Instrument to measure lean manufacturing maturity

What is it about?

This paper proposes an instrument to evaluate the maturity of lean manufacturing, and to examine the relationship between lean manufacturing maturity and operational performance. The research instrument examines companies’ maturity on eight dimensions, composed of 38 lean practices, based on Toyota’s 14 management principles. The instrument was applied to 90 manufacturing companies located in Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The results confirm that maturity can explain 49.9% of the variance of researched companies’ operational performance (R2 Adj = 0.499). The present study contributes to the expansion of scientific research in the fields of lean production and maturity of organisations, bringing managerial contributions by providing an instrument for self-evaluation of lean manufacturing maturity.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

The paper suggests an alternative model for measuring the maturity of lean manufacturing practices, based on Toyota’s 14 principles and makes a significant contribution in terms of quantitative research conducted to evaluate lean manufacturing in the State of Santa Catarina,Brazil, as most extant research within industries in this region has comprised case studies or has considered only one segment. The results help to validate that the proposed model can be applied to any type of industry. As a managerial contribution, the present work provides an instrument by which to diagnose the maturity level of 38 lean practices, so that managers can identify the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation process.

Perspectives