The Relation between Manufacturing Sustainability and Lean Production in Malaysian Industries - An Initial Study

A diversity of techniques and practices in Lean as a tool for cultivating a culture of continuous improvement has successfully produce a holistic approach in achieving a high level of sustainability in manufacturing. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the current performance of manufacturing sustainability in Malaysia’s manufacturing industry, and the contribution of Lean on manufacturing sustainability. The findings show that Malaysia’s manufacturing industry has a high sustainability in social competency, followed by economy and environmental. Even though the sustainability in environmental is ranked lowest, the result revealed that aiming to have better control in environments and labour safety is crucial in producing high quality products. In addition, the correlation analysis revealed that this situation has a high relation to the adoption of Lean in production operations. A high competency in adapting the Lean do not just increase the manufacturing efficiency, but also has a substantial influence in producing a sustainable product. This indicates that the Lean is not just suitable in fulfilling the manufacturing function, but has potential to be adapted comprehensive, primarily in achieving high manufacturing sustainability