Defining lean production: some conceptual and practical issues

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the definition of lean production and the methods and goals associated with the concept as well as how it differs from other popular management concepts. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a review of the contemporary literature on lean production, both journal articles and books. Findings It is shown in the paper that there is no consensus on a definition of lean production between the examined authors. The authors also seem to have different opinions on which characteristics should be associated with the concept. Overall it can be concluded that lean production is not clearly defined in the reviewed literature. This divergence can cause some…