Integration of Lean 5.0 Principles with Toyota Kata: Advancement of Human-Centric and Sustainable Practices in Assembly Line Operations

Industry 5.0 (I5.0) is based on the perspectives of sustainability, cybersecurity, and human centricity. This study focuses on Lean 5.0 and aims to evaluate the impact of adopting Lean 5.0 concepts from the perspective of the Toyota Kata (TK) approach within an assembly line through empirical research. The methodological approach followed the TK cycles, including diagnosing the current process, classifying activities (value-adding vs non-value-adding), proposing solutions based on Industry 5.0 principles, and analysing the outcomes. A Likert scale questionnaire was also applied to measure employee perceptions, further validating the experiment’s findings. The results of this study demonstrated that combining TK with digitised work instructions improved assembly processes by reducing bottlenecks, enhancing training, and decreasing reliance on expert operators. The proposed application and related practices can be utilised by organisations to support the Lean 5.0 implementation of the TK concept.