Development of a lean manufacturing framework to enhance its adoption within manufacturing companies in developing economies

The urgent need to reduce negative corporate environmental impacts while enhancing their financial strength and positive societal benefits is attracting company leaders to implement various quality improvement systems such as lean manufacturing, six sigma, sustainable manufacturing, and circular economy concepts, approaches and technologies. All of these approaches are valuable, with Lean Manufacturing (LM) among the leading systems, if implemented within an appropriate framework. In that context, the objective of the authors was to document the drivers for improving implementation of LM within manufacturing companies. Implementation of LM practices is already providing competitive advantages such as improvements in product quality, productivity, worker health and safety and customer satisfaction in developed countries but has not been widely implemented in companies in developing countries. To help to enhance implementation of LM in developing countries, the authors developed a framework for enhancing the adoption of lean manufacturing processes in such companies. The hybrid Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP)- Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) tools were used as the framework to identify and to quantify the interrelationships among the drivers for implementation of LM. This hybrid approach facilitated documentation of the relative importance and priority of the thirty-one lean manufacturing drivers. The results revealed that improved shop-floor management, quality management, and manufacturing strategy drivers were among the most critical drivers, which enhance LM adoption. These findings are beneficial for company leaders and researchers working to improve environmental, economic and societal health, especially within companies in developing countries.