Development of a framework for lean production system: An integrative approach

Lean production is one of the alternatives to achieve excellence in the organizational operations. The objective of this study is to develop a lean production system framework by conducting critical analysis and comparative analysis on the existing lean production system frameworks. The study has collected 131 lean production system-related frameworks from the literature survey. The study has identified 39 frameworks using validity and reliability analysis, which is considered as a sample of framework in this study. The study has performed critical analysis on the sample of the frameworks in the aspects of novelty of frameworks, background development of framework, status of verification of frameworks and verification methodology used to verify the proposed frameworks. The study has proposed a framework with the help of domain knowledge, through discussion with experts in the field, comparative analysis as well as reliability and validity analysis. The study clearly discloses major irregularities in lean production system literature such as majority of frameworks have been developed based on novelty concept. The study also found a lack of significant participation of practitioners and consultants in the development of lean production system-related frameworks. The study has identified 11 pillars with the help of comparative analysis. However, finally the study has proposed a framework with the help of 11 pillars and 83 elements in the field of lean production system.