The effect of lean manufacturing on operations performance and business performance in manufacturing companies in Indonesia

The purpose of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study was to understand the effect of lean manufacturing on operations performance and business performance in the context of manufacturing companies in Indonesia. In the first phase, a quantitative research was conducted to investigate the relationship among the variables. 174 large manufacturing companies were involved in the quantitative phase. Structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was applied to test all the hypotheses. The findings of the quantitative data analysis indicate that all the lean manufacturing practices are highly correlated and interdependent. The results provide evidence that lean manufacturing should be implemented holistically, because the practices are mutually supportive and complement each other. Lean manufacturing is also positively related with operations performance and business performance. More importantly, operations performance complementary mediates the relationship between lean manufacturing and business performance. A qualitative research based on a case study method was conducted in Toyota Indonesia to explain, elaborate, and triangulate the quantitative findings. The outcomes of the qualitative research are consistent and supporting the quantitative results. This study provides a deeper insight regarding the relationship between lean manufacturing, operations performance, and business performance. Therefore, this study could expand the boundary of the existing literature, and contributes to the body of knowledge related to the effect of lean manufacturing theoretically, practically, and methodologically

A Second-order Model of Lean Manufacturing Implementation to Leverage Production Line Productivity with the Importance-Performance Map Analysis

The objective of this article is to examine the direct path from lean manufacturing (LM) to production line productivity using second-order analysis in a structural equation model (SEM). Data were collected from 236 large manufacturers using a cross-sectional survey. The findings confirmed the positive direct effect of LM practices on production line productivity. The outcome of importance-performance map analysis (IPMA) revealed that the productivity can be leveraged when manufacturing firms are able to produce more than one product model per day with the support of a kanban system to authorize production and material movements. LM supported by a small number of high-performance suppliers leads to improved production line productivity. This study contributes to closing existing gaps of studies investigating the effect of LM on productivity. Practitioners will benefit by understanding the vital constructs of LM practices to improve the overall productivity of a production line

Save it for a rainy day! Lean strategies for cost saving: the role of lean maturity

Purpose: This study investigates the effect of lean implementation on production cost reduction and the moderating role of lean manufacturing maturity. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a cross-sectional survey, of which the samples were drawn using a cluster sampling procedure from 151 middle and top-level management of medium and large manufacturing companies gathered from the Federation of Manufacturers Malaysia (FMM). Data were analyzed using the PLS-SEM approach through SmartPLS4 software. Findings: The result revealed that lean implementation does not leverage production cost reduction as the lean journey requires long-term orientation, which finally leads to valid cost reduction. The moderating role of lean manufacturing maturity was significant and positive in the relationship between lean manufacturing implementation and production cost reduction. Research limitations/implications: Future research should include longitudinal settings as this study is cross-sectional, and future research might put the present model to the test in multiple industries and regions, including a cross-country comparison to improve the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, further studies could extend this study using a mixed-method approach. Practical implications: By offering a holistic perspective, this study expands the existing literature, contributes to knowledge of integrated lean implementation and supports the management in planning their path towards cost-cutting performance. Originality/value: This study answers the inconclusive finding between lean implementation and operational performance in terms of production cost reduction. The study contributes to the body of knowledge and, most importantly, to the practitioners in planning their lean journeyPeer Reviewe

Decrypting the Real Life Escape Room Experience

An escape room is a game that requires a group of players to solve a variety of tasks within a given amount of time in order to fulfill a specific goal, typically escaping a locked room. Despite gaining tremendous popularity of the game in Malaysia, there is no study being conducted in this area. Existing customer experience frameworks offer a limited explanation of this rising phenomena due to the unique inherent nature of Escape Room. Towards this end, the present paper aims to identify the key constructs of Malaysian Escape Room customer experience and determinants of the players revisit intention with respect to the Escape Room. The research is conducted on 20 players who have played at least one game in any Escape Room establishment in Malaysia. This study adopts the sequential incident technique, a qualitative approach to unearth the hidden perception of players. Thematic analysis was subsequently used to analyse the data which revealed fifteen determinants of which 9 are related to the model of goal-directed behaviour. Our research contributes to the body of knowledge in mapping customer experience in this fair nascent industry. Insights from this study are aimed at benefiting Malaysian Escape Room business operators in designing and enhancing the customer experience in their escape rooms

Learning Factory Concept and Development at Faculty of Industrial Management, Universiti Malaysia Pahang

One of the key resources for the organization to sustain in the competitive business world is the employee’s competencies. Current business environment requires employees who are competent to adapt to ever-changing the business environment as a result of globalization and changes in customer’s requirement. The current teaching and training methods used in the universities is lacking a continuous delivery of competencies, especially in manufacturing education. One of the approaches that are becoming popular in developing student’s competencies is through the application of the learning factory concept. A learning factory represents a simulation of a real factory environment where students can gain hands-on the learning experience by conducting various projects. This paper will, therefore, present the process of setting up a learning factory and discuss how the learning factory can be used to support the teaching and learning process in a public technical university. This study was performed at the Faculty of Industrial Management, Universiti Malaysia Pahang. The purpose of the development of such a learning factory is to enable the students to attained hands-on experience on the concepts they have learned during class lecture and see how it can be applied in the real world

Validation of lean manufacturing measurement instrument

This study is intended to provide a valid and reliable measurement instrument for lean manufacturing practices.It is important as lack of consensus regarding the valid and comprehensive measure of lean manufacturing implementation was observed in lean manufacturing literature. 182 large and discrete process manufacturers in Indonesia were involved in this study.A structural equation modeling approach was applied to validate the instrument.The study led to the conclusion that the measurement instrument is valid and reliable.In addition, the study suggested that lean manufacturing practices should be implemented holistically and simultaneously because they are interdependent

Multi-Approach Formulation in Dynamic Personality-Situation Interaction for Personnel Selection

The purpose of personnel selection is to measure knowledge, skills, and abilities that are necessary to perform a job effectively. The process involves various assessments, including personality assessment. This conceptual paper discussed the potential of using a learning factory to develop multiple simulations for assessment center activities in assessing personality in different situations. Although traditional personality assessment contributes to the effectiveness of selection decisions and prediction, it tended to ignore that trait-related behaviors may differ across situations. Study on dynamic personality is essential as empirical studies showed that within-person fluctuations in personality states relate to a variety of work outcomes, including job performance. To further understand this fundamental issue, this paper discussed further how personality–situation interplay influences performance by using a learning factory assessment center method. This study also discussed how the adaptation of exploratory mixed methods approach could be used. The mixed exploratory methods are suitable as this topic is related to fundamental research and empirical study, besides the investigation on this area is still limited. This paper could benefit other researchers, industry players, and policymakers in understanding better how dynamic personality may influence performance, especially in the activities related to Industry 4.0

Becoming Lean: The Way towards Sustainability of Higher Educations Institutions

Sustainability has become a significant issue in today’s business world, including in the education sector. The objective of this cross-sectional study is to examine the implications of lean higher education (LHE) implementation on HEIs sustainability performance. Data were collected from academicians at a technical university in Malaysia. The study found positive relationships between LHE and sustainability performance in terms of environmental, economic, institutional, and social. The finding implies that in order to be sustainable, a university could exert more efforts in implementing LHE practices. This study subsidized to the current literature through bridging the gap of the lacking investigations on the potentials of lean management in the context of HEIs. The Malaysian HEIs could gain benefits through providing alternative solutions and suggestions to improve their business process, moving towards achieving sustainability performance

Lean culture for a successful lean manufacturing implementation: An empirical evidence from Malaysian manufacturing industry

Although lean has gained many accomplishments, 90% of the manufacturers that implemented lean failed to sustain the implementation, and these results have led academics to consider lean culture as a soft lean approach for successful lean implementation. This research is aimed to investigate the role of lean culture for a successful lean implementation. This survey-based was a cross-sectional study with 151 final respondents from discrete manufacturers in Malaysia. The samples were selected using a cluster sampling procedure from medium and large manufacturing companies registered with the Federation of Manufacturers Malaysia (FMM). The data was analyzed using SmartPLS 4.0 software. The result showed evidence that lean manufacturing implementation is positively impacted by lean culture. This study contributes to the body of knowledge and widens the bounds of the current literature, and offers insight to the lean practitioners on lean implementation techniques to strategize the roadmap and assure continuous execution by considering the role of lean culture

Movers and shakers: Leadership attributes for a successful lean manufacturing implementation

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the leadership attributes for successful lean manufacturing implementation. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a case study in European automotive manufacturing plants through a series of interviews with six informants from four countries. The six informants represent each subgroup from the job responsibilities. Findings: The result comprises four main lean leadership attributes for successful lean manufacturing implementation. First, management commitment, involvement, and engagement, followed by management mission and vision. In addition, management coaching and effective communication were highlighted as important attributes of lean leaders. Research limitations/implications: Further studies could extend this study using a mixedmethod approach. Applying both methods will contribute significantly to providing a holistic view, providing a breadth and depth to understanding phenomena that neither qualitative nor quantitative research approaches alone could support. Practical implications: This study contributes to expanding the boundary of the existing literature and contributes to the body of knowledge while providing insights to practitioners in tailoring strategies to strategize the roadmap, ensuring the implementation is ongoing by integrating the leadership role to reap the maximum benefit of lean implementation. Originality/value: Although several studies presented positive relationships of leaders and the characteristics, skills, and behaviors of leaders that facilitate lean success from a case study, this study examines the leadership attributes from various contexts to facilitate a deeper comparative analysis