Shop-floor employees in a lean transformation: A forgotten perspective

Abstract

Organizations are looking for a competitive advantage through applying lean methodology. Since the early 90’s lean has been on a worldwide journey and is a common tool for organizations to create a competitive advantage. However, lean implementations, till this day, have a failure rate between 60-90%. Successful lean implementation without including shop-floor employees is rather difficult. Despite the importance of including shop-floor employees, it remains a neglected as a field of research. This research was set out to investigate how shop-floor employees were included in the process of implementing lean into their work environment and what challenges they faced. Based on the results of this research, lean was implemented via projects in which they participated. Shop-floor employees faced challenges in the form of a higher workload, resistance from other shop-floor employees and a difficulty in balancing their time.