Study of Select Issues in the Implementation of Lean Manufacturing in UAE: An Empirical Study Nitin Upadhye 1 1 Associate Professor, College of Business, University of Modern Sciences, Al Twar 3, Dubai, UAE, Durgesh Sharma 2 2 Professor, Mechanical Engg. Dept., RKG Institute of Technology, Meerut Road, Ghaziabad, India, Abstract - The paper attempts to identify the key issues in the implementation of lean manufacturing system (LMS) in the United Arab Emirates. The paper also discusses the various outcomes expected from the successful implementation of LMS. Extensive literature review has been done to find out the various critical issues and the key issues selected for the study. Keywords - Lean manufacturing, waste reduction, critical issues, top management commitment, customer satisfaction I. INTRODUCTION Dubai’s total manufacturing trade reached AED 1tn in 2014 accounting for almost 80% of Dubai’s non-oil trade. Imports accounted for 63.4% while exports and re-exports accounted for 36.6% of Dubai’s total manufacturing trade. Electrical machinery and equipment accounted for 40.8% of manufactured imports and 41.5% of manufactured exports and re-exports for 2014. A high degree of concentration in a few key sub-sectors highlights the potential for the growth of, and diversification within, the manufacturing sector. The manufacturing sector is the fourth largest sector in Dubai’s economy, recording a share of 13.9% of total GDP in H1 2014 and accounting for roughly 15% of Dubai’s total workforce. There are eight major sub-sectors of the manufacturing economy. Dubai’s manufacturing license issuance increased by 6% y/y in 2014. Between 2010 and 2014 net manufacturing license issuance increased at an average of almost 5% per year. A steady increase in the number of manufacturing licenses is symptomatic of growing interest among manufacturing firms to establish operations in Dubai. [This research was carried out to identify the key critical issues for the implementation of Lean manufacturing in a manufacturing setup.The term lean was coined by Womack et al. to define the Japanese system, which consumes the minimum of everything to achieve a better product, ultimately achieving customer satisfaction by fulfilling his needs. [2]. the concept of lean manufacturing was introduced in Japan, and the Toyota production system was the first to use lean practices. Lean manufacturing is different from traditional manufacturing. The traditional manufacturing concept focuses on the inventory of the system, whereas lean manufacturing opposes this concept. The ‘Lean’ concept considers inventory as a waste in the organization. [3] The research seeks to identify the key critical issues which affects the implementation of LMS as well as to relate it with the improvement in select performance areas. Detailed literature review has been carried out along with and discussions with experts in the field to decide the key issues. A questionnaire of twenty two was designed to seek the firsthand information from the persons working in manufacturing sector in UAE. The result of the empirical study highlighted the key critical issues, helping the decision makers to focus on them while implementing LMS in their organization. LM has become a widely acceptable and adoptable best manufacturing practice across countries and industries [4]. The implementation of lean in UAE industries is at its initial stage and this research will definitely provide a base for clear understanding of LMS. The research was focused to seek the answers to the following questions: RQ1. Which is the key critical issues for the implementation of LMS in UAE manufacturing sector? RQ2. What will be the performance improvement areas in the manufacturing sector in UAE after the implementation of LMS? II. LITERATURE REVIEW The literature review has been carried out with the intention to provide a clear understanding on lean manufacturing system as well as select key issues important for its successful implementation. The performance areas also discussed. A. Lean Manufacturing System Lean manufacturing has recently become pervasive as the primary strategy for manufacturing performance enhancement as the consistent and disciplined application of LM strategies with the emphasis on waste elimination and process streamlining can offer a steady path towards business excellence [5]. Lean Manufacturing System (LMS) is defined as a set of principles used to minimize manufacturing costs by reducing inventories, identifying waste at every stage of supply chain and eliminating it, improving order to supply time and thus improving quality at every level and profit of the organization with employee involvement. In Japan waste is considered as an activity which consumes resources but creates no value to the end product from the customer’s perspective. The basic ideas behind LMS are waste elimination, cost reduction, and employee empowerment [6] The Lean principles can be applied in any situation. It is suitable for both manufacturing as well as service sector. Eliminating waste in manufacturing however cannot be achieved solely through efforts in manufacturing. It requires International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) ISSN: 2278-0181 Published by, www.ijert.org ICRTME - 2016 Conference Proceedings Volume 5, Issue 2 Special Issue - 2017