Special Issue on: "Lean Six Sigma Developments in Manufacturing Applications"



Guest Editors:
Dr. Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes, University of Derby, UK
Dr. Vikas Kumar, Dublin City University, Republic of Ireland



The manufacturing sector is vital for the well-being and development of any country’s economy. Organisations in this sector are currently facing numerous challenges in the market place. Some of the most significant challenges include intense global competition, handling cost pressures and adapting to different consumer needs and expectations. ‘Lean manufacturing’ and ‘Six Sigma’ have been recognised as two of the most effective strategies employed by manufacturers to overcome these challenges and thus achieve business excellence.



This special issue aims at presenting the latest research and/or application developments of lean manufacturing, Six Sigma or lean Six Sigma (as an integrated approach) in the manufacturing sector. This issue will be of special interest to academics, researchers, students, consultants and industrialists involved in the research, implementation, management and improvement of manufacturing organisations and their processes.



The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the 23rd International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM; June 2013, Porto, Portugal), but we also strongly encourage researchers, practitioners and consultants who are unable to participate in the conference to submit papers for this call.


Subject Coverage



Topics include, but are not limited to, the following lean manufacturing, Six Sigma or lean Six Sigma (as an integrated approach) areas:

Implementation and application in manufacturing organisations and processes
Best practices in the area
Strategies and cultural changes towards their adoption
Development of new tools and techniques
The role of leadership
General operational and quality improvements using these strategies
Application of these strategies in the supply chain of manufacturing organisations
Leagile manufacturing and supply chains
Lean and green operations
System modelling and simulation
Lean thinking
Cases study
Other related topics


Notes for Prospective Authors



Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper was not originally copyrighted and if it has been completely re-written).



All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page.


Important Dates



Submission of manuscripts: 20 October, 2013



Notification to authors: 31 January, 2014



Final versions due: 31 March, 2014