A Lean longevity matrix steering an organization’s journey towards higher levels of maturity

Abstract
Purpose: The overriding objective of this investigation is creating and deploying a new Lean longevity matrix, to enable organisations to reliably gauge the juncture of leanness achieved, steps necessary to move towards the next level and where dedicated resources are necessary. This was achieved by presenting and piloting a new maturity matrix addressing limitations of the existing ones. Methodology: The methodology consisted of a literature review coupled with 15 Case Studies representing 15 disparate UK manufacturing organizations. This incorporated integrating primary data capture through structured interviews from a statistically representative sample. Findings An all-embracing matrix was developed facilitating improved Lean implementation records whilst steering organizations towards higher Lean maturity levels. These aims are attained by incorporating the necessary assurance and appropriate prioritization by distinguishing areas necessitating dedicated resources safeguarding sustainability of the initiative preventing backsliding. Practical implications Extensive metrics were incorporated scrutinising the prevailing culture and change management systems. By permitting a self-assessment eradicating the bureaucracy accompanying matrixes it permits a reliable determination of juncture an organization has attained. Feedback steers a possible course of action navigating the organization towards the next phase. Originality: The matrix tackles an existing void found in most Lean maturity matrices, specifically addressing two aspects: firstly, establishing whether an organization has adopted Lean as a philosophy and, secondly, distinctively deducing the Lean phase attained. Subsequently, informing an organisation regards steps facilitating it to move to a higher maturity level preventing regression.

Keywords
Lean, matrices, maturity, audits, metrics, journey, manufacturing.

Cite this paper
Sanjay Bhasin, Alessandro Laureani, A Lean longevity matrix steering an organization’s journey towards higher levels of maturity , SCIREA Journal of Economics. Volume 9, Issue 2, April 2024 | PP. 70-105. 10.54647/economics790459

References

[ 1 ]	Amir, A., Ky, L., and Bhaskaran G. (2016), “Lean and US manufacturing industry: popularity of practices and implementation barriers”, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 65, pp.875-897.
[ 2 ]	Andrea, C. and Emidia, V. (2017), “Strategies for modern operations management: answers from European manufacturing companies”, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 24, pp.123-148.
[ 3 ]	Antony, J., Sunder, M.V., Laux, C. and Cudney, E. (2019), “Lean Six Sigma sustainability”, The Ten Commandments of Lean Six Sigma, London.
[ 4 ]	Anthony, S.G. and Antony, J. (2022), "Frameworks and Maturity Models for Delivering Change", Lean Six Sigma in Higher Education Institutions, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 75-96.
[ 5 ]	Atkinson, P. (2010), “Lean is a cultural issue”, Management Services, Vol. 54, pp.35-44.
[ 6 ]	Azadeh, A., Zarrin, M., Abdollahi, M., Noury, S. and Farahmand, S. (2015), “Leanness assessment and optimization by fuzzy cognitive map and multivariate analysis”, Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 42, pp.6050-6064.
[ 7 ]	Baggaley, B. (2006), “Using strategic performance measures to accelerate Lean performance”, Cost Management, Vol. 20, pp.36-45.
[ 8 ]	Bayou, M. and De Korvin, A. (2008), “Measuring the Leanness of manufacturing systems – a case study of Ford Motor Company and General Motors”, Journal of Engineering Technology and Management, Vol. 25, pp.287-304.
[ 9 ]	Bhasin, S. (2011), “Measuring the Leanness of an organization”, International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. 2, pp.55-74.
[ 10 ]	Bhasin, S. and Found, P. (2020), “Sustaining the Lean ideology”, Management Decision, Vol. 3, pp.124-149.
[ 11 ]	Bicheno, J. and Holweg, M. (2009), The Lean Toolbox, Picsie, Buckingham.
[ 12 ]	Bond, T. (1999), “The role of performance measurement in continuous improvement”, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol. 19, pp.1318-1334.
[ 13 ]	Bou-Llusar, J., Escrig-Tena, A., Roca-Puig, V. and Beltran-Martin, I. (2005), “To what extent do enablers explain results in the EFQM Excellence Model?”, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 22, pp.337-353.
[ 14 ]	Camp, R. (2013), Sustainable Lean, Productivity Press, New York.
[ 15 ]	Cochrane, A. (2017), “Lean matrix”, available at: http://www.Lean-matrix.com/matrices/Lean-culture-matrix/ (accessed 30 January 2023).
[ 16 ]	Cooney, R (2002). “Is 'lean' a universal production system?” International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol. 22, pp. 1130 - 1147.
[ 17 ]	Cousins, P., Lawson, B. and Squire, B. (2008), “Performance measurement in strategic buyer–supplier relationships”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 34, pp.238-258.
[ 18 ]	Croom, S., Svetina, M. and Betts, A. (2016), “Does customer or competitor performance drive operations prioritisation?”, Production Planning & Control, Vol. 12, pp.2-16.
[ 19 ]	Dimancescu, D., Hines, P. and Rich, N. (1997), The Lean Enterprise, Amazon, New York.
[ 20 ]	Doolen, T. and Hacker, M. (2005), “A review of Lean assessment in organizations: an exploratory study of Lean practices by electronics manufacturers”, Journal of Manufacturing Systems, Vol. 24, pp.55-67.
[ 21 ]	Drew, J., McCallum, B. and Roggenhofer, S. (2016), Journey to Lean: Making Operational Change Stick, Springer, London.
[ 22 ]	DTI (2021), “Seven measures”, available at: http://www.kcts.co.uk/resourceassets/Measures-of-performance-in-Lean.pdf (accessed 15 April 2023).
[ 23 ]	Elnadi, M. and Shehab, E. (2021), "Product-service system leanness assessment model: study of a UK manufacturing company", International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. 12 No. 5, pp. 1046-1072.
[ 24 ]	Emiliani, M.L. (1998), “Lean behaviours”, Management Decision, Vol. 36, pp.615-631.
[ 25 ]	Essex, A., Subramanian, N. and Gunasekaran, A. (2016), “The relationship between supply chain manager capabilities and performance: empirical evidence”, Production Planning & Control, Vol. 27, pp.198-211.
[ 26 ]	Feld, W.M. (2001), Lean Manufacturing Tools, Techniques and How To Use Them, St. Lucie Press, Alexandria.
[ 27 ]	Flick, U. (2018a) Doing Triangulation and Mixed Methods. London: SAGE.
[ 28 ]	Fullerton, R. and Wempe, W. (2009), “Lean manufacturing”, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol. 29, pp.214-240.
[ 29 ]	Gill C., (2003) “Worker Job stress effects of JIT / Lean production: Design and operating policies,” EPSRC Funded Research Project, Cambridge, Cambridge University.
[ 30 ]	Goldratt, E. (1990), The Theory of Constraints, North River Press, New York.
[ 31 ]	Goodson, R.G. (2002), “Read a plant – fast”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 23, pp.105-113.
[ 32 ]	Gopalakrishnan, N. and Anand, G. (2016), “Leanness assessment: a literature review”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 36, pp.1115-1160.
[ 33 ]	Graben, M. (2020), “Excellence model”, available at: http://www.evolvingexcellence.com (accessed 19 March 2020).
[ 34 ]	Gunasekaran, A., Subramanian, N. and Rahman, S. (2017), “Improving supply chain performance through management capabilities”, Production, Planning and Control, Vol. 12, pp.473-477.
[ 35 ]	Gurumurthy, A. and Kodali, R. (2010), “Application of benchmarking for assessing Lean manufacturing”, Benchmarking, Vol. 16, pp.274-291.
[ 36 ]	Harbour, R. (2001), “It’s not easy being Lean”, Automotive Industries, Vol. 11, pp.5-18.
[ 37 ]	Haskin, D. (2010), “Allocating internal matrix costs in a Lean environment”, Internal Matrixing, Vol. 25, pp.25-32.
[ 38 ]	Henderson, B. and Larco, J. (2003), Lean Transformation, Oaklea Press, New York.
[ 39 ]	Holweg, M. and Maylor, H. (2018), “Lean leadership in major projects: from predict and provide to predict and prevent”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 38, pp.1368-1386.
[ 40 ]	Husby, P. (2007), “Becoming Lean”, Material Handling Management, Vol. 62, pp.42-51.
[ 41 ]	Jackson, M. (2019), Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity, Wiley, Chichester.
[ 42 ]	Jasti, N.V.K., Kota, S. and Kale, S.R. (2020), “Development of a framework for Lean enterprise”, Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 24, pp.431-459.
[ 43 ]	Karlsson, C. (2016) ‘Research in operations management’, in Karlsson, C. (ed.). Research Methods for Operations Management. London: Routledge, pp. 7-45.
[ 44 ]	Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. (1992), “The Balanced Scorecard – measures that drive performance”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 70, pp.71-80.
[ 45 ]	Kaplan, R. and Norton, D.P. (1993), “Putting the Balanced Scorecard to work”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 71, pp.134-142.
[ 46 ]	Kaplan, R. and Norton, D.P. (2001), “Transforming the Balanced Scorecard from performance management to strategic management: part 1”, Strategic Management, Vol. 15, pp.87-105.
[ 47 ]	Kaplan, R. and Norton, D.P. (2005), “The office of strategic management”, Strategic Finance, Vol. 87, pp.56-60.
[ 48 ]	Kobayashi, I. (1996), 20 Keys to Workplace Improvement, Productivity Press, New York.
[ 49 ]	Krafcik, J. (1988), “Triumph of the Lean production system”, Sloan Management Review, Vol. 41, pp.41-52.
[ 50 ]	Lee, Q. (2008), “Lean in hard times”, available at: http://www.strategosinc.com (accessed 23 December 2022).
[ 51 ]	Liker, J.K. (2004), The Toyota Way – 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer, McGraw-Hill, New York.
[ 52 ]	Liker, J. and Franz, J. (2011), The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement, McGraw Hill, New York.
[ 53 ]	Loh, K.L., Mohd Yusof, S. and Lau, D.H.C. (2019), “Blue ocean leadership in Lean sustainability”, International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. 10, pp.275-294.
[ 54 ]	Loyd, N., Harris, G., Gholston, S. and Berkowitz, D. (2020), “Development of a Lean assessment tool and measuring the effect of culture from employee perception”, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 31, pp.1439-1456.
[ 55 ]	Maltz, A., Shenhar, A. and Reilly, R. (2003), “Beyond the Balanced Scorecard: refining the search for organizational success measures”, Long Range Planning, Vol. 36, pp.187-204.
[ 56 ]	Mann, D. (2005), Creating a Lean Culture, Productivity Press, New York.
[ 57 ]	Mann, D. (2014), Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to Sustain Lean Conversions, CRC Press, New York.
[ 58 ]	Mayring, P., (2004), Qualitative content analysis. A companion to qualitative research, Vol 1, pp.159-176.
[ 59 ]	Motley, W. (2004), “Lean thinking redefines O&M practices”, Power, Vol. 148, pp.72-76.
[ 60 ]	Narayanamurthy, G. and Gurumurthy, A. (2018), “Is the hospital lean? A mathematical model for assessing the implementation of Lean thinking in healthcare institutions”, Operations Research for Health Care, Vol. 18, pp.84-98.
[ 61 ]	Nath, V. and Agrawal, R. (2020), “Agility and Lean practices as antecedents of supply chain social sustainability”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 40, pp.123-154.
[ 62 ]	Neely, A., Gregory, M. and Platts, K. (2005), “Performance measurement system design”, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol. 25, pp.1228-1263.
[ 63 ]	Nightingale, D. (2005), “LESAT tool”, available at: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/aeronautics-and-astronautics/lesat.pdf (accessed 4 July 2022).
[ 64 ]	Nikneshan, P., Shahin, A. and Davazdahemami, H. (2023), "Proposing a framework for analyzing the effect of lean and agile innovation on lean and agile supply chain", International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 14, pp. 221-245
[ 65 ]	NIST (2003), “Lean principles”, available at: http://www.mhc – nec-com/whitepapers (accessed 21 December 2022).
[ 66 ]	Ohno, T. (1988), Toyota Production System – Beyond Large-Scale Production, Productivity Press, New York.
[ 67 ]	Patton, M.Q. (2015) Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications Inc.
[ 68 ]	Pakdil, F. and Leonard, K.M. (2013), “Criteria for a Lean organization: development of a Lean assessment tool”, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 12, pp.24-39.
[ 69 ]	Pakdil, F. and Leonard, K.M. (2017), “Implementing and sustaining Lean processes: the dilemma of societal culture effects”, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 55, pp.700-717.
[ 70 ]	Patel, A.S. and Patel, K.M. (2021), “Critical review of literature on Lean Six Sigma methodology”, International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. 3, pp.231-254.
[ 71 ]	Paterson, J. (2015), Lean Matrixing: Driving Added Value and Efficiency in Internal Matrix, Wiley, New York.
[ 72 ]	Perera, S. and Perera, C. (2019), “Performance measurement system for a Lean manufacturing setting”, Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 23, pp.240-252.
[ 73 ]	Piercy, N. and Rich, N. (2015), “The relationship between Lean operations and sustainable operations”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 35, pp.282-315.
[ 74 ]	Robson C., (2016), “Real World Research” Oxford, Blackwell,
[ 75 ]	Ritterbeck, R. (2007), “The impact of the Matrix score”, Quality, Vol. 46, pp.3-15.
[ 76 ]	Samuel, D., Found, P. and Williams, S. (2015), “How did the publication of the book The Machine that Changes the World change management thinking?”, International Journal of Operations and Production Research, Vol. 35, pp.84-106.
[ 77 ]	Samuel, K. (2010), “Integrated Lean TQM model for sustainable development”, TQM Journal, Vol. 22, pp.583-599.
[ 78 ]	Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A. (2016) Research methods for business students. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
[ 79 ]	Scala, N.M., Liu, M., Alves, T.d.C.L., Schiavone, V. and Hawkins, D. (2023), "The gold standard: developing a maturity model to assess collaborative scheduling", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 30 No. 4, pp. 1636-1656.
[ 80 ]	Schonberger, R. (1996), World Class Manufacturing, Free Press, New York.
[ 81 ]	Schonberger, R. (2008), “Lean performance management”, Cost Accountant, Vol. 22, pp.5-18.
[ 82 ]	Shah, R. and Ward, P. (2007), “Defining and developing measures of Lean production”, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 25, pp.785-811.
[ 83 ]	Shetty, S., Componation, P., Glolston, S. and Utley, D. (2010), “Assessing the extent of Lean implementation in an organization”, IIE Annual Conference Proceedings, Norcross, pp.1-6.
[ 84 ]	Shingo Prize (2023), “Shingo Prize guidelines”, available at http://www.shingoprize.org/ (accessed 12 January 2023).
[ 85 ]	Singh, B., Garg, S. and Sharma, S. (2010), “Development of index for measuring Leanness”, Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 14, pp.46-59.
[ 86 ]	Soares, G.P., Tortorella, G., Bouzon, M. and Tavana, M. (2021), "A fuzzy maturity-based method for lean supply chain management assessment", International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. 12 No. 5, pp. 1017-1045.
[ 87 ]	Spear, S. (2004), “Learning to Lead at Toyota”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 82, pp.78-87.
[ 88 ]	Spector, P.E. (1992), Summated Rating Scale Construction: An Introduction, Sage, CA.
[ 89 ]	Stake R. (1995). “The Art of Case Research”, CA., Thousand Oaks;
[ 90 ]	Tekez, E.K. and Taşdeviren, G. (2020), “Measuring the influence values of Lean criteria on Leanness”, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 31, pp.1391-1416.
[ 91 ]	Toledo, J., Valio, R., Gonzalez, D., Lizarelli, F. and Pelegrino, R. (2018), “Lean production system development through leadership practices”, Management Decision, Vol. 3, pp.167-196.
[ 92 ]	Torbjørn, H. (2016), “Critical success factors for implementing Lean production: the effect of contingencies”, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 54, pp.2433-2448.
[ 93 ]	Vaishnavi, V. and Suresh, M. (2020), "Modelling of readiness factors for the implementation of Lean Six Sigma in healthcare organizations", International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 597-633.
[ 94 ]	Van Assen, M.F. (2018), “Exploring the impact of higher management’s leadership styles on Lean management”, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, Vol. 29. pp.1312-1341.
[ 95 ]	Vimal, K. and Vinodh, S. (2012), “Leanness evaluation using IF–THEN rules”, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Vol. 63, pp.407-413.
[ 96 ]	Vimal, K.E.K. and Vinodh, S. (2013), “Application of artificial neural network for fuzzy logic-based leanness assessment”, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 24, pp.274-292.
[ 97 ]	Vinodh, S. and Chintha, S.K. (2011), “Leanness assessment using multi-grade fuzzy approach”, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 49, pp.431-445.
[ 98 ]	Vinodh, S. and Vimal, K.E.K. (2012), “Thirty criteria-based leanness assessment using fuzzy logic approach”, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Vol. 60, pp.1185-1195.
[ 99 ]	Voss, C., Johnson, M. and Godsell, J. (2016) ‘Case Research’, in Karlsson, C. (ed.). Research Methods for Operations Management. London: Routledge, pp. 165-197.
[ 100 ]	Wade, D. (1997), Measuring performance with a Balanced Scorecard”, Managers Handbook, Vol. 2, pp.6-17.
[ 101 ]	Wan, H.D. and Frank, C.F. (2008), “A Leanness measure of manufacturing systems for quantifying impacts of Lean initiatives”, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 46, pp.6567-6584.
[ 102 ]	Wilson, L. (2015), How to Implement Lean Manufacturing, McGraw-Hill, New York.
[ 103 ]	Womack, J. and Jones, D. (2005), Lean Solutions, Simon and Schuster, London.
[ 104 ]	Wong, W.P., Ignatius, J. and Soh, K.L. (2014), “What is the Leanness level of your organization in Lean transformation implementation? An integrated Lean index using ANP approach”, Production Planning & Control, Vol. 25, pp.273-287.
[ 105 ]	Yin, R.K. (2018) Case Study Research and Applications. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications Inc.
[ 106 ]	Zirar, A., Trusson, C. and Choudhary, A. (2020), “Towards a high-performance HR bundle process for lean service operations”, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 38, pp.25-45.