Evaluation of Lean Production System by using SAE J4000 standard: Case study in Brazilian and Spanish automotive component manufacturing organizations

The identification and measurement of best practices, in Lean Production implementation, followed by the evaluation of its usage level, in the organizations, are the adequate way through the elimination or minimization of waste. However, the lack of a coordinated and structured roadmap, in the Lean Production implementation, may result in poor and disappointing results. In that sense, it is important to identify the steps required to assess the stages of companies toward the Lean Production system. The purpose of this paper is to present a field research carried out within companies of the automotive sector, analyzing the level of Lean Production implementation. The data is collected from Brazilian and Spanish companies. The main groundings of Lean Production are presented, and the analysis of the Lean Production level is conducted by the application of the SAE J4000 standards. The obtained results were evaluated, considering a statistical analysis of the collected data, and, the main findings, can offer to the organizations some outstanding points, regarding the Lean Production best way of implementation.