Barriers and success strategies for sustainable lean manufacturing implementation: A qualitative case study

The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to examine the perceptions and lived experiences of senior leaders of three different small-to medium sized manufacturing companies, located in the state of Colorado, as related to success strategies and barriers to lean manufacturing implementation. Findings resulted in nine emergent themes: (a) lean manufacturing implementation should be implemented in a way specific to the context of the individual organization; (b) time, resources, and changes in customer demand present challenges in sustaining lean manufacturing implementation; (c) resistance to change is a barrier to lean manufacturing implementation; (d) small-tomedium sized companies use outside consultants and trainers for training staff on lean manufacturing implementation; (e) front line workers need to be trained to apply lean tools and concepts for successful lean manufacturing implementation; (f) front line workers have to own and believe in lean manufacturing for it to be successful; (g) senior leaders have varying definitions of what their role is in leading lean manufacturing implementation; (h) senior leaders have differing perspectives regarding the degree of leadership knowledge required for successful lean manufacturing implementation; and (i) senior leaders struggle to expand lean manufacturing implementation into support departments. Recommendations included (a) viewing lean as a philosophy for managing the business, (b) training and education for senior leaders, (c) defining senior leader roles in implementing lean manufacturing, and (d) strategies when using outside consultants in a company's lean efforts.