The Relation between Manufacturing Sustainability and Lean Production in Malaysian Industries - An Initial Study

A diversity of techniques and practices in Lean Production (LP) as a tool for cultivating a culture of continuous improvement has successfully produced a holistic approach in achieving a high level of sustainability in manufacturing. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the current performance of manufacturing sustainability in manufacturing industry in Malaysia, and the contribution of Lean in manufacturing sustainability. The findings show that manufacturing industry in Malaysia has a high sustainability in social competency, followed by economic and environmental competency. Even though the environmental sustainability is ranked lowest, the result reveals that aiming to have better control in environment and labour safety is crucial in producing high quality products. In addition, the correlation analysis reveals that this situation has a high relation to the adoption of Lean in production operations. A high competency in adapting Lean does not just increase the manufacturing efficiency, but also has a substantial influence in producing a sustainable product. This indicates that Lean is not just suitable in fulfilling the manufacturing function, but has the potential to be adapted comprehensively, primarily in achieving high manufacturing sustainability.