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The paper aims to identify, prioritize and rank lean practices in the context of an Indian automotive component manufacturing organization using interpretive ranking process (IRP) and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approaches.

Lean practices are identified from the literature. Then, two hierarchical models were are developed using two distinct modeling approaches – ISM and IRP with expert opinions from an Indian automotive component manufacturing organization to analyze the contextual relationships among the various lean practices and to prioritize and rank them with respect to performance dimensions.

In the study, the hierarchical structural models are developed using ISM and IRP approaches for an Indian automotive component manufacturing organization. In ISM-based modeling, lean practices can be categorized into five levels. Top priority should be given to the motivators followed by value chain, system/technology and organization centric practices. IRP model shows the dominance relationship among the various lean practices with respect to performance dimensions.

The models are constructed from the organizational standpoint to evaluate their impact to the implementation of lean manufacturing. The study leverages the organizations to prioritize limited resources as per the hierarchy. Managers get the inter-linkages and ranking of various lean practices, which leads to a better perspective for the effective implementation of lean. The structural models also assist management to assign proper roles to employees/departments for effective lean implementation.

There is hardly any structural model of lean practices in the literature for clustering, prioritizing and ranking of lean practices. The study fills this gap and develops the hierarchical models of lean practices through IRP and ISM approaches for an Indian automotive component manufacturing organization. The results from both approaches are compared for illustrating the benefits of one over the other.

This paper aims to present a simple and innovative fuzzy methodology-based lean performance measurement system (L-PMS) for an Indian automotive supply chain. The paper also enlightens the influence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on supply chains and the practical implications of the unprecedented disruptions on the performance measurement systems.

The L-PMS is divided into three phases. In the first phase, the key performance indicator (KPI) list, as deemed fit by the organization, is prepared using literature and suggestions from the case organization. The list contains 61 KPIs measuring 24 performance dimensions in seven functional areas of the supply chain. In the second phase, the KPI performance data (actual, best and worst) are collected using the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. In the last phase, the leanness score of the case organization is calculated at four levels – KPI, dimension, functional area and overall organization.

The overall leanness score of the case organization is 60%. The case organization uses KPIs from all seven functional areas, but it needs to improve the number of KPIs in administration and supplier management functional areas. The case organization uses only quantitative KPIs. However, the performance dimensions at the middle level are adequate. The leanness level of the case organization in different areas is highly variable (ranges from 45% to 91%).

The major limitation of the study is that the case study is done at a single organization.

The managers at the different levels of the hierarchy can use the lean performance measurement score to leverage the better performing areas/dimensions/KPIs and improve poor performing areas/dimensions/KPIs. The lean performance measurement at functional area level can help leadership to give responsibility to different people for the improvement of leanness with respect to different dimensions/functional areas. The disruptive impact of COVID-19 should clearly be understood by the managers to make appropriate decisions based on the severity as measured at different levels.

According to the authors' best knowledge, this is the first lean performance measurement application at the four hierarchical levels (KPI, performance dimension, functional area and overall organization).

This study aims to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of Marble-stone and Kota-stone flooring options widely used for buildings in India. The study discusses the possibility of carbon sequestration through Bamboo cultivation in India.

The study has followed a standard life cycle assessment (LCA) framework based on ISO 14040 guidelines. Three distinct phases have been compared on midpoint and endpoint assessment categories – raw material, polishing and disposal. Primary data has been collected from the construction site in India, and secondary data has been collected from the Ecoinvent 3.0 database. Previous studies have been referred to discuss and calculate the area of bamboo cultivation required to sequestrate the generated carbon from the flooring.

The study has found that endpoint category damage to resources, and midpoint categories of climate change, metal depletion and agricultural land use are highly impacted in building floorings. The study has also found that the Marble-stone floor generates higher environmental impacts than the Kota-stone floor in most of the midpoint and endpoint impact categories. This difference is significant in the raw material phase due to the different compositions of stones. The study also found that Bamboo has excellent potential to act as a carbon sink and mitigate the generated carbon.

This study excludes human labour, cutting and distribution of floor tiles made of Marble-stone and Kota-stone. The researcher can use the study to evaluate, compare and benchmark the various building flooring options from the environmental perspective. The study aids to the body of knowledge available on the various building flooring options by presenting the LCA or the environmental impacts generated by two flooring options. It is expected that the architects and builders can use these results to develop carbon-neutral buildings. This study provides a methodology for governments, constructors, builders and individuals to evaluate, compare and benchmark the various construction materials from the environmental perspective by computing the environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of the materials.

This study compares two widely used building flooring options using the LCA methodology and evaluates the potential of bamboo cultivation near the buildings for carbon sinks. The study is unique because it shows the environmental impacts of two flooring options and the carbon sequestration method to mitigate/absorb the generated environmental impacts in or around the building itself through bamboo cultivation. This study may set the foundation for carbon-neutral buildings.

This paper proposes an integrated value stream mapping (VSM) for a complex assembly line to improve the leanness of a complex automotive component manufacturing organization.

This study depicts the application of VSM at the case organization, where top management is concerned about the challenges of higher cycle time and lower productivity. Gemba walks were conducted to establish the concept of “walk the flow, create the flow” along the assembly line. The multi-hierarchical cross-functional team developed the current value stream map to know the “as-is” state. Then, the team analysed the current VSM and proposed the future VSM for the “to-be” state.

The integrated VSM shows different processes and work cells, various wastes, non-value-added activities, cycle time, uptime and the material and information flows for both products of the assembly line on the same map. The integrated VSM reduced cycle time, non-value-added activities, work in process inventory and improved line efficiency and production per labour hour for both the products, simultaneously.

The limitation of the study is that the study focussed only on the application of VSM for one complex assembly only. Future research may be conducted using the developed integrated VSM approach in other complex production environments.

Managers can identify and reduce system waste by incorporating the concept of integrated VSM in a complex production or assembly environment where two or more products are being manufactured/assembled with low similarity.

The application of VSM for assembly lines is highly challenging because of merging flows, a large number of child parts in the lines and assembly of more than one product on the same line.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated performance measurement framework to measure the effect of lean implementation throughout all functions of an organization.

The paper identifies the seven categories representing all organizational functions. These categories have been divided into 26 performance dimensions and key performance indicators (KPIs) for each performance dimension have been identified to measure lean performance. The interrelationship of each category with lean principles and/or lean wastes has been identified. KPIs are developed on the basis of identified criteria, frequency analysis of existing literature, and discussion with industry professionals. Finally, an integrated performance measurement framework is proposed.

The proposed framework evaluates the organization under seven categories – manufacturing process, new product development (NPD), human resource management, finance, administration, customer management, and supplier management. In total, 26 dimensions and 119 key performance indicators have been identified under the seven categories.

The proposed framework is a conceptual framework and it is to be tested by empirical and cross-sectional studies.

The main novelty of the research is that the leanness of the organization has been measured throughout the supply chain of the organization in an integrated way. The various areas of measurement are manufacturing process, NPD, finance, administration, customer management, and supplier management. Further, the proposed KPIs are also categorized as qualitative or quantitative, strategic or operational, social or technical, financial or non-financial, leading or lagging, static or dynamic. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge in performance measurement.

The purpose of this paper is to review various themes of leanness, leanness assessment approaches, leanness assessment areas, and their evolution by a systematic literature review (SLR).

The eight types of literature review methodologies are identified and compared. The SLR is selected after critically analyzing the eight types of literature reviews. A four-phased SLR (i.e. plan, do, analyze/synthesize, and propose) has been carried out based on the peer-reviewed journal and conference articles on leanness assessment.

The existing literature on leanness assessment shows the lack of review-based papers on lean assessment. This study attempts to build a two-fold contribution to the field of leanness assessment: first, various types of themes, approaches, and assessment areas are identified; second, a framework for leanness assessment is proposed. The study shows that the research on leanness assessment is mainly empirical using qualitative judgment. The paper traces the changes in scope, areas, and approaches to leanness assessment. The scope of leanness assessment broadened from manufacturing process assessment to whole supply chain assessment including manufacturing process. The focus of earlier assessment was manufacturing and financial areas which now includes human resource, administration, new product development, suppliers, and customers also. Tool and technique based assessment has given way to outcome-based assessment using non-financial and qualitative parameters.

One of the limitations of the study is that literature search was mainly focused on peer-reviewed articles published in English language only; therefore, some papers in others languages may have been missed. Apart from this, the SLR has been conducted for the manufacturing sector only.

The study is expected to be useful for the lean practitioners to identify the causes of reported lean failures. Moreover, the authors also expect that the conducted SLR will provide the passage to the practitioners for not only fostering the concepts on leanness assessment but also provide the vital and significant knowledge about the leanness assessment to the managers for enhancing organizational performance.

As per the authors’ knowledge, this is the first SLR on leanness assessment. It is expected that this paper will help the researchers working in the area of lean manufacturing to identify new areas of research.