Measuring the lean readiness of Kuwaiti manufacturing industries.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the readiness of the Kuwaiti small and medium sized manufacturing industries to implement the lean system through an evaluation of their existing quality practices, and compare such readiness among different product sectors and ownership types. This study adopts the measurement framework developed by Al-Najem et al. (2013), which establishes six constructs related to lean quality practices, namely: process, planning and control, customer relations, suppliers relations, HR, and top management and leadership. Data were collected from a survey of 50 Kuwaiti small and medium sized manufacturing industries operating in different industrial sectors. One research question and two hypotheses were developed and tested using t-test and Levene’s test, descriptive analysis, and one-way ANOVA. The results demonstrate that the Kuwaiti small and medium sized manufacturing industries are far from being ready to implement lean. In addition, the study found that product sector and ownership type have no significant impact on the lean readiness in the Kuwaiti small and medium sized manufacturing industries. This research provides insight into preparing Kuwaiti, and other small and medium sized manufacturing industries, to implement the lean system by creating an assessment of their existing lean practices and lean readiness. This research is among a limited number of studies that have addressed lean within the Arab region, and only the second to examine the level of lean readiness of the Kuwaiti small and medium sized manufacturing industries. It expands the literature on lean in developing countries, particularly in the Arab region, and can provide guidance to research within other countries in the region.