Lean monitoring: action research in manufacturing

Purpose This study aims to study the implementation of lean thinking at the strategic level of an Italian manufacturing company. Companies implementing continuous improvement (CI) projects in their production processes often take the monitoring phase for granted. This research deploys an A3 lean thinking project in the monitoring phase of strategic KPIs upon completion of several ongoing improvement projects. Design/methodology/approach The research methodology is action research aiming at disseminating the problems that the company is facing. The study relies on the lean action plan developed by Womack and Jones (2003): Planning for lean and Lean action. Lean planning consists of the following steps: find a change agent; get the knowledge; find a lever. Lean action uses the A3 lean approach. Findings The company reached high-performance improvements due to the proposed lean action plan. Research limitations/implications This study contributes by presenting a lean action plan in the monitoring phase, highlighting the importance of the lean thinking-monitoring continuum in reducing time waste for faster diagnosis and using action research to analyze and instill reflective learning. Originality/value The research relies on the A3 methodology to showcase the benefits that a mature paradigm, often coined to production, still has unexplored potentials.