In this study we explored the challenges involved in Lean Transformation and implementation in the manufacturing sector. Using survey data from 50 North American manufacturing organizations, we examined the challenges involved in implementing and sustaining Lean Manufacturing (LM) principles and practices in production processes. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and the fuzzy analytic network process (FANP) were used to rank the considerable challenges observed in these organizations. We concluded that the need for a change in organizational culture was the major barrier to Lean implementation. It is challenging to sustain Lean without a culture shift and a clear direction set by the organization’s leadership team. The originality of the paper relates to prioritizing the cultural aspects of organizations as a major barrier to LM implementation. Other challenges encountered during Lean implementation in the manufacturing industries were related to management support, technical knowledge, and employee resistance to change. Early identification of these challenges enables companies to question their capabilities before implementing the Lean philosophy. In this study we used results obtained from 50 manufacturing companies in North America, representing a subset of manufacturing organizations. As a result, it must be interpreted based on the data acquisition method and the study’s sample size.

Recent research asserts that Industry 4.0 technologies have positively impacted Lean Manufacturing and sustainable performance. Although the combined impact of Industry 4.0 and Lean Manufacturing on sustainable performance has been scientifically studied, no study has shown how Lean duration moderates the relationship between Industry 4.0 and Lean Manufacturing in US manufacturing firms. This research aims to close this gap by evaluating whether Lean duration moderates the association between Industry 4.0 and Lean Manufacturing, which in turn affects sustainability performance. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method was used to formulate and examine proposed relationships. The study used data collected from 126 managers who worked in 65 different manufacturing organizations. The data demonstrated a moderating effect of Lean duration on the relationship between Industry 4.0 and Lean Manufacturing and a significant and direct effect of Lean Manufacturing on sustainable performance. However, Industry 4.0 had a positive indirect effect on sustainable performance through the moderating effect of Lean Manufacturing and a negative direct impact on sustainable performance. The study’s findings add to the body of knowledge on the impact of Industry 4.0 on the Lean Manufacturing philosophy by identifying Lean duration as a moderator of this relationship. Theoretically, this research empirically validated the association between Lean duration, Industry 4.0, Lean Manufacturing, and sustainable performance in US Manufacturing organizations. The results showed that industry practitioners should consider the effect of Lean duration when adopting and managing Industry 4.0 technologies for better sustainable performance.

Purpose: The goal of this work was to investigate the managerial practices of today to understand if Toyota is sheltering themselves from these newer practices or embracing them like most believe. Design/methodology/approach:This work utilizes a new form of data mining named Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) to analyze an organizations ideal management practices. Findings: This work shows quantitatively that TPS favors earlier versions of industrial engineering compared to the optimization techniques available today. Originality/value: The use of data mining to analyze organizational management practices.

Background Online learning has recently surged due to the COVID‐19 global pandemic. Because of the pandemic, many universities were forced to move to online learning, and various online teaching and learning environments emerged, both asynchronous and synchronous. Objective This study explores how a large university in the Southeastern United States of America converted an in‐person Lean Manufacturing professional course into synchronous online learning for industry participants. Method The study analysed the performance of 212 in‐person and 43 online industry participants and examined the views of online participants about the training. Paired t‐tests, one‐way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were utilized to evaluate the performance of the in‐person and online groups on the three competencies (Lean culture, problem‐solving and Lean systems). Results and Conclusion Both online and in‐person programs performed equally well in two Lean Manufacturing competencies: Lean systems and problem solving. The online program outperformed the in‐person program in the third competency, Lean culture. Overall, the participants had a positive experience with the structure and organization of the online program, and their impression of the online learning environment for the program was positive. The study findings indicated that Lean Manufacturing could be trained effectively online and in person. Best practices are suggested for the conversion of in‐person to synchronous online engineering continuing education programs.

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