Lean Management Practices Employed in Manufacturing Operations: a Case of Food Manufacturing Companies in Nairobi

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which firms employ lean management practices in manufacturing operations especially food manufacturing firms in Nairobi and establish the impact of lean management practices on operational performance of food manufacturing firms. This objective was carried out upon sample survey of forty seven firms which twenty six of the firms responded. The production supervisors and managers were the officers who were expected to respond to the questionnaires issued to their organizations as at that the given they had the level of knowledge and expertise in the given area. The data was collected through a structured questionnaire which was a closed ended questionnaire. The data was collected through a descriptive statistics and presented in frequency tables. Regression analysis was performed to generate the relationship between lean management practices and operational performance. The study revealed that organizations employed lean management practices to a great extent and in doing so they were able to benefit from improved operational performance upon application of these lean management practices.