Status of lean manufacturing practices in Indian industries and government initiatives A pilot study

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report a pilot study on lean awareness and implementation using the survey data collected from about 32 industries situated in western and eastern region of India. Design/methodology/approach - A survey instrument containing 45 statements was designed to assess respondents' attitude and awareness toward lean practices and to explore the level of lean implementation in the organization. The instrument was distributed personally or through mail to the employees of 32 industries and they were supported for any query about the questions. Descriptive statistical analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and ANOVA were used to analyze the data with SPSS statistical software. Findings - The research uncovers the fact that the current status of lean implementation and awareness in Indian industries is not so encouraging and the reason for that is, the human-related issues are not tackled properly. Quality and process technology, are the two key areas where industries are indicating inadequate efforts and poor insight. Research limitations/implications - The study conducted was limited to 32 industries situated in the eastern and western region of India. The data collected for few industries rely on only one respondent. Practical implications - The study identifies the lean implementation status based on nine lean assessment key areas and uncovers the major roadblocks for lean practices in Indian industries. It provides key insights to lean practicing industries and lean practitioner about the major barriers and key areas for the improvement. Originality/value - The paper reports comprehensive insights on current awareness and implementation of lean manufacturing (LM) in India. It also highlights the initiatives taken by Government of India to increase the competitiveness of the Indian industries, specifically of manufacturing sector, through the adoption of LM techniques. This would provide a platform for carrying out a detailed research in LM in Indian context.