Modeling the lean barriers for successful lean implementation : TISM approach

Purpose: Companies have been implementing lean manufacturing to improve their business performances. However, many of them have difficulties in the implementation because of various barriers, thus encountering failures. This paper aims to prioritize and analyze the lean barriers for better understanding and interpretation for successful lean implementation. Design/methodology/approach: Extensive literature review has been carried out to identify the lean barriers. Subsequently, total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) has been adopted where lean experts’ inputs have been sought to obtain the self-interaction and reachability matrix. Further, driving power and dependence of lean barriers have been derived, and TISM-based lean barrier model has been developed. Findings: Insufficient management time, insufficient supervisory skills and insufficient senior management skills are the significant barriers with highest driving power and lowest dependence. With low driving power, cost- and funding-related barriers such as cost of the investment, internal funding and external funding are found to be less important barriers. Practical implications: This model provides a more realistic approach to the problems faced by practitioners during lean implementation. Thus, it provides a roadmap to implement lean by focusing on reducing or eliminating important barriers. Originality/value: The paper not only provides a TISM-based model of contextual relationships among lean barriers but also describes the validation of this model.