Pandemic's effect on the relationship between lean implementation and service performance

Purpose: This paper aims at examining the impact that COVID-19 pandemic and its related work implications have on the relationship between lean implementation and service performance. Design/methodology/approach: The author surveyed service organizations that have been implementing lean for at least two years and remotely maintained their activities during the COVID-19 outbreak. Multivariate data techniques were applied to analyze the dataset. This study was grounded on sociotechnical systems theory. Findings: The findings indicate that organizations that have been implementing lean services more extensively are also more likely to benefit from the effects that the COVID-19 had on work environments, especially in the case of home office. Nevertheless, social distancing does not appear to mediate the effects of lean services on both quality and delivery performances. Originality/value: Since the pandemic is a recent phenomenon with unprecedented effects, this research is an initial effort to determine the effect the pandemic has on lean implementation and services' performance, providing both theoretical and practical contributions to the field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Guidelines for the Region's Socio-economic Policies During the Pandemic

The study focuses on identifying the benefits of implementing the region's socio-economic policies according to the principles of lean production to overcome the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The author investigates the problems of socio-economic development of the regions of Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic, identifies the most significant threats to the regions (rising unemployment, falling average per capita incomes of the population, reduction of regional budgets and growth of regional public debt). The author proved that the principles of lean production can be successfully implemented as fundamental in the implementation of the socio-economic policy of the region. The focus of regional socio-economic policies during the pandemic should be the optimization of the cost of maintaining the region's public administration and increasing the quality of regional governance;improving regional policies to support people in the aftermath of a pandemic;developing the infrastructure and businesses implementing lean technologies. The author developed an algorithm for the formation and realization of regional socio-economic policy according to the principles of lean production during the pandemic, as well as describes the features of its implementation in the Belgorod Region. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

The role of lean in healthcare during COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare operations has raised questions about the applicability and capacity of the lean approach to respond to critical events. Thus, with a dearth of studies addressing this issue, this study aims to understand the role of lean in healthcare operations under the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on a case study carried out in an emergency department in Brazil during the COVID-19 outbreak, the author presents results from semi-structured interviews and document analysis.FindingsThe results show three prominent themes that respond to this study's purpose: lean applicability during the pandemic, lean challenges during the pandemic and the pandemic impact on the lean processes. Furthermore, the study underscores that lean is not the panacea to operational problems caused by the pandemic in healthcare organisations, but it eases the impact on their operations. Finally, this study contributes to the discipline of operations management and highlights the need to rethink lean applications during disruptive events, focusing on flexibility, adaptability and patients' needs.Research limitations/implicationsThe literature addressing the pandemic impact on healthcare operations is still new and emerging;therefore, it is possible that some of the studies that are under review and could contribute to this study were not considered.Practical implicationsThe study provides a better understanding of the lessons learned from the real-world experiences gained during the pandemic, helping managers to make informed decisions when developing contingency plans to improve healthcare readiness and responsiveness under crisis conditions (e.g. untenable demand and constrained capacity).Originality/valueGiven the contemporary nature of this pandemic, only few emerging studies addressing the impact of the pandemic on lean healthcare operations are available and scholars are calling for more empirical studies. Furthermore, there is an increasing criticism and scepticism about the applicability of lean in healthcare during a pandemic. Thus, this research both provides original contributions by responding to scholars' calls for novel research in this area and further contributes towards filling the void in the literature.

Lean management technologies to optimize COVID-19 vaccination in adults

Introduction. Lean process improvements are needed to meet the increased adult demand for COVID-19 vaccinations. The purpose of the study is to develop interventions to improve adult vaccination against COVID-19 based on lean manufacturing strategies. Material and methods. We conducted 200 timings of the COVID-19 vaccination process and surveyed 200 vaccinated people. The time of the process, the time of creation of the value stream was calculated, production losses were analyzed. Results. After optimizing the COVID-19 vaccination process, the process time decreased by 2.3 times (from 5474.3 ± 127.3 to 2354.6 ± 22.5 sec;p < 0.01). The time for the prophylactic vaccination against COVID-19 in the vaccination room was reduced by 3 times (from 600.6 ± 23.3 to 181.3 ± 25.6 sec;p < 0.01). Production losses in the form of overproduction, excessive data processing, and unnecessary movements are excluded from the activities of the doctor and the nurse at the vaccination room. The time to value stream creation during vaccination increased from 68% to 97% (p < 0.01). Limitations. The research materials are limited to the results of scientific research of the North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov received over 2021. Conclusion. The use of lean manufacturing technologies made it possible to identify the nature of production losses and analyze the causes of their occurrence in the process of vaccination of the adult population against COVID-19. The organizational measures taken in the form of patient flow management, standardization of work processes, redistribution of functional responsibilities, elimination of production losses contributed to a significant increase in the throughput of the vaccination room in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. © AUTHORS, 2023.

The role of lean information flows in disaster construction projects: exploring the UK's Covid surge hospital projects

A substantive body of work in project studies argues that an "information flow" lens is very useful in exploring the project management of construction. This paper posits that this is even more applicable to disaster construction projects and, furthermore, lean information flow may play a role in swiftly delivering the disaster construction project. The paper uses the qualitative empirics of the delivery of the UK's Covid surge hospital projects to demonstrate that lean information flows were employed in these projects and assisted in enabling delivery at speed. The paper also describes the autopoietic governance conditions that are necessary for lean information flows to flourish in disaster construction projects and the role that trust may play in these conditions. It warns against some of the drawbacks in enabling lean communication through autopoietic governance.

Lean Healthcare: A Critical Analysis

The current pandemic situation caused by COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, has put the health sector in the spotlight. It has led to the emergence of new plans and strategies that can help society control and stop the spread of COVID-19. These strategies include the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), which highlights and outlines the public health measures that countries should adopt to prepare for and respond effectively to the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic is much more than a health crisis. It requires a response, matching the main problems detected in health and emergency centers. Some of them are quick and exponential spread of the disease, a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, the successive waves, an increase in the number of patients, and insufficient response healthcare capacity. These problems become more important when there is also an economic downturn, which has made it impossible to expand budgeted public spending on healthcare. For this reason, research for alternative methods that can improve the quality of healthcare management, but without generating increases in budgetary costs, is timely. Implementing Lean Methodology in healthcare can enhance the quality of service, process improvement, and improve patient satisfaction. This chapter analyzes the application of lean manufacturing in the healthcare sector: from specific departments of a hospital (emergency, surgery, etc. to the healthcare management of a region. It identifies also the most commonly used lean tools and their benefits in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantages.

Collaborative Culture and Lean Daily Management

Adopting a nonnegotiable focus on "patient interest first” together with a strong collaborative culture, SBH Health System - a safety-net, capital-constrained hospital - was able to successfully manage the huge health crisis surge of COVID-19 in spring 2020. A prerequisite for any acute care hospital during a health crisis is a solid pre-established framework for operations, effective communication processes, and a culture of focus on problem-solving, which is adopted by all ranks. LDM is a structured, daily process of collecting data and evaluating performance metrics and is a recognized method used to drive appropriate behaviors that result in a culture of seeking, along with a desire, to solve the organization's problems. Conceptualized by the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, the essential goal of LDM is to turn an organization's workforce into a group of coordinated and focused problem-solvers, and it is anchored on the quadruple aim: better health outcomes, better care experience, least waste, and most joy for healthcare providers and patients. After a phased introduction to SBH, LDM changed the way healthcare workers perceived their work in multiple beneficial ways and shifted the culture of communication to become more open and structured. Fitting the quadruple aim into crisis planning and preparation may present an opportunity for an enhanced health crisis preparedness and management program. © SBH Health System 2022.

Barriers to integrating lean construction and integrated project delivery (IPD) on construction megaprojects towards the global integrated delivery (GID) in multinational organisations: lean IPD&GID transformative initiatives

PurposeThe architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry encounter substantial risks and challenges in its evolution towards sustainable development. International businesses, multinational AEC organisations, technical professionals, project and portfolio management organisations face global connectivity challenges between business units, especially during the outbreak of novel coronavirus pandemic, to manage construction megaprojects (CMPs). That raises the need to manage global connectivity as a main strategic goal of global organisations. This paper aims to investigate barriers to integrating lean construction (LC) practices and integrated project delivery (IPD) on CMPs towards the global integrated delivery (GID) transformative initiatives and develop future of work (FOW) global initiatives in contemporary multinational AEC organisations.Design/methodology/approachA two-stage quantitative and qualitative research approach is adopted. The qualitative research methodology consists of a literature review to appraise barriers to integrating LeanIPD&GID on CMPs. Barriers are arranged into six-factor clusters (FCs), with a conceptualisation of LeanIPD&GID, GID strategy placements and FOW global initiatives with multiple validations. This analysis also involved semi-structured interviews and focus group techniques. Stage two consisted of an empirical questionnaire survey that shaped the foundation of analysis and findings of 230 respondents from 23 countries with extensive cosmopolitan experience in the construction of megaprojects. The survey examined a set of 28 barriers to integrating LeanIPD&GID on CMPs resulting from a detailed analysis of extant literature after validation. Descriptive and inferential statistical tests were exploited for data analysis, percentage scoring analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and eigenvalues were used to elaborate on clustered factors.FindingsThe research conceptualised LeanIPD&GID principles and proposed GID strategy placements for LeanIPD&GID transformative initiatives and FOW global initiatives. It concluded that the most significant barriers to integration of LeanIPD&GID on CMPs are "lack of mandatory building information modelling (BIM) and LC industry standards and regulations by governments”, "lack of involvement and support of governments”, "high costs of BIM software licenses”, "resistance of industry to change from traditional working practices” and "high initial investment in staff training costs of BIM”. PCA revealed the most significant FCs are "education and knowledge-related barriers”, "project objectives-related barriers” and "attitude-related barriers”. Awareness of BIM in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is higher than LC and LC awareness is higher than IPD knowledge. Whilst BIM adoption in the MENA region is higher than LC;the second is still taking its first steps, whilst IPD has little implementation. LeanBIM is slightly integrated, whilst LeanIPD integration is almost not present.Originality/valueThe research findings, conclusion and recommendation and proposed GID strategy placements for LeanIPD&GID transformative initiatives to integrating LeanIPD&GID on CMPs. This will allow project key stakeholders to place emphasis on tackling LeanIPD&GID barriers identified in this research and commence GID strategies. The study has provided effective practical strategies for enhancing the integration of LeanIPD&GID transformative initiatives on CMPs.

Application of Lean Construction to support decision making in a critical stage of planning: a case study in residential remodeling

Brazil's construction sector is of great importance to the recovery of the GDP, negatively impacted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This study presents two innovations that help transform this picture. One linked to the style of construction and architecture, the "open concept", and the other, a management philosophy that has conquered space in several organizations in the construction industry, Lean Construction. The objective of this work is to present and analyze a stage of a residential remodeling, managed through Lean Construction, using tools to support decision making and consequently process optimization. The methodology used consists of a case study, dealing with the analysis and decisions of a critical stage of the remodeling planning of the property, involving the demolition of three pillars, to make the open concept feasible. The change of scenery during the project encouraged the development of new actions that would allow the achievement of the objectives without jeopardizing the remodeling schedule, bringing security to the clients. The positive results achieved corroborate the importance of applying Lean Construction, its principles and tools for contributions in the planning and development of projects in the civil construction sector.

A LAG-based framework to overcome the challenges of the sustainable vaccine supply chain: an integrated BWM–MARCOS approach

PurposeEach individual needs to be vaccinated to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the shortest possible time. However, the vaccine distribution with an already strained supply chain in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) will not be effective enough to vaccinate all the population in stipulated time. The purpose of this paper is to show that there is a need to revolutionize the vaccine supply chain (VSC) by overcoming the challenges of sustainable vaccine distribution.Design/methodology/approachAn integrated lean, agile and green (LAG) framework is proposed to overcome the challenges of the sustainable vaccine supply chain (SVSC). A hybrid best worst method (BWM)–Measurement of Alternatives and Ranking According to COmpromise Solution (MARCOS) methodology is designed to analyze the challenges and solutions.FindingsThe analysis shows that vaccine wastage is the most critical challenge for SVSC, and the coordination among stakeholders is the most significant solution followed by effective management support.Social implicationsThe result of the analysis can help the health care organizations (HCOs) to manage the VSC. The effective vaccination in stipulated time will help control the further spread of the virus, which will result in the normalcy of business and availability of livelihood for millions of people.Originality/valueTo the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first study to explore sustainability in VSC by considering the environmental and social impact of vaccination. The LAG-based framework is also a new approach in VSC to find the solution for existing challenges.

Analysing Muda under COVID-19 pandemic: a case study in a Spanish supermarket

Lean service aims at identifying and eliminating Muda or waste (non-value-added activities). The purpose of this paper is to answer the research questions: Which types of waste can be observed in supermarket stores during COVID-19 pandemic? How has it impacted the operational processes in stores? An exploratory case study based on structured direct observation has been conducted. A supermarket store in a Spanish mid-size city has been selected and observed for more than 30 weeks. Methods to gather data were document analysis, direct and participative observation and informal interviews with customers and employees. Seven types of Muda (defects, motion, over-processing, inventory, overproduction, transportation, and time) were identified and measured prior to COVID-19 pandemic and after the first weeks. The results show that all types of Muda increased significantly during the first four weeks after the pandemic outbreak, but they decrease afterwards when actions were implemented by the management. Copyright © 2023 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

The effect of teaching-learning environments on student's engagement with Lean mindset

Lean thinking is a methodology employed initially by manufacturing organizations such as Toyota and New Balance that aims to increase customer value whilst also maintaining a low level of waste. The Lean thinking tools and techniques employed in the manufacturing sector can also be transferred to other sectors and significantly improve the service or product, such as public sector organizations or Higher Education Institutions (HEI). In the current education climate, due to the pandemic (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19), the majority of HEIs have moved to an online or hybrid teaching and learning environment. This has developed the principle that Lean thinking can be deployed in educational methods and techniques to greatly increase the level of student engagement and the efficiency of learning. The following study outlines the key waste sources found in three types of teaching-learning environments (face to face, online and hybrid) and provides practical implications to counter the non-value-added issues. The data for this study were gathered through a questionnaire from final year undergraduate engineering students. The results indicate that online teaching had the greatest effect on student engagement, based on the identification and weighted values of non-value-added issues. The study highlights the key Lean wastes within online, hybrid and face to face teaching, and provides key examples within the stated Lean waste to provide solutions to improve student engagement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

A case study for surgical mask production during the COVID-19 pandemic: continuous improvement with Kaizen and 5S applications

PurposeWith the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the production shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as surgical masks, has become increasingly significant. It is vital to quickly provide high-quality, hygienic PPE during pandemic periods. This comprehensive case study aims to confirm that Kaizen and 5S applications reduce wastage rates and stoppages, which as a result, created a more efficient and sustainable workplace in a small–mediumenterprise (SME) producing PPE in Turkey.Design/methodology/approachThe method for this case is discussed with the help of a flowchart using the DMAIC cycle: D-define, M-measure, A-analyse, I-improve and C-control.FindingsThe total stoppages due to fishing line, gripper, piston and yarn welding have decreased by approximately 42.4%. As a result of eliminating wasted time and reduced changeovers, a total of 5,502 min have been saved per month. This increased production of approximately 10.55% per month, led to an addition of 506,184 units.Originality/valueThe use of lean manufacturing (LM), Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma and continuous improvement methodologies are not common in textile SMEs. Based on the current literature reviewed, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first comprehensive case study that combines statistical tools, such as hypothesis tests and LM practices, in the production process for a PPE company operating as a textile SME.

Managing inpatient bed setup: an action-research approach using lean technical practices and lean social practices.

PURPOSE: This article aims to introduce a guide to improving hospital bed setup by combining lean technical practices (LTPs), such as kaizen and value stream mapping (VSM) and lean social practices (LSPs), such as employee empowerment. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Action research approach was employed to analyze the process of reconfiguration of bed setup management in a Brazilian public hospital. FINDINGS: The study introduces three contributions: (1) presents the use of VSM focused specifically on bed setup, while the current literature presents studies mainly focused on patient flow management, (2) combines the use of LSPs and LTPs in the context of bed management, expanding current studies that are focused either on mathematical models or on social and human aspects of work, (3) introduces a practical guide based on six steps that combine LSPs and LSPs to improve bed setup management. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The research focused on the analysis of patient beds. Surgical beds, delivery, emergency care and intensive care unit (ICU) were not considered in this study. In addition, the process indicators analyzed after the implementation of the improvements did not contemplate the moment of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, this research focused on the implementation of the improvement in the context of only one Brazilian public hospital. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The combined use of LSPs and LTPs can generate considerable gains in bed setup efficiency and consequently increase the capacity of a hospital to admit new patients, without the ampliation of the physical space and workforce. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The improvement of bed setup has an important social character, whereas it can generate important social benefits such as the improvement of the admission service to patients, reducing the waiting time, reducing hospitalization costs and improving the hospital capacity without additional physical resources. All these results are crucial for populations, their countries and regions. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: While the current literature on bed management is more focused on formal models or pure human and social perspectives, this article brings these two perspectives together in a single, holistic framework. As a result, this article points out that the complex bed management problem can be efficiently solved by combining LSPs and LTPs to present theoretical and practical contributions to the important social problem of hospital bed management.

Application of lean principles in a medicare insurance counseling service learning course.

BACKGROUND: Lean principles are increasingly applied in healthcare to improve quality and cost. A service-learning course providing Medicare insurance counseling requiring rapid transformation due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for pharmacy students to apply lean skills. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY: Students, already introduced to lean skills earlier in their curriculum, enrolled in the insurance education certificate during their third year in Fall 2020. Students were oriented to the mandated service delivery restrictions. After a review of lean principles, students analyzed existing process for in-person counseling using a value-stream map. Students worked in teams to complete a cause analysis and develop solutions. Collaboratively, students clarified the value of the Medicare insurance counseling services to the community, adapted these components to accommodate environmental risk, and developed standard work for client acquisition, communication procedures, and service delivery to optimize client satisfaction and safety. Outcomes compared before and after application of lean skills included number of pharmacy students completing insurance counselor training, number of clients counseled, and the mean out-of-pocket savings identified for Medicare beneficiaries. FINDINGS: Students applied lean skills to transform an insurance counseling service by developing and implementing a future state value-stream map and new standard work. Overall Medicare insurance counseling service metrics decreased compared to previous years, but the service was sustained despite pandemic restrictions. Application of lean skills and service redesign provided a method for students to provide services via telepharmacy. Application of lean principles increased student engagement with the course and provided an opportunity to practice quality improvement skills. Lean provides a flexible set of skills that can be introduced and applied in different pharmacy instructional settings.

Lean Healthcare: A Critical Analysis

The current pandemic situation caused by COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, has put the health sector in the spotlight. It has led to the emergence of new plans and strategies that can help society control and stop the spread of COVID-19. These strategies include the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), which highlights and outlines the public health measures that countries should adopt to prepare for and respond effectively to the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic is much more than a health crisis. It requires a response, matching the main problems detected in health and emergency centers. Some of them are quick and exponential spread of the disease, a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, the successive waves, an increase in the number of patients, and insufficient response healthcare capacity. These problems become more important when there is also an economic downturn, which has made it impossible to expand budgeted public spending on healthcare. For this reason, research for alternative methods that can improve the quality of healthcare management, but without generating increases in budgetary costs, is timely. Implementing Lean Methodology in healthcare can enhance the quality of service, process improvement, and improve patient satisfaction. This chapter analyzes the application of lean manufacturing in the healthcare sector: from specific departments of a hospital (emergency, surgery, etc. to the healthcare management of a region. It identifies also the most commonly used lean tools and their benefits in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantages. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Moving lab-based in-person training to online delivery: The case of a continuing engineering education program

Background: Online learning has recently surged due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Because of the pandemic, many universities were forced to move to online learning, and various online teaching and learning environments emerged, both asynchronous and synchronous. Objective: This study explores how a large university in the Southeastern United States of America converted an in-person Lean Manufacturing professional course into synchronous online learning for industry participants. Method: The study analysed the performance of 212 in-person and 43 online industry participants and examined the views of online participants about the training. Paired t-tests, one-way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were utilized to evaluate the performance of the in-person and online groups on the three competencies (Lean culture, problem-solving and Lean systems). Results and Conclusion: Both online and in-person programs performed equally well in two Lean Manufacturing competencies: Lean systems and problem solving. The online program outperformed the in-person program in the third competency, Lean culture. Overall, the participants had a positive experience with the structure and organization of the online program, and their impression of the online learning environment for the program was positive. The study findings indicated that Lean Manufacturing could be trained effectively online and in person. Best practices are suggested for the conversion of in-person to synchronous online engineering continuing education programs. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Metabolomic spittle analysis of post COVID-19 patients

Post COVID-19 patients have been suffering from persistent symptoms even after long periods. The physiopathology of these clinical manifestations still has a lack of knowledge. The objective was to evaluate the total expression of metabolites and spittle biological pathways in patients with 60 days post COVID-19. We included 30 post-hospital discharge patients and we compared seven non COVID-19 patients control. All COVID-19 patients were assessed by demographic characteristics, pulmonary function, exercise capacity, quality of life and body composition. The metabolomic analysis was performed in the patient's splits. From the total of post COVID-19 patients, 66% were male, 60+/-14 years. The lean body mass was 30+/-7kg and fat mass 34+/-13kg. Spirometry mean severity showed FVC of 4+/-1L, FEV1 3+/-1L. Pimax and Pemax values were 90+/-31(cmH2O) and 97+/-31(cmH2O), respectively. The quality of life evaluated by the SGRQ questionnaire showed a mean percentage of magnitude of symptoms 32+/-15, activities 41+/-25, impact 13+/-11 and total of 24+/-15. Physical capacity was measured by the distance in the 6MWT, and presented an average of 413+/-131. The metabolomic analysis showed 19 metabolites statistically significant difference between groups. We observed 3 metabolites overexpressed and 16 with lower expression in post COVID19 patients. From those metabolites, we can have attention to Sphinganine(p=0.03), Piperenol A triacetate(p=0.02) and 1-Monopalmitin(p=0.03) were lower expressed in control group. The creatin was one of the non-expressed metabolites in post hospital discharge COVID-19 patients compared to the control group. Thus, metabolomic analysis can demonstrate different metabolites in post COVID-19 patients to answer persistent symptoms.

Value stream mapping from the customer's perspective: expanding concepts, representations and key performance indicators based on a typical real case study

PurposeThis study aims to improve the buying experience for both customers and providers by presenting a conceptual basis which seeks to expand the usual understanding, representation, mapping and measurements of the different value and non-value stages of a customer purchase journey (CPJ).Design/methodology/approachInspired by the precepts of lean thinking, with emphasis on the value stream mapping method, the approach is based on an in-depth analysis of a real and typical e-commerce acquisition of an electronic customised product (a mobile phone) during the COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsThis study demonstrates different types of consumer stages, values and wastes for the CPJ. This allowed the development of a mathematical formulation – named customer journey engineering (CJE) – from which improvements of the different categories can be identified. Exemplifying with those whose implementations require no further efforts or costs, the following results could be readily obtained in the case studied: a reduction of 96 h of non-value activities, an improvement of approximately 15% of the established index for customer satisfaction and avoidance of loss worth US$50 for the analysed customer.Research limitations/implicationsThe consistency and applicability of the qualitative and quantitative findings presented here should be examined further in other customer purchase scenarios, allowing enhancements of the CJE approach.Originality/valueRegardless of the context in question, this investigation attempts to identify and precisely define any common universal elements, often overlooked, which constitute the structure of any CPJ and are crucial for its understanding and improvement.

A Lean Six Sigma case study to improve the manufacturing process affected during COVID-19

The key manufacturing industry was badly affected by the COVID-19 in India. In this study, we found that the product demand is dynamic during COVID-19. We selected one of the electrical OEMs in India to execute the value added-Flow analysis and VSM study which showed 96% and 85% of total delivery lead time is contributed by NVA activities at the manufacturing process respectively. We also plotted the spaghetti diagram and analysed that total product movement is 287 metres in the current state with the complex flow. We did total of six main Kaizens after Ishikawa and FMEA. We constructed single-piece flow with saving of the half shop floor space and total product movement was reduced from 287 to 96 metres, while total delivery lead time was reduced from 14.6 to 7.72 days. We concluded that lean Six Sigma deployment in the manufacturing industry solved the problems of demand fluctuations.