Abstract

Today, the application of lean principles is not limited to the shop floor: it is extended to the entire enterprise. Knowledge-based activities, in particular, product development, can significantly benefit from the application of lean principles. R&D intensive organizations such as aerospace have started to implement lean in their product development processes, however, the performance measurement systems that are in place are obsolete and do not promote lean goals and principles. These methods are not capable of measuring the benefits of adopting lean initiatives in the product development process. In this research, a lean engineering performance measurement (LEPM) model is developed that takes into account key lean principles and performance indicators and measures the performance of the engineering process from a lean perspective. This model was implemented in the engineering process of a case company to measure and promote lean initiatives.