In Lean Manufacturing, if the Customer is a King, then the Frontline Worker is a "Knight": A Case Study

Worldwide, Lean manufacturing has been widely declared a success. In the industry, Lean manufacturing had been faced with lots of criticism which includes poor integration of human resource capital most especially in the shop floor level regarding the front-line worker. This paper examines the importance of the involvement of a frontline worker in Lean manufacturing resulting from the longitudinal field of study. Although in manufacturing, the focus is the customer however, quality of the product begins with the frontline worker. It proves that the frontline worker has control on the outcome of the product and that what the customer gets at the end of the day depends on the skills and motivation of the frontline worker. A South African multinational mining company is used as a case study. At the company, the effect of frontline workers at the shop-floor level and their effectiveness and contribution to overall plant productivity are examined.