Magíster en Gestión y Dirección de Empresas / Las fundiciones de cobre en Chile producen el 12% del mercado mundial de ánodos. A pesar de esta importante participación, la industria local vive un complejo escenario, dado que en general, se utiliza una tecnología que data de los años 70s, la cual ha sido superada con creces por nuevos desarrollos tecnológicos, especialmente chinos. Adicionalmente, las fundiciones nacionales enfrentan altos costos operacionales, tanto de remuneraciones, como materiales, servicios y energía, mientras que por el lado de los ingresos, los cargos de tratamiento para fundir el concentrado han caído, toda esta combinación de factores han provocado no solo una pérdida de competitividad en la industria, sino además sucesivas pérdidas en los estados financieros. Por otro lado, las fundiciones locales deben invertir cerca de 2.500 millones de dólares para adaptar sus operaciones a la nueva normativa medioambiental, lo que no implicará una mayor producción. Ante este escenario y considerando que existen varios motivos que justifican la necesidad de contar con la industria de fundición de cobre en Chile, se hace necesario el buscar mecanismos que puedan mejorar los resultados, tanto por el lado de reducir los costos como para aumentar la producción, de esta manera se presenta la metodología Lean management, una forma de gestión mundialmente extendida en varias otras industrias, que ha probado generar buenos resultados. La implementación de Lean en las fundiciones de cobre tiene un potencial de éxito, dado que esta metodología es especialmente acertada cuando se tiene una alta variabilidad en la producción, lo que se puede mejorar con estándares operacionales, diálogos de desempeño y una gestión de adherencia a tales estándares, entre otras herramientas de Lean. No se pretende generar utilidades en las fundiciones con la aplicación de Lean management, ni mucho menos llegar a ser tan competitivas como las fundiciones de cobre en China, porque en Chile no se tiene la tecnología de tal país, así como tampoco sus bajos costos operacionales, pero la utilización de esta metodología al buscar eliminar los desperdicios (lo que no aporta valor al servicio que ofrece la empresa) implicará una reducción de costos y/o aumentos de producción. Tras presentar la metodología de forma teórica se presentan variados ejemplos de la aplicación de ésta, particularmente en las fundiciones de cobre, una de las cuales ha estimado que puede aumentar su producción en un 14% con la implementación de lean management. A modo de estimación, si las cuatro fundiciones de CODELCO alcanzaran este aumento potencial, se podría entregar al mercado del orden de 130 mil tmf de mayor cobre moldeado anual.

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Submitted by Franciele Moreira (francielemoreyra@gmail.com) on 2017-08-24T17:56:31Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Carlos Augusto Bouhid Camargo Filho - 2017.pdf: 11681662 bytes, checksum: 86b1f8b924b8d44c4c1349ad9855b46f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2017-09-15T12:42:02Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Carlos Augusto Bouhid Camargo Filho - 2017.pdf: 11681662 bytes, checksum: 86b1f8b924b8d44c4c1349ad9855b46f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-15T12:42:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Carlos Augusto Bouhid Camargo Filho - 2017.pdf: 11681662 bytes, checksum: 86b1f8b924b8d44c4c1349ad9855b46f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The use of tools to analyze the implementation and use of practices and principles of lean construction is extremely necessary for them to be successful and bring the expected results. Therefore, the tool which is going to be used must be adequate and capable of measuring in the best possible way the real state of the construction company against lean philosophy. This research's objective is to develop a tool to evaluate the degree of implementation of the lean construction in building companies. The LCAT (Lean Construction Assessment Tool) has been developed based on other tools previously proposed with the aim of supply the deficiencies presented by them, mainly the absence of statistical treatment and in the fidelity of the results. Using multivariate data analysis techniques, such as hierarchical group analysis, form revisions were performed, which, according to the comparative tests executed, increased their level of replication and applicability. The evaluation form was analyzed by experts, who classified the items as their importance, complexity and time of implementation. The Fuzzy Inference System was utilized in order to reduce the subjectivity and interpretation bias of the evaluator, which generated closer results between two different applicators to the same object of study. As a secondary result, the participating companies of the applications were evaluated towards the implementation of the lean construction. It was noticed that the companies, for the most part, still do not apply lean construction concepts and tools, evidences were found only of the application practices that interfaced with other areas of management, such as quality and planning. / O uso de ferramentas para a análise da implementação e uso de práticas e princípios da construção enxuta é extremamente necessário para que estas sejam bem-sucedidas e tragam os resultados esperados. Para isso, a ferramenta a ser utilizada deve ser adequada e capaz de aferir da melhor maneira possível o real estado da empresa construtora frente à filosofia enxuta. O objetivo desse trabalho é desenvolver uma ferramenta de avaliação do grau de implementação da construção enxuta em empresas construtoras. A LCAT (Lean Construction Assessment Tool) foi desenvolvida com base em outras ferramentas anteriormente propostas com o intuito de suprir as carências por elas apresentadas, principalmente no tratamento estatístico e na fidelidade dos resultados. Utilizando-se de análise multivariada de dados, foram feitas duas grandes revisões no formulário, que, de acordo com testes comparativos realizados, aumentaram seu nível de replicação e aplicabilidade. Como resultado secundário, avaliou-se as empresas participantes das aplicações frente à implementação da construção enxuta. Percebeu- se que as empresas, em sua grande maioria, ainda não aplicam conceitos e ferramentas da construção enxuta, sendo que foram encontradas evidências de aplicação apenas de práticas com interface com outras áreas de gestão, como qualidade e planejamento.

Context: Over the recent years, ‘Lean Software Development’ (LSD) has been emerging as a significant practice in the Software Industry. The inherent nature of ‘Lean’ to efficiently handle frequently changing customer needs by minimizing ‘Waste’ is a major success factor in practicing it in the context of ‘Software Engineering’. In simple words, Lean Software Development is the true translation of Lean Manufacturing and Lean IT principles to Software Engineering. This work presents an in-depth analysis on the implication of lean methodologies from both ‘State of Art’ and ‘State of Practice’ in the context of Software Engineering. Objectives: The prime objective of the study is to investigate what methodologies were considered & adopted under lean philosophy and to present relevant evidence on the implication of lean methodologies in reference to what defines ‘lean’ in Software Engineering. An extensive literature review was aimed to find the existing challenging factors that negatively influenced the success of software projects and the respective lean mitigation methodologies that were employed by various software organizations to appease their negative impact. Industrial interviews were conducted by interviewing lean experts, with a motive to find the current state of lean implementation in software industry. The outcomes from the systematic literature review (State of Art) and the industry (State of Practice) are comparatively analysed to explore the similarities and differences on the state of lean implication. Finally, a set of guidelines are recommended that would benefit an Industrial Practitioner/Stakeholder/Academic Researcher in practicing the appropriate lean methodology in the context of software engineering. Methods: We conducted a ‘Systematic literature review’ (SLR) by systematically analyzing relevant studies and then interviewed industrial experts to validate our findings. The systematic literature review was conducted according to the guidelines proposed by Dr. Barbara Kitchenham stated in ‘Guidelines for performing Systematic Literature Reviews’ article. The thorough review helped us in identifying various challenging factors that negatively influenced the success of software projects and the respective lean mitigation methodologies that were practiced in the context of software engineering. The associated benefits of practicing the lean methodologies are also presented. The extensive review included peer reviewed articles from electronic databases such as IEEE Explore, Inspec, Scopus and ISI. In addition to this, we conducted snowball sampling on the references of the selected articles to avoid the potential risk of losing relevant and valuable information. Also, other potential sources of information such as books, theses/dissertations, white papers and website/blog articles are included as a part of Grey Literature. In this study, the articles related to the implication of lean methodologies in the context of software engineering were considered. The review included 72 primary studies published between 1993 and 2012. The primary studies were selected based on the following criteria: If they presented the challenging factors that negatively influenced the success of software projects. If they depicted the implication of lean mitigation methodologies (Tool/ Technique/ Method/ Process/ Practice/ Principle) that appeased the negative impact of the identified challenging factors that hampered the success of software projects. If they depicted the implication of lean methodologies (Tool/ Technique/ Method/ Process/ Practice/ Principle) in general or for a specific development/ Management/ Maintenance improvement activities that lead to the success of software projects in the context of software engineering. If they presented the benefits of practicing lean methodologies in the context of software engineering. The study quality assessment was done based on the quality criteria defined in the ‘Quality assessment criteria checklist’. The data such as Article ID, Article Title, Literature type (Peer- reviewed, Non-peer reviewed), Context of validation of the lean methodology (Industry/Academia), Subjects considered for the study (Researchers/students, Industrial practitioners), Type of article publication (Conference/ Journal/ Books/ Thesis Reports/ Doctoral dissertations/ Other), Research method used in the study (Case Study/ Experiment/ Experience Report/ Not stated/ Secondary Data Analysis/ Literature Review), Context of conducting the research (Industry/ Academia/ Not stated/ Both), Context of validation of the study (Strong/ Medium/ Weak), Publication date & year, Source of the publication, are extracted as a part of Quantitative analysis. The secondary data analysis for both ‘State of Art’ (Systematic literature review) and ‘State of Practice’ (Industry) was carried by performing a generic data analysis designed to answer our research questions. The more specific data such as the challenging factors that negatively influenced the success of software projects, the type of lean contribution presented i.e., the methodology being a Tool, Technique, Practice, Principal, Process or a Method, along with the benefits associated on their implication that helped us to answer our research questions are extracted as a part of qualitative analysis from the selected studies. The industrial interviews were conducted by interviewing potential lean experts who had decent experience in lean software development, to find the current state of lean implication in the software industry. In the end, a comparative analysis was performed to clearly understand the state of convergence and divergence between the results from extensive literature review and the industry with respect to the implication of lean methodologies in the context of software engineering. Results: A total of 72 primary articles were selected for data extraction. 56 articles were selected from the electronic databases that clearly depicted lean implementation in the context of software engineering. 9 articles were selected by conducting snowball sampling i.e. by scrutinizing the references of the selected primary studies and finally the grey literature resulted in 7 articles. Most of the articles discussed about lean implication in the context of software engineering. The depicted lean methodologies were validated in either Industry or Academia. A few articles depicted regarding lean principles and their benefits in the context of software engineering. Most of the selected articles in our study were peer- reviewed. Peer reviewing is a process of evaluating one’s work or performance by an expert in the same field in order to maintain or enhance the quality of work or performance in the particular field. This indicates that the articles considered for data extraction have been reviewed by potential experts in the research domain. Conclusions: This study provided a deeper insight into lean implication in the context of software engineering. The aim of the thesis is to find the challenging factors that negatively influenced the success of software projects. A total of 54 challenges were identified from the literature review. The 72 primary articles selected from various resources yielded 53 lean methodologies. The lean methodologies were grouped into Principles, practices, tools and methods. Mapping between the identified challenges and the mitigation lean methodologies is presented. Industrial interviews were conducted to find the current state of lean implication in software engineering. A total of 30 challenges were identified from the industry. A total of 40 lean methodologies were identified from the interviews. Comparative analysis was done to find the common challenges and mitigation lean methodologies between the State of art and State of practice. Based on the analysis a set of guidelines are presented at the end of the document. The guidelines benefit an industrial practitioner in practicing the appropriate lean methodology. Keywords: Lean Methodology, Lean software development, lean software management, lean software engineering, Systematic literature review, literature review. / Context: Over the recent years, ‘Lean Software Development’ (LSD) has been emerging as a significant practice in the Software Industry. The inherent nature of ‘Lean’ to efficiently handle frequently changing customer needs by minimizing ‘Waste’ is a major success factor in practicing it in the context of ‘Software Engineering’. In simple words, Lean Software Development is the true translation of Lean Manufacturing and Lean IT principles to Software Engineering. This work presents an in-depth analysis on the implication of lean methodologies from both ‘State of Art’ and ‘State of Practice’ in the context of Software Engineering. Objectives: The prime objective of the study is to investigate what methodologies were considered & adopted under lean philosophy and to present relevant evidence on the implication of lean methodologies in reference to what defines ‘lean’ in Software Engineering. An extensive literature review was aimed to find the existing challenging factors that negatively influenced the success of software projects and the respective lean mitigation methodologies that were employed by various software organizations to appease their negative impact. Industrial interviews were conducted by interviewing lean experts, with a motive to find the current state of lean implementation in software industry. The outcomes from the systematic literature review (State of Art) and the industry (State of Practice) are comparatively analysed to explore the similarities and differences on the state of lean implication. Finally, a set of guidelines are recommended that would benefit an Industrial Practitioner/Stakeholder/Academic Researcher in practicing the appropriate lean methodology in the context of software engineering. Methods: We conducted a ‘Systematic literature review’ (SLR) by systematically analyzing relevant studies and then interviewed industrial experts to validate our findings. The systematic literature review was conducted according to the guidelines proposed by Dr. Barbara Kitchenham stated in ‘Guidelines for performing Systematic Literature Reviews’ article. The thorough review helped us in identifying various challenging factors that negatively influenced the success of software projects and the respective lean mitigation methodologies that were practiced in the context of software engineering. The associated benefits of practicing the lean methodologies are also presented. The extensive review included peer reviewed articles from electronic databases such as IEEE Explore, Inspec, Scopus and ISI. In addition to this, we conducted snowball sampling on the references of the selected articles to avoid the potential risk of losing relevant and valuable information. Also, other potential sources of information such as books, theses/dissertations, white papers and website/blog articles are included as a part of Grey Literature. In this study, the articles related to the implication of lean methodologies in the context of software engineering were considered. The review included 72 primary studies published between 1993 and 2012. The primary studies were selected based on the following criteria: If they presented the challenging factors that negatively influenced the success of software projects. If they depicted the implication of lean mitigation methodologies (Tool/ Technique/ Method/ Process/ Practice/ Principle) that appeased the negative impact of the identified challenging factors that hampered the success of software projects. If they depicted the implication of lean methodologies (Tool/ Technique/ Method/ Process/ Practice/ Principle) in general or for a specific development/ Management/ Maintenance improvement activities that lead to the success of software projects in the context of software engineering. If they presented the benefits of practicing lean methodologies in the context of software engineering. The study quality assessment was done based on the quality criteria defined in the ‘Quality assessment criteria checklist’. The data such as Article ID, Article Title, Literature type (Peer- reviewed, Non-peer reviewed), Context of validation of the lean methodology (Industry/Academia), Subjects considered for the study (Researchers/students, Industrial practitioners), Type of article publication (Conference/ Journal/ Books/ Thesis Reports/ Doctoral dissertations/ Other), Research method used in the study (Case Study/ Experiment/ Experience Report/ Not stated/ Secondary Data Analysis/ Literature Review), Context of conducting the research (Industry/ Academia/ Not stated/ Both), Context of validation of the study (Strong/ Medium/ Weak), Publication date & year, Source of the publication, are extracted as a part of Quantitative analysis. The secondary data analysis for both ‘State of Art’ (Systematic literature review) and ‘State of Practice’ (Industry) was carried by performing a generic data analysis designed to answer our research questions. The more specific data such as the challenging factors that negatively influenced the success of software projects, the type of lean contribution presented i.e., the methodology being a Tool, Technique, Practice, Principal, Process or a Method, along with the benefits associated on their implication that helped us to answer our research questions are extracted as a part of qualitative analysis from the selected studies. The industrial interviews were conducted by interviewing potential lean experts who had decent experience in lean software development, to find the current state of lean implication in the software industry. In the end, a comparative analysis was performed to clearly understand the state of convergence and divergence between the results from extensive literature review and the industry with respect to the implication of lean methodologies in the context of software engineering. Results: A total of 72 primary articles were selected for data extraction. 56 articles were selected from the electronic databases that clearly depicted lean implementation in the context of software engineering. 9 articles were selected by conducting snowball sampling i.e. by scrutinizing the references of the selected primary studies and finally the grey literature resulted in 7 articles. Most of the articles discussed about lean implication in the context of software engineering. The depicted lean methodologies were validated in either Industry or Academia. A few articles depicted regarding lean principles and their benefits in the context of software engineering. Most of the selected articles in our study were peer- reviewed. Peer reviewing is a process of evaluating one’s work or performance by an expert in the same field in order to maintain or enhance the quality of work or performance in the particular field. This indicates that the articles considered for data extraction have been reviewed by potential experts in the research domain. Conclusions: This study provided a deeper insight into lean implication in the context of software engineering. The aim of the thesis is to find the challenging factors that negatively influenced the success of software projects. A total of 54 challenges were identified from the literature review. The 72 primary articles selected from various resources yielded 53 lean methodologies. The lean methodologies were grouped into Principles, practices, tools and methods. Mapping between the identified challenges and the mitigation lean methodologies is presented. Industrial interviews were conducted to find the current state of lean implication in software engineering. A total of 30 challenges were identified from the industry. A total of 40 lean methodologies were identified from the interviews. Comparative analysis was done to find the common challenges and mitigation lean methodologies between the State of art and State of practice. Based on the analysis a set of guidelines are presented at the end of the document. The guidelines benefit an industrial practitioner in practicing the appropriate lean methodology. Keywords: Lean Methodology, Lean software development, lean software management, lean software engineering, Systematic literature review, literature review. / 0091-8375920473

Detta examensarbete utfördes på lack- och tryckavdelningen på företaget Emballator Ulricehamns Bleck med målet att undersöka om det fanns brister och slöserier i det befintliga lacksortimentet. Efter en noggrann nulägesanalys som inkluderade bland annat genomgång av applicerbara datablad, arbetsplatsintroduktion och studiebesök hos en av företagets lackleverantörer genomfördes arbetet utan missöden. Nulägesanalysen resulterade i en översikt av dagens lacksortiment och efter det fortsatte arbetet med att ta fram en egenskapsmatris innehållande samtliga lacker i sortimentet. Efter att de lacker som föll inom författarens specifikation för dubbletter identifierats togs ett antal rekommendationer för hur företaget bör agera för att ha ett uppdaterat sortiment fram. Förutom detta har författaren tagit fram ett förslag på hur företaget skall testa sina insideslacker för att i framtiden ha möjligheten att undersöka om några av dessa kan tas ut ur sortimentet. / This degree project was performed in the coating and printing department at Emballator Ulricehamns Bleck. The task was to investigate if any waste and improvement opportunities in the lacquer range at Emballator Ulricehamns Bleck exist. A thorough analysis of the current situation including a review of applicable data, work place introduction and a visit to one of the company´s suppliers was made. This gave a good understanding of the current status. The result of the analysis was an overview of the lacquer range that helped the author to compile a characteristic matrix including all the products in the lacquer range. Following this the author identified products that could be specified as duplicates. Furthermore the degree project has resulted in 5 recommendations regarding future work with the design of the lacquer range. The last part of the project resulted in an analysis of today’s test schedule and a suggestion how to modify it for future needs.

This study aims to create consciousness about the challenges in the work with lean, both with theoretical and empirical linkage by addressing the following research question;” What challenges do companies face when working with lean?”. The question is studied since the majority of companies that have tried to work with lean have failed. One explanation is that companies face several challenges on their way to success. A literature study has been addressed and thereafter a qualitative interview study, to generate results with different perspectives. 12 respondents from five different companies in Sweden have been interviewed. The picked companies are Volvo, Scania, Dynamate, Enics and Fricweld. The interview material was analyzed with the theoretical framework 4P and the literature study, to clarify what challenges companies really face in the work with lean. The research question is answered by concluding that companies face eight challenges established by both empirical and previous studies; Lack of long-term thinking, knowledge, customer orientation, leader engagement and motivation of employees. The company culture could also become a challenge if it is not impregnated by lean’s vision and the lean thinking. The organizational structure becomes a challenge, if the structure complicates the communication flow between employees so it becomes inadequate. Lastly, improvement work is a challenge if it is not prioritized in the organization. Non-engaged leaders do not generate a company culture and communication flow that is impregnated with lean thinking. Without a culture and communication where all employees are involved, the motivation of employees will be negatively affected. Further, no improvement work will occur, as the employees are not engaged. Companies are also put to the challenge lack of knowledge, when neither employees' education nor participation is prioritized in the work. Lack of knowledge about customers lead to challenges in customer orientation, as knowledge about customer actual and latent needs are unknown. As lean is a continuous work, with no end, it is hard to avoid failures with lean, unless there's a long-term thinking. The found challenges in the study affect eachother and are linked. Together, they generate a bigger perspective of challenges that can occur in the work with lean. Challenges occurs in all of the 4P-model’s stages; philosophy, process, employees and stakeholders and problem solving. Companies need to be conscious about all challenges to avoid failure with the work with lean. The conclusions are both empirically and theoretical established and creates a consciousness about what challenges companies face in the work with lean, which meets the aim of this study. The result of this study is of interest to companies planning to introduce lean, companies working with lean, but also to others with interest about lean and it’s challenges. / Denna studie syftar till att skapa medvetenhet om utmaningarna inom arbetet med lean, både med teoretisk och praktisk anknytning genom att adressera frågeställningen; ”Vilka utmaningar ställs företag inför i arbetet med lean?”. Frågan studeras då majoriteten av företagen som försökt arbeta med lean har misslyckats. En förklaring är att företag stöter på ett flertal utmaningar på sin väg mot framgång. En sekundär datainsamling har gjorts av tidigare forskning. Även en kvalitativ intervjustudie har gjorts, för att generera resultat från olika perspektiv. 12 respondenter från fem olika företag i Sverige har intervjuats. De valda företagen är Volvo, Scania, Dynamate, Enics och Fricweld. Intervjumaterialet analyserades med det teoretiska ramverket 4P och litteraturgenomgången, för att tydliggöra vilka utmaningar företag faktiskt ställs inför i arbetet med lean. Studiens frågeställning besvaras genom att konstatera, utifrån tidigare forskning och empiri, att företag kan ställas inför åtta utmaningar i arbetet med lean. Dessa är bristen på långsiktigt tänkande, kunskap, kundorientering, engagemang från ledarens sida samt motivation hos anställda. Företagskulturen blir en utmaning när arbetet inte genomsyras av ett lean-tänkande och en lean-vision. Organisationsstrukturen kan också bli en utmaning, om den bidrar till att kommunikationsflödet mellan de anställda blir bristfällig. Dessutom kan förbättringsarbetet bli en utmaning, om det inte prioriteras. Samt om oengagerade ledare främjar inte en företagskultur som genomsyras av lean, och inte heller ett kommunikationsflöde som gynnar lean. Utan en kultur och kommunikation där alla anställda är involverade kommer medarbetarnas motivation att påverkas negativt. Ett förbättringsarbete kommer dessutom inte heller att förekomma, eftersom medarbetarna inte engageras. Företag ställs även inför utmaningar inom kunskapsbrist då utbildning av anställda inte prioriteras eller när anställda inte är delaktiga i arbetet. Brist på kunskap om kund leder också till utmaningar inom kundorientering, då det saknas kännedom om kundens efterfrågan och latenta behov. Då lean är en ständig resa utan slut blir det en utmaning att undvika misslyckanden med lean om fokus inte ligger på långsiktigt tänkande. De funna utmaningarna i studien påverkar varandra och hänger ihop samt ger ett större perspektiv kring vilka utmaningar som kan uppstå i arbetet med lean. Utmaningarna förekommer inom 4P modellens samtliga etapper kring filosofi, process, anställda och intressenter samt problemlösning. Företag behöver vara medvetna om alla utmaningar för att undvika misslyckande med lean. Slutsatserna är både empiriskt och teoretiskt grundade och skapar medvetenhet kring vilka utmaningar som företag ställs inför i arbetet med lean, vilket uppfyller syftet med denna studie. Resultatet från denna studie är av intresse för företag som planerar att införa lean, företag som arbetar med lean men även för alla övriga som har intresse för lean och dess utmaningar.

Magister Commercii - MCom / There is usually much reaction among employees when a new system is introduced in an organization. These things are intended to improve performance but sometimes cause considerable controversy amongst the employees and management. This study examines the implementation of LE and it attempts to analyse the reactions of employes in a manufacturing company in South Africa - GKN Sinter Metals (GKN), Cape Town. According to the literature review, the implementation of the LE can play a significant role in improving the company's performance. / South Africa

With the current global financial crisis, the uncertain economic outlook in South Africa and the pressure on financial institutions to operate more effectively and efficiently, there has been a significant shift in focus for banks in South Africa. This shift in focus entails placing greater emphasis on stream-lining internal operations, an increased focus on customer needs, and a superior service delivery in relation to competitors, in order to retain their existing customer base as well as to increase market share. Many organisations have adopted lean manufacturing as their approach to process optimisation and quality management, in an effort to improve their efficiency and value offering for customers. The objective of this research was to identify a financial institution in South Africa that has already adopted the lean approach, and to focus on the physical implementation of their lean projects so as to understand what the success factors are in this regard. This paper presents a detailed literature review, highlighting key success factors for the implementation of lean. The research questions are based on these factors. The report presents findings from 20 face-to-face interviews with subjects involved in the physical implementation of lean projects in the bank selected for the analysis. The paper reveals that the top five success factors for the successful implementation of lean projects are commitment and involvement from senior management; buy-in from staff that are being effected by the project; resources with the relevant and appropriate skills and competencies to execute the change, a culture focused on lean; and finally, for all parties involved to have a clear shared goal and understanding of what the project aims to deliver. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The main objective of the study was to ascertain the presence of the identified critical success factors for lean sustainability in a chemical manufacturing company in Port Elizabeth. The critical success factors that formed part of the research included leadership involvement and commitment, management involvement and commitment, employee engagement and organisational culture. The methodology used was one of a positivistic approach. A questionnaire was utilized and the responses were analyzed using various statistical methods. Based on the results from the analysis, recommendations and conclusions could be drawn. The inferential results of the study indicated that all the critical success factors identified for this study were present within the organisation. However, there were still a large percentage of respondents that remained neutral across all the questions which could indicate reasons why previous attempts in lean implementation failed. The recommendations provided were based on the findings of the study. An implementation strategy was identified and outlined. This strategy and recommendations will assist in providing a sound platform for a sustainable lean initiative within the organisation.

Competitiveness is crucial to achieving solid future national economics. A nation’s competitiveness reflects the extent to which it is able to provide increased prosperity to its citizens. Competitiveness can be defined to include the level of productivity of a country. This, in turn, sets the sustainability level of prosperity that can be achieved by an economy (Porter & Schwab, 2008). President Mbeki stated in the 2004 State of the Nation Address that “(South Africa) must continue to focus on the growth, development, and modernisation of the First Economy” (National Research Foundation, n.d.). The National Research Foundation (n.d.) claims that knowledge, innovation, and productivity, as well as optimal use of resources in the enterprise, are key to a competitive, sustainable growing economy. Firms involved in lean manufacturing do so to improve overall company performance in terms of productivity, efficiency, profitability and reducing costs. More than 90 per cent of these firms claim to be successful in achieving such goals. There is a clear association between the use of lean manufacturing and achieving higher productivity (Lucey, 2008a). Against this research and the claims made by the National Research Foundation it may be stated that lean manufacturing results will impact positively on an economy’s growth. AB Company will be evaluated in terms of the readiness and future sustainability of its lean transformation for the purposes of this study. It is anticipated that the results of this study will contribute toward reducing the risk of failure associated with a major lean transformation in the business.