Lean manufacturing has been extended to include the whole spectrum of activities in the industries, particularly in the automotive sectors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the adoption of lean manufacturing in the automotive industry in India. A questionnaire survey was used to explore the principle areas of lean manufacturing. In addition, the survey also examined various issues associated with lean manufacturing such as its understanding among the respondent companies, its benefits and obstacles, and the tools and techniques used. The survey results showed that many companies in the automotive industries are committed to implement lean manufacturing. In essence, this is perhaps the first study that investigates the actual implementation of lean manufacturing in the Indian automotive industry. The paper describes some learning from the literature and actual practices in the Indian automotive industry. Attempts are made to present the gaps between the principles and practices. Some significant suggestions are put forth to enrich the knowledge base of professionals to make the implementation process more pragmatic and robust in the long run and for furtherance of empirical research by academia.

Nowadays, the expansion of industrial nucleus fundamental technologies is more and more important due to the dynamic war in the globalized economy. Industries have to continue and incessantly advance their essential technologies in the specialized area to gain the sustainable competitive advantage. Otherwise, they cannot continue to exist in the marketplace. With global competition, it is important for manufacturers to remain competitive in their respective markets and to understand the principles of lean manufacturing and the steps to implement them to ensure that they are on the leading edge of manufacturing. Indian manufacturers in the automotive industry have always faced heightened challenges such as rising customers’ expectation, fluctuating demand and competition in markets. There is no doubt that these manufacturers are always embracing changes and improvements in their key activities or processes to cope with the challenges. One way to stay competitive in this globalized market is to become more efficient. Lean manufacturing has been receiving a lot of attention in the industry. The effects claimed after implementing it are enormous. Lean manufacturing uses less of everything compared to mass production—half the human effort in the factory, half the manufacturing space, half the investment in tools and half the engineering hours to develop a new product (Womack et al., 1990). It has now become a production method for many manufacturers to pursue. A few studies regarding lean manufacturing have been done in India. A survey needs to be carried out in order to gauge how organizations in India practice it. This research was initiated with a focus to examine the adoption of lean manufacturing in the automotive industry. Various issues such as its understanding among the respondent companies, its benefits and obstacles, and the tools and techniques used were investigated. In addition, the degree of implementation of areas of lean manufacturing was assessed.

The objective of this paper is to report some learning by way of understanding and evaluating the lean implementation practices in auto industries in India. Stemming from the view of lean manufacturing as an area of professional practice, there is a need yet to define lean approach: the content or subject matter of implementation. This consists chiefly of the principles, methods and techniques, tools, skills, advantages, obstacles and other forms of knowledge that go into making up any practice in the automotive industries in India.

Mechanical Engineering Journal, Lean manufacturing, Indian automotive industry.