The effects of Lean and people’s behaviours on Occupational Safety

Abstract Lean methodologies have been implemented in various sectors, helping to improve the overall efficiency and performance of organisations. The aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between Lean and occupational safety and its impact on people’s behaviour. To this end, a survey was developed and a statistical study carried out. The survey was sent to 4381 companies, from which 289 responses were received from 12 different countries. The Cronbach’s alpha value obtained was greater than 0.86, which indicates that the internal reliability/consistency of the results is very good. Through the statistical study it was possible to conclude that the approaches with the greatest contribution to cultural change in terms of occupational safety are 5S, Standard Work and TPM. It was also concluded that the implementation of Lean practices has a positive impact on people’s behaviour, and that these results differ depending on whether the company is located in Portugal or not. Furthermore, Lean proved to have a very positive impact on performance indicators, especially in companies located in Portugal, regardless of the sector of activity. The results also show that the contribution of Lean management to occupational safety system is very important in different sectors and is influenced by the sector of activity and by the company’s location, and that the impact of the occupational safety system on people’s behaviour was considered very important, with little influence from the company’s location and no influence from the sector of activity. This comprehensive research provides a body of knowledge that is expected to provide positive insights for Lean practitioners, managers and academics.