Lean applications: A survey of publications with respect to South African industry

Abstract

South African industry faces immense global competition from developed countries such as Germany probably because of the adoption of lean manufacturing techniques by the latter. This study is a survey on publications concerning implementation and adoption of lean manufacturing in South Africa. To assess South Africa with regards to research publications on lean manufacturing, a benchmark exercise was conducted with Germany for the period 2014 to 2015. The study concludes by highlighting the gaps identified during this survey and recommendations.