Title: Behind closed doors: the potential of lean management in safety audit services

Authors: Xavier Walthoff-Borm; Luc Chalmet

Addresses: Department of Accountancy and Corporate Finance, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersplein 7, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium ' Department of Management Information and Operations Management, Tweekerkenstraat 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the alignment of lean management with professional services such as safety auditing. Despite the importance of the management and employee commitment for the application of lean principles, there is no empirical evidence of the need for change in this distinct type of services. Professional services are different from regular services due to the type of the work and the nature of employees themselves. Our study provides the first systematic and comprehensive insight into the relevance of lean management in the business logic of big safety audit firms. Results indicate that big safety audit firms are doing well to implement lean management principles. The implications of these results in relation to service operations management theory and practice are discussed.

Keywords: lean management; professional services; safety audits; safety auditing; management commitment; employee commitment; safety audit firms; health and safety; H&S; service operations management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2014.065667

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2014 Vol.19 No.4, pp.413 - 430

Published online: 15 Nov 2014 *

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