Title :
Lean transformation efforts of the wood industry in Virginia
Author :
Espinoza, O. ; Buehlmann, U. ; Fricke, C.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Bioproducts & Biosyst., Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
Abstract :
This manuscript reports preliminary results from a study examining the status of Lean implementation and the need for Lean transformation support among participants in two segments of Virginia´s manufacturing industry. A census survey with 180 responses (population size 1033) was conducted and the results confirm previous research that enterprises in these industries are not uniformly aware of Lean and its potential benefits. Enterprises also have implemented Lean to varying degrees or not at all. Interestingly, small enterprises indicated a lower need for Lean implementation support from third parties than did medium or large enterprises.
Keywords :
lean production; small-to-medium enterprises; wood processing; Virginia; large enterprises; lean implementation support; lean transformation efforts; manufacturing industry; medium enterprises; small enterprises; wood industry; Companies; Economics; Employment; Industries; Manufacturing; Training; Awareness and implementation of Lean; Lean transformation support; small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs);
Conference_Titel :
Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), 2014 IEEE International Conference on
DOI :
10.1109/IEEM.2014.7058638
