An Empirical Study On Lean Awareness and Potential For Lean Implementation in Qatar Industries

Int J Adv Manuf Technol
DOI 10.1007/s00170-015-7421-7
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
An empirical study on lean awareness and potential for lean

implementations in Qatar industries
Roba Salem 1 & Farayi Musharavati 1 & Abdel Magid Hamouda 1 &
Khalifa N. Al-Khalifa 1
Received: 18 November 2014 / Accepted: 11 June 2015

# Springer-Verlag London 2015
Abstract In this study, an investigation on the level of recognition of lean concepts, principles, tools, and techniques in different industrial sectors in Qatar was carried out. The general aim of
the study was to determine lean awareness and understand perceptions of a variety of industries on lean thinking. Specific
objectives of the investigation were (i) to asses lean awareness
in industries in Qatar and (ii) to understand perception of industry
with respect to lean benefits and lean challenges. Data from
industries were collected through an on-line survey. Collected
data was analyzed through statistical methods. Results of the
study show that industries in Qatar need to give more credit to
lean thinking in order to strategically advance current efficiencies
as well as cope with competition at global level. While evidence
of differences on the levels of awareness, recognition and appreciation of lean concepts were observed in different industrial
sectors, potential for developing lean dynamics that address the
disconnects across industries in Qatar exists. Such potential can
be tapped in a bid to map out a path towards integrated lean
implementation and lean transformation in Qatar industries.
Keywords Lean manufacturing
thinking . Lean implementations
dynamics
. Lean awareness . Lean

. Lean transformations . Lean
1 Introduction
In order to meet the global demand for energy and to stay
competitive, most of the global leaders in the oil and gas
* Abdel Magid Hamouda
hamouda@qu.edu.qa
1
Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
industries have started to implement advanced manufacturing

technologies. This trend shows that advanced manufacturing
technologies will be the next level in the revolution of the oil
and gas industries. Albeit, it is equally important to support
advanced manufacturing technologies with advanced
manufacturing practices. Such practices can be achieved by
implementing business process improvement methods and
techniques that can scale the heights of operational excellency.
In this regard, lean manufacturing principles have been used in
various industrial sectors as one way of positioning operating
efficiencies towards leading value indicators of operational excellency. This paper reports on a lean survey in the oil and gas
industries in Qatar as an initiative for identifying key determinants of a successful lean journey in the oil and gas industries.
Such a lean survey is valuable since it can provide knowledge,
information and understanding of how lean can be used to
advance operations and practices in the oil and gas industries
towards leading value indicators of operational excellency.
The industry in Qatar is composed of oil and gas companies
and non-oil and gas companies. Non-oil and gas companies
include those involved in; (a) general manufacturing, (b)
chemicals and petrochemicals production, (c) metals production, (d) construction, and (e) service operations. To date, most
of the large companies in Qatar, particularly oil and gas companies, have implemented a number of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications. This shows that
companies in Qatar have a keen interest in improving operating
efficiencies. Therefore, investigating lean perceptions and expectations in the oil and gas industries in Qatar is worthwhile.
Although a variety of industrial sectors exist, Qatars economy is dominated by the oil and gas industries. Due to the
sensitivity of oil and gas prices [1], the oil and gas industries in
Qatar have been facing challenges such as increased global
competition, production uncertainties, and how to maximize
profits in the wake of escalating production costs. While these
challenges are also faced by other types of industrial sectors

worldwide, in some cases, time-tested solutions have been
provided by visiting or revisiting the noble lean
manufacturing principles [2, 3].
Although lean concepts were proposed a long time ago,
some parts of the world and certain industrial sectors have not
yet appreciated and/or recognized lean and its numerous benefits [4]. Albeit, implementing lean manufacturing principles is
not a panacea for success since a number of lean implementation failures have also been reported [5, 6]. There is, therefore,
an inherent need to develop sound strategies for lean
implementations and suitable mechanisms that support lean
transformations in order to steer lean implementations towards
success and accrued benefits. Moreover, successful lean
implementations must be sustained if an organization intends
to continue to accrue lean benefits [710]. This means that lean
thinking must be embedded in the operations of an organization.
A major observation from other studies shows that preliminary requirements for success in lean implementations lies in
the following six aspects: (i) level of lean awareness [11], (ii)
recognition of the true essence of lean and lean perceptions
[12], (iii) understanding the dynamic business environment in
which a candidate for lean implementation exists [13], (iv)
identifying potential barriers to lean thinking and lean
implementations [14, 15], (v) determining a suitable strategy
for lean implementations [16, 17], and (vi) developing suitable
mechanisms that support and perpetuate lean transformations.
This paper addresses aspects (i)(iii) mentioned above. However, results of this study may provide background information for further studies that aim at addressing aspects (iv)(vi).
In comparison with other regions of the world, relatively
few studies in the gulf region have been done to comprehensively explore the six aspects mentioned in the previous paragraph. As a result, relatively little is known about the regional
context of lean implementations, lean transformations, and the
socio-economic as well as the socio-technological challenges
and barriers to lean applications. To the best knowledge of the
authors, no comprehensive studies of the lean aspects mentioned in the previous paragraph have been done for the industries in Qatar. This leads to two undesirable scenarios: (a)
unavailability of comprehensive studies means that the local
context of lean implementations and lean transformations are
not known, hence, relevant stakeholders that may need information from such studies are left without a reference; and (b)
unavailability of comprehensive studies also mean that the
dynamics of lean within the business environment in Qatar
industries are unknown and not well understood.
The scenarios described in the previous paragraph represent
gaps in the applications of lean in the industries in Qatar. As it
stands, prospective lean initiatives and lean implementations
can be done without the all-important fundamental knowledge
that gives guidelines regarding what to expect and how to manage unexpected reactions to lean implementations and
subsequent results. Therefore, the uniqueness of the present

study lies in (1) providing knowledge and information that
can be used to define and understand the local context in
implementing lean and developing lean transformation models
and strategies in the industries in Qatar and (2) providing
knowledge and information that may lead to a better understanding of lean dynamics within the business environment in
Qatar. As such, the results of this study can be used to develop a
model for advancing lean manufacturing practices in Qatar. To
this end, this paper reports on the findings of a lean awareness
and lean perception study that aimed at assessing the current
state of lean awareness and lean thinking across a variety of
industries in Qatar. The main contribution of this paper is to
provide new insights into the understanding of lean implementation dynamics in Qatar. This is important since there is only
limited knowledge of the use and impacts of lean thinking in
the industries in Qatar.
The aim of this paper, therefore, is to determine the level of
lean awareness and identify the potential for lean
implementations in industries in Qatar. Such findings can be
used to derive lean dynamics for the purpose of steering lean
implementations and lean transformations towards advanced
manufacturing practices in Qatar industries. The underlying
theme of this paper is that measuring lean awareness is a
crucial step that helps in the accurate mapping of future lean
implementations. Understanding the lean dynamics for the
unique situation in Qatar helps in defining an appropriate level
and suitable strategic plan for starting a comprehensive lean
implementation program. This leads to the following main
research questions that will be addressed in this paper:
1. What is the level of lean awareness, lean recognition, and
lean implementation in the industries in Qatar?
2. Are there any differences in lean awareness and lean
thinking between the oil and gas industries on one hand
and the non-oil and gas industries on the other?
3. Are there any differences in lean awareness and lean
thinking between the ISO-certified and non-ISOcertified industries?
4. What is the potential for lean implementation in industries
in Qatar?
5. What is the perception of industries in Qatar on the potential benefits of lean?
In order to answer these questions, the following objectives
were pursued:
(i) To asses lean awareness in various industrial sectors and
determine the differences in the level of lean awareness
across the spectrum of different industries in Qatar, and
(ii) To identify potential for lean implementations and asses
perceptions on lean implementations and lean benefits in
various industries in Qatar.
1.1 Background
Over the past 10 years, industries in Qatar have experienced
an unprecedented boom mainly driven by the thriving oil and
gas industries. This has led to the development and implementation of a number of methods and techniques for addressing
challenges in the dynamic business environment in Qatar.
Consequently, a number of ISO certifications and various scientific management systems, such as quality management systems and environmental management systems, have been implemented successfully in a number of industries in Qatar.
Despite such success, the industry in Qatar has been aspiring
to realize leading value indicators of operational excellency.
Albeit, relatively little has been done to comprehensively deploy time-tested lean machinations in the various industries in
Qatar. While this situation has prevailed, industries in Qatar
need to move towards world class manufacturing status since
most of the produce from this industry is for international
markets. Based on the differences between the current state
of operations in industries in Qatar and higher goals for operational excellence, innovative strategies for advancing
manufacturing practices must be developed to bridge the gap
in operational excellency. In this respect, lean is one of the
time-tested management systems that can facilitate as well as
pave the path towards leading value indicators of operational
excellence and world class manufacturing [5, 18]. As such, a
consideration of lean concepts, lean principles and lean thinking is an important move that can position industries in Qatar
1.2 Business environment in Qatar
Qatar is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world
[19]. Economic review of the last several years showed a
continued high GDP growth in the years 2005 to 2012. For
quite some time, the economic policy in Qatar has been focusing on developing Qatars non-associated natural gas reserves along with increasing private and foreign investment in
non-oil and gas sectors. Such a move has been envisaged to
help in reducing the interlinks and synergy in the business
environment in Qatar. However, the oil and gas industries
accounts for more than 50 % of the GDP, 85 % of export
earnings, and 70 % of government revenues [20]. As such,
the oil and gas industries have significantly contributed to
Qatars rise to a position as one of the highest per-capita income countries. Proved oil reserves in excess of 25 billion
barrels have been predicted to enable continued output at current levels for the next 57 years. Moreover, Qatars proved
reserves of natural gas exceed 25 trillion cubic meters, i.e.,
more than 13 % of the world total and third largest in the world
[21]. Since the majority of the non-oil and gas industries largely depend on the booming oil and gas industries, advancing
production enhancements in Qatars oil and gas industries
should naturally cascade to all interrelated industrial sectors.

This unique relationship can be exploited to leverage integrated lean thinking enablers across industries in Qatar and move
Due to the nature of the business environment in Qatar,
implementing lean manufacturing principles is not as
straightforward a case as it has been in other types of
industries elsewhere [2, 22]. This is due to the fact that
most of the industries in Qatar are directly or indirectly
linked to the oil and gas industries. Worldwide, the oil
and gas industries have taken its time to embrace lean
and lean thinking. Moreover, in the public literature relatively more studies on lean implementations in other parts
of the world are in the non-oil and gas industries [4]. This
leaves a number of gaps in terms of knowledge and information about lean implementations in the oil and gas industries. For the business environment in Qatar, this gap is
further complicated by the existence of intricate relationships among various companies in Qatar.
Most of the large organizations that form the core of
Qatar industries are government owned or at least the government has large shares in the industries. As such, there
exist intricate networks, symbiotic relationships, and synergies among these industries. This results in a number of
complex manifestations that may hinder lean, lean thinking,
lean implementations, and lean transformations since independent decisions cannot be made at certain levels of operations without approval. Such relationships need to be understood in order to leverage lean, lean thinking, lean
implementations and lean transformations in a meaningful
way. Therefore, a comprehensive study on the lean situation
with respect to the business environment in the industries in
Qatar may help in determining appropriate methods and
strategies for lean implementations and lean transformations.
1.3 Challenges to lean implementations in industries

in Qatar
Besides the nature of the business environment in Qatar, other
prominent challenges to lean and lean thinking as well as lean
implementations in industries in Qatar include: (a) how to
deploy lean thinking in an environment characterized by intricate relationships mentioned in the previous paragraphs, (b)
how to identify the right starting point for lean implementation
and lean implementation programs, (c) how to engage, in a
meaningful way, a workforce that has tirelessly implemented a
number of other scientific management systems, (d) how to
deploy lean in ISO-certified industries that have successfully
delivered targets as per shareholder requirements, and (e) how
to overcome the forces of production uncertainties and lean
change requirements that may actually disrupt and/or counter
efforts in lean implementations.
While a number of challenges exist, there is always room

for successful lean implementations within a variety of contexts as evidenced in [2325]. Theoretically, lean principles
and concepts have been known to offer companies the robustness that allows them to face up to most challenges related to
global competition [26]. While a number of lean theories and
concepts exist, it is important to explore the applicability and
extent of applications of such theories in the context of their
applications. To this end, exploratory and empirical studies
can provide more insight and an in-depth understanding of
how lean dynamics and lean thinking can be re-packaged for
sustainable and successful lean transformations in Qatar industries. Accordingly, this study investigates lean manufacturing awareness and lean perceptions for the purpose of providing a sound basis for developing an integrated lean implementation model for industries in Qatar.
Based on the trends and economic status of Qatar, the philosophy of lean is very essential for Qatar industries. It has
already been shown that most of the concepts of lean are
applicable in most industries [2326]. Therefore, in order for
Qatar industries to stay competitive, globally, companies in
Qatar must try to make their facilities more efficient and
leaner. The energy sectors production in Qatar is not only
very important in backing the economy, it is also the base
for other industries such as petrochemicals, chemical
manufacturing, water and electricity production, as well as
the small-to-medium companies that support the oil and gas
industries. Keeping in mind that the natural resources for the
oil and gas are non-renewable, lean initiatives can impact on
energy efficiencies and reduction of energy consumption in
most types of industrial sectors in Qatar [27]. Therefore, the
need for organizations in Qatar to open their doors to lean and
lean thinking can never be overemphasized.
improvements, zero defects, multifunctional teams, integration of functions, standardized work practices, and doing it
right the first time [29].
In the context of lean manufacturing principles, lean identifies wastes to be non-value-added activities that exist in a
process. Lean also identifies a number of common wastes in
production processes which are called lean deadly wastes.
These lean deadly wastes include; overproduction, waiting,
inventory, overprocessing, transportation, motion and defects.
A number of tools and techniques for implementing lean also
exist and these include; total productive maintenance (TPM),
just in time (JIT), 5 s, kanban, single minute exchange of dies
(SMED), production smoothing, standard work, visual control, cellular manufacturing, plan-do-check-act cycle (PDCA),
and value stream mapping.
During the various stages of industrial evolution, a number of scientific management systems and concepts were
developed. A close examination of the lean concepts, principles, tools, and techniques shows that commonalities exist
between lean and other scientific management systems that
are embedded in, for example, environmental management
systems, work method measurements and standards, as well
as a number of ISO certifications. Such commonalities need
to be isolated and delineated in order to avoid lean being
regarded as just one of the different types of scientific management systems. If lean implementations are to be taken
seriously in production environments in which a number of
scientific management systems are practiced, the broader
scope of lean, i.e., beyond existing commonalities, must be
reinforced and supported by mechanisms, models, and strategies that will prevent lean from being just another practice
of industrial management systems.
2.2 Related work
2 Literature review
2.1 Overview of lean, lean wastes, and tools
Lean manufacturing or lean production originated in the Toyota Motor Company for which a new business strategy was
introduced with a focus on identifying sources of waste as a
first step and then applying methods, tools, and techniques to
eliminate the wastes [28]. Since then, lean has expanded and
spread to other types of industries and many principles, concepts, and tools for lean implementations have been developed
[2326]. These tools have strived to fulfill common goals such
as reducing waste in human effort, inventory, time to market,
manufacturing space, as well as to provide opportunities for
companies to become highly responsive to customer demand
while producing quality products in the most efficient and
economical manner [16]. Commonly used lean concepts and
principles include elimination of wastes, continuous
The public literature is endowed with many studies on lean,

lean tools, lean implementations and lean adaptations [6,
2931]. In [31], the extent of lean implementations within
Australian organizations was investigated. Other objectives
of the study in [31] included understanding the structural
changes which had taken place during lean implementations,
identifying the initiators of the lean practices and summarizing
the benefits achieved and difficulties experienced by companies adopting lean production. The results of the study in [31]
claimed that 82 % of the companies that responded to the lean
survey were practicing lean production. The perceptions of
other respondents was that lean was very expensive to implement. Most companies indicated that senior management and
middle management do most of the driving for lean
implementations. However, it was observed that resistance
to lean implementations was mostly coming from middle
managers, senior managers, as well as shop floor personnel.
Organizational changes reported in [31] included emphasis on
building a customer-focused organization, changing to team

manufacturing, focus on improving operational efficiency, reducing delivery times, and quality orientation. Cited benefits
included competitive market positioning, improved customer
relationships, improved quality, increased flexibility, lowering
of cycle times, greater sensitivity to market changes, and
higher productivity levels [31].
In [32], a study to quantify the benefits of lean and waste
reduction was conducted through application of the value
stream mapping (one of the lean tool). This study focused
on the implementation of the lean philosophy in a forging
company. A remarkable reduction in set-up time and workin-process (WIP) inventory level were observed. However,
the authors pointed out that the complete success of application of lean philosophy ultimately depends on a close cooperation between the shop floor personnel and the management.
It was also noted that senior management should increase the
awareness of employee empowerment systems, continuous
improvement programs, as well as utilize effective management information systems. In the same study, the authors concluded that if lean management principles are not fully
adopted in combination with the factory floor principles, the
lean system will achieve little benefits.
In [33], the authors investigated the extent to which lean
production has been implemented in the electrical and electronics companies in Malaysia. In that study, it was emphasized that an appreciation of the perceptions and understanding of lean manufacturing in the industry is an important
step that can, among others, affect the adoption, adaptation,
and implementation of lean in a specific industrial sector.
The same study also shows that many companies in the
electrical and electronics industry in Malaysia are committed
to lean manufacturing. The companies understanding of
lean philosophy was rated good and there was evidence of
accrued multiple benefits since the implementation of lean.
These benefits include; reduced cost and improved productivity. Results also indicated that the companies implemented
various tools and techniques to support lean manufacturing
and these tools were used in tandem.
In [34], the authors used value stream techniques in order
to highlight improvement areas and to bridge the gap between the existing state and the proposed state of a job shop
production system. A comparison of the current and future
state of the shop floor activities revealed significant reductions in lead time, processing time, work-in-process inventory, and manpower requirement. The same study concluded
that the lean values stream mapping is a very powerful tool
that can be used to identify performance gaps related to
wastes and hence can facilitate lean implementation in job
shop production industries.
While many authors have investigated the impact of lean
on production effectiveness and efficiency, other authors have
also investigated the various ways in which a lean production
environment can influence employee behavior. For example,

in [30], the authors investigated the relationships between perceived organizational support, job involvement, and turnover
intention in a lean production environment. The aim of the
investigation was to understand employee perception towards
lean production environment.
In [35], a study on lean awareness, lean implementation,
and the need for external support for lean implementation
was conducted in Virginias wood industry in USA. Findings from this research indicated that the majority of respondents were aware of one or more lean terms such as lean
management, lean production, and Toyota Production System. Core lean elements such as PDCA, SMED, and error
proofing were recognized by a mere 20 % of the respondents. The same study analyzed if a difference exists in the
status of awareness and implementation between companies
in different sectors of industries such as; manufactured
homes, household furniture manufacturing, wood container
and pallets production, and sawmills. The results revealed
that a large difference exists in different wood industry divisions and that smaller companies (i.e., employing less than
50 employees) had lower understanding of lean and had not
applied lean to a large extent in comparison with larger
companies (i.e., more than 50 employees).
A number of observations can be derived from the cited
literature. For example, lean implementations incur costs before implementation, during implementation and after implementation. Therefore, it is always necessary to assess lean
awareness and lean perceptions as well as understand the lean
thinking before any lean programs are set in motion [5, 35].
This observation is very important in rapidly developing economies like Qatar in which all sorts of scientific management
systems have been implemented in a bid to compete in the
global environment. Depending on the current awareness level, lean awareness programs can then be developed and customized to be commensurate with the lean awareness status
quo. Such programs should focus on providing fundamental
knowledge starting at an appropriate level. Such knowledge
will be geared at understanding lean and lean roles as well as
clarify how personnel at various levels in an organization will
take part in lean transformation efforts.
2.3 Barriers to lean implementations
A number of barriers to lean implementations have been
discussed in the public literature [3640]. A succinct summary
of barriers to lean implementations has been provided in [37].
Some of the barriers to lean are generic in nature, i.e., they can
also be encountered in any situation in which a new idea, new
tool or new concepts is introduced. The public literature is
endowed with a lot of case studies that demonstrate factors
that contribute to failure in launching relatively new ideas
such as lean manufacturing.
Some of the barriers to lean implementation include: lack

of proper communication channels, inflexibilities in protocols
and communication hierarchies [41, 42], industry/
organization culture [43], failing to clearly explain the lean
benefits to managers, supervisors and employees [44, 45],
and failing to realize that lean implementation is continuous
and not a onetime offering [38, 44].
Although barriers to lean are generic, some of the barriers
prevail under certain conditions while other barriers are situation specific. For example, the industry in Qatar has been
putting a lot of emphasis on various ISO certifications and
related scientific management systems. As such, this could
hinder lean implementation, and the success thereof, since
lean could just be viewed as yet another management tool
for continuous improvement. Therefore, for successful lean
implementations innovative mechanisms are required to delineate lean and position lean as a philosophical approach that
can be used to realize additional benefits beyond ISO certifications. Another related prominent barrier to lean
implementations is resistance against change [37]. This usually comes into effect if lean is considered as just another new
idea by, for example, a workforce that has tireless worked on a
number of continuous improvement programs. Under such
conditions, unique determinants of a successful lean journey
must be identified and emphasized in order to remove any
form of passive resistance due to lack of confidence and
skeptism in adopting lean in operations. Thus, it is necessary
to convince the organization, managers at various levels as
well as all employees that lean implementation after ISO certifications is beneficial. In addition, continuous effort and
commitment to a lean change are required in order to realize
lean success and perpetuate the benefits of lean
implementations.
3 Research method
3.1 Qatar industries
The present study focuses on assessing lean awareness and
perception of lean implementations in various industrial sectors in Qatar. The population of interest for this study
consisted of a number of companies categorized, for purpose
of analysis, as follows; (a) companies in the oil and gas
industries, (b) companies in the non-oil and gas industries,
(c) ISO-certified companies and non-ISO-certified companies, and (c) small-to-medium companies that support the
large oil and gas companies.
3.1.1 Companies in the oil and gas industries
Companies in the oil and gas industries in Qatar are involved
in the global exploration, extraction, processing and
transportation of oil and natural gas. For petroleum oil, some

of the companies are involved in oil refining and marketing of
petroleum oil products. The largest volume products from the
petroleum oil companies are fuel oil and gasoline (petrol).
Petroleum oil companies in Qatar provide a significant percentage of the worlds energy consumption. For natural gas,
some of the companies are involved in the extraction, processing and global transportation of liquefied natural gas as well as
marketing and exportation of natural gas by-products. Some
of the oil and gas companies are involved in the integrated
processes of oil and gas exploration and industrialization,
while others operate across the oil and gas value chain.
3.1.2 Companies in the non-oil and gas industries
Most of the companies in the non-oil and gas industries can
generally be classified as manufacturing companies. The
manufacturing industry in Qatar has grown due to the
expanding hydrocarbon sector and infrastructure spending.
In Qatar, the petrochemical industry is classified under the
manufacturing sector. Petrochemicals industries are the
fastest-growing manufacturing sector, followed by steel, cement, and aluminum production.
3.1.3 Small-to-medium companies
Small-to-medium companies in Qatar have risen due to the
opportunities available in the downstream activities of the
large oil and gas companies. Qatar economy has been diversifying, with rapid growth in construction, financial services,
real estate, and other downstream activities.
3.1.4 ISO-certified and non-ISO-certified companies
The oil and gas industries in Qatar, as well as the major companies that support the oil and gas industries (for example, the
petrochemical industry), have been implementing a number of
scientific management systems. Common management systems implemented in Qatar include; quality management systems, environmental management systems, as well as occupational health and safety systems. As such most of the large
companies have been implementing a number of ISO certifications. These certifications and the various scientific management systems have gone a long way in characterizing
and influencing the industry culture in Qatar.
While achievements of the various ISO certifications is
commendable, research has shown that lean principles are
related to, for example, ISO 9000 [4, 46]. In addition, a number of studies have also shown that there is always room for
lean implementations with benefits after ISO certifications [4,
46]. Based on the discussions above, a high level of lean
related awareness, commonalities and perceptions are expected in Qatar industries due to a large commitment to ISO
certifications and other scientific management systems. This

observation leads to the following alternative hypotheses with
respect to Qatar context:
3.2.2 Survey design
H1. The majority of companies in Qatar are not aware of

lean concepts, lean tools, and lean technique
H2. There is a significant difference in terms of lean awareness in the oil and gas companies compared with non-oil
and gas companies
H3. There is a significant difference in terms of lean awareness in ISO-certified companies compared with nonISO-certified companies.
&
The survey instrument was designed as follows:
&
&
3.2 Data collection

In order to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses mentioned above, both quantitative and qualitative analyses were used. The quantitative analysis was based on the
data collected through a survey questionnaire, while the qualitative analysis was based on semi-structured interviews with
various personnel in the industries in Qatar. Data was collected from the participating companies through e-mails. The survey was mailed to the recipients. E-mails of the respondent
companies were gathered from different sources. The survey
was launched and 2.5 months later the e-mail survey instrument was closed for data analysis. In order to determine nonresponse bias, 30 non-response addresses were selected randomly and the respondents were contacted through telephone.
Surveys were sent gradually in batches (maximum 20/day)
and follow-ups were made. This process was repeated until
all available e-mails were completed. A total of 333 e-mail
addresses were used for data collection from the various industries in Qatar.
3.2.1 Lean awareness survey
The development of the research instrument was based on past
studies [4, 47]. The population of study consisted of 100 companies in the following industrial sectors: oil and gas, metals
manufacturing (i.e., steel and aluminum), building and construction, petrochemical industry, water and electricity production, telecommunication, health care, hotels, education,
and othersi.e., small-to-medium companies that support
large industries in Qatar. In order to obtain valid and reliable
results, pilot tests were conducted for both the questionnaire
and the interviews. For the pilot tests, 25 e-mail addresses
were selected randomly from the total pool. Two pre-testings
were conducted in order to test the questionnaire questions
and the scoring system in terms of clarity, understanding and
acceptability. After the pre-testing phase, modifications were
made in an attempt to enhance the questionnaire design.
Introductory opening for the recipients, including the purpose of the study.
General information about the respondentsask respondents to provide general information about them and their
organizations, e.g., type of industry, name of respondents
department and his/her position, as well as the number of
years of experience the respondent has in the organization.
Four sections for data collection. These included:
Section 1: an overview of lean manufacturingintended
to find out the respondents basic knowledge on lean
manufacturing terms and principles
Section 2: lean deadly wastesto examine the respondents knowledge about lean deadly wastes
Section 3: lean tools and techniquesto measure the extent of knowledge that respondents have about lean tools
and techniques
Section 4: perception of lean implementation in Qatar
industriesto find out respondents opinions and expectations about the benefits and challenges of a lean implementation project.
3.2.3 Scoring system

To come up with conclusions and recommendations and address the research objectives, data was collected for the purpose
of calculating an awareness index. Accordingly, a scoring system that assigns points for questions in the relevant sections of
the survey was developed. The scoring system was based on
scale of 15. Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the survey instrument
focused on collecting information related to lean awareness in
the various industrial sectors in Qatar. Section 4 was included to
asses respondents perception on lean implementations in the
various industries in Qatar. All questions were of multiple
choices type. For multiple choice questions where only one
answer can be chosen, the correct answer was given 1 point,
the rest of the choices were given 0 point. For multiple choice
questions where more than one answer can be selected, and
given that all choices are correct and are equally important,
the same point 1 point is given to each choice, i.e., the points
add up based on the number of choices selected. In the various
sections cited above, a total of 19 indicators were used in two
factors, i.e., (i) the lean awareness and (ii) lean implementation
perception assessments. A factor analysis was conducted to
validate measures and scales used in accordance with the method discussed in [47]. In order to estimate the internal consistency of the 19 indicators distributed in two factors, the Cronbachs
test was carried out as discussed in [47].
3.2.4 Survey execution

After the screening process, a total of 50 questionnaires were
found suitable for data analysis. The response rate was found
to be 15 %. Figure 1 shows the distribution of respondents for
each batch of respondents in the study population.
Figure 2 shows the percentages of surveys that were completed, not delivered, or ignored by the recipients.
Figure 3 shows the distribution of respondents among different sectors in the industry in Qatar.
Figure 3 shows that the highest percentage of respondents
was from oil and gas sector, 34 %. Besides others, the second highest percentage was obtained from the education sector, 12 %. This was followed by the petrochemical industry,
8 %, and construction sector, 6 %. Other sectors contribution
can be read directly from the pie chart shown in Fig. 3. Among
the useful questionnaire respondents, 15 respondents were
from ISO-certified companies. In order to address hypothesis
3, 15 respondents were randomly selected from the non-ISOcertified companies for comparative analysis with the 15 respondents from ISO-certified companies. Data collected from
the surveys were processed and analyzed using excel spread
sheets and Minitab. The findings are reported in the following
section.
4 Data analysis
4.1 Assessment results
The previous section of this paper discussed the scoring system used to calculate the awareness and perception of lean
implementation scores. In order to test the internal consistency
of the test scores, Cronbachs test was used. The results of
Fig. 1 Percentages of surveys
completed out of the total surveys
sent in batches at different periods
the reliability and validation of measures and scales used in

the analysis are shown in Table 1.
As shown in Table 1, the questionnaire was used to measure internal consistency of three constructs, i.e., lean awareness, perception on lean implementation benefits and perception on lean implementation challenges. Table 1 shows that
the Cronbachs value is greater than 0.6 for the three factors
used in this study. This suggests that the data from the various
indicators for the three factors can be considered acceptable.
From Table 1, the results of the average mean scores on lean
awareness show that most of the scores are below the midpoint score (i.e., below 3). Scores above the mid-point for the
lean awareness were recorded for (a) tools and techniques for
waste reduction and improvements of operations, elimination
of wastes, continuous improvements, JIT (non-value
added activities, waste of waiting, and waste through defects. This can be attributed to the fact that most of these
concepts are embedded in a number of scientific management
systems practiced in the industries in Qatar. Scores above the
mid-point suggests an acceptable awareness level of some of
the lean basics such as lean and wastes in the industry. Scores
below the mid-point indicate that the lean philosophy and lean
culture need to be addressed in Qatar industries.
For the lean perception on benefits, none of the scores were
above the mid-point. This means that any training or preparation for lean implementation or lean transformation should
reinforce the benefits of lean to the organization. For the lean
perception challenges, three indicators recorded scores above
the mid-point i.e., lack of management commitment,
scared of failure, and lack of the know-how to implement
lean. This suggests that lean thinking and concepts, (a) must
be addressed at managerial levels, (b) education and training
in preparation for lean projects must be conducted in order to
raise confidence in lean and hence ensure success, and (c)

Fig. 2 Percentages of surveys
completed, not delivered, and
ignored by the recipients
education and training on methods and techniques for

implementing lean must be conducted to equip industrial personnel with the know-how to implement lean.
Figure 4 shows the average percentage scores for the various industries considered for analysis. Variations in the obtained score are apparent in Fig. 4. In Fig. 3, it was observed
that greatest share of respondents (i.e., 34 %) were from the oil
and gas industries. However, it is important to observe that
although the oil and gas industries had the largest share in
terms of the number of respondents, the petrochemicals industry achieved the highest average percent score among all the
industries (49.3 %) followed by others (i.e., small-to-medium
industries, 28.42 %), steel and metal industries (i.e., 22.7 %),
and the oil and gas industries (i.e., 21.75 %), respectively.
As discussed in Sect. 3.2.2, the first three sections of the
survey were concerned with overview of lean, lean wastes,
Fig. 3 Distribution of
respondents with respect to
industrial sectors
and lean tools. Figure 5 shows a comparison of the average

sections percent score, for the three sections mentioned
above, among the different type of industrial sectors.
Figure 5 shows that there are no defined relationships
among the scores of the sections. For example, if a respondent was able to score some points in the first section, it
did not follow that the same respondent will be able to
score higher points in the remaining sections. In addition,
some respondents have zero knowledge about the questions
in Sect. 1 (overview of lean); however, they were able to
score some point in Sect. 2 (lean wastes) or section 3 (lean
tools). This may imply that there are overlaps between lean
principles and other scientific management systems such as
ISO certifications. However, Fig. 5 shows that for all three
sections, the petrochemical industry outperformed the rest
of the industries in Qatar.

Table 1
Factor loading and Cronbachs
Factors and indicators

Lean awareness
Basic lean awareness
(a) General knowledge of lean
(b) Tools and techniques for waste reduction and operations improvements
(c) Continuous improvement
(d) Long-term cost-cutting strategies
(e) Fully integrated management system
Lean principles
(a) Elimination of waste
(b) Continuous improvement
(c) Zero defects
(d) Just in time (JIT)
(e) Multifunctional teams
(f) integration of functions
Concept of water
(a) Non-value added activities
(b) Losses due to machine failures or production stoppages
(c) Production of defective items
(d) Excess purchasing and production
(e) Storing unneeded materials
Knowledge on lead deadly wastes
(a) Overproduction
(b) Waiting
(c) Inventory
(d) Overprocessing
(e) Transportation
(f) Motion
(g) Defects
Lean tools and techniques
(a) Total productive maintenance
(b) JIT
(c) 5Ss
(d) Kanban
(e) SMED
(f) Production smoothing
(g) Standardized work
(h) Visual control
(i) Cellular manufacturing
(j) PDCA
(k) Value stream mapping
Perception on lean implementation benefits
Improved quality
Improved flexibility
Reduction of waste
Improved productivity
Decreased inventory
Increased profit
Perception on lean implementation challenges
Lack of management commitment
Scared of failure (fear factor)
Employee resistance to change (people factor)
Financial benefits not recognized
Lack of know-how to implement
Budget constraints
Company culture
Mean Standard deviation Factor loading Squared loading Cronbachs

0.85
2.13
1.97
3.66
2.31
0.38
2.31
2.76
4.04
3.27
2.31
3.08
1.93
1.93
2.45
3.88
2.04
2.15
2.15
2.04
2.82
2.92
3.34
2.92
2.92
2.19
2.09
3.34
1.01
1.25
1.93
1.82
0.91
0.12
0.46
0.68
0.57
0.63
1.71
1.03
1.29
1.43
1.04
0.89
0.92
1.37
1.27
0.91
1.47
0.96
1.46
1.09
0.89
1.30
1.31
0.89
1.05
1.31
1.11
1.40
1.33
1.19
1.31
1.00
1.02
1.51
1.19
0.90
1.57
0.92
1.30
1.45
1.43
1.15
1.03
1.22
1.29
1.23
0.80
0.79
0.65
0.85
0.64
0.73
0.63
0.60
0.79
0.72
0.71
0.82
0.83
0.61
0.63
0.60
0.70
0.65
0.81
0.79
0.74
0.66
0.70
0.82
0.77
0.85
0.90
0.89
0.62
0.85
0.84
0.85
0.69
0.60
0.68
0.85
0.77
0.81
0.81
0.74
0.620
0.424
0.717
0.407
0.534
0.403
0.365
0.626
0.523
0.500
0.677
0.694
0.368
0.402
0.366
0.486
0.429
0.651
0.631
0.542
0.430
0.485
0.678
0.595
0.720
0.810
0.789
0.386
0.729
0.714
0.722
0.472
0.362
0.460
0.721
0.591
0.653
0.661
0.550
1.35
2.63
2.04
2.79
2.87
2.00
1.22
0.91
1.23
1.07
1.33
1.54
0.56
0.63
0.76
0.73
0.78
0.73
0.32
0.39
0.58
0.54
0.61
0.53
3.92
3.30
1.75
2.45
3.84
2.28
1.99
1.51
0.97
1.08
1.54
1.08
1.06
1.28
0.71
0.57
0.62
0.56
0.74
0.55
0.69
0.50
0.33
0.39
0.31
0.55
0.30
0.48
0.72
0.62

Fig. 4 Average percent score for
the different types of industries
included in the survey
4.2 Responses from each section of the questionnaire

4.2.1 Section 1: overview of lean manufacturing
The first question of Sect. 1 in the survey asks the respondents if they have ever heard about the term lean
manufacturing. It was observed that 52 % of the
respondents have heard about the term lean and the rest
have never heard about it.
The second question in Sect. 1 of the questionnaire asks the
respondents (who answered question 1 in Sect. 1 positively)
about their general understanding of lean manufacturing. Figure 6
shows the results obtained for question 2 in Sect. 1 of the
questionnaire.
Fig. 5 A comparison of sections scores among the different industrial sectors in Qatar

Fig. 6 Results obtained for
general understanding of lean
concepts
For the question in Sect. 1, more than one answer could be

selected. The highest percentage (73.1 %) was given to the first
choice (tools and techniques for waste reduction and improvement of operations). For the Qatar context, this result was expected since waste reduction and improvements in operations
are key issues in a variety of scientific management systems
implemented in most of the large companies in Qatar. The least
percentage was given to long-term cost cutting strategies.
While long-term cost cutting strategies are a significant feature
of success of lean implementations, its relatively less recognition in industries in Qatar may have a large impact on the
success of lean implementations. The practical implication of
this observation is that training on long-term cost cutting strategies is necessary for preparing industries in Qatar for lean
implementation and lean transformation projects.
The third question in Sect. 1 of the questionnaire asks the
respondents about the type of lean principle they are familiar
with. The trend of the results is shown in Fig. 7.
The highest scores obtained were for the principle of waste
elimination, followed by continuous improvement and just-intime respectively.
4.2.2 Section 2: lean waste
Section 2 of the survey was on questions about the lean deadly
wastes. The first question of Sect. 2 of the survey finds out the
different views of the respondents about what is a waste in
general regardless to the term lean. Figure 8 summarizes the
results obtained.
From Fig. 8, it can be observed that 77.6 % of the respondents think that a waste is a non-value-added activity. Although all answers given in the question were all correct, most
respondents selected the first choice (non-value added
activities). This gives an indication that the respondents are

aware of what waste is and have a fairly good idea about
lean wastes. However, the low percentages in other forms of
waste indicate that there is a lack of knowledge in terms of the
total scope of waste in the lean framework. Such lack of
knowledge on the total scope of lean can lead to failure of
lean implementations.
Question 2 and the following questions were intended to
collect information specifically related to lean deadly wastes. It
was observed that more than 75 % answered no (i.e., the respondents are not aware of the term lean deadly wastes) while 25 %
answered yes. This result illustrates deficiencies in terms of the
lean philosophy, lean thinking, and lean culture in the majority of
the industries surveyed in Qatar. Question 3 of Sect. 2 was directed to respondents who answer question 2 in Sect. 2 negatively. This question was included in order to find out the perception
of respondents not familiar with lean principles on what they
think would lead to waste. The results are shown in Fig. 9.
Defects was selected as the most waste type and received
(73 %) followed by overproduction (62.2 %) and over processing (51.4 %). This result shows that although some respondents were not familiar with lean, they have a fairly good
knowledge of defects and overproduction as wastes. As a
result, lean implementations in companies that do not implement lean should focus more on emphasizing the other deadly
wastes such as motion, transportation and inventory in order
to complement the lean framework.
Question 4 was directed to respondents who answered
question 2 affirmatively and required the respondents to identify the lean wastes they are aware of. The results are summarized in Fig. 10. Although most respondents score above
50 %, defects and waiting were selected the most (66.7 %),
followed by overprocessing and overproduction (58.3 %).

knowledge of lean principles
Very few respondents answered yes to the question asking

them about their opinion on some kind of relationship between different types of waste and none answered no. Of the
few that answered yes, the majority indicated that there is a
strong relationship between wastes (63.6 %) while the rest
agreed to a very strong relationship among the various types
of lean wastes.
SMED, production smoothing and visual control, which have

been for a long associated with discrete parts manufacturing.
This is expected because very little activities in Qatar can be
classified as discrete parts manufacturing. It was also observed
that only 27.3 % of all respondents were not familiar with any
of the lean tools. For the question do you think that any tool
would be applicable and effective to your plant at any time or
at any process?, 71 % answered yes while 29 % answered no.
4.2.3 Section 3: lean tools and techniques

Question 1 in Sect. 3 finds out how much the respondents are
aware of the lean tools and asks them to identify the lean tools
they know. The results are summarized in Fig. 11.
From the results displayed in Fig. 11, the most known tools
are JIT, 5Ss, and PDCA cycle, respectively. This result shows
that the respondents have general knowledge about lean tools.
As shown in Fig. 11, the percentages are low for tools such as
perspective of lean in various
industrial sectors
4.2.4 Section 4: implementation of lean in Qatar industries

The last section (Sect. 4) of the survey was intended to find out
the perception of the industries in Qatar on the potential and
applicability of lean and lean implementations in Qatar industries. Two types of questions were asked. The first one required the respondent to think about what a lean project would

Fig. 9 Perception of respondents
not familiar with lean principles
bring to the organization (i.e., benefits). The results of the

survey are shown in Fig. 12.
From the results displayed in Fig. 12, it can be observed
that 65.8 % of total respondents perceived that lean would
reduce waste. In addition, 65.8 % of respondents also indicated that lean would improve productivity in the organization.
Fifty percent of the respondents indicated that lean would
improve the quality (product and/or service) in their corresponding organization. Other benefits and their percentages
are displayed in Fig. 12.
The second type of question in Sect. 4 was about the
challenges/obstacles that would arise when lean is implemented in the organization. The results are shown in Fig. 13.
From Fig. 13, it can be observed that 50 % the respondents
indicated that people factor and the lack of knowing how
to implement lean are the type of challenges that would resist
the successful implementation of lean. Moreover, 44 %
Fig. 10 Perception of
respondents who are familiar with
lean principles
indicated that company culture is one of the obstacles the

company would face. Unlike most of the studies on lean elsewhere, the budget constraint score was only 14.7 % while the
fear factor scored only 8.8 %. Therefore, budget constraint for
lean implementation was not identified as a big issue in most
of the organizations hence lean implementations will not be
affected by companies budget once a commitment to implement lean has been made.
4.3 Hypothesis testing

Hypotheses testing was carried out based on the t test. t tests
were conducted for (a) the companies in Qatar, (b) the oil and
gas industries and non-oil and gas industries, and (c) ISOcertified and non-ISO-certified companies. Three hypotheses
were used to derive meaning from the collected data.

Fig. 11 Lean tool awareness in
the various industrial sectors
4.3.1 Hypothesis 1
4.3.2 Hypothesis 2
Lean awareness in industries in Qatar The first hypothesis

was about the current lean awareness in Qatar Industries. In
testing this hypothesis, it was assumed that the samples were
drawn from a normally distributed population. Using the results obtained from calculating the awareness scores and setting up the confidence level to be =0.05, the output from
Minitab showed a p value of 0.001 at 95 % confidence interval. Since the p value (i.e., 0.001) is less than 0.05, the null
hypothesis is rejected. Hence, it can be inferred that the majority of companies in Qatar are not aware of lean.
Oil and gas vs non-oil and gas The second hypothesis was
about differences in lean awareness between the oil and gas
and the non-oil and gas companies. Using the results obtained
from calculating the awareness scores and setting up the confidence level to be =0.05, the output from Minitab shows a p
value of 0.037. Since the p value (0.037) is less than 0.05, the
null hypothesis is rejected. Hence, it can be inferred that there
is a significant difference in lean awareness between the oil
and gas companies on one hand and the non-oil and gas companies on the other. These results can help in terms of planning
Fig. 12 Perception of the

industry on applicability of lean
and benefits of lean
implementations

Fig. 13 Perception of industry
about the challenges of lean
implementations
for future lean implementations in Qatar as well as for developing strategies for lean implementation and lean transformations. In addition, the starting level of lean implementation
should be different for the oil and gas industries on one hand
and the non-oil and gas industries on the other.
4.3.3 Hypothesis 3
ISO-certified vs non-ISO-certified companies The third hypothesis was about differences in lean awareness between
ISO-certified companies and non-ISO-certified companies.
Using the results obtained from calculating the awareness
scores and setting up the confidence level to be =0.05, the
output from Minitab shows a p value of 0.000. Since the p
value is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected. Hence,
it can be inferred that there is a significant difference in lean
awareness between the ISO-certified companies and non-ISOcertified companies. These results can help in terms of planning for future implementation of lean in Qatar as well as for
developing customized strategies for lean implementation and
lean transformations. In addition, the starting level of lean
implementation should be different for ISO-certified companies and non-ISO-certified companies. Moreover, the level of
emphasis as well as the subject area for emphasis during preparations for lean implementations must be different for ISOcertified companies and non-ISO-certified companies
4.4 Limitations of the study
Ideally, the plan was to get as many respondents as possible
from the 100 companies that participated in this research.
Although the survey execution implemented in this paper

attempted to reduce the number of non-response participants,
some of the participants chose not to respond even after follow-up. In addition, some of the e-mails were not delivered
indicating that either the person has left the company or has
changed the e-mail address. Although an attempt was made to
distribute the survey instrument based on assigned weights
with respect to the industries in Qatar, analysis of respondents
indicated that in comparison with other sectors, relatively
more respondents were from the oil and gas industries and
its related operations. This was expected since Qatars economy is dominated by the oil and gas industries.
The results discussed in this paper are based on the response of a few employees from each participating company.
Although key recipients in different companies were encouraged to distribute the survey to any other employees, participants from each company were relatively few and proportional to the size and interest of the company.
5 Discussion and implications of results

Some of the results obtained in this paper are similar to those
obtained by other researchers elsewhere [12, 31, 33, 35].
However, a number of unique findings and their implications
are summarized in this section.
While findings in most research papers, for example [31,
33, 35], indicate a significant level of lean awareness elsewhere, the findings of this paper indicate a relatively low
level of lean awareness in the companies that participated in
this research. Although the industries considered in [31, 33,
35] are different a lot is left to be desired, regarding lean and

lean implementations, in the various industries in Qatar.
Even though the industries in [31, 33, 35] were discussed
in different settings, the significance of the findings of this
paper lies in the differences in the general awareness of lean
manufacturing principles.
Since the true essence of lean is not known and not well
understood in most of the industry in Qatar, the level of awareness observed in this study for industries in Qatar (i.e., 52 %)
does directly come from core lean concept but is a result of the
strong presence of ISO certifications that have a number of
commonalities with lean manufacturing principles. mentioned
above comes from the strong presence of ISO certifications
which have commonalities with lean. It can therefore be inferred that lean concepts in industries in Qatar are embedded
in other scientific management systems, and therefore, do not
stand up as formidable fundamental concepts and principles
upon which continuous improvement is built. As discussed in
[37], this situation can be a stumbling block to lean implementation since there is a risk of considering lean as just another
scientific management tool. Another barrier related to this
could be passive resistance to lean changes if lean is regarded
as just another concept.
Thus, failure to delineate lean from other scientific management systems may result in failure to recognize benefits of
lean beyond ISO certifications. While it is important to delineate lean from other tools/concepts/techniques, it is equally
important to have a total scope of lean as well as the true
perspective of lean implementations. This study has shown
that the industries in Qatar have a limited knowledge on the
total scope of lean since some critical elements of lean, such as
long-term cost-cutting strategies, received very low scores
in the surveys. Development of long-term cost-cutting strategies is key to lean implementations, and the benefits thereof,
since it demonstrates the understanding that lean implementation is continuous and not a one-off event. If leaders of lean
implementation programs do not understand that the benefits
of lean are realized after a long period of time, then lean
implementation can fail and benefits associated with lean will
not be realized.
Unlike other studies elsewhere, budget issues for lean
implementations will, in general, not be an issue in Qatar
industries as illustrated by the findings of this paper. In
addition, Qatar industries have already demonstrated commitment traits to various ISO certifications. Therefore, management support and commitment demonstrated during the
process of ISO certifications can be transferred to the needs
for lean implementation.
Most of the large companies in Qatar have been committed
to the implementations of the various ISO certifications. Such
commitment includes extensive education and training of employees at their various levels. However, a right balance between training and education on one hand and actual
implementation on the other must be achieved since tilting

to either side may hinder or delay the success of lean
implementations.
The findings of this paper and the discussion of results and
their implications reveal a number of important issues that
must be observed when implementing lean in regions where
lean has not been adopted as a fundamental approach to continuous process improvements coupled with significant reductions of lean wastes. In order to advance lean manufacturing
practices, it is critical to determine the level of lean awareness.
The level of lean awareness varies from industrial sector to
another and it also varies from one company to another. Thus,
the level of lean awareness must be measured first before
prospects for lean and lean implementations are developed.
Results of lean awareness measurements would then provide
relevant information that can be used to prepare lean recipients
for lean implementation. Albeit, it is equally important to understand the total scope of lean waste with respect to the type
and nature of operations as well as the culture of a company or
the culture of the industrial sector earmarked for lean implementation. In addition, the true essence of lean and lean perceptions must be analyzed and given due recognition in order
to avoid failure. Furthermore, understanding the business environment of candidates for lean implementations goes a long
way in determining the various dynamics of lean
implementations. For example, in cases where there are intricate synergies among a number of companies, as is the case in
Qatar, such synergistic relationships offer a an already-inplace structure that can be used to systematically deploy lean
concepts in such a way that these concepts naturally cascade
to interlinked companies upstream or downstream of the larger dominating companies. Understanding the dynamics of
such synergies can reveal information that can be used in
developing and deploying strategies for lean implementations
and lean transformations.
6 Concluding remarks
In this paper, the level of lean awareness and potential for
lean implementations have been discussed. Information used
in the discussion was collected from a wide range of industries in Qatar. An on-line survey designed for this particular
reason was distributed among different industries and sectors
in Qatar. The questions included in the survey helped in the
assessment and the evaluation of the state of lean in Qatar.
Findings of this study indicate that a majority of industries
in Qatar have little awareness of lean principles, concepts
and techniques. Therefore, industries in Qatar need to give
more recognition of lean in their operations in order to advance operating efficiencies towards leading value indicators
of operational excellency. From the obtained results, it can
be inferred that:
(a) Lean awareness in the various companies that participated in this research is relatively low in comparison with
that in the reference regions discussed in this paper.
(b) The results obtained through the comparison of lean
score in different section of the survey showed that there
is no defined relation in the awareness of lean tools and
lean wastes.
(c) It was found that most of the industries in Qatar have
general background on lean concepts, mostly due to
commonalities in other scientific management systems
rather than from the core principles of lean manufacturing. Therefore, a total scope of lean is required in order to
advance lean manufacturing principles and practices in
the industries in Qatar.
(d) The level of lean awareness between oil and gas and nonoil and gas sectors in Qatar is different.
(e) The level of lean awareness between ISO-certified companies and non-ISO-certified companies in Qatar is
different.
Based on the information outlined above, lean awareness
campaigns and strategies for improving lean awareness and
lean preparedness in Qatar can then be formulated. Due to the
unique relationships among the various industries in Qatar,
future development of this research can be focused on designing and developing an integrated lean implementation model
for the industries in Qatar.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Acknowledgment This paper was made possible by Qatar University
Research Grant [QUUG-CENG-MIE-10/11-17]. The statements made
herein are solely the responsibility of the author[s]. The authors would
like also to acknowledge Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) through
grant number NPRP 4-631-2-233.
20.
21.
22.
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An Empirical Study On Lean Awareness and Potential For Lean Implementation in Qatar Industries

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