Development of a framework for lean manufacturing systems

TLDR: An attempt has been made to resolve some of the drawbacks of various frameworks for Lean Manufacturing by developing a new framework that can rectify the problem of improper understanding by both the management and employees.

Abstract: Researchers worldwide have proposed various frameworks for Lean Manufacturing (LM), which act as a guide and provide direction to managers. A review of these frameworks revealed that they suffer from various shortcomings. Hence, in this paper, an attempt has been made to resolve some of the drawbacks by developing a new framework. To accomplish this, a comparative analysis of the existing literature is carried out to identify a comprehensive list of about 65 LM elements for the proposed framework. The main feature of the proposed framework is that these 65 elements are categorised according to the decision levels and the stakeholders, apart from classifying them with respect to the competitive priorities and business functions of an organisation. A case study is presented in support of the proposed framework. Hence, it is believed that this framework can rectify the problem of improper understanding by both the management and employees.