The Use of Lean Methods in Central Eastern European Countries: the Case of Czech and Slovak Republic

Abstract

Increasing competition, both at the global and local levels, shortening product life cycle, and strengthening customer's position are only some of the factors currently affecting the viability of businesses. To stay at a market, retain old and gain new customers businesses are constantly looking for new ways to improve. One of the possibilities to improve is the lean concept. This concept offers the ways to find the points with waste and eliminate them. The main objective of this research is to analyze the extent of lean methods' use in Central Eastern European countries-Czech and Slovak Republics. Two surveys were carried out independently of each other between 2013 and 2017. The purpose of the researchers was to determine the extent of the selected industrial engineering methods' use in both these countries through an online questionnaire survey. In general, the analyzed methods are more often implemented by businesses in Czech Republic, but the results also suggest that some of the analyzed methods are not implemented in these countries equally. E.g., Kaizen or 5S method are the methods more typical for the industrial companies in Czech Republic. On the other hand, for example, the Total Quality Management did not reveal statistically significant differences in the implementation by companies in Czech and Slovak Republics.

The Impact of Single Minute Exchange of Die and Total Productive Maintenance on Overall Equipment Effectiveness

“…Adoption of TPM can help to ensure the competitiveness of a company because maintenance is the area with great potential to be used as a competitive advantage (Mwanza & Mbohwa, 2015; Kalpande & Toke, 2022); it is one approach used to make business more competitive (Pinto et al, 2020). Gálová et al (2018) and Rajnoha et al (2018) found that approximately 21% of industrial companies in the Czech Republic use the TPM methodology in their practice. Gálová et al (2018) add that TPM is primarily used in the automotive (45%), followed by the electro-technics (22%), wood processing (20%), and mechanical (14%) industries.…”

“…Gálová et al (2018) andRajnoha et al (2018), who have found that approximately 21% of companies in the Czech Republic use TPM in their practice. However, On the other hand, TPM is more complex and, in terms of implementation, a bit more demanding than SMED; therefore, it is possible to perceive these findings more positively compared to SMED.…”