Purpose

Numerous leanness assessment models were developed for both manufacturing and service sectors. However, little research effort was made to provide an instrument that can be used to measure the leanness level of the product-service system (PSS). This paper aims to propose an index to assess the leanness of PSS in a UK manufacturing company.

Design/methodology/approach

The development of the assessment model was carried out through an iterative process. Commencing from existing literature on lean manufacturing assessment and lean service assessment, the initial model for assessing PSS leanness was developed. This initial model was refined via two consecutive phases. The first one includes semi-structured interviews with academic researchers involved in lean projects where their comments were considered. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews with several experts working in different UK manufacturing industries and involved in lean and continuous improvement projects were conducted to reach the final assessment model. After developing the model, the next step was identifying a suitable company for applying the model. The case company was selected because of its commitment to implement lean practices and its ability to participate in this study. After that, data was collected from the case company and the PSS leanness index was calculated using a multi-grade fuzzy approach. Finally, areas for further improvement were identified and the results obtained were validated.

Findings

The PSS leanness index computed for the case company indicates that the service offering process provided by the company is generally lean. Areas for further improvement were identified.

Research limitations/implications

This study focussed on a single case company and is based on the experts’ opinions; this may tend to be biased. However, future studies will be performed to multiple-case studies to enhance findings and more empirical research will be conducted to catch more insights into PSS leanness.

Practical implications

This paper provides guidelines to manufacturing companies’ managers for measuring the PSS leanness index and planning for the future. This index gives information regarding the degree of lean adoption in the service offering process and identifying the gap between the current PSS leanness level and the desired state.

Originality/value

The proposed model has been developed by the opinion of academicians and industry experts. The proposed model can provide guidelines and directions for managers for PSS leanness assessment.

中文翻译：

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产品-服务系统精益评估模型：对英国制造公司的研究

目的

为制造和服务部门开发了许多精益评估模型。然而，很少有研究努力提供一种可用于测量产品服务系统 (PSS) 精益水平的工具。本文旨在提出一个指标来评估一家英国制造公司的 PSS 精益程度。

设计/方法/方法

评估模型的开发是通过迭代过程进行的。从现有关于精益制造评估和精益服务评估的文献开始，开发了评估 PSS 精益性的初始模型。这个初始模型通过两个连续的阶段进行了改进。第一个包括对参与精益项目的学术研究人员的半结构化访谈，他们的意见被考虑在内。在第二阶段，对在英国不同制造业工作并参与精益和持续改进项目的几位专家进行了半结构化访谈，以得出最终的评估模型。开发模型后，下一步是确定应用该模型的合适公司。案例公司之所以被选中，是因为它致力于实施精益实践并有能力参与这项研究。之后，从案例公司收集数据，并使用多级模糊方法计算 PSS 精益指数。最后，确定了需要进一步改进的领域，并对获得的结果进行了验证。

发现

为案例公司计算的 PSS 精益指数表明该公司提供的服务提供过程通常是精益的。确定了需要进一步改进的领域。

研究限制/影响

本研究以单一案例公司为研究对象，并基于专家意见；这可能有偏见。然而，未来的研究将进行多案例研究以增强发现，并将进行更多的实证研究以深入了解 PSS 精益。

实际影响

本文为制造公司的经理提供了衡量 PSS 精益指数和规划未来的指南。该指数提供有关服务提供过程中精益采用程度的信息，并确定当前 PSS 精益水平与期望状态之间的差距。

原创性/价值

提出的模型是根据院士和行业专家的意见开发的。所提出的模型可以为管理者提供 PSS 精益评估的指导方针和方向。