Lean production myths: an exploratory study

This paper presents an exploratory investigation of myths on lean production (LP), by identifying, dispelling and assessing their pervasiveness.

A list of myths was proposed mostly based on seminal LP texts and our rich experience from researching, teaching and consulting in lean journeys. Complexity thinking was adopted as a lens for dispelling the myths, as it challenged generalizations implied in myths. An investigation of the pervasiveness of the myths was also conducted, based on a survey with 120 academics and practitioners.

Ten myths were identified and dispelled. Survey's results indicated that belief in lean myths was more common among less experienced practitioners (<10 years), while experience was not a relevant factor for academics.

The lean myths partly reflect the experience of the authors. Furthermore, a larger sample size is necessary for a full analysis of pervasiveness.

The lean myths might be underlying barriers to LP implementation (e.g. lack of knowledge of managers and workers), and they might be proactively accounted for in lean training and education programs.

This is the first work to explicitly frame a set of lean myths.