Abstract
Increasing awareness on the widespread presence of people with neurodiverse traits among manufacturing companies has been orienting Lean managers to understand how to ease the inclusion of such individuals to working environments. Neurodiversity, intended as atypical neurological developments due to natural variations of the human brain, is not a marker of neurological diseases, but rather of a different way the brain works. As such, people with neurodiverse traits possess a set of strengths and weaknesses that are not common among other workers, thus resulting in significant advantages for production effectiveness. This paper aims to understand how Lean Management techniques may unleash the full potential of neurodiverse people, enhancing their key assets and limiting their weak points, by putting into relation, from a human factor perspective, each tool with the neurodiversity they deal with, in a dedicated framework.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Legend: (\(+\, +\, +\)) and (− − −) for “strong positive or negative feedback”; (\(+\, +\)) and (− −) for “mild positive or negative feedback”; (+) and (−) for “slight positive or negative feedback”; (=) for “neutral feedback”; / for “no interaction”.
References
Doyle, N.: Neurodiversity at work: a biopsychosocial model and the impact on working adults. Br. Med. Bull. 135(1), 108 (2020)
Krzeminska, A., Austin, R.D., Bruyère, S.M., Hedley, D.: The advantages and challenges of neurodiversity employment in organizations. J. Manage. Organ. 25(4), 453–463 (2019)
Mascarenhas, R.F., Pimentel, C., Rosa, M.J.: The way Lean starts–a different approach to introduce Lean culture and changing process with people’s involvement. Procedia Manuf. 38, 948–956 (2019)
Brinzea, V.M.: Encouraging neurodiversity in the evolving workforce: the next frontier to a diverse workplace. Sci. Bull.-Econ. Sci. 18(3), 13–25 (2019)
Singer, J.: Odd people in: the birth of community amongst people on the autistic spectrum: a personal exploration of a new social movement based on neurological diversity. Honours Dissertation, University of Technology, Sydney (1998). www.neurodiversity.com.au/lightdark.htm
White, H.A., Shah, P.: Uninhibited imaginations: creativity in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pers. Individ. Differ. 40(6), 1121–1131 (2006)
Grant, D.: The psychological assessment of neurodiversity. In: Pollak, D. (ed.). Neurodiversity in Higher Education, pp. 33–62. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester (2009)
Volkmar, F.R., Lord, C., Bailey, A., Schultz, R.T., Klin, A.: Autism and pervasive developmental disorders. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 45(1), 135–170 (2004)
Meilleur, A.A.S., Jelenic, P., Mottron, L.: Prevalence of clinically and empirically defined talents and strengths in autism. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 45(5), 1354–1367 (2015)
Armstrong, T.: The Power of Neurodiversity: Unleashing the Advantages of Your Differently Wired Brain (Published in Hardcover as Neurodiversity). Da Capo Lifelong Books (2011)
Kirby, P.: A brief history of dyslexia. Psychologist 31(3), 1–3 (2018)
Logan, J.: Dyslexic entrepreneurs: the incidence; their coping strategies and their business skills. Dyslexia 15(4), 328–346 (2009)
Leather, C., Hogh, H., Seiss, E., Everatt, J.: Cognitive functioning and work success in adults with dyslexia. Dyslexia 17(4), 327–338 (2011)
Von Karolyi, C., Winner, E., Gray, W., Sherman, G.F.: Dyslexia linked to talent: global visual-spatial ability. Brain Lang. 85(3), 427–431 (2003)
Fotopoulos, C.B., Psomas, E.L.: The impact of “soft” and “hard” TQM elements on quality management results. Int. J. Qual. Reliabil. Manage. 26(2), 150–163 (2009)
Bortolotti, T., Boscari, S., Danese, P.: Successful Lean implementation: organizational culture and soft Lean practices. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 160, 182–201 (2015)
Rodríguez, D., Buyens, D., Van Landeghem, H., Lasio, V.: Impact of Lean production on perceived job autonomy and job satisfaction: An experimental study. Hum. Factors Ergon. Manuf. Serv. Industr. 26(2), 159–176 (2016)
Gaiardelli, P., Resta, B., Dotti, S.: Exploring the role of human factors in Lean management. Int. J. Lean Six Sigma 10(1), 339–366 (2019)
Liker, J.K.: The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer. McGraw-Hill Education (2004)
Stern, H., Becker, T.: Concept and evaluation of a method for the integration of human factors into human-oriented work design in cyber-physical production systems. Sustainability 11(16), 4508 (2019)
Cimini, C., Lagorio, A., Pirola, F., Pinto, R.: How human factors affect operators’ task evolution in Logistics 4.0. Hum. Factors Ergon. Manuf. Serv. Industr. 31(1), 98–117 (2021)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing
About this paper
Cite this paper
Zanchi, M., Gaiardelli, P., Pezzotta, G. (2023). The Role of Lean Management Practices in the Valorisation of Neurodiverse People in Production. In: McDermott, O., Rosa, A., Sá, J.C., Toner, A. (eds) Lean, Green and Sustainability. ELEC 2022. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 668. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25741-4_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25741-4_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-25740-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-25741-4
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)
