Innovation is a key source of competitiveness in the knowledge economy, and continuous improvement (CI) is a key element of such corporate pursuit. The purpose of this paper is to explore links to prevalent shop floor conditions which support or prohibit the effective realisation of CI. Lean is a globally competitive standard for product assembly of discreet parts. Successful Lean application is conditioned by an evolutionary problem‐solving ability of the rank and file. This is in itself contingent on employee involvement in improvement programs and the implementation of appropriate practices. But the challenge of operating innovative Lean systems lacks statistically valid guidance.