Enablers and challenges during the early phases of Lean implementation

Abstract: The manufacturing industryis developing and the increase in sharp competition, is a result of globalization, therefore companies strive to increase their competitiveness. Lean is one of the methods that is regularly used within the traditional manufacturing companies but with the implementation of Lean, some studies show that the change will not stick if not the culture of the company is also changed. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate an organisations readiness to implement Lean with a focuson organizational change. To achieve this purpose a single case study has been conducted at a company planning to implement Lean and three RQ:screated which are: •RQ1: What are the enablers for an organization to undergo a lean transformation? •RQ2: What are the challenges for an organization to undergo a lean transformation? •RQ3: How can a company prepare its organization for lean transformation? By conducting interviews, the potential enabler and challenges for the implementation were analysed as well as how a company could prepare for it. The results show that there are three main enablers; the commitment and support for Lean from the management, change leaders with change management and Lean knowledge and change agents with deep knowledge of the company’s production. The main challenges that were found were communication, company culture and defining Lean. On how to prepare an organisation there was found to be five necessary aspects, creating a focus group, educate the focus group to get a good knowledge of Lean, use the focus group to define Lean in the context of the company, establish forums for communication and involvement, and plan for an employee development program.