Is lean manufacture universally relevant? An investigative methodology.

Aims and background

The concept and acceptance of lean manufacture as a set of principles is now fairly rooted in the literature[1-3]. The principles behind lean production are not in themselves new; many of them can be traced back to the work of pioneers such as Deming[4], Taylor[5], Skinner[6] and more recently in the UK such investigators as Hill[7], Voss[8], and Lamming[9]. However, although the concept of lean production as now understood could have modelled from this literature, it was not until the Japanese auto industry was studied[1], that the total concept became clear.

While there are some voices of discontent[10,11] to the adoption and ultimate effectiveness of lean production, nonetheless many case examples exist to demonstrate …