Critical success factors of Lean Six Sigma for the Malaysian automotive industry

Abstract

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to explore the critical success factors (CSFs) for Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in the Malaysian automotive industry.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the model drawing on a sample of 252 Malaysian automotive organisations. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and reliability analysis empirically verified and validated the underlying items of CSFs of LSS.FindingsThe results of EFA, CFA, and reliability analysis show that two items for supplier relationship are recommended to be excluded from the analysis. The result indicates that LSS has identified 40 items as compared to the original questionnaire which had 42 items. Based on the survey of empirical data, the two factors of leadership and customer focus have been shown to be the extremely important factors for LSS implementation in the Malaysian automotive industry.Research limitations/implicationsFirstly, this survey is based only on the automotive industry in Malaysia, and therefore it is not generalisable to other industries. Secondly, there may be other CSFs for LSS such as culture change, project management skill, and employee involvement, which were not included in this study. Finally, for future research agenda, the authors are looking at the structural relationship between LSS practices and organizational performance in the Malaysian automotive industry.Originality/valueThe developed and tested content of this study fills the research gap by providing reliable and useful reference material on the CSFs of LSS. On top of that, the contribution for academic researchers and practitioners is to provide important guidelines for automotive and related companies to implement LSS strategic practices to improve organizational performance.

Mediating Role of the Six Sigma Implementation Strategy and Investment in Human Resources in Economic Success and Sustainability

“…As suggested by Kavčič and Gošnik [48], education and knowledge transfer generated during the various SS projects is what makes companies grow, and companies should therefore endeavour to preserve and share it. Moreover, in specific terms, investments made in education and training have been identified as critical success factors in various contexts, including industry in Brazil by Ribeiro de Jesus, Antony, Lepikson and Peixoto [23], in Malaysia by Habidin and Yusof [21] and in Italy by Brun [19], as well as in literature review [58], and it should not, therefore, be a factor neglected by managers, but should be properly integrated into the SS Implementation strategy.…”

Role of Human Knowledge and Communication on Operational Benefits Gained from Six Sigma

“…• Easy access to information [6,14] • Relevant information found in the company's databases [15,19,28] • Protection of information obtained from SS projects [15,29] • Access to other company departments when information is not available in one of them [6,15] • Rules for information protection and confidentiality [15,30] …”

“…• Use of root cause analysis tools [14] • Use of the DMAIC technique [14,19] • Problem identification through statistical tools [6,30] • Use of specialized software [19,21] …”

“…• DMs contribute to a better understanding of how SS works and is used [6] • BBs appropriately explain the objective of the DM [14,21] • DMs help execute an SS project [6,19] • DMs are useful in other SS projects [30,35] • DMs and BBs instructions are understandable [6,36] Since the focus of DMs varies depending on the type of problem to be solved and the kind and amount of information that is available, we propose the second working hypothesis as follows: Hypothesis 2 (H 2 ). Information available for SS projects has a positive direct impact on the types of Didactic material to be used during the education and training process.…”

Implementasi Six Sigma untuk Perbaikan Kualitas Produk Kiwi Paste Berdasarkan Keluhan Pelanggan

“…Faktor kepemimpinan dan fokus pada kebutuhan pelanggan merupakan kunci sukses dalam implementasi Six Sigma. [10]. Six Sigma dalam organisasi dapat mengarah pada profitabilitas, perubahan budaya, dan mendapatkan loyalitas pelanggan.…”