review method to identify and synthesize the existing literature. As part of the process, a protocol that provided a plan for the review was followed, including the research questions and the data to be extracted.FindingsThe study results indicate that aspects of HRM practice and policies such as training and development, teamwork, motivation, communication, leadership, are key enablers of lean initiative deployment and success. The benefits of the integration of human resources with lean can help in lean training and development, communication of lean initiatives and successes, allocating and hiring continuous improvement personnel, and supporting leadership in lean deployment. Challenges to integrating lean and HRM practices included lack of integration and collaboration between disciplines. Further exploration areas in successful lean deployment would be practical longitudinal case studies on lean deployments with human resource (HR) partnerships and involvement.Practical implicationsThis review paper has crucial implications for practice relating to, integration of lean with HRM structures and tailoring HRM initiatives to ensure the success of lean deployment and reduce risks of failure.Originality/valueThe systematic literature review study conducted in this paper is the first of its kind to integrate and map the HRM concepts that can be integrated with Lean to deploy the initiative successfully. This mapping is critical for ensuring the success of lean methodologies within an organization and paves the way for future research. In addition, managers and organizations can find support and guidance from this study to focus on vital areas of partnership between their lean and HR programs.

The financial implications of XPS: an organizational learning perspective

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of a company-specific lean program (a so-called company-specific production system [XPS]) on the company’s financial performance. This study analyzes data from the implementation of XPS in multiple plants of a multinational corporation and examines the results through an organizational learning lens.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a longitudinal single-case design to investigate a Norwegian multinational company in the process industry, producing silicon for the global market. The company has developed, implemented and institutionalized its own XPS since 1991. The program has directly contributed to extensive cost reduction and significantly strengthened the organization’s competitive position.FindingsThe findings of this study show a link between organizational learning and the improvement of financial results in the organization. This study presents a sand cone model that illustrates how the development and deployment of an XPS through individual- and orchestrated learning subsequently created a common platform for institutionalized learning within and across the multinational organization. This organizational learning capability managed to tie the company’s continuous improvement efforts directly to the improvement of cost levels throughout the value chain.Practical implicationsThe practical implications of this work are significant, as this study uncovers the importance for managers to consider both individual-, orchestrated- and institutionalized learning (within and across a multinational network) when designing and implementing XPS to drive the improvement of an organization’s financial performance.Originality/valueDocumenting the financial impact of such programs is a common challenge. Therefore, the insights presented in this research are of value to both researchers and practitioners, in particular, managers and executives in large multinational organizations.