an empirical study on lean awareness and potential for lean implementation in qatar industries

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

An empirical study on lean awareness and potential for leanimplementations in Qatar industries

Roba Salem1

&Farayi Musharavati1

&Abdel Magid Hamouda1

&

Khalifa N. Al-Khalifa1

Received: 18 November 2014 /Accepted: 11 June 2015# Springer-Verlag London 2015

Abstract In this study, an investigation on the level of recogni-

tion of lean concepts, principles, tools, and techniques in differ-ent industrial sectors in Qatarwas carried out. The general aimofthe study was to determine lean awareness and understand per-ceptions of a variety of industries on lean thinking. Specificobjectives of the investigation were (i) to asses lean awarenessin industries in Qatarand (ii) to understand perception of industrywith respect to lean benefits and lean challenges. Data fromindustries were collected through an on-line survey. Collecteddata was analyzed through statistical methods. Results of thestudy show that industries in Qatar need to give more credit tolean thinking in order to strategically advance current efficienciesas well as cope with competition at global level. While evidence

of differences on the levels of awareness, recognition and appre-ciation of lean concepts were observed in different industrialsectors, potential for developing lean dynamics that address thedisconnects across industries in Qatar exists. Such potential can

be tapped in a bid to map out a path towards integrated leanimplementation and lean transformation in Qatar industries.

Keywords Leanmanufacturing. Leanawareness. Leanthinking. Leanimplementations. Leantransformations. Leandynamics

1 Introduction

In order to meet the global demand for energy and to staycompetitive, most of the global leaders in the oil and gas

industries have started to implement advanced manufacturing

technologies. This trend shows that advanced manufacturingtechnologies will be the next level in the revolution of the oiland gas industries. Albeit, it is equally important to supportadvanced manufacturing technologies with advancedmanufacturing practices. Such practices can be achieved byimplementing business process improvement methods andtechniques that can scale the heights of operational excellency.In this regard, lean manufacturing principles have been used invarious industrial sectors as one way of positioning operatingefficiencies towards leading value indicators of operational ex-cellency. This paper reports on a lean survey in the oil and gasindustries in Qatar as an initiative for identifying key determi-

nants of a successful lean journey in the oil and gas industries.Such a lean survey is valuable since it can provide knowledge,information and understanding of how lean can be used toadvance operations and practices in the oil and gas industriestowards leading value indicators of operational excellency.

The industry in Qatar is composed of oil and gas companiesand non-oil and gas companies. Non-oil and gas companiesinclude those involved in; (a) general manufacturing, (b)chemicals and petrochemicals production, (c) metals produc-tion, (d) construction, and (e) service operations. To date, mostof the large companies in Qatar, particularly oil and gas com-

panies, have implemented a number of International Organiza-

tion for Standardization (ISO) certifications. This shows thatcompanies in Qatar have a keen interest in improving operatingefficiencies. Therefore, investigating lean perceptions and ex-

pectations in the oil and gas industries in Qatar is worthwhile.Although a variety of industrial sectors exist, Qatars econ-

omy is dominated by the oil and gas industries. Due to thesensitivity of oil and gas prices [1], the oil and gas industries inQatar have been facing challenges such as increased globalcompetition, production uncertainties, and how to maximize

profits in the wake of escalating production costs. While these

* Abdel Magid [email protected]

1 Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

Int J Adv Manuf TechnolDOI 10.1007/s00170-015-7421-7
http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s00170-015-7421-7&domain=pdf


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challenges are also faced by other types of industrial sectorsworldwide, in some cases, time-tested solutions have been

provided by visiting or revisiting the noble leanmanufacturing principles [2,3].

Although lean concepts were proposed a long time ago,some parts of the world and certain industrial sectors have notyet appreciated and/or recognized lean and its numerous bene-

fits [4]. Albeit, implementing lean manufacturing principles isnot a panacea for success since a number of lean implementa-tion failures have also been reported [5,6]. There is, therefore,an inherent need to develop sound strategies for leanimplementations and suitable mechanisms that support leantransformations in order to steer lean implementations towardssuccess and accrued benefits. Moreover, successful leanimplementations must be sustained if an organization intendsto continue to accrue lean benefits [710]. This means that leanthinkingmust be embeddedin theoperations of an organization.

A major observation from other studies shows that prelim-inary requirements for success in lean implementations lies in

the following six aspects: (i) level of lean awareness [11], (ii)recognition of the true essence of lean and lean perceptions[12], (iii) understanding the dynamic business environment inwhich a candidate for lean implementation exists [13], (iv)identifying potential barriers to lean thinking and leanimplementations [14,15], (v) determining a suitable strategyfor lean implementations [16, 17], and (vi) developingsuitablemechanisms that support and perpetuate lean transformations.This paper addresses aspects (i)(iii) mentioned above. How-ever, results of this study may provide background informa-tion for further studies that aim at addressing aspects (iv)(vi).

In comparison with other regions of the world, relatively

few studies in the gulf region have been done to comprehen-sively explore the six aspects mentioned in the previous par-agraph. As a result, relatively little is known about the regionalcontext of lean implementations, lean transformations, and thesocio-economic as well as the socio-technological challengesand barriers to lean applications. To the best knowledge of theauthors, no comprehensive studies of the lean aspects men-tioned in the previous paragraph have been done for the in-dustries in Qatar. This leads to two undesirable scenarios: (a)unavailability of comprehensive studies means that the localcontext of lean implementations and lean transformations arenot known, hence, relevant stakeholders that may need infor-

mation from such studies are left without a reference; and (b)unavailability of comprehensive studies also mean that thedynamics of lean within the business environment in Qatarindustries are unknown and not well understood.

The scenarios described in the previous paragraph representgaps in the applications of lean in the industries in Qatar. As itstands, prospective lean initiatives and lean implementationscan be done without the all-important fundamental knowledgethat gives guidelines regarding what to expect and how to man-age unexpected reactions to lean implementations and

subsequent results. Therefore, the uniqueness of the presentstudy lies in (1) providing knowledge and information thatcan be used to define and understand the local context inimplementing lean and developing lean transformation modelsand strategies in the industries in Qatar and (2) providingknowledge and information that may lead to a better under-standing of lean dynamics within the business environment in

Qatar. As such, the results of this study can be used to develop amodel for advancing lean manufacturing practices in Qatar. Tothis end, this paper reports on the findings of a lean awarenessand lean perception study that aimed at assessing the currentstate of lean awareness and lean thinking across a variety ofindustries in Qatar. The main contribution of this paper is to

provide new insights into the understanding of lean implemen-tation dynamics in Qatar. This is important since there is onlylimited knowledge of the use and impacts of lean thinking inthe industries in Qatar.

The aim of this paper, therefore, is to determine the level oflean awareness and identify the potential for lean

implementations in industries in Qatar. Such findings can beused to derive lean dynamics for the purpose of steering leanimplementations and lean transformations towards advancedmanufacturing practices in Qatar industries. The underlyingtheme of this paper is that measuring lean awareness is acrucial step that helps in the accurate mapping of future leanimplementations. Understanding the lean dynamics for theunique situationin Qatar helps in defining an appropriate leveland suitable strategic plan for starting a comprehensive leanimplementation program. This leads to the following mainresearch questions that will be addressed in this paper:

1. What is the level of lean awareness, lean recognition, andlean implementation in the industries in Qatar?

2. Are there any differences in lean awareness and leanthinking between the oil and gas industries on one handand the non-oil and gas industries on the other?

3. Are there any differences in lean awareness and leanthinking between the ISO-certified and non-ISO-certified industries?

4. What is the potential for lean implementation in industriesin Qatar?

5. What is the perception of industries in Qatar on the po-tential benefits of lean?

In order to answer these questions, the following objectiveswere pursued:

(i) To asses lean awareness in various industrial sectors anddetermine the differences in the level of lean awarenessacross the spectrum of different industries in Qatar, and

(ii) To identify potential for lean implementations and assesperceptions on lean implementations and lean benefits invarious industries in Qatar.

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1.1 Background

Over the past 10 years, industries in Qatar have experiencedan unprecedented boom mainly driven by the thriving oil andgas industries. This has led to the development and implemen-tation of a number of methods and techniques for addressingchallenges in the dynamic business environment in Qatar.

Consequently, a number of ISO certifications and various sci-entific management systems, suchas quality management sys-tems and environmental management systems, have been im-

plemented successfully in a number of industries in Qatar.Despite such success, the industry in Qatar has been aspiringto realize leading value indicators of operational excellency.Albeit, relatively little has been done to comprehensively de-

ploy time-tested lean machinations in the various industries inQatar. While this situation has prevailed, industries in Qatarneed to move towards world class manufacturing status sincemost of the produce from this industry is for internationalmarkets. Based on the differences between the current state

of operations in industries in Qatar and higher goals for oper-ational excellence, innovative strategies for advancingmanufacturing practices must be developed to bridge the gapin operational excellency. In this respect, lean is one of thetime-tested management systems that can facilitate as well as

pave the path towards leading value indicators of operationalexcellence and world class manufacturing [5,18]. As such, aconsideration of lean concepts, lean principles and lean think-ing is an important move that can position industries in Qatartowards leading value indicators of operational excellency.

1.2 Business environment in Qatar

Qatar is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world[19]. Economic review of the last several years showed acontinued high GDP growth in the years 2005 to 2012. Forquite some time, the economic policy in Qatar has been fo-cusing on developing Qatars non-associated natural gas re-serves along with increasing private and foreign investment innon-oil and gas sectors. Such a move has been envisaged tohelp in reducing the interlinks and synergy in the businessenvironment in Qatar. However, the oil and gas industriesaccounts for more than 50 % of the GDP, 85 % of exportearnings, and 70 % of government revenues [20]. As such,

the oil and gas industries have significantly contributed toQatars rise to a position as one of the highest per-capita in-come countries. Proved oil reserves in excess of 25 billion

barrels have been predicted to enable continued output at cur-rent levels for the next 57 years. Moreover, Qatars provedreserves of natural gas exceed 25 trillion cubic meters, i.e.,more than 13 % of the world total and third largest in the world[21]. Since the majority of the non-oil and gas industries large-ly depend on the booming oil and gas industries, advancing

production enhancements in Qatars oil and gas industries

should naturally cascade to all interrelated industrial sectors.This unique relationship can be exploited to leverage integrat-ed lean thinking enablers across industries in Qatar and movetowards leading value indicators of operational excellency.

Due to the nature of the business environment in Qatar,implementing lean manufacturing principles is not asstraightforward a case as it has been in other types of

industries elsewhere [2, 22]. This is due to the fact thatmost of the industries in Qatar are directly or indirectlylinked to the oil and gas industries. Worldwide, the oiland gas industries have taken its time to embrace leanand lean thinking. Moreover, in the public literature rela-tively more studies on lean implementations in other partsof the world are in the non-oil and gas industries [4]. Thisleaves a number of gaps in terms of knowledge and infor-mation about lean implementations in the oil and gas in-dustries. For the business environment in Qatar, this gap isfurther complicated by the existence of intricate relation-ships among various companies in Qatar.

Most of the large organizations that form the core ofQatar industries are government owned or at least the gov-ernment has large shares in the industries. As such, thereexist intricate networks, symbiotic relationships, and syner-gies among these industries. This results in a number ofcomplex manifestations that may hinder lean, lean thinking,lean implementations, and lean transformations since inde-

pendent decisions cannot be made at certain levels of oper-ations without approval. Such relationships need to be un-derstood in order to leverage lean, lean thinking, leanimplementations and lean transformations in a meaningfulway. Therefore, a comprehensive study on the lean situation

with respect to the business environment in the industries inQatar may help in determining appropriate methods andstrategies for lean implementations and lean transformations.

1.3 Challenges to lean implementations in industries

in Qatar

Besides the nature of the business environment in Qatar, otherprominent challenges to lean and lean thinking as well as leanimplementations in industries in Qatar include: (a) how todeploy lean thinking in an environment characterized by in-

tricate relationships mentioned in the previous paragraphs, (b)how to identify the right starting point for lean implementationand lean implementation programs, (c) how to engage, in ameaningful way, a workforce that has tirelessly implemented anumber of other scientific management systems, (d) how todeploy lean in ISO-certified industries that have successfullydelivered targets as per shareholder requirements, and (e) howto overcome the forces of production uncertainties and leanchange requirements that may actually disrupt and/or counterefforts in lean implementations.



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While a number of challenges exist, there is always roomfor successful lean implementations within a variety of con-texts as evidenced in [2325]. Theoretically, lean principlesand concepts have been known to offer companies the robust-ness that allows them to face up to most challenges related toglobal competition [26]. While a number of lean theories andconcepts exist, it is important to explore the applicability and

extent of applications of such theories in the context of theirapplications. To this end, exploratory and empirical studiescan provide more insight and an in-depth understanding ofhow lean dynamics and lean thinking can be re-packaged forsustainable and successful lean transformations in Qatar in-dustries. Accordingly, this study investigates lean manufactur-ing awareness and lean perceptions for the purpose of provid-ing a sound basis for developing an integrated lean implemen-tation model for industries in Qatar.

Based on the trends and economic status of Qatar, the phi-losophy of lean is very essential for Qatar industries. It hasalready been shown that most of the concepts of lean are

applicable in most industries [2326]. Therefore, in order forQatar industries to stay competitive, globally, companies inQatar must try to make their facilities more efficient andleaner. The energy sectors production in Qatar is not onlyvery important in backing the economy, it is also the basefor other industries such as petrochemicals, chemicalmanufacturing, water and electricity production, as well asthe small-to-medium companies that support the oil and gasindustries. Keeping in mind that the natural resources for theoil and gas are non-renewable, lean initiatives can impact onenergy efficiencies and reduction of energy consumption inmost types of industrial sectors in Qatar [27]. Therefore, the

need for organizations in Qatar to open their doors to lean andlean thinking can never be overemphasized.

2 Literature review

2.1 Overview of lean, lean wastes, and tools

Lean manufacturing or lean production originated in the To-yota Motor Company for which a new business strategy wasintroduced with a focus on identifying sources of waste as afirst step and then applying methods, tools, and techniques to

eliminate the wastes [28]. Since then, lean has expanded andspread to other types of industries and many principles, con-cepts,and tools for lean implementations have been developed[2326]. Thesetools have strived to fulfill common goals suchas reducing waste in human effort, inventory, time to market,manufacturing space, as well as to provide opportunities forcompanies to become highly responsive to customer demandwhile producing quality products in the most efficient andeconomical manner [16]. Commonly used lean concepts and

pr inciples include el iminat ion of wast es , cont inuous

improvements, zero defects, multifunctional teams, integra-tion of functions, standardized work practices, and doing itright the first time [29].

In the context of lean manufacturing principles, lean iden-tifies wastes to be non-value-added activities that exist in a

process. Lean also identifies a number of common wastes inproduction processes which are called lean deadly wastes.

These lean deadly wastes include; overproduction, waiting,inventory, overprocessing, transportation, motion and defects.A number of tools and techniques for implementing lean alsoexist and these include; total productive maintenance (TPM),

just in time (JIT), 5 s, kanban, single minute exchange of dies(SMED), production smoothing, standard work, visual con-trol, cellular manufacturing, plan-do-check-act cycle (PDCA),and value stream mapping.

During the various stages of industrial evolution, a num-ber of scientific management systems and concepts weredeveloped. A close examination of the lean concepts, prin-ciples, tools, and techniques shows that commonalities exist

between lean and other scientific management systems thatare embedded in, for example, environmental managementsystems, work method measurements and standards, as wellas a number of ISO certifications. Such commonalities needto be isolated and delineated in order to avoid lean beingregarded as just one of the different types of scientific man-agement systems. If lean implementations are to be takenseriously in production environments in which a number ofscientific management systems are practiced, the broaderscope of lean, i.e., beyond existing commonalities, must bereinforced and supported by mechanisms, models, and strat-egies that will prevent lean from being just another practice

of industrial management systems.

2.2 Related work

The public literature is endowed with many studies on lean,lean tools, lean implementations and lean adaptations [6,2931]. In [31], the extent of lean implementations withinAustralian organizations was investigated. Other objectivesof the study in [31] included understanding the structuralchanges which had taken place during lean implementations,identifying the initiators of the lean practices and summarizingthe benefits achieved and difficulties experienced by compa-

nies adopting lean production. The results of the study in [31]claimed that 82 % of the companies that responded to the leansurvey were practicing lean production. The perceptions ofother respondents was that lean was very expensive to imple-ment. Most companies indicated that senior management andmiddle management do most of the driving for leanimplementations. However, it was observed that resistanceto lean implementations was mostly coming from middlemanagers, senior managers, as well as shop floor personnel.Organizational changes reported in [31] included emphasis on



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building a customer-focused organization, changing to teammanufacturing, focus on improving operational efficiency, re-ducing delivery times, and quality orientation. Cited benefitsincluded competitive market positioning, improved customerrelationships, improved quality, increased flexibility, loweringof cycle times, greater sensitivity to market changes, andhigher productivity levels [31].

In [32], a study to quantify the benefits of lean and wastereduction was conducted through application of the valuestream mapping (one of the lean tool). This study focusedon the implementation of the lean philosophy in a forgingcompany. A remarkable reduction in set-up time and work-in-process (WIP) inventory level were observed. However,the authors pointed out that the complete success of applica-tion of lean philosophy ultimately depends on a close cooper-ation between the shop floor personnel and the management.It was also noted that senior management should increase theawareness of employee empowerment systems, continuousimprovement programs, as well as utilize effective manage-

ment information systems. In the same study, the authors con-cluded that if lean management principles are not fullyadopted in combination with the factory floor principles, thelean system will achieve little benefits.

In [33], the authors investigated the extent to which leanproduction has been implemented in the electrical and elec-tronics companies in Malaysia. In that study, it was empha-sized that an appreciation of the perceptions and understand-ing of lean manufacturing in the industry is an importantstep that can, among others, affect the adoption, adaptation,and implementation of lean in a specific industrial sector.The same study also shows that many companies in the

electrical and electronics industry in Malaysia are committedto lean manufacturing. The companies understanding oflean philosophy was rated good and there was evidence ofaccrued multiple benefits since the implementation of lean.These benefits include; reduced cost and improved produc-tivity. Results also indicated that the companies implementedvarious tools and techniques to support lean manufacturingand these tools were used in tandem.

In [34], the authors used value stream techniques in orderto highlight improvement areas and to bridge the gap be-tween the existing state and the proposed state of a job shop

production system. A comparison of the current and future

state of the shop floor activities revealed significant reduc-tions in lead time, processing time, work-in-process inven-tory, and manpower requirement. The same study concludedthat the lean values stream mapping is a very powerful toolthat can be used to identify performance gaps related towastes and hence can facilitate lean implementation in jobshop production industries.

While many authors have investigated the impact of leanon production effectiveness and efficiency, other authors havealso investigated the various ways in which a lean production

environment can influence employee behavior. For example,in [30], the authors investigated the relationships between per-ceived organizational support, job involvement, and turnoverintention in a lean production environment. The aim of theinvestigation was to understand employee perception towardslean production environment.

In [35], a study on lean awareness, lean implementation,

and the need for external support for lean implementationwas conducted in Virginias wood industry in USA. Find-ings from this research indicated that the majority of respon-dents were aware of one or more lean terms such as leanmanagement, lean production, and Toyota Production Sys-tem. Core lean elements such as PDCA, SMED, and error

proofing were recognized by a mere 20 % of the respon-dents. The same study analyzed if a difference exists in thestatus of awareness and implementation between companiesin different sectors of industries such as; manufacturedhomes, household furniture manufacturing, wood containerand pallets production, and sawmills. The results revealed

that a large difference exists in different wood industry di-visions and that smaller companies (i.e., employing less than50 employees) had lower understanding of lean and had notapplied lean to a large extent in comparison with largercompanies (i.e., more than 50 employees).

A number of observations can be derived from the citedliterature. For example, lean implementations incur costs be-fore implementation, during implementation and after imple-mentation. Therefore, it is always necessary to assess leanawareness and lean perceptions as well as understand the leanthinking before any lean programs are set in motion [5,35].This observation is very important in rapidly developingecon-

omies like Qatar in which all sorts of scientific managementsystems have been implemented in a bid to compete in theglobal environment. Depending on the current awareness lev-el, lean awareness programs can then be developed and cus-tomized to be commensurate with the lean awareness statusquo. Such programs should focus on providing fundamentalknowledge starting at an appropriate level. Such knowledgewill be geared at understanding lean and lean roles as well asclarify how personnel at various levels in an organization willtake part in lean transformation efforts.

2.3 Barriers to lean implementations

A number of barriers to lean implementations have beendiscussed in the public literature [3640]. A succinct summaryof barriers to lean implementations has been provided in [37].Some of the barriers to lean are generic in nature, i.e., they canalso be encountered in any situation in which a new idea, newtool or new concepts is introduced. The public literature isendowed with a lot of case studies that demonstrate factorsthat contribute to failure in launching relatively newideassuch as lean manufacturing.



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Some of the barriers to lean implementation include: lackof proper communication channels, inflexibilities in protocolsand communication hierarchies [41 , 42 ], industry/organization culture [43], failing to clearly explain the lean

benefits to managers, supervisors and employees [44,45],and failing to realize that lean implementation is continuousand not a onetime offering [38,44].

Although barriers to lean are generic, some of the barriersprevail under certain conditions while other barriers are situa-tion specific. For example, the industry in Qatar has been

putting a lot of emphasis on various ISO certifications andrelated scientific management systems. As such, this couldhinder lean implementation, and the success thereof, sincelean could just be viewed as yet another management toolfor continuous improvement.Therefore, for successful leanimplementations innovative mechanisms are required to de-lineate lean and position lean as a philosophical approach thatcan be used to realize additional benefits beyond ISO certifi-cations. Another related prominent barrier to lean

implementations is resistance against change [37]. This usu-ally comes into effect if lean is considered as just another newidea by, for example, a workforce that has tireless worked on anumber of continuous improvement programs. Under suchconditions, unique determinants of a successful lean journeymust be identified and emphasized in order to remove anyform of passive resistance due to lack of confidence andskeptism in adopting lean in operations. Thus, it is necessaryto convince the organization, managers at various levels aswell as all employees that lean implementation after ISO cer-tifications is beneficial. In addition, continuous effort andcommitment to a lean change are required in order to realize

lean success and perpetuate the benef i ts of leanimplementations.

3 Research method

3.1 Qatar industries

The present study focuses on assessing lean awareness andperception of lean implementations in various industrial sec-tors in Qatar. The population of interest for this studyconsisted of a number of companies categorized, for purpose

of analysis, as follows; (a) companies in the oil and gasindustries, (b) companies in the non-oil and gas industries,(c) ISO-certified companies and non-ISO-certified compa-nies, and (c) small-to-medium companies that support thelarge oil and gas companies.

3.1.1 Companies in the oil and gas industries

Companies in the oil and gas industries in Qatar are involvedin the global exploration, extraction, processing and

transportation of oil and natural gas. For petroleum oil, someof the companies are involved in oil refining and marketing of

petroleum oil products. The largest volume products from thepetroleum oil companies are fuel oil and gasoline (petrol).Petroleum oil companies in Qatar provide a significant per-centage of the worlds energy consumption. For natural gas,some of the companies are involved in the extraction, process-

ing and global transportation of liquefied natural gas as well asmarketing and exportation of natural gas by-products. Someof the oil and gas companies are involved in the integrated

processes of oil and gas exploration and industrialization,while others operate across the oil and gas value chain.

3.1.2 Companies in the non-oil and gas industries

Most of the companies in the non-oil and gas industries cangenerally be classified as manufacturing companies. Themanufacturing industry in Qatar has grown due to theexpanding hydrocarbon sector and infrastructure spending.

In Qatar, the petrochemical industry is classified under themanufacturing sector. Petrochemicals industries are thefastest-growing manufacturing sector, followed by steel, ce-ment, and aluminum production.

3.1.3 Small-to-medium companies

Small-to-medium companies in Qatar have risen due to theopportunities available in the downstream activities of thelarge oil and gas companies. Qatar economy has been diver-sifying, with rapid growth in construction, financial services,real estate, and other downstream activities.

3.1.4 ISO-certified and non-ISO-certified companies

The oil and gas industries in Qatar, as well as the major com-panies that support the oil and gas industries (for example, thepetrochemical industry), have been implementinga number ofscientific management systems. Common management sys-tems implemented in Qatar include; quality management sys-tems, environmental management systems, as well as occupa-tional health and safety systems. As such most of the largecompanies have been implementing a number of ISO certifi-cations. These certifications and the various scientific man-

agement systems have gone a long way in characterizingand influencing the industry culture in Qatar.

While achievements of the various ISO certifications iscommendable, research has shown that lean principles arerelated to, for example, ISO 9000 [4,46]. In addition, a num-

ber of studies have also shown that there is always room forlean implementations with benefits after ISO certifications [4,46]. Based on the discussions above, a high level of leanrelated awareness, commonalities and perceptions are expect-ed in Qatar industries due to a large commitment to ISO



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certifications and other scientific management systems. Thisobservation leads to the following alternative hypotheses withrespect to Qatar context:

H1. The majority of companies in Qatar are not aware oflean concepts, lean tools, and lean technique

H2. There is a significant difference in terms of lean aware-

ness in the oil andgas companies compared with non-oiland gas companies

H3. There is a significant difference in terms of lean aware-ness in ISO-certified companies compared with non-ISO-certified companies.

3.2 Data collection

In order to answer the research questions and test the hypoth-eses mentioned above, both quantitative and qualitative anal-

yses were used. The quantitative analysis was based on thedata collected through a survey questionnaire, while the qual-itative analysis was based on semi-structured interviews withvarious personnel in the industries in Qatar. Data was collect-ed from the participating companies through e-mails. The sur-vey was mailed to the recipients. E-mails of the respondentcompanies were gathered from different sources. The surveywas launched and 2.5 months later the e-mail survey instru-ment was closed for data analysis. In order to determine non-response bias, 30 non-response addresses were selected ran-domly and the respondents were contacted through telephone.Surveys were sent gradually in batches (maximum 20/day)

and follow-ups were made. This process was repeated untilall available e-mails were completed. A total of 333 e-mailaddresses were used for data collection from the various in-dustries in Qatar.

3.2.1 Lean awareness survey

The development of the research instrument was based on paststudies [4,47]. The population of study consisted of 100 com-

panies in the following industrial sectors: oil and gas, metalsmanufacturing (i.e., steel and aluminum), building and con-struction, petrochemical industry, water and electricity pro-

duction, telecommunication, health care, hotels, education,and othersi.e., small-to-medium companies that supportlarge industries in Qatar. In order to obtain valid and reliableresults, pilot tests were conducted for both the questionnaireand the interviews. For the pilot tests, 25 e-mail addresseswere selected randomly from the total pool. Two pre-testingswere conducted in order to test the questionnaire questionsand the scoring system in terms of clarity, understanding andacceptability. After the pre-testing phase, modifications weremade in an attempt to enhance the questionnaire design.

3.2.2 Survey design

The survey instrument was designed as follows:

& Introductory opening for the recipients, including the pur-pose of the study.

& General information about the respondentsask respon-

dents to provide general information about them and theirorganizations, e.g., type of industry, name of respondentsdepartment and his/her position, as well as the number ofyears of experience the respondent has in the organization.

& Four sections for data collection. These included:

Section1: an overview of lean manufacturingintendedto find out the respondents basic knowledge on leanmanufacturing terms and principles

Section2: lean deadly wastesto examine the respon-dents knowledge about lean deadly wastes

Section3: lean tools and techniquesto measure the ex-

tent of knowledge that respondents have about lean toolsand techniques

Section4: perception of lean implementation in Qatarindustriesto find out respondentsopinions and expec-tations about the benefits and challenges of a lean imple-mentation project.

3.2.3 Scoring system

To come up with conclusions and recommendations and ad-dress the research objectives, data was collected for the purpose

of calculating an awareness index. Accordingly, a scoring sys-tem that assigns points for questions in the relevant sections ofthe survey was developed. The scoring system was based onscale of 15. Sections1,2, and3 of the survey instrumentfocused on collecting information related to lean awareness inthe various industrial sectors in Qatar. Section 4 wasincluded toasses respondentsperception on lean implementations in thevarious industries in Qatar. All questions were of multiplechoices type. For multiple choice questions where only oneanswer can be chosen, the correct answer was given 1 point,the rest of the choices were given 0 point. For multiple choicequestions where more than one answer can be selected, and

given that all choices are correct and are equally important,the same point 1 point is given to each choice, i.e., the pointsadd up based on the number of choices selected. In the varioussections cited above, a total of 19 indicators were used in twofactors, i.e., (i) the lean awareness and (ii) lean implementation

perception assessments. A factor analysis was conducted tovalidate measures and scales used in accordance with the meth-od discussed in [47]. In order to estimate the internal consisten-cy of the19 indicators distributed in twofactors, the Cronbachs test was carried out as discussed in [47].



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3.2.4 Survey execution

After the screening process, a total of 50 questionnaires werefound suitable for data analysis. The response rate was foundto be 15 %. Figure1shows the distribution of respondents foreach batch of respondents in the study population.

Figure2shows the percentages of surveys that were com-

pleted, not delivered, or ignored by the recipients.Figure3shows the distribution of respondents among dif-

ferent sectors in the industry in Qatar.Figure3shows that the highest percentage of respondents

was from oil and gas sector, 34 %. Besides others,the sec-ond highest percentage was obtained from the education sec-tor, 12 %. This was followed by the petrochemical industry,8 %, and construction sector, 6 %. Other sectorscontributioncan be read directly from the pie chart shown in Fig. 3. Amongthe useful questionnaire respondents, 15 respondents werefrom ISO-certified companies. In order to address hypothesis3, 15 respondents were randomly selected from the non-ISO-

certified companies for comparative analysis with the 15 re-spondents from ISO-certified companies. Data collected fromthe surveys were processed and analyzed using excel spreadsheets and Minitab. The findings are reported in the followingsection.

4 Data analysis

4.1 Assessment results

The previous section of this paper discussed the scoring sys-

tem used to calculate the awareness and perception of leanimplementationscores. In order to test the internal consistencyof the test scores, Cronbachs test was used. The results of

the reliability and validation of measures and scales used inthe analysis are shown in Table1.

As shown in Table1, the questionnaire was used to mea-sure internal consistency of three constructs, i.e., lean aware-ness, perception on lean implementation benefits and percep-tion on lean implementation challenges. Table1 shows thatthe Cronbachs value is greater than 0.6 for the three factors

used in this study. This suggests that the data from the variousindicators for the three factors can be considered acceptable.From Table1, the results of the average mean scores on leanawareness show that most of the scores are below the mid-

point score (i.e., below 3). Scores above the mid-point for thelean awareness were recorded for (a) tools and techniques forwaste reduction and improvements of operations, eliminationof wastes, continuous improvements, JIT (non-valueadded activities, waste of waiting,and waste through de-fects.This can be attributed to the fact that most of theseconcepts are embedded in a number of scientific managementsystems practiced in the industries in Qatar. Scores above the

mid-point suggests an acceptable awareness level of some ofthe lean basics such as lean and wastes in the industry. Scores

below the mid-point indicate that the lean philosophy and leanculture need to be addressed in Qatar industries.

For the lean perception on benefits, none of the scores wereabove the mid-point. This means that any training or prepara-tion for lean implementation or lean transformation shouldreinforce the benefits of lean to the organization. For the lean

perception challenges, three indicators recorded scores abovethe mid-point i.e., lack of management commitment,scared of failure,and lack of the know-howto implementlean. This suggests that lean thinking and concepts, (a) must

be addressed at managerial levels, (b) education and trainingin preparation for lean projects must be conducted in order toraise confidence in lean and hence ensure success, and (c)

Fig. 1 Percentages of surveyscompleted out of the total surveyssent in batches at different periods



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education and training on methods and techniques forimplementing lean must be conducted to equip industrial per-

sonnel with the know-how to implement lean.Figure4shows the average percentage scores for the var-

ious industries considered for analysis. Variations in the ob-tained score are apparent in Fig.4. In Fig.3, it was observedthat greatest share of respondents (i.e.,34 %) were from the oiland gas industries. However, it is important to observe thatalthough the oil and gas industries had the largest share interms of the number of respondents, the petrochemicals indus-try achieved the highest average percent score among all theindustries (49.3 %) followed by others (i.e., small-to-mediumindustries, 28.42 %), steel and metal industries (i.e., 22.7 %),and the oil and gas industries (i.e., 21.75 %), respectively.

As discussed in Sect.3.2.2, the first three sections of thesurvey were concerned with overview of lean, lean wastes,

and lean tools. Figure5shows a comparison of the averagesections percent score, for the three sections mentioned

above, among the different type of industrial sectors.Figure 5 shows that there are no defined relationshipsamong the scores of the sections. For example, if a respon-dent was able to score some points in the first section, itdid not follow that the same respondent will be able toscore higher points in the remaining sections. In addition,some respondents have zero knowledge about the questionsin Sect. 1 (overview of lean); however, they were able toscore some point in Sect. 2 (lean wastes) or section3 (leantools). This may imply that there are overlaps between lean

principles and other scientific management systems such asISO certifications. However, Fig.5 shows that for all three

sections, the petrochemical industry outperformed the restof the industries in Qatar.

Fig. 2 Percentages of surveyscompleted, not delivered, andignored by the recipients

Fig. 3 Distribution ofrespondents with respect toindustrial sectors



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Table 1 Factor loading and Cronbachs

Factors and indicators Mean Standard deviation Factor loading Squared loading Cronbachs

Lean awareness 0.85

Basic lean awareness 2.13 1.29 0.79 0.620

(a) General knowledge of lean 1.97 1.43 0.65 0.424

(b) Tools and techniques for waste reduction and operations improvements 3.66 1.04 0.85 0.717

(c) Continuous improvement 2.31 0.89 0.64 0.407

(d) Long-term cost-cutting strategies 0.38 0.92 0.73 0.534

(e) Fully integrated management system 2.31 1.37 0.63 0.403

Lean principles 2.76 1.27 0.60 0.365

(a) Elimination of waste 4.04 0.91 0.79 0.626

(b) Continuous improvement 3.27 1.47 0.72 0.523

(c) Zero defects 2.31 0.96 0.71 0.500

(d) Just in time (JIT) 3.08 1.46 0.82 0.677

(e) Multifunctional teams 1.93 1.09 0.83 0.694

(f) integration of functions 1.93 0.89 0.61 0.368

Concept of water 2.45 1.30 0.63 0.402

(a) Non-value added activities 3.88 1.31 0.60 0.366

(b) Losses due to machine failures or production stoppages 2.04 0.89 0.70 0.486

(c) Production of defective items 2.15 1.05 0.65 0.429

(d) Excess purchasing and production 2.15 1.31 0.81 0.651(e) Storing unneeded materials 2.04 1.11 0.79 0.631

Knowledge on lead deadly wastes 2.82 1.40 0.74 0.542

(a) Overproduction 2.92 1.33 0.66 0.430

(b) Waiting 3.34 1.19 0.70 0.485

(c) Inventory 2.92 1.31 0.82 0.678

(d) Overprocessing 2.92 1.00 0.77 0.595

(e) Transportation 2.19 1.02 0.85 0.720

(f) Motion 2.09 1.51 0.90 0.810

(g) Defects 3.34 1.19 0.89 0.789

Lean tools and techniques 1.01 0.90 0.62 0.386

(a) Total productive maintenance 1.25 1.57 0.85 0.729

(b) JIT 1.93 0.92 0.84 0.714

(c) 5Ss 1.82 1.30 0.85 0.722(d) Kanban 0.91 1.45 0.69 0.472

(e) SMED 0.12 1.43 0.60 0.362

(f) Production smoothing 0.46 1.15 0.68 0.460

(g) Standardized work 0.68 1.03 0.85 0.721

(h) Visual control 0.57 1.22 0.77 0.591

(i) Cellular manufacturing 0.63 1.29 0.81 0.653

(j) PDCA 1.71 1.23 0.81 0.661

(k) Value stream mapping 1.03 0.80 0.74 0.550

Perception on lean implementation benefits 0.72

Improved quality 1.35 1.22 0.56 0.32

Improved flexibility 2.63 0.91 0.63 0.39

Reduction of waste 2.04 1.23 0.76 0.58

Improved productivity 2.79 1.07 0.73 0.54Decreased inventory 2.87 1.33 0.78 0.61

Increased profit 2.00 1.54 0.73 0.53

Perception on lean implementation challenges 0.62

Lack of management commitment 3.92 1.51 0.71 0.50

Scared of failure (fear factor) 3.30 0.97 0.57 0.33

Employee resistance to change (people factor) 1.75 1.08 0.62 0.39

Financial benefits not recognized 2.45 1.54 0.56 0.31

Lack of know-how to implement 3.84 1.08 0.74 0.55

Budget constraints 2.28 1.06 0.55 0.30

Company culture 1.99 1.28 0.69 0.48



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4.2 Responses from each section of the questionnaire

4.2.1 Section1: overview of lean manufacturing

The first question of Sect. 1 in the survey asks the re-spondents if they have ever heard about the term leanmanufacturing. I t was observed that 52 % of the

respondents have heard about the term lean and the resthave never heard about it.

The second question in Sect.1of the questionnaire asks therespondents (who answered question 1 in Sect. 1 positively)about theirgeneral understandingofleanmanufacturing. Figure6shows the results obtained for question 2 in Sect. 1of thequestionnaire.

Fig. 4 Average percent score forthe different types of industriesincluded in the survey

Fig. 5 A comparison of sectionsscores among the different industrial sectors in Qatar



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For the question in Sect.1, more than one answer could beselected. The highest percentage (73.1 %) was given to the firstchoice (tools and techniques for waste reduction and improve-ment of operations). For the Qatar context, this result was ex-

pected since waste reduction and improvements in operationsare key issues in a variety of scientific management systemsimplemented in most of the large companies in Qatar. The least

percentage was given to long-term cost cuttingstrategies.While long-term cost cutting strategies are a significant featureof success of lean implementations, its relatively less recogni-tion in industries in Qatar may have a large impact on the

success of lean implementations. The practical implication ofthis observation is that training on long-term cost cutting strat-egies is necessary for preparing industries in Qatar for leanimplementation and lean transformation projects.

The third question in Sect.1of the questionnaire asks therespondents about the type of lean principle they are familiarwith. The trend of the results is shown in Fig. 7.

The highest scores obtained were for the principle of wasteelimination, followed by continuous improvement and just-in-time respectively.

4.2.2 Section2: lean waste

Section 2 of the survey was on questions about the lean deadlywastes. The first question of Sect. 2of the survey finds out thedifferent views of the respondents about what is a wasteingeneral regardless to the term lean.Figure 8 summarizes theresults obtained.

From Fig.8, it can be observed that 77.6 % of the respon-dents think that a waste is a non-value-added activity. Al-though all answers given in the question were all correct, mostrespondents selected the first choice (non-value added

activities). This gives an indication that the respondents areaware of what wasteis and have a fairly good idea aboutlean wastes. However, the low percentages in other forms ofwaste indicate that there is a lack of knowledge in terms of thetotal scope of waste in the lean framework. Such lack ofknowledge on the total scope of lean can lead to failure oflean implementations.

Question 2 and the following questions were intended tocollect information specifically related to lean deadly wastes. Itwas observed that more than 75 % answered no (i.e., the respon-dents are not aware of the term leandeadly wastes)while25%

answered yes. This result illustrates deficiencies in terms of thelean philosophy, lean thinking, and lean culture in the majorityofthe industries surveyed in Qatar. Question 3 of Sect.2was di-rected to respondents who answer question 2 in Sect. 2 negative-ly. This question was included in order to find out the perceptionof respondents not familiar with lean principles on what theythink would lead to waste. The results are shown in Fig.9.

Defects was selected as the most waste type and received(73 %) followed by overproduction (62.2 %) and over pro-cessing (51.4 %). This result shows that although some re-spondents were not familiar with lean, they have a fairly goodknowledge of defects and overproduction as wastes. As a

result, lean implementations in companies that do not imple-ment lean should focus more on emphasizing the other deadlywastes such as motion, transportation and inventory in orderto complement the lean framework.

Question 4 was directed to respondents who answeredquestion 2 affirmatively and required the respondents to iden-tify the lean wastes they are aware of. The results are summa-rized in Fig. 10. Although most respondents score above50 %, defects and waiting were selected the most (66.7 %),followed by overprocessing and overproduction (58.3 %).

Fig. 6 Results obtained forgeneral understanding of leanconcepts



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Very few respondents answered yes to the question askingthem about their opinion on some kind of relationship be-tween different types of waste and none answered no. Of thefew that answered yes, the majority indicated that there is astrong relationship between wastes (63.6 %) while the restagreed to a very strong relationship among the various typesof lean wastes.

4.2.3 Section3: lean tools and techniques

Question 1 in Sect.3finds out how much the respondents areaware of the lean tools and asks them to identify the lean tools

they know. The results are summarized in Fig.11.From the results displayed in Fig. 11, the most known tools

are JIT, 5Ss, and PDCA cycle, respectively. This result showsthat the respondents have general knowledge about lean tools.As shown in Fig.11, the percentages are low for tools such as

SMED, production smoothing and visual control, which havebeen for a long associated with discrete parts manufacturing.This is expected because very little activities in Qatar can beclassified as discrete parts manufacturing. It was also observedthat only 27.3 % of all respondents were not familiar with anyof the lean tools. For the question do you think that any toolwould be applicable and effective to your plant at any time orat anyprocess?, 71 % answered yes while 29 % answered no.

4.2.4 Section4: implementation of lean in Qatar industries

The last section (Sect. 4) of the survey was intended to find outthe perception of the industries in Qatar on the potential andapplicability of lean and lean implementations in Qatar indus-tries. Two types of questions were asked. The first one re-quired the respondent to think about what a lean project would

Fig. 8 Results obtained forperspective of lean in variousindustrial sectors

Fig. 7 Results obtained forknowledge of lean principles



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bring to the organization (i.e., benefits). The results of thesurvey are shown in Fig.12.

From the results displayed in Fig.12, it can be observedthat 65.8 % of total respondents perceived that lean wouldreduce waste. In addition, 65.8 % of respondents also indicat-ed that lean would improve productivity in the organization.Fifty percent of the respondents indicated that lean wouldimprove the quality (product and/or service) in their corre-sponding organization. Other benefits and their percentagesare displayed in Fig.12.

The second type of question in Sect. 4 was about thechallenges/obstacles that would arise when lean is implement-ed in the organization. The results are shown in Fig.13.

From Fig.13, it can be observed that 50 % the respondents

indicated thatpeople factorand the lack of knowing howto implement lean are the type of challenges that would resistthe successful implementation of lean. Moreover, 44 %

indicated that company cultureis one of the obstacles thecompany would face. Unlike most of the studies on lean else-

where, the budget constraint score was only 14.7 % while thefear factor scored only 8.8 %. Therefore, budget constraint forlean implementation was not identified as a big issue in mostof the organizations hence lean implementations will not beaffected by companiesbudget once a commitment to imple-ment lean has been made.

4.3 Hypothesis testing

Hypotheses testing was carried out based on the ttest.ttestswere conducted for (a) the companies in Qatar, (b) the oil and

gas industries and non-oil and gas industries, and (c) ISO-certified and non-ISO-certified companies. Three hypotheseswere used to derive meaning from the collected data.

Fig. 9 Perception of respondentsnot familiar with lean principles

Fig. 10 Perception ofrespondents who are familiar withlean principles



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4.3.1 Hypothesis 1

Lean awareness in industries in QatarThe first hypothesiswas about the current lean awareness in Qatar Industries. Intesting this hypothesis, it was assumed that the samples weredrawn from a normally distributed population. Using the re-sults obtained from calculating the awareness scores and set-ting up the confidence level to be =0.05, the output fromMinitab showed apvalue of 0.001 at 95 % confidence inter-val. Since the p value (i.e., 0.001) is less than 0.05, the null

hypothesis is rejected. Hence, it can be inferred that the ma-jority of companies in Qatar are not aware of lean.

4.3.2 Hypothesis 2

Oil and gas vs non-oil and gasThe second hypothesis wasabout differences in lean awareness between the oil and gasand the non-oil and gas companies. Using the results obtainedfrom calculating the awareness scores and setting up the con-fidence level to be =0.05, the output from Minitab shows apvalue of 0.037. Since thepvalue (0.037) is less than 0.05, thenull hypothesis is rejected. Hence, it can be inferred that thereis a significant difference in lean awareness between the oil

and gas companies on one hand and the non-oil and gas com-panies on the other. These results can help in terms of planning

Fig. 11 Lean tool awareness inthe various industrial sectors

Fig. 12 Perception of theindustry on applicability of leanand benefits of leanimplementations



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for future lean implementations in Qatar as well as for devel-oping strategies for lean implementation and lean transforma-tions. In addition, the starting level of lean implementationshould be different for the oil and gas industries on one handand the non-oil and gas industries on the other.

4.3.3 Hypothesis 3

ISO-certified vs non-ISO-certified companiesThe third hy-

pothesis was about differences in lean awareness betweenISO-certified companies and non-ISO-certified companies.Using the results obtained from calculating the awarenessscores and setting up the confidence level to be =0.05, theoutput from Minitab shows a pvalue of 0.000. Since the pvalue is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected. Hence,it can be inferred that there is a significant difference in leanawareness between the ISO-certifiedcompanies and non-ISO-certified companies. These results can help in terms of plan-ning for future implementation of lean in Qatar as well as fordeveloping customized strategies for lean implementation andlean transformations. In addition, the starting level of lean

implementation should be different for ISO-certified compa-nies and non-ISO-certified companies. Moreover, the level ofemphasis as well as the subject area for emphasis during prep-arations for lean implementations must be different for ISO-certified companies and non-ISO-certified companies

4.4 Limitations of the study

Ideally, the plan was to get as many respondents as possiblefrom the 100 companies that participated in this research.

Although the survey execution implemented in this paperattempted to reduce the number of non-response participants,some of the participants chose not to respond even after fol-low-up. In addition, some of the e-mails were not deliveredindicating that either the person has left the company or haschanged the e-mail address. Although an attempt was made todistribute the survey instrument based on assigned weightswith respect to the industries in Qatar, analysis of respondentsindicated that in comparison with other sectors, relatively

more respondents were from the oil and gas industries andits related operations. This was expected since Qatars econo-my is dominated by the oil and gas industries.

The results discussed in this paper are based on the re-sponse of a few employees from each participating company.Although key recipients in different companies were encour-aged to distribute the survey to any other employees, partici-

pants from each company were relatively few and proportion-al to the size and interest of the company.

5 Discussion and implications of results

Some of the results obtained in this paper are similar to thoseobtained by other researchers elsewhere [12,31,33, 35].However, a number of unique findings and their implicationsare summarized in this section.

While findings in most research papers, for example [31,33,35], indicate a significant level of lean awareness else-where, the findings of this paper indicate a relatively lowlevel of lean awareness in the companies that participated inthis research. Although the industries considered in [31,33,

Fig. 13 Perception of industryabout the challenges of leanimplementations



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35] are different a lot is left to be desired, regarding lean andlean implementations, in the various industries in Qatar.Even though the industries in [31, 33, 35] were discussedin different settings, the significance of the findings of this

paper lies in the differences in the general awareness of leanmanufacturing principles.

Since the true essence of lean is not known and not well

understood in most of the industry in Qatar, the level of aware-ness observed in this study for industries in Qatar (i.e., 52 %)does directly come from core lean concept but is a result of thestrong presence of ISO certifications that have a number ofcommonalities with lean manufacturing principles. mentionedabove comes from the strong presence of ISO certificationswhich have commonalities with lean. It can therefore be in-ferred that lean concepts in industries in Qatar are embeddedin other scientific management systems, and therefore, do notstand up as formidable fundamental concepts and principlesupon which continuous improvement is built. As discussed in[37], this situation can be a stumbling block to lean implemen-

tation since there is a risk of considering lean as just anotherscientific management tool. Another barrier related to thiscould be passive resistance to lean changes if lean is regardedas just another concept.

Thus, failure to delineate lean from other scientific man-agement systems may result in failure to recognize benefits oflean beyond ISO certifications. While it is important to delin-eate lean from other tools/concepts/techniques, it is equallyimportant to have a total scope of lean as well as the true

perspective of lean implementations. This study has shownthat the industries in Qatar have a limited knowledge on thetotal scope of lean since some critical elements of lean, such aslong-term cost-cutting strategies,received very low scoresin the surveys. Development of long-term cost-cutting strate-gies is key to lean implementations, and the benefits thereof,since it demonstrates the understanding that lean implementa-tion is continuous and not a one-off event. If leaders of leanimplementation programs do not understand that the benefitsof lean are realized after a long period of time, then leanimplementation can fail and benefits associated with lean willnot be realized.

Unlike other studies elsewhere, budget issues for leanimplementations will, in general, not be an issue in Qatarindustries as illustrated by the findings of this paper. In

addition, Qatar industries have already demonstrated com-mitment traits to various ISO certifications. Therefore, man-agement support and commitment demonstrated during the

process of ISO certifications can be transferred to the needsfor lean implementation.

Most of the large companies in Qatar have been committedto the implementations of the various ISO certifications. Suchcommitment includes extensive education and training of em-

ployees at their various levels. However, a right balance be-tween training and education on one hand and actual

implementation on the other must be achieved since tiltingto either side may hinder or delay the success of leanimplementations.

The findings of this paper and the discussion of results andtheir implications reveal a number of important issues thatmust be observed when implementing lean in regions wherelean has not been adopted as a fundamental approach to con-

tinuous process improvements coupled with significant reduc-tions of lean wastes. In order to advance lean manufacturing

practices, it is critical to determine the level of lean awareness.The level of lean awareness varies from industrial sector toanother and it also varies from one company to another. Thus,the level of lean awareness must be measured first before

prospects for lean and lean implementations are developed.Results of lean awareness measurements would then providerelevant information that canbe used to prepare lean recipientsfor lean implementation. Albeit, it is equally important to un-derstand the total scope of lean waste with respect to the typeand nature of operations as well as the culture of a company or

the culture of the industrial sector earmarked for lean imple-mentation. In addition, the true essence of lean and lean per-ceptions must be analyzed and given due recognition in orderto avoid failure. Furthermore, understanding the business en-vironment of candidates for lean implementations goes a longway in determining the various dynamics of leanimplementations. For example, in cases where there are intri-cate synergies among a number of companies, as is the case inQatar, such synergistic relationships offer a an already-in-

place structure that can be used to systematically deploy leanconcepts in such a way that these concepts naturally cascadeto interlinked companies upstream or downstream of the larg-

er dominating companies. Understanding the dynamics ofsuch synergies can reveal information that can be used indeveloping and deploying strategies for lean implementationsand lean transformations.

6 Concluding remarks

In this paper, the level of lean awareness and potential forlean implementations have been discussed. Information usedin the discussion was collected from a wide range of indus-tries in Qatar. An on-line survey designed for this particular

reason was distributed among different industries and sectorsin Qatar. The questions included in the survey helped in theassessment and the evaluation of the state of lean in Qatar.Findings of this study indicate that a majority of industriesin Qatar have little awareness of lean principles, conceptsand techniques. Therefore, industries in Qatar need to givemore recognition of lean in their operations in order to ad-vance operating efficiencies towards leading value indicatorsof operational excellency. From the obtained results, it can

be inferred that:



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(a) Lean awareness in the various companies that participat-ed in this research is relatively low in comparison withthat in the reference regions discussed in this paper.

(b) The results obtained through the comparison of leanscore in different section of the survey showed that thereis no defined relation in the awareness of lean tools andlean wastes.

(c) It was found that most of the industries in Qatar havegeneral background on lean concepts, mostly due tocommonalities in other scientific management systemsrather than from the core principles of lean manufactur-ing. Therefore, a total scope of lean is required in order toadvance lean manufacturing principles and practices inthe industries in Qatar.

(d) The level of lean awareness between oil and gas and non-oil and gas sectors in Qatar is different.

(e) The level of lean awareness between ISO-certified com-panies and non-ISO-certified companies in Qatar isdifferent.

Based on the information outlined above, lean awarenesscampaigns and strategies for improving lean awareness andlean preparedness in Qatar can then be formulated. Due to theunique relationships among the various industries in Qatar,future development of this research can be focused on design-ing and developing an integrated lean implementation modelfor the industries in Qatar.

Acknowledgment This paper was made possible by Qatar UniversityResearch Grant [QUUG-CENG-MIE-10/11-17]. The statements made

herein are solely the responsibility of the author[s]. The authors wouldlike alsoto acknowledge Qatar NationalResearch Fund(QNRF) throughgrant number NPRP 4-631-2-233.

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