Lean manufacturing tools as drivers of social sustainability in the Mexican maquiladora industry

• Kaizen it́s a driver of gemba. • 5 Whys has a major effect on social sustainability. • Social sustainability must be a long-term project investment. • Kaizen will be 100 % implemented in 4.25 years. • Companies need to determine the optimal acceptable level for social sustainability. Social Sustainability (SOS) is crucial to an industry’s success and depends on various factors. This study presents a structural equation model (SEM) that examines how three lean manufacturing tools, focused on continuous improvement, Kaizen, Gemba, and 5Whys, can enhance SOS. Six hypotheses were proposed and validated using information from 411 responses to a survey on the Mexican maquiladora industry, and the partial least squares approach was used to test them. Subsequently, the system dynamics technique was applied to simulate different scenarios and determine the optimum SOS level based on lean manufacturing tools. The findings indicate that only Kaizen can achieve 100 % implementation within less than five years, whereas the other variables require a more extended period. Specifically, the SOS reached 100 % after 10.25 years, and this period is considered too long. Companies should periodically investigate the new needs of employees to improve their SOS. This study is the first to combine SEM and SD to assess the impact of Kaizen, Gemba, and 5Whys as LM Social Sustainability tools, offering a new perspective to achieve sustainable industrial practices. Companies should periodically investigate new employees’ needs to improve their SOS.