This paper presents an exploratory study of lean manufacturing implementation in Malaysian automotive industries. A questionnaire survey is used to explore the extent of lean manufacturing implementation. This paper also examines the drivers and barriers that influence the implementation of lean manufacturing. The survey was performed on sixty Malaysian automotive components manufacturing firms. The respondents were chosen from those who are directly involved with lean manufacturing practices such as production and quality personnel. The findings show that most of the respondent firms are classified as in-transition towards lean manufacturing practice. These in-transition firms have moderate mean values for each of the five lean manufacturing practice categories. It is also found that these firms spend more attentions and resources in internal areas such as firms' operation and management, compared to external relationships with suppliers and customers. These firms believe that the factors that urged the implementation of lean manufacturing are the desire to focus on customers and to achieve the organisation's continuous improvement. The results from this survey also revealed the main barriers that prevent or delay the lean implementation. The main barriers to implement lean manufacturing system are the lack of understanding lean concepts and shop floor employees' attitude.

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Sustainable manufacturing practices seek to optimize production efficiency while minimizing environmental impact. Nowadays, the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices in companies has increased. By implementing sustainable manufacturing practices, firms can gain better access to international markets; enhance business profile, consumer perceptions and corporate reputation and increase the manufacturing capacity. However, the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices is posed to many drivers and barriers in light of the benefits manufacturing firms stand to gain from this initiative. This paper aims to investigate the drivers and barriers of sustainable manufacturing implementation in Malaysia. In this study, data were collected by using a self-administered questionnaires. The result shows that the increment in the overall cost of implementation is regarded as the main barrier to implementing sustainable manufacturing practices while environmental regulation and top management commitment are regarded as the main drivers. This research has been able to highlight the important barriers and drivers of implementing sustainable manufacturing practices through which industries can improve the manufacturing practices to offset the negativity on the environment.

Lean manufacturing is a proven approach for success in manufacturing industry. However, several organisations failed in their attempt to implement lean manufacturing system. The transition to lean manufacturing requires radical change which involves a total reshaping of purpose, system and culture of the organisation. Therefore, a lean manufacturing implementation framework was developed. This framework is intended to provide practitioners with a better understanding of lean transition and minimize the conflicts of implementing lean manufacturing system. The purpose of this paper is to validate the proposed lean manufacturing implementation framework using Delphi technique. This technique is a process of gathering opinions of experts, which designed to achieve a convergence of opinions on a specific real–world issue. The work continued over two iterative rounds until consensus or stability is reached. Comments and suggestions given by the experts help to further improve and validate the framework. As conclusion, the final framework of lean manufacturing implementation is presented.

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