Exploring the effects of lean manufacturing implementation on productivity at GUD.

Abstract

The principles of lean manufacturing are primarily adapted from the Toyota Production System (TPS). In the manufacturing sector, lean implementation is one of the major enablers that helped companies become more productive. The term ‘productivity’ is used to describe how well the company makes use of the resources available and lean provides a way to do more with less. There will be variation in the lean implementation process based on the fact that there is no consensus about the definition of lean. Selecting specific lean tools to implement, without understanding the broader system, limits the improvement in productivity achieved. GUD currently applies lean as a toolbox, used by a few skilled individuals in manufacturing. The aim of this research was to look at the factors that affect implementation of lean manufacturing to improve productivity at GUD. Employee involvement, which includes employee training and teamwork, is one of the prerequisites to achieve lean success. Along with employee involvement, understanding what lean tools to implement and how to implement them is crucial to achieving productivity improvement. A cross-sectional study, using mixed methods research, was conducted at GUD Prospecton. A sample of 132 employees participated in a quantitative survey developed for the study, whilst three employees participated in a qualitative study. The results of this study have revealed that the lean implementation process used at GUD can be described as Toolbox Lean and many of the tools commonly used in lean implementations have been used at GUD. A salient finding of the study was that most employees indicated they had received less than five hours of lean training since inception. According to findings, employee involvement in lean implementation has not been fully implemented at GUD, with some respondents also indicating a lack of teamwork, which is required to improve productivity. It is recommended that GUD align the organisational strategy with lean implementation and spend time and resources in training all employees. Aligning the company strategy and engaging all employees is key to achieving continuous productivity improvement.