Management Cybernetics as a General Framework to Successfully Implement Lean Management in Several Industries: Observations From the Construction Industry, Mechanical Engineering, and Healthcare

Numerous lean transformation projects fail or do not achieve the desired performance and/or viability that is necessary for a sustainable implementation of lean management. However, there are some factors that support the successful implementation of lean management in day-to-day business. In the opinion of the authors, these include management cybernetics and, in particular, Stafford Beer’s viable system model (VSM) as a structuring element. Due to its characteristics as an evolution-based organizational system, the VSM appears to be well suited to forming a sustainable basis for an efficiency-focused method such as lean management. In particular, the evolutionary ability of the model to constantly adapt to the requirements of its environment offers a well-suited basic structure for a sustainable connection with the methods of lean management. In order to examine this approach in more detail, a synopsis of three case studies from different industries was created: the construction industry, plant and mechanical engineering, and healthcare. The unifying element of these three case studies is the combination of lean tools to increase efficiency with the VSM as a structural basis for ensuring the needed effectiveness.