Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in the Netherlands

Timans, Werner; Antony, Jiju; Ahaus, Kees; Solingen, Rini van

doi:10.1057/jors.2011.47

Cited by 191 publications

(196 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…concepts and tools and techniques This experience supports the fundamental importance of the three key components of Lean Six Sigma as evidenced in the literature: (i) projects focused on strategic objectives, (ii) improvement specialists, and (ii) structured method (Shah, et al, 2008;Wu & Lin, 2009;Timans, et al, 2012).…”

supporting

confidence: 69%

A Continuous Improvement Journey in the Higher Education Sector: A Case Study of a University in Ireland

O’Reilly¹,

Healy²,

Murphy³

et al. 2017

Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Lean Six Sigma for Higher Education

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Purpose: The paper's purpose is to contribute to a developing literature in relation to Continuous Improvement (CI), incorporating Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This paper follows on from a previous study which focused on the initial steps taken by an Irish university on its CI journey by discussing the next steps, detailing the findings from these. Design Methodology/Approach:A participative research approach is adopted. This is the second stage in a longitudinal study designed to support on-going evaluation and learning during the CI journey. The data sources include relevant documentation and observations supported with secondary data from literature. Findings:Having a blend of external expertise as well as in-house developed expertise is a critical mix, supporting the need for improvement specialists consistent with previous research. In addition, the ability of the HEI to respond to the enthusiasm nurtured through training is key. Along with ongoing Senior Management commitment, active leadership at unit level was also found to be key.Research Limitations: This paper is based on an ongoing, longitudinal, empirical study of a single case study in Ireland and the researchers' experience as practitioners.Originality/Value: This paper tracks the development of CI in a HEI in a longitudinal manner and adds to the developing nature of the literature in this area.

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supporting

confidence: 69%

A Continuous Improvement Journey in the Higher Education Sector: A Case Study of a University in Ireland

O’Reilly¹,

Healy²,

Murphy³

et al. 2017

Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Lean Six Sigma for Higher Education

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“…This is even more apparent within the SME manufacturing sector, where there appears to be much less understanding of issues around LSS implementation and the role of the SME employees and managers in the process (Dora and Gellynck, 2015;Shokri et al, 2014;Timans et al, 2012;Pepper and Spedding, 2010). The term SME for the purposes of this study uses the EU definition of any organisation with less than 250 employees (European Commission, 2003; Department of Trade and Industry, 2005 cited in .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Bendell (2006) cited in Pepper and Spedding (2010), argues that LSS is a combination of two ill-defined and non-compatible tools and other literature has also suggested "internal resistance", "the availability of resources", "changing business focus" and "lack of leadership" are the greatest impediments to change in any manufacturing SME (Timans et al, 2012). Yet despite this there are still a growing number of research articles highlighting the role of LSS or Six Sigma in manufacturing SMEs in improving quality, cost efficiency and profitability (Dora and Gellynck, 2015;Wang and Chen, 2012;Kumar et al, 2011;Antony, 2008;Thomas et al, 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the readiness of people in manufacturing SMEs to embark on Lean Six Sigma projects

Shokri

Waring

Nabhani

2016

International Journal of Operations &Amp; Production Management

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.*Related content and download information correct at time of download. Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to focus on three fundamental human-related behaviour factors associated with Lean Six Sigma (LSS) projects in German manufacturing small-and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) on the readiness of people (managers and their staff) to commence LSS projects. These are core personal competence, strategic vision of the people and the organisational culture of the specific organisation. Design/methodology/approach -Based on a thorough review of the academic literature a set of hypotheses were constructed to examine the level of association between people's competence, vision and culture with LSS readiness within SMEs. This was done using correlation and regression analysis. Data collection were carried out in seven different German manufacturing SMEs involved in aerospace supply and agro-food manufacturing using a survey instrument. Findings -It was found that there is a strong positive association between the core competence of people and organisational culture with readiness for commencing LSS in the manufacturing SMEs studied. The core values of people, education level and the vision of making continuous quality improvement were identified as key variables in promoting LSS readiness in these manufacturing SMEs. This study indicates that these "softer" variables can be essential to successful LSS implementation and need to be explored further before undertaking the process. Practical implications -From the perspective of the implementers of LSS the results of this research could be of interest to different manufacturing SMEs intending to embark upon an LSS journey as it highlights the significance of human-related behavioural factors in the process. SME organisations may consider carrying out development or training with their managers and employees around personal and organisational values, addressing core competence and strengthening organisational culture in order to facilitate LSS readiness and enhance the prospect of its success. Originality/value -It would appear that this LSS research has not been carried out within the German manufacturing SME context before and although discre...

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“…In the last decade, study about lean philosophy has increased significantly (Timans, Antony, Ahaus, & Solingen, 2012). Lean implementation has several benefits such as increasing efficiency; reducing the cost of production (Dora, Goubergen, Kumar, Molnar, & Gellynck, 2014); increasing productivity; increasing quality and delivery and satisfying customers and employees (Mann & Kehoe, 1994).…”

Section: Problem Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lean implementation gives benefit to the food manufacturing, such as reduced inventories, faster throughputs and increased profit (Jain & Lyons, 2009). Although study about the lean concept is extensively in large companies, it is quietly limited in SME sector whereas they have the fundamental role in economic development (Timans, et al, 2012). The previous studies do not focus on the specific result for SMEs.…”

Section: Problem Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lean Manufacturing Practices And Their Barriers In Small And Medium Enterprises (Smes)

Sumantri¹

2018

The European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences

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Although lean implementation has been extensively studied in large companies, research in this area is quietly limited in SME sector. Characteristic of SMEs and large manufacturers are different with respect to structure, policy, resource employee, and culture; therefore, the results of study are significantly different. Lean thinking does not provide easy applications in food industry. This fact raises the question of whether the lean implementation is feasible for companies with different characteristics, such as in food industry, particularly in SMEs. Studies in this area are still evolving and limited; therefore, study investigating lean implementation in SMEs sector is required. This exploratory study attempted to explore lean manufacturing implementation in the context of the SMEs in East Java Province of Indonesia. To collect data, this study used a structured questionnaire. The result of this study showed that lean implementation in food processing SMEs in East Java was quite low. Only 13.3% of SMEs were implementing lean manufacturing practices, and 86.7% of SMEs applied lean manufacturing occasionally. The least lean manufacturing implementation was the use of tools such as statistical process control (SPC) and Full Strategy. The higher barrier to lean manufacturing practice consisted of availability of resources; lack of training; internal resistance; variability in raw materials quality and supply. The barriers encountered by SMEs result from the characteristics of this sector and the characteristics of food processing industry.

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Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in the Netherlands

Cited by 191 publications

References 15 publications

A Continuous Improvement Journey in the Higher Education Sector: A Case Study of a University in Ireland

A Continuous Improvement Journey in the Higher Education Sector: A Case Study of a University in Ireland

Investigating the readiness of people in manufacturing SMEs to embark on Lean Six Sigma projects

Lean Manufacturing Practices And Their Barriers In Small And Medium Enterprises (Smes)

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