Purpose Cost reduction is a current topic within healthcare. This article aims to show how Lean Six Sigma can be applied to make the orthopedic outpatient clinic within a hospital more cost-effective. The approach can, of course, also be applied to other departments. Design/methodology/approach We did a pareto analysis to select the project with the greatest potential. The most expensive and time-consuming

Purpose The fundamentals of Lean are applicable and can be used in any industry, even non-profit and government organizations, however, there might be certain limitations due to the nature and the specifics of the industry. This study aims to explore what barriers of Lean implementation textile manufacturers might encounter. The authors consider the problem is worth to be explored for the potential

Purpose Despite differing strategies towards environmental sustainability in developed and developing nations, the manufacturing sector in these regional domains faces substantial environmental issues. The purpose of this study is to examine the green-lean-six sigma (GLSS) enablers and outcomes for enhancing environmental sustainability of manufacturing firms in both, a developed and developing country

Purpose The Covid-19 pandemic has caused disruptions in many businesses. A difficult process has been experienced for businesses caught unprepared for this situation. The purpose of the study, the difficulties experienced in the business have been mapped in terms of crisis management. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, crisis management strategies have been discussed in terms of lean six

Purpose This paper aims to present a process to generate physics-based trade-off curves (ToCs) to facilitate lean product development processes by enabling two key activities of set-based concurrent engineering (SBCE) process model that are comparing alternative design solutions and narrowing down the design set. The developed process of generating physics-based ToCs has been demonstrated via an industrial

Purpose This paper aims to depict the practical execution of the problem-solving structure provided by the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) framework in combination with the analytical power provided by process mining capabilities, to improve the supply chain quality of a health-care provider. Design/methodology/approach Prior to the study, a literature review was conducted to

Purpose This study aims to identify the most frequently used tools and techniques within the measure phase of the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) methodology in the Six Sigma Green Belt body of knowledge (BOK) to standardize training curriculum and reduce barriers to Six Sigma adoption. Design/methodology/approach This study measures the most frequently used tools within the Measure

Purpose Although scholars have considered the success factors of process improvement (PI) projects, limited research has considered the factors that influence failure. The purpose of this paper is to extend the understanding of PI project failure by systematically reviewing the research on generic project failure, and developing research propositions and future research directions specifically for

Purpose Increased demand and the pressure to reduce health-care costs have led to longer waiting time for patients to make appointments and during the day of hospital visits. The purpose of this study is to identify opportunities to reduce waiting time using lean techniques and discrete-event simulation (DES). Design/methodology/approach A five-step procedure is proposed to facilitate the effective

Purpose The purpose of this study is to reflect upon the ramifications of two decades of Lean Six Sigma implementations in Dutch healthcare institutions in the light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The authors provide an evaluation of the impact that Lean Six Sigma implementations have had on the ability of Dutch healthcare institutions to respond adequately to healthcare

Purpose This study aims to monitor the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) indicator that is one of the best indicators used to monitor the performance of the company by the multivariate control chart. Design/methodology/approach To improve continually the performance of a company, many research studies tend to apply Lean six sigma approach. It is one of the best ways used to reduce the variability

Purpose Given the critical role of project prioritization and selection process in Six Sigma efforts, this study aims to analyse the relevant literature to answer this question: What types of project prioritization and selection methods have been used in Six Sigma research? Design/methodology/approach The study implemented the systematic literature review (SLR) method to identify and review all relevant

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the links between lean, service quality expectation (SQE) and service quality performance (SQP) in outpatient departments (OPD). Design/methodology/approach The measurement instruments were developed from a comprehensive literature review, then verified by experts and confirmatory factor analysis. Multiple responses were applied to improve the reliability

Purpose This research examines the impacts of ISO 9001 certification on lean manufacturing (LM), supply chain relationship (SCR) and their sub-constructs Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from 516 manufacturers in Thailand. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the hypotheses Findings It was found that ISO 9001 certification significantly affects overall LM, its facility

Purpose To deal with the present situation and recover after the COVID-19 pandemic, construction firms are required to recognise the trends in construction supply chain management (CSCM) for the upcoming years and determine the appropriate practices towards the trends for the improvement of construction activities in terms of strategy, tactic and operations. This paper aims to recognise key trends

Purpose Companies create company-specific production systems (XPS) by tailoring generic concepts to fit their unique situation. However, little is known about how an XPS is created. This paper aims to provide insights into the creation of an XPS. Design/methodology/approach A retrospective case study was conducted in a Norwegian multinational company over the period 1991–2006, using archival data and

Purpose This study aims to present an overview of leading research trends in the lean six sigma domain published in the International Journal of Lean Six Sigma (IJLSS) since its inception. Design/methodology/approach The study analyses articles published between 2010 and 2019 in IJLSS using the bibliometric technique. The results of data analysis identify the most prolific authors, their affiliation

Purpose Studies addressing barriers to implement lean production (LP) from the perspective of risk management (RM) have not been so usual in the literature. Re-interpreting barriers to lean as potential risks that should be avoided or mitigated, this paper aims to identify and categorise risks in the implementation of LP to propose a framework, which provides an overview of risks that negatively influence

Purpose This study aims to comparatively discuss the effect of lean manufacturing (LM) implementation in the manufacturing sectors of developing and developed countries. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth literature review focused on previous research published between 2015 and March 2020. The papers published by the databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, ProQuest and Web of Science were used

Purpose There is compelling evidence that demonstrates that organisations are failing to reap the full benefits of lean initiatives. While much work has been conducted on what factors are critical to the success of lean initiatives, there is a dearth of empirical evidence relating to whether team leaders implement critical success factors (CSFs) in practice. Therefore, this study aims to explore the

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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

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.,The subject of green supply chains attracts a growing interest in academic and professional literature since 1990. Questionnaire survey and structured interviews (set of questions) among

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