Ilaria De Sanctis

Lean practices implementation and their relationships with operational responsiveness and company performance: an Italian study

Although many firms report large benefits from lean implementation, a lot of scepticism still remains regarding attainable results and the possibility to apply Lean approach outside high-volume manufacturing and stable context. In this work, combining field interviews with literature review, theoretical connections have been developed among Lean manufacturing techniques, operational responsiveness and company growth performances. A conceptual model has been proposed for investigating the network of influences among lean practices (supplier management, human resource management, just-in-time and total quality management practices), operational responsiveness (Product mix variety, Product innovation and Time effectiveness) and company growth performances in Italian companies. Using structural equation modelling, a second-order confirmatory factor analysis has been used to test the hypothesised relationships in the structural models. This study highlights that the operational responsiveness is only partially connected to a Lean strategy of a company. Indeed, the lean practices implementations are negatively influenced by product mix variety and innovation, while positively influenced by time effectiveness variables. Moreover, product mix variety and time effectiveness are the main characteristics of the operational responsiveness that positively influences company growth performances. So time effectiveness could be considered as a mediator between Lean best practices and firm growth. Moreover, no direct relationship has been found between lean bundles and firm’s performances. Lack of resources and mainly poor communication and managers’ commitment and support seem to be the main obstacles of lean implementation and success.

Relationships between Italian companies’ operational characteristics and business growth in high and low lean performers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze relationships between operational characteristics and business growth in Italian manufacturing companies comparing high lean performers (HLPs), which are companies with a high degree of application of lean practices, and low lean performers (LLPs). This analysis aims at highlighting the effect of the implementation level of lean practices on operational characteristics of Italian companies and, as a consequence, on business growth. Design/methodology/approach A classification in “LLPs” and “HLPs” of Italian manufacturing industries has been developed in order to measure the company’s degree of application of lean practices. A survey was carried out, and a combination of cluster analysis and multi-group structural equation path model was developed in order to answer research hypotheses. Findings Results suggest that HLPs are characterized by a greater number of employees and a larger turnover. The operational characteristics that contribute to the business growth owing to the introduction of lean practices are as follows: the range of different finished products managed, the delivery reliability, and speedy response to warranty claim. No differences between HLPs and LLPs in terms of business growth have been highlighted when companies vary the batch size, reduce the medium production time, reduce the percentage of finished products which are subject to claim, and increase the percentage (of turnover) of R&D investment. The study highlights that “LLPs” companies are apparently capable of changing their production schemes and adjusting themselves better for customizing their products. Practical implications Companies that aim at implementing lean practices should focus their attention on practices that affect the operational characteristics that contribute to the business growth. Moreover, because of the complexity and effort for the implementation of certain lean practices connected to supplier, workforce, quality, and production efficiency, these practices are more suitable only for large firms with enough resources. Originality/value As an attempt to offer strategic and operational perspective on Italian lean practices implementation, this study examined how the degree of application of the different lean practices has an impact on operational and companies’ performance. Hence, even if the present study is limited to the Italian manufacturing companies, it could be a representative of companies that are operating in developed countries that are facing the so-called “anemic growth.”

Integration between RCM and RAM: a case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a practical method of performing maintenance in the offshore industry where engineers have to manage problems such as the high cost of operations, assuring an high availability of the plant, safety on board and environmental protection. Indeed an efficient maintenance method it is necessary in order to offer methods and criteria to select the rights maintenance strategies keeping in to account the environmental, safety and production constrains. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides an overview of reliability centered maintenance (RCM) and reliability, availability, maintainability methodologies and an integration of the two methodologies in a particular case study in the oil and gas sector. Findings – This paper suggests an improvement of the well-established RCM methodology applicable to industries with high priority level. It is proposed an integration between a reliability analysis and an availability analysis and an application on the offsh...

Resilience for lean organisational network

In the literature, when lean is associated with resilience the focus is mainly on developing leaner and more resilient supply chains underrating the importance of organisations as communicating entities. Although people are the heart of a company, their impact on resilience is only marginally considered in the literature. In this study, we address these gaps by developing and testing a model that can calculate the resilience of a lean organisation while considering the organisational topology as well as the learning capacity and attitudes of its workforce. The proposed methodology consists of four macro-steps: identification of a Lean Structural Network (LSN), modelling of nodes, nodes characterisation and analysis of Resilience. A case study is used to explain the proposed model to assess the resilience of the intrinsic structure of a company against two major effects: (a) unexpected shortages in key performance indicators; (b) replacement of a process owner with another having different individual characteristics (different learning curve and attitude). The results show that the proposed methodology allows quantification and prediction of the local and global impacts of unexpected (i.e. failures or other disruptions) and expected events (i.e. cross-training, personnel relocation) in companies under the LSN paradigm.

Lean Structural Network Resilience

Lean Leaders may face a tremendous amount of resistance when implementing and sustaining Lean in their organizations. The complexity associated with the dynamic of organizational processes in the 21st century: mobility of the work force, ever-changing product portfolios, and their related value stream adjustments are some of the reasons for this. Taking an organizational network view, this paper provides leaders with both a definition of Resilience, as well as coherent criteria to quantify the Lean Structural Network Resilience (LSNR) to the lean transformation that is associated with the mentioned changes in the organization. By implementing LSNR as a metric to measure resistance to change to Lean, Leaders can make informed Value Stream related business decisions in order to support sustainable growth.

Leveraging environmental sustainability for competitive advantage in the Italian Clothing and Leather sector

ABSTRACT The present study analyses how the elements of a corporate environmental management system (environmental strategy, environmental management practices (EMPs) and business competitiveness) are connected for the creation of competitive advantage in clothing and leather companies, strongly affected by sustainability issues. The research was conducted through an online survey submitted to Italian companies. A structural equation modelling approach was employed to test the hypothesised model. Results indicate that the implementation of sustainable product and process practices have positive impacts on company’s business competitiveness. Moreover, companies having a greater integration of sustainable practices in their competitive strategy show advantages in terms of brand value, employees’ retention and access to capital. The most important stakeholders involved in the definition of an environmental strategy are suppliers and companies’ employees. Focusing the attention on the business competitiveness impacts of EMPs, companies that have a production plant abroad show greater competitiveness impacts.

Integrating Sustainability in the Fashion System Using Association Rules

This work aims at analysing the environmental strategies developed by fashion companies in order to identify the most important stakeholders involved in the strategy, the environmental practices carried out and the competitiveness impacts. A conceptual model, based on Association Rules (AR), has been proposed for investigating the network of influences among the environmental strategy, the environmental management practices and the environmental competitiveness and profitability of the companies. The research has been conducted through a survey submitted to fashion companies operating in Textile, Clothing and Leather (TCL) sectors. Results indicate that “customers” and “suppliers” are the most important stakeholders to be involved in the environmental strategy. A greater compliance and a risk reduction can be reached when the Financial institutions, Environmental NGOs, Rivals and Shareholders are involved in the environmental strategy. In this regards, results highlighted the importance of Environmental auditing programme for suppliers and Sustainable disclosures. Moreover, in fashion sector, the companies that pursued “Lower cost” as competitive advantage aim at obtaining from environmental strategy a great access to capital and lower cost of capital.

The automation of an assembly system: A business process re-engineering (BPR) perspective

The purpose of this paper is to automate a manual assembly line following a structured framework, in a motorcyclist industry. Process re-engineering is implemented in order to improve and automate the assembly process of a manufacturing company. The transition from the manual process to the new semi-automated assembly line is composed of 4 main steps: the as-is analysis, the Process reengineering and layout design, the training and finally the mass production. The study has shown that the line automation yields significant improvements: sizeable increase of the workstations saturation, better cohesion with Just in Time principles, reduction of the employed working force, and increase of the quality control process rigor. The scope of the study was limited to one of the firm assembly line. In future, the company plans to perform similar studies on the other lines. This investigation shows significant benefit associated with a structured implementation automation in the field of assembly process. The findings will mainly be relevant for process and logistics managers involved in the planning of a new assembly line or in the redesign of an existing one. This paper provides an original case study of as-is analysis, re-design, training and testing of an improved assembly line.

Adaptability into Supply Chain Strategy: The adaptable PCSA framework

In todays uncertain and complex business environment, where an high variability of production is requested, supply chain strategy is playing an important role in the success of a firms product and market growth strategy. Once considered the meanings of supply chain adaptability, it is easy to understand how much is important to provide a supply-chain that is able to let the company survive to the Worlds quick sands due to several given listed uncertainties in a complex global-business environment. This paper supplies a review of the Progressive Conceptual System (PCSA) approach, making it able to formulate a supply-chain strategy with the ability to shift properly though the threads and changes of the business environment. The challenge has been transforming a static PCSA methodology into a dynamic one then.