From workplace standardization to worker well-being: lean manufacturing tools drive social sustainability in Mexican maquiladoras

Abstract

The growing interest in sustainable industrial practices has encouraged companies to revisit Lean Manufacturing (LM), not only as a way to improve productivity but also as a framework that supports worker well-being and organizational responsibility. Although LM has been widely studied, empirical work that clarifies how its human-oriented components contribute to social sustainability (SOS) in emerging economies remains limited. To contribute to this discussion, the present research explores four LM practices with a strong human dimension-Standardized Work (SW), Multifunctional Teams (MT), Decentralization (DS), and Vertical Information Systems (VIS)-and evaluates their influence on SOS within the Mexican maquiladora sector. We employed a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) using data collected from 240 professionals in automotive, medical, electronic, and textile manufacturing plants. The analysis indicates that MT has the strongest direct influence on DS (beta = 0.687, p < 0.001), and it also exhibits the highest total effect on SOS (beta = 0.630, p < 0.001). SW shows an indirect contribution to SOS through its effects on MT and DS (beta = 0.449, p < 0.001). All hypothesized relationships were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Taken together, the results underscore the relevance of teamwork, distributed decision-making, and structured communication systems as essential contributors to improved social outcomes in labor-intensive manufacturing environments. By incorporating human-centered LM practices into a robust analytical model, this study offers empirical insights that can inform both managerial actions and public policies aimed at strengthening social sustainability in manufacturing industries.

This research was partly funded by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog\u00EDa (CONACyT) from Mexico, grant number 548515.