(Tennant et al., 2000) lists many techniques associated with lean manufacturing. The
applicability of those techniques in high product mix environments such as the furniture
industry stumble on a variety of obstacles, primarily due to their diverse product mix with
many dissimilar routings. Even though some of the standard elements of "Lean ", such as
work place organisation (5S), set-up time reduction could be applied to this manufacturing
environments, there is a need for new approaches and specifically suited tools.