This book reports four structural equation models (SEM) for quantifying the relationship between the most important lean manufacturing (LM) practices applied to the manufacturing industry. The SEMs are evaluated using 220 responses to a survey applied to manufacturing companies applying LM principles in the production system and are related to: distribution and maintenance, production process and quality system, supply chain and quality, and an integrator model. The findings identify the most important activities for every LM practices and how they are related. These relationship’ values...

This book provides a conceptual description of the PDCA cycle and the tools that support it. A brief literature review is given for each tool, indicating the timeline according to Scopus, the main areas in which they are applied, the main authors and the journals that most publish on these topics. It reports three industrial applications, one focusing on cost reduction, the second on optimizing a manufacturing company's raw material receiving process, and the third one on eliminating waste and increasing performance.