Lean´s påverkan på arbetsmiljön : En kvalitativ studie över effekterna på arbetsmiljö och hälsa vid införande av Lean

Sammanfattning: There are many organizations that choose to introduce Lean production in their operations, as these are the concepts that have made the greatest progress in terms of efficiency programs. Since Lean focuses on maximizing customer benefit and minimizing waste of resources in an organisation's business processes, it is often forgotten that the introduction also affects the staff. The purpose of the study is to investigate what effects on the working environment and health that employees in the private sector experience after an introduction of Lean production as a strategy within their organization. The aim of the study has been to answer how a Lean introduction affects the working environment and health. The study is based on Almondy's latest improvement work on the shrinkage process. With the help of an interview study and a general literature study, we have examined what effects a Lean introduction has on the work environment and health. The interview study was conducted at Almondy AB, which is a food producer based in Gothenburg. Searching the literature is done in article databases with keywords linked to the area. By means of a comparative analysis method, the result has been analyzed. There are studies that show that the effects vary depending on the point of view they have had and in which industry the survey was conducted. This means that the effects get a large spread and therefore it is difficult to give a general picture of the effects. The results of the interview study show a positive effect on the work environment as they describe that the physical moments in the process have decreased. The results of the literature study show that more studies are needed to be able to demonstrate the general effects that Lean has on the working environment. But the literature study suggests that there are both negative and positive effects on the work environment and health when introducing Lean. The conclusion suggests that Almondy has had a positive impact on their physical work environment since there has been a decrease in deviation reports. If someone wants to study further in the field, Lean production should be investigated in several industries and examine all aspects of a Lean introduction linked work environment and health.