Implementation of Lean Manufacturing in a Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise in South Africa: A Case Study

Remaining competitive in the current economic climate is one of the greatest challenges an organisation can face. Consequently, the challenges which small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) face are more daunting than those facing larger organisations, the reason being that most SMMEs do not have the skill set to address the underlying factors contributing to them being non-competitive. This is also the case in South Africa. Entrepreneurs, who own most SMMEs in manufacturing, have no knowledge of how to solve problems related to poor process performance, which results in many such enterprises failing. Lean manufacturing developed from the Toyota Production System (TPS) over decades, delivering sufficient evidence as an authoritative methodology to assist organisations in addressing factors which contribute to their underperformance. One such factor which informs substandard performance is poor process flow, caused by waste in processes. Lean manufacturing employs a plethora of tools and techniques in order to address waste. The paper reflects on the appropriate lean tools which South African manufacturing SMMEs could use to improve processes within their respective organisations. The project started out by identifying the most obvious wastes and addressing those first. The techniques utilised focused on eight wastes, applying the 5S through the 5Why technique in order to achieve continuous improvement.