Preface

Time is the most important element in any production system. As such, optimizing time is integral in industry and can be accomplished via the implementation of lean manufacturing. Enterprises that employ strategies and practices to increase total production efficiency, reduce production costs, and minimize waste are considered to be "lean." This book addresses important topics in the context of lean manufacturing that are crucial for the successful functionality of the production system.

This book is divided into two sections. The first section, "Lean Manufacturing Concepts in Enterprises," includes chapters focused on enterprise production with an emphasis on lean manufacturing. Chapter 1, "Application of Lean in a Small and Medium Enterprise", analyzes the direct effect of lean manufacturing practices on operational performance in the manufacturing industry. Chapter 2, "Lean and Kaizen: The Past and the Future of the Methodologies", discusses the adoption of lean manufacturing through effective lean practices depending on interpretations of past experiences and present information. Chapter 3 "Introduction to Lean Waste and Lean Tools", introduces the challenge of capturing, organizing, and disseminating throughout the aggregate business unit is a huge responsibility of upper management. Generally, in industry, some tangible and intangible factors exist in the form of non-value-adding activities that hinder the implementation of lean manufacturing processes. These are known as lean manufacturing barriers (LMBs). Chapter 4 "Effect of Lean Practices on Organizational Performance", focuses on new lean manufacturing approaches which, combined with management tools lead to more flexible and agile production and distribution processes in the textile industry. Because the life cycle in the textile and apparel industry is short, a new integrated approach to production and distribution planning is needed. In Chapter 5, "Enhancement of Textile Supply Chain Performance through Optimal Capacity Planning", the authors present linear programming techniques and integrating subcontracting activities as a good example for solving this problem. Poor productivity and efficiency in production are major problems for most industries relying on a heavy workforce. To prevent inefficient work practices, the construction industry has shifted its focus from the traditional approach to a more innovative one called lean construction. Chapter 6, "From Lean Manufacturing to Lean Construction: How Principles, Tools, and Techniques Evolved", discusses how lean construction aims to maximize value while minimizing waste. There are other advantages too; it creates safer, smoother, and more efficient processes to eliminate waste. The stability of the environment is a major problem in a turbulent environment. This leads to relatively long projects that are not compatible with a highly variable economic environment. The objective of the evolution management presented in Chapter 7, "Model-Based Enterprise Continuous Improvement", is to use enterprise modelling and all the benefits it brings in a framework that allows for more continuous improvement than is generally observed. It is obvious that effective utilization of resources is necessary, particularly when it comes to the manufacturing industry. Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) is one of the classical methods used to reduce setup time. Chapter 8, "Single Minute Exchange of Dies: Classical Tool of Lean Manufacturing", discusses SMED applications in

the gear industry. Chapter 9, "Lean Manufacturing as a Strategy for Continuous Improvement in Organizations", examines the changes faced in the Fourth Industrial Revolution that have generated challenges that will only encounter solutions through innovative efforts and industrial improvements as well as a radical change in our way of interacting. In the current revolution, there are digital changes that cause ruptures in social, economic, and political aspects, and the administrative process is part of this. Chapter 10, "Development of Integrated Lean Six Sigma-Baldrige Framework for Manufacturing Waste Minimization: A Case of NAS Foods Plc", examines how lean manufacturing increases quality and productivity in companies by reducing waste and therefore production costs; adapting favorably to the different innovation systems that are required today. Lean manufacturing has gained popularity in the past decade within the quality management domain. Chapter 11, "Analysis, an Anathema: Is That a Fervent Diatribe of Lean?", examines the fundamentals of sustainable lean manufacturing through Quality 4.0 with an understanding that manufacturers need it to build and sustain competitive advantage. Chapter x presents and discusses lean applications in the real world.

The second section, "Lean Manufacturing Practices and Environment," includes chapters connected with the environment and food production. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are facing the burden of non-equilibrium of the supply-demand chain along with global climate change. Several SMEs are looking for a substitute that can create a balance between performance and the environment. Despite numerous studies related to green and lean manufacturing, none clearly define the spheres of green and lean. In Chapter 12, "Lean Manufacturing towards Green Manufacturing Practices and Its Implementation in SME's", the authors explore the advancement of lean and green manufacturing and its impact on other sectors. The chapter also highlights the methodology adopted in implementing the same. Given growing ecological consciousness, environmental achievements of lean manufacturing also incorporate a strong economic relevance. Chapter 13, "Lean Manufacturing Practices and Environmental Performance", investigates the impact of lean manufacturing practices on environmental performance and the existing coherences between lean and ecologically oriented variables such as resource usage, energy consumption, and air pollution. The food sector has been criticized for its lack of sustainability and circularity due to the high levels of food and packaging waste as well as increasing costs. Although food supply chain entities have started to implement a circular economy and lean practices, the current efforts do not seem to be sufficient to achieve a circular and lean food system. Chapter 14, "Circular and Lean Food Supply Chains", discusses the possibility of creating circular and lean food supply chains.

> **Karmen Pažek** Chair of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia

Section 1
