Digitization of the manufacturing and assembly sector is important to set up Industry 4.0. In this process, one of the key factors is the channel of sharing and distributing information on the shop floor. This study highlights the implementation of digital work instructions in the manufacturing and assembly sectors and finds the benefits that it could bring to the industry. The study was conducted in a large production plant with over five hundred workers in Malaysia and was carried out for almost a year. Whereas, most of the existing studies have been conducted in a controlled environment with a group of inexperienced workers in manufacturing and assembly tasks. In this article, the benefits and challenges of digital work instructions are studied over paper-based textual representation of assembly instructions. The study was conducted among groups of people with different roles, such as electrical assembly, mechanical assembly, and final quality check. The qualitative analysis is carried out based on the survey conducted among operators with different roles. Results show that digitalization eases the work for the quality inspection group. In contrast, people with other tasks are either neutral or find it more difficult to work with digitalized versions over paper-based instructions. In addition to this, some data-driven facts are presented, which help in improving the plant operations. This includes recording material shortages, optimizing working hours, and having real-time updates on production status which leads to effective production planning. At last, with the collected information, manufacturing plants can also optimize power utilization that impacts the environment in a positive direction. 

The impact of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and its enabling technologies in the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) approach have been widely discussed by practitioners and researchers in the last decade. However, current literature still lacks consistent knowledge about the joint application of I4.0, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) in the context of LSS practices. It is expected that the symbiosis between these technologies and methods can generate new applications in the field of operational excellence. This study provides a theoretical landscape of how I4.0, AI and AR can boost digital LSS. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted using articles published from 2011 to 2022 in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. In addition to the quantitative analysis performed with 313 selected articles, a thematic analysis covering 31 empirical works provides examples regarding how I4.0, AI and AR technologies can singularly support LSS practices. The SLR exposed trends on the research topics, the main thematic areas, and empirical evidence regarding how I4.0, AI and AR technologies have supported LSS practices. This study can help practitioners identifying new applications of I4.0 technologies and AI algorithms in order to expand the traditional toolbox and methods used in LSS. 

Purpose - This paper aims to provide empirical evidence regarding Lean Six Sigma (LSS) practices supported by Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies in heavy vehicle manufacturing processes. Design/methodology/approach A two-case study was performed involving LSS specialists, leaders and managers of two heavy vehicle manufacturers in Brazil. The data analysis procedure combined content analysis techniques, conceptual maps and network analysis. Findings - The results provide consistent evidence of synergies between LSS and I4.0, including digital mistake-proofing, digital andon, e-kanban, statistical monitoring as well as process mapping aided by cyber-physical systems (CPS) and big data analytics (BDA). To enable such interactions, companies need to invest in automation architectures, system integration, human-machine interfaces and analytical skills. Research limitations/implications - This study relies on data from a two-case study carried out in two companies from a single manufacturing sector in Brazil. For this reason, the findings cannot be generalized to the entire automotive industry. Originality/value - There is still a lack of comprehensive research on the application of digital technologies in LSS practices. This is the first study which provides empirical evidence regarding the LSS practices supported by I4.0 technologies used by heavy vehicle manufacturers.

Purpose: This paper aims to characterize a sample of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) projects in healthcare settings and discuss some specificities of operational excellence (OPEX) initiatives in hospitals and healthcare organizations in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach: A content analysis involving a sample of 23 documents shared by US hospitals was performed in order to achieve the research objectives. Such analysis was based on a conceptual framework developed from the literature review. It was also applied to a quantitative approach, including descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing and correspondence analysis that supported the research.

Findings: Most LSSH projects were focused on business transformation and strategic improvements. Simple techniques and tools were predominant such as descriptive statistics, process mapping, 5S and spaghetti charts, usually implemented by Green Belts and Black Belts through the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) method. In addition to the expressive findings reported, these projects' results have been aligned with lead time and operational cost reduction, quality improvement and capacity increase.

Research limitations/implications: The study adds knowledge to the OPEX literature by analyzing the Lean Six Sigma healthcare (LSSH) in hospitals and healthcare institutions in the USA. It also demonstrates that different approaches, such as the kaizen event and DMAIC project show different results according to some techniques and tools applied in the hospital environment.

Originality/value: The empirical evidence presented in this study provides scenery of the LSS practices in the healthcare settings, highlighting the implementation areas, outcomes, tools and techniques mostly used in the North American healthcare institutions.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate whether a combined Lean Six Sigma (L6S) philosophy can help to improve agility on supply chain and companies. Individual organizations cannot get agility, until they invest in their supply chain’s agility. Agile Supply Chain is recognized as very difficult to achieve in practice, and use of Lean Six Sigma Philosophy can be one option to get it.

Design/methodology/approach: The research follows the cases study methodology. A theory background is used with the objective of know how the executives and academics see the concept of agility in supply chain (sc) and companies. Furthermore, multiple-case study has been performed, by means of qualitative methods of data collection, such as observations, document analysis and face-to-face interviews with different specialist. Pattern matching is used to compare the empirical result with the predictive one from literature.

Findings: This research demonstrate positively that L6S can help to improve to agility on supply chain and companies. The seven companies included in the study have integrated some tools and methods from both philosophies and all have aligned L6S with good results in agility concept. Also, shows that using L6S philosophy production speed will increase and responsiveness and flexibility will improve combined with a more robust process. It has been indicated that agility implies increased variation, where a Six Sigma approach is useful controlling and monitoring such variations. 

Originality/value: The research point out that a combined Lean Six Sigma philosophy develop the Agile Supply Chain and companies. Lean and Agility philosophies are closely related, and the Lean philosophy may be one stage into the development of agility. Although at the same time, they differ in many respects.

The purpose of this paper is to present empirical evidence about the relationship between the characteristics of Six Sigma projects, as drivers of innovation, and financial performance at organisational and operational levels. The findings were obtained through the analysis of 83 projects of a big automobile corporation, carried out in its industrial plants operating in North America, Europe, and South America. Statistical treatments were performed to analyse the occurrence of several project characteristics, such as areas focus, innovativeness of change, tools used, and average duration of the project. There was an indication that longer Six Sigma projects that involve more people are those that produce the best financial results. Statistical evidence was obtained to affirm that Six Sigma enhances the capacity to address incremental innovation, and that the adoption of Six Sigma impacts directly on financial performance. There is no statistical evidence that Six Sigma enhances the capacity to address radical innovation and that the number of tools used affects the project?s financial result. Most of the projects studied presented basically incremental innovations; however, radical projects have a greater financial impact when applied to the design and redesign of new products and processes.

Quality of service is one of the most important elements in achieving customer satisfaction and company profitability. It can be considered as a composite of various tangible and intangible assets as well as subjective attributes such as safety, comfort and satisfaction, which are difficult to measure directly. The purpose of this research is to offer an alternative method, supported by computers, to quantitatively evaluate services in the hotel industry, by assigning a value to each question of a questionnaire. An advantage of this method is that there is no need for researchers to inadvertently assign weight to the specific question/items because it is done by a suitable mathematical model. This study assessed latent traits of quality of service in 206 Brazilian hotels, which were evaluated. For this purpose, a structured observation method was carried out, that is, mystery shopping, with anonymous evaluators. Furthermore, through item response theory (IRT), a scale to measure quality of service was constructed, in which items and latent features of hotels in the same unit of measurement are positioned. The results indicated where each hotel is positioned on the scale and which items they need to improve in order to be more competitive or achieve excellence. Moreover, this study provides a structured method, through a mathematical model, to enable management staff to measure latent traits of quality of service in hotels. The measurement scale for quality of service can be used to improve services and to meet customer requirements/expectations. This type of quantification can help the hotel industry to pursue excellence in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate the outcomes of a leading Swedish truck maker (referred to as “TruckCo” for confidentiality reasons) providing lean training to its strategic suppliers.

Design/methodology/approach

A single in-depth case study is conducted, using on-site semi-structured interviews with representatives from TruckCo and its suppliers for data collection.

Findings

The lean training program resulted in four main outcomes. First, financially unstable suppliers were less receptive to the lean training program than financially stable suppliers. Second, the suppliers became easier to collaborate with over time, through improving their internal ways of working and thus creating more trust in terms of reliability. Third, the suppliers improved their ability to identify possible problems that could jeopardize deliveries. Fourth and finally, the suppliers improved their delivery precision.

Research limitations/implications

One limitation of this study is that its findings are based on a single in-depth case study. Another limitation is that all the involved companies originate from Sweden. These limitations should be considered in attempts to replicate or further test the reported findings.

Practical implications

This study provides insights into how a manufacturer can teach lean management to suppliers, and how suppliers can be involved in a manufacturer's journey towards a leaner supply chain. Furthermore, the study reflects more generally on the potential outcomes of a manufacturer providing lean training to suppliers.

Originality/value

This study highlights both TruckCo's and the suppliers' view of the outcomes of the lean training program and discusses how different suppliers adopt the taught lean practices. Avenues for future research are proposed as well.

Purpose: Modern supply chains are at risk as a result of increasing disturbance. The use of Lean and Six Sigma’'s values, methods and tools can be one option to analyze, prevent and mitigate risks. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether a combined Lean Six Sigma philosophy can support the awareness and management of supply-chain risk.

Design/methodology/approach: The methodology followed in the study is based on a literature review and multiple case study, performed by means of qualitative methods of data collection, such as observations on-site, face-to-face interviews and document analysis. Case selection includes the results of research conducted in seven large Swedish companies.

Findings: It has been indicated that Lean and Six Sigma values, methods and tools can be very effective in companies’ efforts to control the supply-chain risks and that they improve the companies’ ability to handle variability and risk management. Lean Six Sigma supports a risk-management culture in the focal companies, but they must involve customers and companies in the supply chain if they wish to create a risk-management culture in the entire supply chain. In order to do this, they can use the Six Sigma training structure, but they need to include more risk tools and methods developed for the supply chain management. It has also been indicated in the literature that if more people involve in 6S projects, the financial results will be better, and the innovation of processes will increase.

Research limitations/implications: These include suggestions for how the companies can use the Six sigma training structure to collaborate in the supply chain.

Practical implications: This study gives practical suggestions for how the companies in supply chain can collaborate and use the Six Sigma training structure for creating a more holistic view of supply chain, which also decrease risks in supply chain.

Originality/value: This study indicates that Lean Six Sigma supports risk awareness and management in the focal companies of the supply chains, which improves companies’ ability to handle variability and risk management. It has also been demonstrated that the companies should use the Six Sigma framework, especially training, as a foundation, and they should create common projects for better collaboration in the supply chain, which will decrease the risks in the entire supply chain.

The purpose of the case study is to investigate whether a combined Lean Six Sigma philosophy can help to improve collaboration to get more integrated supply chains. The method used was Literature review, multiple case study, face-to-face interviews and observations on-site in seven large swedish companies. It has been indicated that by implementing Lean Six Sigma Philosophy companies could improve business environment and improve collaboration to get integrated supply chains. The paper provides guidance to organizations regarding the applicability and properties of quality philosophies and concepts in logistics.