Lean education impact in professional life of engineers

Abstract

Lean Production is a methodology largely implemented across industries and services that becomes an important issue to be taught at engineering higher education level. The teaching of Lean concepts in engineering programs is, normally, called Lean Education. Teaching Lean to engineers allow them to develop competences in this field and to perform well in their professional life. These are reasons for having Lean Education in the engineers programs. The impact of not having this competency is a hindrance in job interviews and employment. Through a short questionnaire sent to graduate Industrial Engineers in the School of Engineering of University of Minho, between 2000 and 2014, this paper presents some testimonies from these professionals about their thoughts related with Lean Education. Fifty-six responses were considered valid for analysis. These examples show the Lean Education advantages and the impact on their professional and/or personal life. At the best knowledge of the authors this research was never done and brings an important contribution for engineers training and development. The outcomes reinforce the importance of including Lean Education in engineers' curricula to provide a whole system-thinking knowledge and to prepare a future engineer for the workplace.