Lean Project Research Articles

Implementation of Lean Management in an Airline Cabin, a World First Execution?

This research focuses on introduction of lean management into the cabin environment of an aircraft. It is based on a case study of a lean implementation project that was pioneered by Icelandair, which is Iceland's largest airline. The research examines the background and objectives of a lean-oriented project in the context of the very specific challenges and opportunities of cabin management in the airline environment. The paper examines how Icelandair uses lean management to reduce waste and increase benefits of their passengers as well as flight attendants. The paper uses qualitative research with project members and stakeholders within Icelandair to critically evaluate the nature of project success. It also uses quantitate research and measurements done on site. From that that conclusions are drawn about the execution of lean project management in the airline industry

Embending Sustainability Dynamics in the Lean Construction Supply Chain Management

Abstract The world’s habitat is being deteriorated despite of the precautions taken. Construction industry is among the industries which highly effect the environment adversely not only through its outputs but also through the construction process and its inputs. The main focus in dealing with the reduction of its footprint has been on sustainable building certificates which mainly analyse the output of the construction activies. There is need to analyse the construction supply chain as a whole and to embed sustainability dynamics in construction supply chain management. Lean construction project management contributes to the reduction of the environmental footprint of the construction industry, enabling reduction in waste, and increasing value added activities. For this reason, based on an in depth literature review, this paper analyses and establishes the principles of the integration of the sustainability dynamics into lean construction supply chain management.

Does Lean & Agile Project Management Help Coping with Project Complexity?

Still, projects in the construction sector are delivered with time delays and cost overruns. One of the reasons for poor performance was assigned to project complexity. A combination of lean construction and agile project management are hypothesized as a possible solution to cope with project complexity. In this paper we aim to understand if the implicit usage of lean and agile help coping with complexity. The research was done by means of correlation analysis on data gathered from a structured questionnaire (67 responses). In total, 51 significant correlations among 255 possible relations were found. To reduce the number of variables, factor analysis was performed. Correlation analysis on the defined factors showed 8 significant correlations among 25 relations. Several lean and agile elements were shown to significantly correlate to either reducing complexity or managing complexity. It was therefore concluded that these are promising to cope with complexity and improve project performance, which is to be confirmed in subsequent research.

A Data Mining Approach to the Analysis of a Catering Lean Service Project

AbstractApplied quantile regression to explore different ways to improve the catering service so as to promote the customer’s service satisfaction.A lean service project aims to reduce the cost of material, labor and time required in providing a service to a customer so as to promote the service satisfaction from the customer. This paper presents a data mining approach to analyze the effectiveness of a lean service project on a catering service provided by a university restaurant. We have designed three consecutive stages of service scenarios; each represents an improvement over its previous stage. In this study, we first applied the grey relational analysis to confirm the effectiveness of the lean service project. That is, stage two and three actually obtained higher service satisfaction from customers than their corresponding previous stages did. We have performed a quantile regression analysis to explore the effect of different factors on low and high quantiles of service satisfaction. The result of th...

The change of production systems through consultancy involved projects: a multiple case study in Chinese SMEs

Production systems, such as Lean Production System (LPS), have been developed to improve organisational performance. In their application to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), resource constraints mean that business assistance from external agencies, such as management consultants, is often required. Building on organisational learning research associated with knowledge flow across boundaries, this study aims to explore the practical issues associated with consultancy-involved LPS implementation in Chinese SMEs and the possible approaches to deal with them. A multiple case study is conducted focusing on four real-life, consultancy-involved, lean projects in Chinese SMEs. Four key problems that arise from consultancy-involved change of production systems are identified and four relevant approaches to handle these problems are also addressed. The case study implies that to better embed new production systems, such as LPS into SMEs, both consultants and SME clients need to adopt a more proactive approach when engaging with each other.

A university-based model for space-related capacity building in emerging countries

Since 2011 the number of satellites less than 50 kg launched annually has increased by an order of magnitude. This trend is driven in part by proliferation of small satellite and lean satellite projects worldwide. In this decade alone, over 30 new countries are expected to achieve their first satellite in space. More than ever before, emerging countries are engaging in space-related activities. However, barriers such as lack of funding and underdeveloped human resources prevent many emerging nations from initiating or sustaining space programs. Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) has played an active role in space-related capacity building and international cooperation since 2009, then partnering with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs to formulate a long-term fellowship programme hosted at Kyutech. Growing out of the success of the fellowship programme, Kyutech began significantly expanding its space-related capacity building project in 2013. This paper gives an overview of Kyutech's university-based model to enhance space-related capacity building and human resource development in emerging countries worldwide, and discusses advantages and disadvantages of alternative approaches.

Effects of organizational context on Lean implementation in five hospital systems.

Despite broad agreement among researchers about the value of examining how context shapes implementation of improvement programs and projects, limited attention has been paid to contextual effects on implementation of Lean. To help reduce gaps in knowledge of effects of intraorganizational context, we researched Lean implementation initiatives in five organizations and examined 12 of their Lean rapid improvement projects. All projects aimed at improving clinical care delivery. On the basis of the literature on Lean, innovation, and quality improvement, we developed a framework of factors likely to affect Lean implementation and outcomes. Drawing on the framework, we conducted semistructured interviews and applied qualitative codes to the transcribed interviews. Available documents, data, and observations supplemented the interviews. We constructed case studies of Lean implementation in each organization, compared implementation across organizations, and compared the 12 projects. Intraorganizational characteristics affecting organization-wide Lean initiatives and often also shaping project outcomes included CEO commitment to Lean and active support for it, prior organizational capacity for quality improvement-based performance improvement, alignment of the Lean initiative with the organizational mission, dedication of resources and experts to Lean, staff training before and during projects, establishment of measurable and relevant project targets, planning of project sequences that enhance staff capabilities and commitment without overburdening them, and ensuring communication between project members and other affected staff. Dependence of projects on inputs of new information technology was a barrier to project success. Incremental implementation of Lean produced reported improvements in operational efficiency and occasionally in care quality. However, even under the relatively favorable circumstances prevailing in our study sites, incremental implementation did not readily change organizational culture. This study should alert researchers, managers, and teachers of management to ways that contexts shape Lean implementation and may affect other types of process redesign and quality improvement.

Need for changes in hospitals: 10 recommendations to improve efficiency, quality and effectiveness

Some Lean improvement projects have been successful while others have not. According to the literature on Lean management principles, a potential explanation for this equivocal state is a paradox that can develop depending on the focus of the project. If the focus is on improving the efficiency of individual resources and not on the interconnections between them, then paradoxically, the worse the efficiency of this resource will become. To overcome this paradox and achieve the expected outcome of Lean projects, the aim for Lean improvement projects should be to achieve "flow efficiency" rather than "resource efficiency". By conducting a detailed study of four case studies of Lean improvement projects from two large acute-care hospitals, we examine how organizations can systematically focus on flow efficiency by considering the role and value of redundancy in Lean improvement projects. We found that redundancy plays a vital role in enabling the goals of Lean improvement projects to be achieved. Our findings extend the discussions on the Lean practices in healthcare context by incorporating the nature of the redundancy concept in explaining how Lean practices are being adapted in variant operations settings.

Lean Improvement Practices: Lessons from Healthcare Service Delivery Chains

Some Lean improvement projects have been successful while others have not. According to the literature on Lean management principles, a potential explanation for this equivocal state is a paradox that can develop depending on the focus of the project. If the focus is on improving the efficiency of individual resources and not on the interconnections between them, then paradoxically, the worse the efficiency of this resource will become. To overcome this paradox and achieve the expected outcome of Lean projects, the aim for Lean improvement projects should be to achieve "flow efficiency" rather than "resource efficiency". By conducting a detailed study of four case studies of Lean improvement projects from two large acute-care hospitals, we examine how organizations can systematically focus on flow efficiency by considering the role and value of redundancy in Lean improvement projects. We found that redundancy plays a vital role in enabling the goals of Lean improvement projects to be achieved. Our findings extend the discussions on the Lean practices in healthcare context by incorporating the nature of the redundancy concept in explaining how Lean practices are being adapted in variant operations settings.

Critical Success Factor for Industrialized Building System Process Protocol Map by Lean Construction management

This paper is exploring the process protocol map in industrialized building systems. Several critical success factors were identified and classified in seven groups namely; just-in-time factors, total quality management factors, business process reengineering factors, concurrent engineering factors, last planner system factors, teamwork factors and value based management factors. Using the Delphi technique, factors were established first by experts of construction projects. Afterward, the groups of factors were confirmed by the construction industry experts using the questionnaires based on Fuzzy AHP techniques for factors comparison. Based on the results the lean construction critical success factors are concurrent engineering and just in time factors respectively, which are the most important critical success factors in lean construction projects according to the industrialized building system process protocol map.

Using Lean management to leverage innovation in healthcare projects: case study of a public hospital in the UAE

This paper demonstrates that Lean management serves as a foundation to leverage innovation throughout the healthcare projects. An organisation that successfully accommodates both Lean and innovation will gain higher competitive...

An Appraisal of Lean Construction Project Delivery: Application of Lean Construction

One major theoretical issue that has dominated the construction field for many years, concerns the general misconception that lean can only be successfully applied to manufacturing. Its introduction into design and construction industry has been slow due to a conflation of reasons including organisations disinclination to make the necessary capital investments. Recent research has shown that many aspects of the construction industry have improved with the development of lean construction. It has been suggested, however, that unpredictability in construction processes creates complications when implementing this philosophy to the industry. The aim of this paper was therefore to investigate the application of lean construction to construction project delivery. A framework for managing construction project delivery is proposed. To obtain the empirical research, a two-phase sequential mixed methods study was undertaken. The investigation concluded that heavy construction-engineering organisations are likely to successfully apply lean construction to construction project delivery, and achieve a new level of project performance if the appropriate considerations are given by the construction industry.

Lean and Green strategy: the Lean and Green House and maturity deployment model

Industrial firms are facing increasing environmental and societal challenges in order to sustain their processes. The association of Lean manufacturing to Green concerns has therefore grown in both the industrial and academic fields over the last decade. Following on from the “Lean and Green Project”, this paper intends to enhance previous studies by giving an implementation structure to a Lean and Green methodology based on the seeking and eradication of wastes in production processes. A state of the art featuring main scientific contributions and industrial best practices of Toyota is presented, followed by an in-depth analysis of the synergies between Lean and Green wastes, and the tools that may eliminate them. The results are gathered and highlighted in an original Lean and Green house. The last section presents a detailed CMMI-based Lean and Green maturity model.

Innovating to do more with less - the story of Lean Six Sigma in the Central Statistics Office, Ireland

The financial challenges of recent times places a premium on national statistical institutes (NSIs) to creatively examine how to `do more with less'. Faced with significant staffing reductions and demands for quality improvements, CSO introduced the lean six sigma problem solving methodology. In th is paper we explore: Why CSO introduced lean and how we introduced it; Examples of successful lean projects: how we did it and the benefits achieved in terms of cost reduction and quantifiable quality improvement; Examples of where we had difficulties with lean projects - the learning lessons/implementation issues national statistical institutes should be aware of, including the importance of placing lean within a strategic context.

Process-Improvement Cost Model for the Emergency Department

The objective of this report is to present a simplified, activity-based costing approach for hospital emergency departments (EDs) to use with Lean Six Sigma cost-benefit analyses. The cost model complexity is reduced by removing diagnostic and condition-specific costs, thereby revealing the underlying process activities' cost inefficiencies. Examples are provided for evaluating the cost savings from reducing discharge delays and the cost impact of keeping patients in the ED (boarding) after the decision to admit has been made. The process-improvement cost model provides a needed tool in selecting, prioritizing, and validating Lean process-improvement projects in the ED and other areas of patient care that involve multiple dissimilar diagnoses.

Lean thinking in the luxury-fashion market

Purpose – The capability to overcome tradeoffs among costs, quality and time has become a must in high-margin businesses too. Lean thinking may be a solution, but applications in the luxury-fashion market are still rare. In order to shed light on this apparent contradiction, the purpose of this paper is to identify the key features of the luxury-fashion market that may act as barriers for the adoption of lean principles. Next, based on the results of this preliminary analysis, the paper tries to verify, if and how, lean principles can be properly reinterpreted, so as to properly fit the requirements of this market. Design/methodology/approach – Due to the operating nature of lean, an empiric approach was followed. From the evidences gathered during a lean project of a world-wide company, critical elements of the luxury-fashion market were identified and used as criteria to select, among lean tools, the most appropriate ones. Lastly, selected tools were integrated in a structured framework (for lean implementation) that was used to analyze and to improve many logistics and manufacturing processes. Findings – Developed solutions were implemented as pilot projects, with outstanding preliminary result. Results are case specific and trying to infer general considerations may be hazardous. Nonetheless, due to the relevant dimension of the project, they can be considered more than a clue concerning the robustness of the framework and, most of all, concerning the real potentialities of lean in the luxury-fashion market. Practical implications – The framework is extremely operational and, together with the proposed industrial cases, can be used as a guideline to support practitioners during the implementation of similar projects. Originality/value – Lean thinking is relatively new in the luxury-fashion market, where the focus on operational costs has been traditionally considered as a marginal issue. Thus, the application of lean principles in this market is the innovative element of the paper.

A comparative study of Lean implementation in higher and further education institutions in the UK

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate and understand the differences that exist between educational institutions in the methods and practices employed in the development and implementation of Lean projects. Whilst many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are now starting their journey towards effectively implementing Lean, Further Education Institutions (FEIs) have treaded this well worn path many years previously and so the aim of this paper is to find what key features and issues FEIs have put in place to assist them in implementing Lean projects and whether HEIs can learn from such institutions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies two research methods in an attempt to understand the differences between the institutions and hence understand the key features that can be used to better implement Lean initiatives. First, through a series of focus groups, the authors employ a low-level form of Group Consensus Theory in an attempt to understand the organisational dynamics surrounding the adoption of Lean. This is used to understand whether Lean improvement teams within FEIs implement such initiatives with the autonomy and support from senior management. Second, the same group members, detailed interviews were held in order to identify further and more specific information around the tools and techniques employed in the implementation of Lean initiatives in both HEI and FEIs. Findings – The study found that although FEIs had much more experience in the design, development and implementation of Lean initiatives, the organisational infrastructure and dynamics towards driving Lean in FEIs was less well embedded in to the culture of the respective institutions than first thought and, that Lean had been developed and driven initially by a consultancy-based approach and around a tool-driven mentality. It was seen that whilst HEIs were generally slower in getting off the mark, there seemed to be more enthusiasm and willingness to drive such initiatives forward and in a more systematic and holistic manner even though some of the projects were in their very early stages of implementation. Research limitations/implications – Whilst this work provides key information on how Lean initiatives are implemented across different institution types, the work has only looked at a very small sample of two teaching focused HEI and two FEIs. The work will need to be extended much more widely to incorporate a larger set of HEIs (both research and teaching focused) in order to provide a more complete map of Lean development in HEIs. Practical implications – The aim of the paper is to provide Lean project leaders in HEIs with some additional key insights towards the cultural and organisation dynamics that exist in educational institutions other than HEIs in order to assist them in developing further and more comprehensive Lean programmes. Originality/value – This paper is the first of its kind to study the organisational and cultural dynamics that exist between differing educational institutions in their approaches towards the implementation of Lean and business improvement programmes. The key features highlighted in this work raise important issues regarding the need and importance of developing team dynamics around project implementation.

Analysis of critical processes in the implementation of lean manufacturing projects using project management guidelines

Many companies have achieved significant results in recent decades by adopting the lean manufacturing philosophy, but its implementation still leaves room for improvement. The literature on this subject cites several critical processes during the implementation of lean projects that should be identified and improved to ensure even better results. This article aims to contribute to the aforementioned body of literature by assessing lean manufacturing projects using project management guidelines, specifically the 47 processes published in the 5th edition of the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Based on questionnaire-aided interviews with 17 professionals (eight corporate managers and nine experts with PhDs in this area), we found that the most critical processes in the implementation of lean projects involve procurement, stakeholder, communication, human resources, and risk management. The results presented here were validated using the techniques of multidimensional scaling, exploratory factor analysis, and descriptive statistics.

Targeting lean process improvement projects for maximum financial impact

This empirical paper details a 12-month applied research project at a UK low-volume manufacturer of large vehicles. The industry problem from which this study originates was a concern over the subjective nature with which the firm’s existing lean intervention projects were being targeted (prioritised and selected). A structured literature review on this topic was unable to identify any objective decision support mechanism for doing so; one that encompassed financial as well as operational criteria. The resultant study was organised around an established seven-step action research framework. The main body of evidence was derived from extensive analysis of financial and operational data extracted from the firm’s enterprise resource planning system, along with two structured workshops that each involved multiple informants drawn from the firm’s production centres and its accountancy department. Supplementary primary research was provided in the guise of numerous unstructured interviews to validate data and from observation of shop floor practices. The main contribution of this article is identifying and addressing the gap highlighted above, by developing and testing a financially driven method for objectively targeting process improvement interventions within this large and geographically dispersed operation. This innovative method includes five new constituent techniques.

A new approach on implementing TPM in a mine – A case study

The paper presents selected results of the adaptation of Lean Manufacturing methods to the mining industry conditions. The research was carried out within the framework of R&D project “Adaptation and implementation of Lean in the copper mines.” The article focuses on the key issues related to the Total Productive Maintenance. TPM in a mine according to Authors’ approach should be based on 3 main pillars: improvement of the environment of work, autonomous and planned maintenance and standards in development.In order to adapt TPM method to mining conditions several steps were taken. In the first step failure analysis was conducted. On the basis of its results, a pilot group of machines was selected. To ensure the best environment for implementing the method a holistic approach was applied. Three types of activities were performed in parallel – designing a room for pilot area machines, daily service process optimization and repair standardization.The coherent TPM methodology developed within the framework of Lean Mining project is so universal that it can be successfully implemented in the other mining companies, specializing in the underground and open pit mines and quarries, in order to increase their profitability and introduce continuous improvement approach.