{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T02:41:53Z","timestamp":1780368113402,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]],"date-time":"2026-01-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768262400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Systems"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Lean implementations often deploy tools in isolation, leaving gaps in how abnormalities are exposed, resolved at the root cause, escalated when needed, and converted into organisational learning. This study proposes a five-stage closed-loop routine for daily factory management that integrates problem visibility, standardised shop-floor cadence, disciplined problem-solving, and tiered escalation within a single operating logic. The novelty lies not in the individual Lean tools, but in the specification of cadence, triggers, accountable roles, and verification steps that connect them into a replicable end-to-end routine. The model was evaluated through a 19-month longitudinal, single-site field intervention (quasi-experimental before\u2013and\u2013after) on the bottleneck production line of a pharmaceutical plant in Hengoed, Wales (UK). Line OEE increased by over 50% in relative terms. At factory level, total output increased by 20% year-on-year in 2024 (context indicator), alongside qualitative field observations of shorter time-to-resolution and improved cross-functional coordination. As a single-site study, external validity is context-dependent; nevertheless, the paper provides a specified closed-loop routine and field evidence on the operational effects of embedding an integrated Lean cycle into daily management. Practically, the study provides a specified routine that practitioners can replicate and adapt; academically, it contributes to Lean implementation research by showing how tool bundles can be operationalised as an end-to-end daily management routine with observable performance effects.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/systems14010086","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]],"date-time":"2026-01-13T11:42:58Z","timestamp":1768304578000},"page":"86","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["A Five-Stage Closed-Loop Lean Routine for Daily Factory Management: A Field Intervention in a UK Pharmaceutical Plant"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Marcelo Jos\u00e9 de Albuquerque","family":"Fonseca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Engenharia de Produ\u00e7\u00e3o, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50100-010, PE, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7927-9021","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Denise Dumke","family":"de Medeiros","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Engenharia de Produ\u00e7\u00e3o, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50100-010, PE, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Rei, B.M.A. (2023). 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