Creating a lean manufacture structure in a South African organisation

Of late numerous industries from diverse sectors endeavoured to implement Lean Manufacturing (LM). The execution of a LM stratagem exemplifies a dynamic input to the stepped progression leading to operational ascendancy and the continuous improvement via the eradication of non-value added actions. The subsequent progressive productivity is crucial to marketplace dominance and achieving a maintainable competitive gain. Instances are proliferating of organisations which could not attain the anticipated advantages and performance attainable via LM execution. In South African the situation is similar. A manufacturing organisation in South Arica was researched which previously attempted to execute LM and failed. A major barrier is the ineffectual exploitation of lean production techniques in long-established manufacturing establishments. Two foremost contributing aspects were distinguished. They are the outmoded programme or ineffectual system to be enhanced as well as the nonexistence of members of staff´s grasp of the hypotheses and philosophies of LM. Despite the fact that LM has been performed for years, a dearth of comprehension amongst the workforce vis-à-vis the execution of LM nevertheless endures. This paper makes an attempt to suggest a schema for LM execution in a South African manufacturing organisation. Several practices / instruments / procedures and methods were explored.