Abstract

In order to perk up the firm effectiveness and efficiency, the manufacturing firms have to implement novel management and improvement tools to meet the increasing challenges in the global market. Nowadays, lean manufacturing has been adopted extensively in diverse industries. Small and medium manufacturing industries of a country are the second main source of economy especially in developing countries like Pakistan. So in order to meet the demands of the customers and exist in the modern business market, industries have adopted lean practices and techniques. In this study, assessment of lean manufacturing was performed to evaluate the lean maturity level and leanness in the manufacturing industries of Pakistan. It investigated the current lean practices and maturity level of lean in manufacturing industries of Pakistan and addressed the strategies for improvement. Lean perspective or factors on which the lean manufacturing depends were identified by the detailed literature review. On the basis of those perspectives, lean assessment model was developed based on the Lean Enterprise Self-Assessment tool (LESAT). The model consisted of questionnaire on which industry was assessed. The results will enable the industry managers to think and work on lean tools to enhance their industry performance and effectiveness to compete in the market.

Keywords: lean manufacturing, maturity levels, lean assessment, self-assessment tool, lean perspectives and factors