Effect of Lean Manufacturing Implementation: A South African Printing Industry Perspective

The printing industry is not exempt from the dynamic challenges facing these demands. Due to these demands, managers are compelled to introduce initiatives to their operations to produce high-quality products and services in order to remain competitive. Lean manufacturing has been found to be a reliable solution in various sectors, even though some companies have been unsuccessful in implementing lean manufacturing system in their operations. This study aimed at investigating the effect of a lean manufacturing system in the printing industry. The study adopted a qualitative research approach. Eighteen employees participated in the study. Purposive sampling was conducted due to the nature of the study. In-depth face-to-face, semi-structured interviews and systems observations were used for data collection purposes. The study found that human factors, poor material management, equipment inefficiency and layout were causes of waste. An average of 50% of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), 4.5% downtime due to printing machine breakdown and poor layout contributed to waste generated by the printing system. The significance of the study demonstrated the importance of the implementation of lean manufacturing in various industries in order to eliminate waste and bring about operations improvement.