This paper explores the relationships between lean manufacturing (LM), the promotion of green practices, employee involvement, pressure to take actions against environmental issues, the adoption of an ISO 14001-based environmental management system (EMS) and environmental performance in order to understand how LM can help improve environmental performance through environmental practices and the development of a lean culture. The effects of pressure to “go green”, employee involvement and the adoption of an EMS based on the International Organization for Standardization’s standard ISO 14001 are discussed. Data were collected from 220 Chinese manufacturing firms and analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) regression. The results suggest that the implementation of LM has a positive effect on the promotion of green practices and consequent achievement of high environmental performance; employee involvement is a moderator that affects the relationship between green practices and environmental performance; pressure to “go green” is a mediator in the relationship between LM and green practices; however, the adoption of ISO 14001 does not act as a moderator on the relationship between LM and green practices, but synergies emerge if ISO 14001 is integrated with LM. The study shows the importance of human attitudes and fosters managers to develop the necessary mechanisms to ensure and enhance employee involvement and lean culture. Although these determinants of environmental sustainability have been studied separately until now, this paper analyzes them simultaneously, investigating the relationship between different strategies and shedding some light on successful actions that promote sustainable manufacturing, and on the role of LM in sustainability. The findings can help manufacturers to take the initiative to improve environmental performance and assist governments in implementing industrial policies.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the shortcomings of traditional cost accounting techniques in lean companies and then it seeks to analyse the validity and convenience of value stream costing (VSC) as a tool in a company that has adopted some concepts of lean manufacturing.Design/methodology/approach: The paper reviews the relevant literature in order to discuss the deficiencies of costing methods in lean manufacturing. It evaluates the requirements of VSC and provides a concrete illustration of VSC in the continuous improvement process of a point of sales terminal assembly line.Findings: The paper evidences the possible mistakes of cost accounting. The necessity and validity of VSC in lean manufacturing are presented, followed by a case example. In order to make continuous improvement decisions, VSM, VSC and box score offer complete information on the performance of the value stream.Research limitations/implications: Although accompanied by an application on a real case study, this is not an empirical investigation on the adoption of VSC.Practical implications: VSC requirements agree with the fundamentals of lean management. Therefore, VSC is a valid tool for lean companies, although the applicability depends on the maturity of the lean implementation.Originality/value: This paper contributes to the lean accounting literature because the management accounting literature still lags behind the lean transformation. This is one of the first papers on VSC in relevant journals and the first one to combine VSC and box scores with value stream mapping. The paper will be useful to academics involved in new accounting systems but also to practitioners who are implementing lean manufacturing.

This article explores the environment-related antecedents and the influence of Total Productive Maintenance and other lean manufacturing practices on environmental sustainability. Since practitioners point to the environmental benefits of Total Productive Maintenance, a deeper study of the relationship between Total Productive Maintenance and environmental results can contribute to sustainability in manufacturing. In consequence, a review of the literature was undertaken. It was found that (1) the environmental antecedents have not been considered, (2) there is a lack of survey-based papers in the ‘lean and green’ literature and (3) Total Productive Maintenance has not been well addressed. To fill this void in the literature, this article explores the extent to which antecedents of implementation of lean manufacturing practices and Total Productive Maintenance are based on environmental sustainability (namely, on pressure ‘to go green’ from stakeholders and on an effort to achieve environmental certification) and the influence of Total Productive Maintenance and different lean manufacturing practices on several variables related to environmental sustainability performance. The research questions are tested with data collected from over 500 international manufacturing firms. Results show an association between the perceived degree of environmental pressure – or environmental certification – and Total Productive Maintenance (as well as other lean practices). However, not every lean practice is correlated with every environmental indicator. Different lean manufacturing practices seem to have a positive impact on specific operations, but it is possible that there is a limit to the influence of Total Productive Maintenance and other lean practices on environmental sustainability.

El llamado lean manufacturing (también “producción ajustada”, en España) ha sido durante años el modelo de éxito que ha llevado muchas empresas a la excelencia operacional. Sin embargo, los cambios en el mercado que requieren producción personalizada en masa barata parecen estar fuera del alcance de la metodología lean, más pensada para una producción más estable. La Industria 4.0 nace como un sistema prometedor para hacer frente a futuros desafíos en entornos productivos por medio de la automatización y el intercambio de datos gracias a los sistemas ciber-físicos y al Internet de las Cosas. La relación entre lean e industria 4.0 atrae a muchos investigadores en gestión y el número de publicaciones y referencias no para de aumentar con rapidez. No obstante, la falta de aplicaciones reales lleva a trabajos teóricos sobre posibles resultados en multitud de aspectos.El objetivo de este artículo es explorar y evaluar, por medio de una revisión sistemática que llega a setiembre de 2019, el trabajo previo sobre la relación entre lean manufacturing e industria 4.0, para poder entender si ambos enfoques se pueden integrar y si entre los elementos de ambas corrientes existen sinergias. Además, se realiza un estudio bibliométrico.Aunque distintos escenarios son posibles, muchos se refieren a una mejora de las herramientas lean gracias a la información en tiempo real. La mayoría muestra una evolución, no una revolución. El lean ofrece procesos estables que pueden ser automatizados y digitalizados con éxito. De otro modo las nuevas tecnologías no podrán aprovechar los procesos mal gestionados. El papel del personal se ha estudiado poco en los trabajos revisados.

Purpose: – Since lean manufacturing considers that “Inventory is evil”, the purpose of this paper is to find and quantify the relations between work-in-process inventory (WIP), manufacturing lead time (LT) and the operational variables they depend upon. Such relations provide guidelines and performance indicators in process management. Design/methodology/approach: – The authors develop equations to analyse how, in discrete deterministic serial batch processes, WIP and LT depend on parameters like performance time (of each workstation) and batch size. The authors extend those relations to processes with different lots and the authors create a multiple-lot box score. Findings: – In this paper, the relations among WIP, LT and the parameters they depend on are derived. Such relations show that when WIP increases, LT increases too, and vice versa, and the parameters they depend on. Finally, these relations provide a framework for WIP reduction and manufacturing LT reduction and agree with the empirical principles of lean manufacturing. Research limitations/implications: – Quantitative results are only exact for discrete deterministic batch processes without any delays. Expected results might not be achieved in real manufacturing environments. However, qualitative results show the underlying relations amongst variables. Different expressions might be derived for other situations. Practical implications: – Understanding the relations between manufacturing variables allows operations managers better design, implement and control manufacturing processes. The box score, implemented on a spreadsheet, allows testing the effect of changes in different operational parameters on the manufacturing LT, total machine wait time and total lot queue time. Originality/value: – The paper presents a discussion about process performance based on the mutual influence between WIP and LT and other variables. The relation is quantified for the discrete deterministic case, complementing the models that exist in the literature. The box score allows mapping more complex processes.