Abstract
Using Lean Manufacturing (LM) tools in production processes is crucial for companies’ economic, environmental, and social sustainability success. This study shows a structural equation model (SEM) that shows the relationship between LM Tools like Kaizen (KAI), Gemba (GEM), Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) with Economic Sustainability (ECS). Seven hypotheses were evaluated with data from 179 responses to a questionnaire about the Mexican maquiladora industry, showing that these variables are linked. At a 95% confidence level, the model was evaluated using the partial least squares method. The findings indicate that the relationships between KAI and GEM and KAI and VSM have the strongest relationship, followed by VSM and ECS; however, VSM has the strongest effect on ECS. Based on these findings, it is recommended that managers adopt a continuous improvement (KAI) approach based on working directly on the shop floor (GEM and VSM) to support their decisions regarding economic growth (ECS).
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available in the Lean Manufacturing Tools Applied to Continuous Improvement and its Impact on Economic Sustainability repository, https://data.mendeley.eom/datasets/c6cjpb4yxs/1.
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Acknowledgments
Luis Javier Marquez Figueroa received a grant for his Ph.D. from the Mexican National Council for Humanities, Science and Technology (Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencia y Tecnología, CONAHCYT) under the Grant Agreement number 960749.
Thanks to the referees for their help to improve the quality of this paper.
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Luis Javier Márquez Figueroa is a Ph.D. student of advanced engineering sciences in the Instituto de Ingeniería y Tecnología at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México. He earned B.S. degree in industrial engineering from Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Juárez, MX, and a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, MX. He has published conference papers. Luis Márquez has completed projects with TWI Institute as a trainer of job instruction, collaborating with companies like Robert Bosch, Eagle Ottawa, Modine and Wistron in Ciudad Juárez, giving training in some companies in México. His research interests include manufacturing, simulation, training, and lean manufacturing.
Jorge Luis García Alcaraz received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in industrial engineering, the Ph.D. degree in innovation in product engineering and industrial process, and the Ph.D. degree in sciences and industrial technologies. He was a postdoctoral researcher in production systems. He is currently a full-time researcher at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez. He is the National Researcher in México at Level III. He has been the author/coauthor in more than 150 papers, conferences and congress, author/coauthor/editor of ten books, and academic editor in some JCR journals. His main research interests include manufacturing, production process modeling, and supply chain.
Ahmed I. Osman obtained his PhD degree in chemistry and chemical engineering from Queens University Belfast, UK, in 2017, presently a Senior Research Fellow at the same university. His focus lies in environmental chemistry, biomass utilization, and addressing climate change. He is now a Distinguished Editor at the Environmental Chemistry Letters journal. Notably, his publication in Scientific Reports ranks among the top 100 papers in Nature group journals. His work has attracted substantial grants, securing over £1M in funding for Queens University Belfast and Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. With 109+ peer-reviewed articles, 14+ conference proceedings (including keynotes), and an H-index of 44, he serves as an editorial board member for journals like Molecular Catalysis and Scientific Reports.
Alfonso Jesús Gil López (Ph.D. Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia) is an assistant professor of Business Administration at the Universidad de La Rioja. His research interests include human resource management and organizational learning, and his research has appeared in journals such as The International Journal of Human Resource and Management Decision.
Yashar Aryanfar currently is a Ph.D. student at the Doctorado en Ciencias de la Ingeniería Avanzada program, from Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ), at Ciudad Juárez in Chihuahua state, México. Yashar does research in renewable energies, 4E analysis, advanced exergy analysis, geothermal systems, environmental engineering, energy systems, and other energy-environmental fields.
Mika Sillanpää has published more than 1200 articles in peer-reviewed international journals. He has served on the editorial boards of several scholarly publications. Currently he is and Editor in Inorganic Chemistry Letters (Elsevier) and Field Chief Editor in Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry. Having an h-index of 121, his publications have been cited over 73000 times (Google Scholar).
Mamdouh El Haj Assad is a professor in the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering Department at University of Sharjah. He has worked at Aalto University as research scientist and docent in the Department of Energy Technology for 21 years, and as an associate professor and Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Australian College of Kuwait. His research expertise ranges through energy system optimization, solar, geothermal and wind energy systems, absorption chillers, heat exchangers, artificial intelligence and environmental pollution. Dr. Assad has more than 200 publications in the form of articles, conferences and book chapters. Dr. Assad has recently published a book Design and Performance Optimization of Renewable Energy Systems (AP/Elsevier). Dr. Assad is acting as a Guest Editor for more than 7 special issues related to renewable energy systems.
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Figueroa, L.J.M., García-Alcaraz, J.L., Osman, A.I. et al. Measuring Impact of Lean Manufacturing Tools for Continuous Improvement on Economic Sustainability. J. Syst. Sci. Syst. Eng. 33, 452–474 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11518-023-5588-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11518-023-5588-2