Title: Lean manufacturing practices for enhancing firm performance in medium enterprises: a case study from Indian context

Authors: Sachin Saini; Doordarshi Singh

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, RIMT University, Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, India

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of adopting lean manufacturing practices for enhancing firm performance in Northern India medium enterprise. Lean manufacturing is a versatile proven methodology for improving the flow and make the system of the organisation an efficient one. This study has been carried out in a manufacturing unit of Northern India which was suffering from the high production lead time and enhanced demand for production. The present study assessed and evaluated the implementation status of lean practices i.e. 5 s, TPM, supplier management and their impact on overall performance of the organisation. After implementing lean practices, rejections reduced from 7% to 3%, OEE improved by 10%, 20% reduction in inventory, enhancement of training programs from monthly to fortnightly and 100% timely deliveries achieved for an organisation within period of 30 months. The paper is a perfect example of testing the popular methodology i.e. lean manufacturing in real manufacturing environments.

Keywords: lean manufacturing practices; LMPs; cycle time; value stream mapping; VSM; small and medium enterprises; SMEs; waste.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2022.122298

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2022 Vol.35 No.3, pp.352 - 382

Received: 17 Aug 2020
Accepted: 21 Oct 2020
Published online: 19 Apr 2022 *

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