Criteria for Lean Practice Selection: Development an Assessment Tool Using the Rooted Arborescence

Lean practices compose a systematic relationship network to be implemented. Although there are some measures for assessing lean production in the literature, fewer researches analyze the selection order of the lean practices in leanness. Based on the rooted arborescence of lean practice in lean practices relationship network (LPRN), a lean practice assessment tool (LPAT) is developed. The LPAT calculates the relationship difficulty degree (RDD) of lean practice in LPRN and enables visually to make a strategic decision of the lean practices selection order in leanness. Practical uses of the LPAT are shown in the actual lean system obtained from the lean literature. This paper aims to understand the lean practice in a systemic, quantifiable and relative view, and to give a firm conviction in leanness process.