PurposeThis article presents a novel case study that analyzes the applicability of DoE in the curling sport in order to improve their own performance and the performance of its athletes. Specifically, this study analyzes the most important factors to increase accuracy and precision in the draw game with curlers' opinions. It was decided to use the Last Stone Draw (LSD)' as an appropriate play situation.Design/methodology/approachSpecifically, this study analyzes most important factors to increase accuracy and precision in the draw game with curlers opinions from the German Curling association. Three research techniques were used in this study: case study, interviews and a well-designed experiment. The analysis through the use of DoE includes a measurement system analysis, an initial variance test between two players, a screening and a characterization experiment.FindingsThe results obtained from DoE suggest that the factors routine, stress, release, balance, and the previous play situation have a substantial impact on the score of the player's draw game. However, no factor has a statistically significant impact on the average distance to the center of the target. Moreover, the DoE analysis also concludes that the accuracy and precision of the player's performance is not affected equally by all analyzed factors, but they turn into highly significant when examining their relationship to the other factors.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study can be beneficial to other sports events in improving the performance. Moreover, DoE has proved to be an invaluable tool for many people in the German Curling Association in understanding the factors which influence the curlers performance and also factors which do not affect the curlers performance.Originality/valueThis research attempts to contribute to the existing sports management literature by identifying a way in which DoE can be an effective tool in non-manufacturing settings for identification of most important factors which influence the curling performance.

Since the concept of cleaner production (CP) considers not only the environment but also the economic and social dimension, additional scholarly attention is focused on studying the relationship of CP to sustainability. This research aims to present the main elements that contribute to successful CP implementation and sustainability in organisations. Eleven companies, mostly SMEs that adopted CP practices after a training course, were selected from different industrial sectors. The main results showed that the critical success factors most often cited for achieving successful implementation are commitment from top management and government support. Although some companies continue to implement sustainable practices, the majority apply CP only to comply with environmental laws, which results in a limited contribution to sustainability. Additionally, the analysed companies do not have standardised metrics to evaluate their sustainable performance, but CP serves as a guide to support their decisions. More effort is needed to make companies aware of the benefits of CP in other areas of organisations, and to integrate the three domains of sustainability when implementing CP practices.

Purpose Green Lean tools are aligned with the Circular Economy strategy as they aim at reducing waste, however, they miss the creation of value through waste. Therefore, this paper investigates whether the current implementation of the Green Lean strategy promotes the introduction of the Circular philosophy to achieve sustainable management production processes. It analyses how the resources were managed by implementing the different strategies and tools presented in Green Lean case studies under the lens of Circular Economy and highlights future research paths on the Circular Lean integration. Design/methodology/approach An analysis of the implementation of Green Lean case studies, selected through a Systematic Literature Review, from the manufacturing sector is conducted. Findings The majority of Green Lean implementations were aimed at minimizing waste, which is aligned with the narrowing strategy of Circular Economy and only a few cases studies aimed at closing the production cycles. Even though the main results indicate that being eco-efficient is a good starting point to move towards sustainability, from a Circular Economy point of view, this approach could remain limited. Therefore, the current contribution of Green Lean to the implementation of circular practices is limited. It can be concluded that introducing the circular philosophy in the Green Lean methodology can be achieved through redirecting Green Lean from waste reduction towards a value creation focus. Originality/value The originality of this paper is that it provides a critical review of the literature on the topic of Green Lean integration and Circular Economy.

Purpose Urban logistics presents a series of challenges, as the interests of the different stakeholders are not always aligned. The aim of this research is to explore the potential of applying Lean principles to reduce waste in urban logistics. Design/methodology/approach As a structure for "going to gemba," the authors implemented the shadowing technique to better understand the perspective of companies distributing products in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay. Then, meetings were conducted to validate the observations by the people shadowed. Findings The results show that most of shipper's time is dedicated to waiting (59%), which is followed by driving (22%), and only a small section of time was dedicated to unloading and verification activities (19%). Although collaborative solutions are needed along with the different stakeholders, this research highlights how deploying Lean thinking can improve significantly urban logistics achieving up to 25% improvement in the number of stores served per shift. Practical implications From an academic point of view, this study emphasizes the importance of continue applying and evaluating the Lean practices into transportation contexts. From a company's perspective, the authors have presented a list of propositions that can be implemented for carriers in order to reduce waste and/or improve the efficiency of the urban transportation process. Originality/value Based on the literature review carried out, the subject study of Lean and its application to urban logistics remains mostly unexplored in the scientific literature.

Growing concerns about the environmental impact caused by industrial operations is spurring companies to seek more sustainable modes of production. In this context, adopting sustainable manufacturing (SM) practices still represents a challenge, especially for small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). In order to address this issue, this study identified a set of barriers to SM implementation. The main findings reveal that there is limited research on SM from Latin American (LATAM) countries, and the majority of published articles discuss the implementation of lean tools and cleaner production in industry. Additionally, results showed that the biggest challenges that Uruguayan companies have to face are associated with economic and financial barriers. A new categorization of barriers: human perceptions, resource constraints and weak legislation was presented. Finally, the study examines the adoption of SM practices in the country, with cleaner production and product recovery being the most implemented practices. This study concludes that there is an urgent need for government institutions, academia, and organizations to align their objectives and work together in order to support SMEs in their transition towards sustainability.

Purpose Companies use continuous improvement (CI) as a strategy to achieve business excellence and innovation. Yet CI initiatives fail mostly due to a lack of employee engagement. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Based on the CI literature and the technology acceptance model (TAM), a comprehensive model called continuous improvement acceptance mode (CIAM) was developed to understand the main organisational antecedents that predict employee intention to participate in CI. The CIAM is based on structural equation modelling using partial least squares and it was validated in a large manufacturing plant in Europe. Findings Emulating the findings of the TAM, this study shows that employee intention to participate can be predicted by two variables called ease of participating and usefulness of participating. The CIAM then relates these constructs with relevant CI enablers found in the CI literature. Practical implications The CIAM could help academics and practitioners to better understand employee participation in CI activities, allowing CI systems to be better designed and achieve long-term sustainability. Originality/value The CIAM presents new variables and interactions that help to understand employee participation in CI activities. Some of these variables and interactions have received scant attention in the CI literature and thus they are worth investigating in greater depth in the future.

Continuous improvement (CI) systems still have room for improvement due to the difficulty in sustaining the system and attaining a high level of employee participation. This study looks to analyse the level of implementation in manufacturing companies of 16 CI routines, and how these routines foster CI and employee participation. Based on a general survey of CI managers from Spain which yielded 147 valid responses, a Cluster Analysis (CA) and a Factorial Analysis were performed in order to group both responses and the variables used into more comprehensive categories. Statistical tests were run to test for significant relationships. This paper introduces a new perspective on the issue of CI maturity levels by using CA to group companies into three categories based on the score of a set of 16 CI enablers, which were in turn reduced to four factors using Factor Analysis, allowing for the identification of improvement challenges depending on the maturity stage of each company. Three different maturity groups of companies were identified, named as Leaders, Followers and Laggards. Results show that companies with better scores on these factors believe to have more sustainable CI systems and a higher level of employee participation.

Several national and international studies reveal that the housing access is one of the main problems that society is facing nowadays. Housing cooperatives constructions emerge as an alternative to satisfy low income social classes housing demand. Despite being a sustainable solution over time an in-depth study of the process shows several delays in the construction stage.

Continuous improvement (CI) is still one of the strongest ways for companies to achieve process excellence in order to survive in nowadays¿ competitive environments. Yet, it is still very difficult to implement and sustain CI systems, mainly because of the difficulty in engaging people in these activities. Based on an exhaustive literature review, followed by a three-round Delphi study with Spanish experts, this paper helps to assess what the main elements are with respect to the CI system that could motivate employees¿ intention to participate in CI activities. Main results show 44 elements grouped into 10 factors that could affect employees¿ intention to participate. These factors were structured into a more comprehensive model following an interpretive structural modelling approach.

Order picking is the process of retrieving products from storage in response to a specific customer order. Although this process¿ design has significant impact on warehouse global performance, a practical-oriented design procedure is still lacking in literature. This paper presents a novel order picking system design methodology based on Design for Six Sigma approach, that aims to assist designers making decisions by suggesting the most effective operational and organizational policies and the equipment needed in order to fulfill customer¿s orders. A case research in a home appliances manufacturer is presented in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.