Purpose Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the concept of Lean; however, the Lean concept in higher education institutions (HEIs) is still not very popular, and these institutions face challenges in implementing Lean activities. The purpose of this study is to identify worldwide experiences of Lean implementation in HEIs and to share best practices of Lean implementation. Design/methodology/approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to systematically identify the key intellectual developments of the lean supply chain management (LSCM) field from its very first beginning by analyzing the publications that have been highly cited. Design/methodology/approach The citation classics method has been used to examine the origins and evolution of the research field. In total, 74 articles have been identified

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to share the successful lean implementation experience of a small to medium enterprise (SME) and the resultant performance improvement including the development of a quality management climate. Design/methodology/approach An action research (AR) approach was used with two successive rounds of interventions. Findings The results from this project show that the organization

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to make a lean assessment of a chemical analyst training laboratory in a higher education institution and identify the main types of waste on a daily basis and understand the lean maturity of the laboratory and establish priority areas of intervention to make the laboratory leanest. Design/methodology/approach A single descriptive case study methodology was used

Purpose Implementing lean management (LM) provides universities with a variety of benefits and utilities. The purpose of this study is to systematically analyze the existing literature on the implementation of LM in universities. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review is undertaken to identify, select and evaluate the literature. A total of 68 articles were identified in Web of

Purpose The application of agility principles and methodologies on Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a promising field. This paper aims to provide an in-depth study of the Agile Enterprise Architecture (AEA) by studying EA practitioners’ perspectives to propose a foundational framework for AEA. Design/methodology/approach The authors formulate a foundational framework that defines the AEA motivators

Purpose Top management commitment (TMC) and prosocial voice behaviour in Lean teams are vital for the successful Lean implementation. This study aims to investigate how TMC influences Lean team members’ prosocial voice behaviour and how such changed voice behaviour affects the outcome of Lean implementations. Design/methodology/approach The authors have used a qualitative research methodology to examine

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the advantages and obstacles of implementing Lean Six Sigma in Indian MSMEs during or post-COVID-19. The following research also elaborates on the challenges of implementing Lean Six Sigma in MSMEs in India, along with the changes in the culture that are required for providing a proper climate to ensure success in a long-term manner. Design/methodology/approach

Purpose First, 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

Purpose This study aims to apply a Lean Six Sigma framework to support continuous improvement in the maritime industry (shipbuilding, logistics services and shipping companies) during COVID-19 pandemics. By applying the concepts of Lean Six Sigma and supply chain resilience, the most suitable continuous improvement method for the maritime industry is developed to maintain a resilient supply chain during

Purpose International Journal of Lean Six Sigma (IJLSS) has completed a decade. To celebrate the same, this study aims to review the articles published in IJLSS from its inception to the year 2020. The journal’s trends and professional impact over the years are investigated and potential future research directions are proposed. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric analysis comprising of citation

Purpose This study aims to investigate the interactions between lean production, internal green practices, green product innovation and sustainable performance metrics. The study further looks at the mediation effect of internal green practices and green product innovation between lean production and sustainable performance dimensions. Design/methodology/approach The questionnaire was used to glean

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the major influencing factors for the COVID 19 patients’ satisfaction with a six sigma framework model and to explore the successful deployment of six sigma in the health-care sector a case study on COVID 19 patients’ satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a descriptive research design conducted in Chennai, India between May

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare the impact of lean six sigma (LSS) implementation carried out in a pharmaceutical unit on the profitability of outpatient and inpatient care before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Design/method/approach The data were analyzed descriptively to see the development patterns in four periods: before implementation, during the implementation before the pandemic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reach a deeper understanding of the Lean principle of respect for people (RFP to facilitate Lean implementation in Western organizations outside Toyota. Design/methodology/approach This study uses an interpretative, hermeneutic approach to understand the RFP concept through a literature study of existing research about Lean implementation, and an inquiry into

Purpose The purpose of this research is to explore the differences across hospital characteristics (i.e. lean maturity, hospital size, hospital type and ISO 9001) on lean expectation, lean performance, service quality expectation and service quality performance. Design/methodology/approach The survey instruments were developed from an extensive literature review, validated by experts and tested by

Purpose The purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of Japanese Lean management principles in South African contexts using Ubuntu, to improve buy-in during Lean implementation. Design/methodology/approach A scoping systematic literature review (SLR) was used to investigate the correlations and variations between Lean management principles and Ubuntu management principles. Findings Both

Purpose This study aims to propose a method for measuring lean supply chain management (LSCM) maturity based on the main lean practices and existing waste of a supply chain. Design/methodology/approach A three-stage approach was developed. First, a thorough literature review was performed to raise concepts and previous findings on maturity models (MMs) and LSCM. This review’s outcomes were then validated

Purpose A rich agenda for future research in the field of Lean Manufacturing (LM) is available in the academic literature. The purpose of this paper is to determine the LM future research methodologies suggested in the literature and to classify them into themes. Classifying these themes into broad categories is also an aim of the present study. Design/methodology/approach For the purpose of the present

Purpose Lean six sigma (LSS) has attained a prominent position in mature organizations but small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling in the proper implementation of LSS in their core business. This study aims to make a comprehensive analysis of LSS implementation barriers in SMEs so that LSS execution can be much fluent in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach This research work is carried

Purpose Several research studies on Lean Six Sigma (LSS) have been done using the survey methodology. However, the use of surveys often relies on the measurement of variables, which cannot be directly observed, with attendant measurement errors. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodological framework consisting of a combination of four tools for identifying and assessing measurement error

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic situation has imposed changes in the way many services are being provided. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of lean thinking and digital transformation on services redesign of a higher education institution. The aim is to improve efficiency and incorporate new health and safety recommendations because of the pandemic situation. Design/methodology/approach

Purpose All industry has been facing tremendous pressure since the beginning of 2020 owing to COVID-19 crisis, including real estate construction. The research is a case study investigating challenges and action plans faced by stakeholders (developers/consultants/contractors) in real estate construction in some major cities in Indonesia. This study aims to identify and prioritize on action plans related

Purpose This paper aims to provide a synthesis of the results of the previous literature on leadership behaviours that enable successful Lean Six Sigma implementation. Design/methodology/approach The published literature that relates to leadership and Lean Six Sigma has been included. A thematic analysis was conducted on the previous literature which helped in identifying the relevant aspects and associating

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

Purpose In spite of huge advancement of Lean in the manufacturing sector, its advantage in the service sector is not fully investigated. The purpose of this paper is to cover this gap in particular for the information technology (IT) sector through the implementation of the Lean philosophy in a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME), operating in the IT sector. Design/methodology/approach A case

Purpose In the modern manufacturing environment, it is imperative to apply the manufacturing concepts of lean, agile, resilient and green, collectively known as LARG manufacturing, to achieve excellence in which lean manufacturing eliminates wastes; agile manufacturing makes processes fast, efficient and flexible; resilient paradigm deals with countering the uncertainty while green manufacturing improves

Purpose The increase in demand for health services requires companies in the segment to seek management tools and techniques that focus on reducing waste such as waiting, unnecessary displacement and low people productivity. The purpose of this paper is to present the value stream mapping (VSM) of patients at an occupational medicine clinic, proposing a new scenario with the aid of the simulation of

Purpose Many research findings demonstrate the benefits of lean manufacturing implementation. However, the impact of lean manufacturing on organizational performance in developing countries like Bangladesh remains unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of lean manufacturing system (LMS) on the organizational performance of the apparel industry in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate how Lean Six Sigma (LSS) may help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 within health care environments. The goals of this study were to understand the current knowledge of LSS and COVID-19 through a systematic review of the current literature, identify the gap in the current knowledge of LSS in COVID-19 mitigation within health care environments and define

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a maturity model for academic leadership teams to benchmark their ability to deliver a culture of continuous improvement through the use of Lean Six Sigma. Teams will also be able to use this model to develop strategic action plans to improve the culture of continuous improvement within their institution. In addition, this paper explains the journey the

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to classify the main barriers related to the implementation of lean supply chain management (LSCM) and prioritize its main practices. A case study approach was conducted to obtain values for the intensity of the relationship between LSCM practices and barriers to mitigate or even anticipate difficulties in its implementation. Design/methodology/approach The case

Purpose This paper aims to develop an initial understanding of the Lean Six Sigma methodology since its inception and examine the few Lean Six Sigma dimensions as a research domain through a critical review of the literature. Design/methodology/approach The paper is structured in two-part. The first part of the paper attempts to dwell on the evolution of the Lean Philosophy and Six Sigma methodology

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role and function of visuals, visual communication and information design as they relate to management control systems and visual management (VM) in lean-inspired organisations. This paper helps expand knowledge on how visual and design studies can contribute to research on VM as part of a management control system. Design/methodology/approach A study

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the adoption of Lean manufacturing (LM) contributes towards the sustainability performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a multi-case study approach conducted among five independent Indian manufacturing SMEs. The information from direct observation, structured questionnaire

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology in which alternate Six Sigma projects are prioritized and selected using appropriate multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods in healthcare organizations. This study addresses a particular gap in implementing a systematic methodology for Six Sigma project prioritization and selection in the healthcare industry. Design/methodology/approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to uncover the significance of green supply chain management (GSCM) to study the impact lean practices, namely, Kaizen and innovation management practices on organizational sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The subject of green supply chains attracts a growing interest in academic and professional literature since 1990. Questionnaire survey and structured

Purpose The paper aims to analyse the contextual relationship and dependency amongst enablers for lean manufacturing implementation in Bulgarian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach In this study, the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique was used to develop a hierarchical structural model for enablers. Also, the interpretive ranking process (IRP) was used

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how Six Sigma methodology has been applied in a small-scale foundry industry to improve the overall first-pass material yield and quality, with a view to the product and the process. Design/methodology/approach The researchers have reported this paper based on a case study carried out in industry using the Six Sigma Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to depict a study on analysis of barriers to lean adoption in fabrication industry using interpretive structural modelling (ISM). Design/methodology/approach From the literature review, 22 barriers to lean adoption in fabrication industry have been recognized . Self-structure interaction matrix has been developed based on expert opinion. Computational steps of ISM

Purpose The main purpose of this paper is to develop a study of the determination of the most appropriate execution steps, necessary for the construction of modelling, simulation and optimization for the specific area of slaughter line balancing. And through the developed model to demonstrate the application of simulation to increase productivity in a large-size swine slaughterhouse, focusing on operator

Purpose Even though the implementation of lean in health care environments is relatively recent, it has been receiving a lot of attention in recent years. Partly because of the fact that it is a recent field of practise and research and partly because the number of works developed in this field has grown rapidly, it is important to frequently update the perspectives on this field of investigation.

Purpose Modern production facilities produce large amounts of data. The computational framework often referred to as big data analytics has greatly improved the capabilities of analyses of large data sets. Many manufacturing companies can now seize this opportunity to leverage their data to gain competitive advantages for continuous improvement. Six Sigma has been among the most popular approaches

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to define a method for sustain lean tools and philosophies on a manufacturing environment. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth action research (AR) methodology procedures applied in two cycles were conducted in an automobile company located in southeastern Brazil. The objective is to test the applicability of the shop floor management (SFM) implementation model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present relationship between operation and management practices analyzing the results achieved by both public organizations prone to deploy Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and public organizations that have already implemented the method. The goal is to support the start of method deployment by public managers and the creation of more efficient and effective processes in

Purpose This study aims to empirically examine the relationship between Six Sigma and organisational performance of the Dubai Police Force (DPF). Moreover, this study further explores the role of innovation culture as a mediating variable between this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect research data. The population of the study was composed of

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify, present and categorise the main requirements, challenges and impacts of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) applications. Emphasis is given to the soft impacts of LSS applications, which are intangible in nature and difficult to quantify and measure, highlighting the most frequently cited ones. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative synthesis of the studies using

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and theoretically explain the general barriers to adopting lean construction practices in the construction industry regardless of the country or the company size or specialization, and to suggest future research studies in this field. Design/methodology/approach Systematic literature review was conducted to identify and explain the list of the barriers

Purpose Although leadership in lean systems is influenced by context, the mechanisms linking contextual factors (CFs) to leadership have not been explored. This study aims to present a framework for analyzing how context influences lean leadership competencies (LLCs). Design/methodology/approach The framework’s design was based on insights from literature and refined through an empirical study of a

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review of the literature about lean six sigma (LSS) implementation in European organizations written by academics or practitioners from European institutions to extract useful conclusions about LSS adoption in European companies and to suggest direction for future research concerning the broader LSS application in them. Design/methodology/approach This study

Purpose Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a widely accepted business improvement methodology in healthcare, which aims to improve operations and quality and reduce cost, medical errors and waiting time by combing the principles of lean thinking with Six Sigma methodologies. To implement LSS successfully in healthcare organizations it is necessary to know the readiness level before starting the change process

Purpose Cash flow deficit situations and working capital control are major challenges for many companies, especially those whose suppliers and clients have strong bargaining power. This study aims to describe the application of the Six Sigma methodology for solving these problems in a large German food can manufacturing company. Design/methodology/approach This paper follows the qualitative methodology

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impingement of lean manufacturing practices (LMPs) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of Northern India and their relationship with firm performance. This paper makes an attempt to identify the lean practices, which are more beneficial and their impact on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach In this study, a qualitative survey of

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify, evaluate and develop a structured model to measure the interrelation between critical failure factors (CFFs) that affects the implementation of the sustainable Lean Six Sigma (SLSS) framework in a manufacturing organization. Further solution approaches have been provided that inhibit those CFFs and help in successful implementation of the framework

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to implement the six sigma (SS) strategy in a bag sector under actual operating circumstances based on defining-measure-analyze-improve and control (DMAIC). During the project, several statistical tools and methods have been used efficiently to create inferences. Thus, to measure and enhance system efficiency, the author calculate reliability, availability and maintainability

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate lean tools correlation, interactions and implementation in manufacturing industry at multinational corporation and its impact on operational performance. Design/methodology/approach This paper used a survey questionnaire based on previous work done in the US industry. The questionnaire was distributed to 340 firms in 11 countries in the MENA region

Purpose This study aims to investigate how measuring the lean practices–performance relationship could add value to businesses. Design/methodology/approach Case-study methodology was used for the quantitative analysis of self-assessed lean capability scores and key manufacturing performance indicators from a global consumer goods company. Up to 80 sites over 3 years were analysed. Partial least squares

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the analysis of barriers affecting the adoption of lean concepts to electrical and electronics component manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach Lean concepts are being increasingly applied by electrical and electronics component manufacturers to enhance product value through streamlined process. To facilitate smooth adoption of lean concepts, barriers

Purpose Lean office covers the improvement of administrative processes and information flows. In offices, one of the essential challenges is to coordinate the development of information management capabilities. Thus, this paper aims to identify the key factors of information management in lean office deployment contexts. Design/methodology/approach By adopting a qualitative approach, it consists of

Purpose This paper is a case study on the successful application of Six Sigma methodology in the information technology industry. The purpose of this paper is to improve the resolution time performance of an application support process. Design/methodology/approach Through brainstorming, the potential factors influencing the resolution time are identified. From the potential factors, the important factors