The Evolution of Lean Manufacturing: An Investigation into Cross-Industry Applications via Knowledge Transfer

Twenty-five years have elapsed since Lean techniques originated from the Automotive sector. From then on, Lean techniques have been adopted and fitted to several purposes and their application now ranges to several industry sectors. Meanwhile, the industry has been evolving so quickly that the ability to demonstrate Lean capabilities has turned into a mere order-qualifier in order for some manufacturers to be able to compete, forcing them to find new ways of facing the increased pace of change. An appealing solution for any firm would be to be able to increase their Lean maturity in the short-term. This research suggests that, as an alternative to a painful and costly internal development of Lean, the desired improvement can be achieved in a fast, efficient and cost-effective way by the direct transfer of existing Lean best practices currently implemented in different fields. Findings include that an optimal best practice knowledge transfer can be performed within four knowledge transfer “circles”, whose implementation is, therefore, highly recommended in order for each of the involved sectors to quickly achieve a fast and effective improvement in Lean maturity.