When Digital Lean Tools Need Continuous Improvement

Abstract

Lean practitioners have traditionally been reluctant to automate and digitalize production. Over the last years the combination of lean and digitalization has been actualized in academic publications, but still there are unanswered questions. In this paper, we address the relationship in a qualitative case study of a performance management system in a lean production context in a department of a Norwegian light-metal production company. We find synergies between lean and digitalization, as the digital system supports visualization of performance, problem analysis and continuous improvement through employee involvement. Nonetheless, we also find that digital solutions might be a barrier for motivation and further production improvement when IT systems are not developed aligned with the continuous improvement on the shop floor. We encourage organizations to find alternative ways of organizing the relationship between distributed continuous improvement and centralized IT development to strengthen the synergy of digitalization and lean.