Settings " (2013). Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. Paper 481. Exploring Lean Implementation Success Factors in Job Shop, Batch Shop, and Assembly Line Manufacturing Settings

ii This study was motivated by the differences in manufacturing settings, which provide challenges for those organizations undertaking a lean implementation. The levels of applicability of sixteen lean tools were examined in three different manufacturing settings: a job shop, a batch shop, and an assembly line. Specifically, this study explored the perceptions of managers familiar with lean regarding which lean tools were associated with better operational performance. The level of satisfaction with the lean programs in each of the three manufacturing settings was explored as well. The data were collected through a survey that was emailed to one thousand managers working in manufacturing companies located in the US. The results revealed that different lean tools are used at different levels in the three manufacturing settings, and the lean tools contributing most to the group differences wer