Leveraging Internet of Things to Enhance Skill Acquisition in Lean Manufacturing Practices: An Experimental Study

Leveraging Internet of Things to Enhance Skill Acquisition in Lean Manufacturing Practices: An Experimental Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Leveraging Internet of Things to Enhance Skill Acquisition in Lean Manufacturing Practices: An Experimental Study Didérot Déraillet Tadja, Fatma Lehyani, Alaeddine Zouari, Samuel-Jean Bassetto, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7322105/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Industry 4.0 technologies remain not effectively used in supporting the development of lean manufacturing skills through the physical simulation of production systems. This study investigates the impact of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based system on facilitating team members’ acquisition of lean manufacturing practices. Two experiments were conducted by physical simulation with separate samples of 15 participants each—one utilizing the IoT-based system and the other without it. Data analysis using Student’s t -test revealed that the system significantly enhanced the acquisition of both technical (p-value = 0.004) and non-technical (p-value = 0.003) lean manufacturing practices. Results also show that utilizing the system doubles participant’s skills acquisition regardless of the type of practice. In addition to recontextualizing lean manufacturing through digital technologies, this study offers practical insights for manufacturing firms seeking to support employee skill development and therefore, improve their productivity. Lean manufacturing Industry 4.0 technologies Physical simulation Acquisition of skills Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Full Text Additional Declarations Tables 1 to 5 are available in the Supplementary Files section. Supplementary Files 4Table1.docx 4Table2.docx 4Table3.docx 4Table4.docx 4Table5.docx 5Appendix.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 28 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major Revisions Needed 11 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 12 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 12 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 09 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7322105","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":499411963,"identity":"34e08c35-7748-482f-8b51-7efac405e5dd","order_by":0,"name":"Didérot Déraillet 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This study investigates the impact of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based system on facilitating team members\u0026rsquo; acquisition of lean manufacturing practices. Two experiments were conducted by physical simulation with separate samples of 15 participants each\u0026mdash;one utilizing the IoT-based system and the other without it. Data analysis using Student\u0026rsquo;s \u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e-test revealed that the system significantly enhanced the acquisition of both technical (p-value\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.004) and non-technical (p-value\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.003) lean manufacturing practices. Results also show that utilizing the system doubles participant\u0026rsquo;s skills acquisition regardless of the type of practice. 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