Lean Implementation Frameworks: The Challenges for SMEs

Mohammed Almanei, Konstantinos Salonitis*, Yuchun Xu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Implementation of lean manufacturing in any type of organizations can bring many benefits, such as reducing waste and improving operating efficiency. However, lean implementation is not a straightforward process. Although a number of frameworks have been presented, still many companies find it difficult to implement lean. Furthermore, most of these roadmaps are for large manufacturing companies, and not for small and medium enterprises. Unfortunately, there is not a recipe that if used can guarantee a successful implementation. Furthermore, unsuccessful implementation can have a great impact on organization's resources, but even more importantly, affect employees and their confidence in lean philosophy. In the present paper, the most prominent lean implementation frameworks will be discussed, under the prism of the needs of SMEs. The challenges for the SMEs in their lean journey are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)750-755
Number of pages6
JournalProcedia CIRP
Volume63
Early online date11 Jul 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Jul 2017

Bibliographical note

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

Keywords

  • framework
  • lean implementation
  • Lean management

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