In the past two decades, emerging work production systems have pervaded a diverse number of
U.S. manufacturing enterprises in an attempt to achieve quantum leaps in quality and productivity
and to offer customers a variety of products with different options. Because the worker is at the
heart of the application of lean production strategies, this article deals with human performance in
a lean production environment. First, an overview of a lean production model is presented. Second,
the evidence on human performance in a lean production environment is described and appraised.
Third, a research framework is described to determine optimum human performance practices in a
lean production setting. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc