Interpretive Structural Modeling of identified Barriers to Lean Implementation in SMEs

Lean practices are implemented in manufacturing companies and services to find hidden waste and attain continuous improvement. Various enterprises have experienced difficulties in the Lean implementation. Following the use of appropriate lean instruments and techniques, there are many other factors that affect success lean implementation process. Researchers have identified a huge number of barriers to implementation of Lean. Understanding the barriers and the interactions between them can be crucial to the success of lean implementation. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) is one of the established methodologies to bring forward the interrelationships among parameters of an issue or a problem. Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to create the hierarchy of the various barriers to Lean Implementation according to their importance using the approach of ISM to facilitate Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) across India. The study is specific to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from India