Title: Obstacles in lean implementation in developing countries - some cases from the process sector of India

Authors: Avinash Panwar; Rakesh Jain; A.P.S. Rathore

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Government R.C. Khaitan Polytechnic College Jaipur, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, MNIT, Jaipur, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, MNIT, Jaipur, India

Abstract: Lean manufacturing has been proved to bring unparallel advantage to manufacturing companies in the form of higher quality, faster deliveries, and higher customer satisfaction with increased productivity. However, some organisations fail to adopt lean principles. Especially, process industries, where the production characteristics are entirely different from discrete manufacturing such as in automobile manufacturing. Additionally, scarcity of literature increases the ambiguity about lean's suitability in the process industry. Furthermore, in developing countries, where the concept of lean has been introduced recently, such as India, this problem persist the most. This study is an attempt to explore the reasons for minimal efforts for lean implementation in the Indian process industry with three case studies. Results of this study indicate that 'unfamiliarity with lean', 'lack of expertise', 'lack of education and training' and 'lack of management support' are the main reasons for not opting lean practices. Counter-intuitive to the popular belief, it was explored that 'unique process characteristics' and 'cultural barriers' are not important reasons for not implementing lean in Indian process industry. The paper ends with a proposal to increase familiarity and understanding of lean concepts in the Indian process industry.

Keywords: lean manufacturing; lean practices; performance improvement; process industry; India; lean implementation; developing countries; unfamiliarity; expertise; education and training; management support; unique characteristics; culture; cultural barriers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLER.2016.078228

International Journal of Lean Enterprise Research, 2016 Vol.2 No.1, pp.26 - 45

Received: 20 Jul 2015
Accepted: 20 Dec 2015
Published online: 09 Aug 2016 *

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