Title: Lean: a continuous improvement philosophy in agile systems based on quality management principles

Authors: Ifechukwude K. Dibia; Hom Nath Dhakal; Spencer Onuh

Addresses: School of Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Anglesea Building, Anglesea Road, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UK. ' School of Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Anglesea Building, Anglesea Road, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UK. ' Centre for Satellite Technology Development, National Space Research and Development Agency, PMB 593, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract: The lean philosophy is based on optimisation through continuous improvement and absolute waste minimisation by factual analysis, just-in-time (JIT) in material sourcing, production and delivery to customer, total preventive maintenance (TPM), total quality management (TQM) and strategic competitive human resource management (HRM). These are lean practices which have spanned decades and centuries in one form or another, under countless innovative concepts aimed at attaining superior performance and quality at a lower cost that guarantees strategic competitive advantage. This paper takes a comparative look at the lean philosophy and the quality management principles from the leadership, people, process and outcome perspective.

Keywords: lean philosophy; leadership; people; process; customer focus; continuous improvement; quality management; outcomes.

DOI: 10.1504/IJASM.2012.050170

International Journal of Agile Systems and Management, 2012 Vol.5 No.4, pp.370 - 389

Received: 18 Oct 2011
Accepted: 24 Jun 2012
Published online: 31 Jul 2014 *

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